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Flare stores the help source in XHTML-format files.
Any 3rd party tool translation memory tool that supports processing of XML files (including SDL Trados) can be used to translate these topic files.
A help system, however, contains more translatable content than just the topic files (TOC, index, glossary, text embedded in the tri-pane interface, etc.). These are typically stored in non-XML format files in various locations within the help project area. This is the case for Flare, RoboHelp or any other help authoring tool.
The MadCap Lingo module collates the source language topic files, and all other files containing translatable strings, into a package that can be sent out for translation. When the translation is received back, Lingo generates a target language project which you can then publish to produce a target language help system.
After performing a "full translation", you can then continue to edit your help system. The next time you need to publish a target language help system, Lingo has the ability to package up only the changes since the previous full translation, and then merge the received (newer) translated content back into the previous target language project. That saves enormous translation (and administration) costs.
Lingo comes with the translation memory functionality, which you can utilise if you have in-house translators (in which case there is no need to create a package for sending out). There is no mandatory requirement to use this built-in TM capability, though.
I hope the above clears up some of the misconceptions that appear to exist regarding the relationship between Flare, Lingo and 3rd party TM software.
Cheers
Hans
David wondered:
I am starting to look at Madcap as a probable solution for my user-manuals where I suddenly need to maintain several variants of two manuals which share around 65% identical content.
Now we have had doubt thrown on this application by our translation agency who advise that Flare tries to force translators to use Lingo because Flare is difficult to work with Trados, which is their TM application. They are advocating Framemaker - but I am wondering - has anyone out there seen problems between Flare and Trados?
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