MadCap Software’s Flare authoring and publishing software is a tool that we love. We love it as technical authors, but we also appreciate it for its standards-based technology that is inherently supportive of virtually any language – much like the Internet itself. As a single-source authoring tool, Flare also addresses managing of content to avoid repetition, which in the translation world can cost companies a lot of their translation budget if not managed effectively. Flare is a robust, flexible, and feature-rich tool that allows authors to be creative. And when it is used with translation in mind it can make multilingual documentation much easier to manage.
For most companies, translation of their Flare content will not be done directly by them, rather they will partner with a language service provider (LSP) who will handle the translation. And when it comes to Flare, not all LSPs are equally capable. Flare is a tool for experts – technical writers invest a lot of time and effort learning Flare and creating Flare projects that help their companies publish according to their needs. This takes time and effort and therefore should not be taken lightly by an LSP. But how can you be sure that your LSP is expert in Flare? Here is a baker’s dozen list of things to look out for when assessing your LSP’s Flare capabilities:
Your LSP…
- ...does not translate Flare outputs, rather they translate the Flare project files.
- ...translates Flare project files and can also generate the translated targets that you need.
- ...understands your conditions, variables, and targets.
- ...supports all Flare project file types in their translation management system (TMS) and can guarantee that the structure of the files will remain intact during the translation process.
- ...will conduct a thorough assessment of your Flare project prior to quoting and production.
- ...will ask for your Flare project up front (and any necessary master or satellite projects).
- ...owns Flare and works in it regularly.
- ...has a full-time Flare specialist in-house.
- ...asks questions about your Flare project – especially about targets and outputs.
- ...informs you about issues in your original Flare project that negatively affect translation and offers solutions.
- ...delivers localized Flare projects as part of its standard Flare services.
- ...understands the formatting requirements for your target languages and offers DTP work to localize the formatting and fix possible errors directly in Flare.
- ...informs you about changes made to the structure of translated Flare projects so that you can understand the differences between your original and translated Flare projects.
Developing an effective localization process for your technical publications using Flare is not as simple as uploading a bunch of files to your LSP and asking them for a translation. Given the learning curve involved to master Flare as a technical author, it is even more difficult for localization specialists to master Flare, since they are not designing the Flare project, nor do they work in it daily. But the hallmark of skilled localizers is the ability to reverse-engineer your work in Flare and quickly learn how to adapt it to work in multiple languages. This takes a localizer’s mindset and strong understanding of the technologies involved. If you would like to speak with a Flare Localization Specialist do not hesitate to reach out to us, we are always eager to talk about Flare!
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