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Subject:Foreign language translation of Winhelp rtfs From:Benzi Schreiber <benzi -at- HARMONYCOM -dot- COM> Date:Sun, 25 Apr 1999 09:03:47 +0200
Mitchell:
When translating online help, you need someone who understands the type of
help system you're using. That person also needs to understand that when you
translate a line of documentation; all kinds of things can change. For
example, a one word, ten-letter heading in English suddenly takes up half
your page width when you translate it into German. Not critical when you're
dealing with printed documentation, but it can radically change the look of
your online help page.
You should also make sure the translators can compile the help system
themselves, and that they proof-read their work before sending the stuff
back to you. I've had the pleasure of checking French, German and Japanese
HTML help files; trivial things like checking links become virtually
impossible -- the link may work, but you don't know where it's taken you!
I suggest you use someone who does software localization (not just
translation). These companies often do online help systems as well.
