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CAT tools for PDF files
Thread poster: Mette Hansen
José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 17:18
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
The Infix walk-through Jun 27, 2016

The entire problem with PDF translation is that while some CAT tools can "invade" a PDF and even a DTP file (like InDesign's), they can't fix the layout havoc unavoidably created by text shrinking/swelling during translation, as well as from some exclusive PDF quirks.

Envision that the PDF is a finished movie shot in a studio, so that nobody sees the crumbling scenario from backstage, being held together with duct tape and strings. Therefore neat line breaks are often not so, and ca... See more
The entire problem with PDF translation is that while some CAT tools can "invade" a PDF and even a DTP file (like InDesign's), they can't fix the layout havoc unavoidably created by text shrinking/swelling during translation, as well as from some exclusive PDF quirks.

Envision that the PDF is a finished movie shot in a studio, so that nobody sees the crumbling scenario from backstage, being held together with duct tape and strings. Therefore neat line breaks are often not so, and carefully aligned table cells have their contents merely glued on the right spot for their exact size before translation.

The Infix workflow comprises a few steps:
a) Extracting tagged text (in TXT or XML) for translation and tagging the PDF as well;
b) Translating the TXT or XML outside the PDF, using your CAT tool of choice;
c) Importing the text chunks to the right places on the PDF, formatted (font face, size, color, style) as much as possible as the original;
d) Fixing the layout issues with the numerous DTP tools provided.

A while ago I developed a walk-thru of the process, and published it at http://www.lamensdorf.com.br/translating-a-pdf.html . Though both Infix and I have improved our acts since, the overall workflow is roughly the same.

Just in case you are not skilled in DTP (e.g. no experience whatsoever with a standard DTP app like PageMaker or InDesign), you could use an Infix "partner". I think they should at least have tourist-level command of both source and target languages to know what they are doing. You'd keep (b) to yourself and leave all the other steps (including preparation for (a)) to your partner. ▲ Collapse
 
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