In the world of translation services, file types and source files are fundamental to the project. It is the raw material that is used to quote prices, execute the translation, and deliver the completed work.
What is a source file in the translation industry? It is the original file where the content was created. For example, say you have a brochure that needs to be translated. The brochure is complete and ready to be printed; you’ve got a PDF ready to be sent to the printer. Where did the PDF come from? Was it exported from Microsoft Word? Perhaps Adobe InDesign? In those cases, the source file would be the Word file (.doc/.docx) or the InDesign file (.indd).
When translating a PDF, there are only upsides to working from or within the source file. But what if the source files aren’t available to you? Maybe you outsourced the creation of the brochure, or the source file was lost somewhere along the way. After we talk a little more about source files, we’ll discuss the solutions available to you!
Why Is It Important to Go to the Source?
In the translation workflow, most providers—ourselves included—prefer to work with source files whenever possible. Working with source files offers many benefits for both the translation company and you, such as:
- Reduce or even eliminate file preparation work and the associated fees
- Reduce the overall time required to complete the translation project
- Remove the possibility of human error introduced where copy and paste would’ve been required
- The ability to deliver a fully editable document for future edits or visual changes
- Depending on the situation, it can also reduce or eliminate typesetting work and fees
Basically, it saves time and money!
Types of Source Files Used in Translation
Now that we have your attention, let’s talk about source files themselves!
For our purposes, we’re defining “source” files as those whose content can be edited. That means we can work directly with the content you need translated, just as you would if you were editing it yourself.
Ideally, editing the file or document should not require bringing it into photo editing software to cover preexisting text. If they contain text that needs to be translated, image files should not be flattened (causing them to become non-editable or uneditable) into formats such as jpg or png.
For example, here are some examples of source file extensions:
- Microsoft Office documents such as .docx, .xlsx, .pptx, .pub
- Adobe Creative Cloud documents such as: .indd, .idml, .ai, .psd, .prproj, .eps
- Text formats such as .html, .yml, .rtf, .txt, .srt,. xml
- Other files that are used to export into uneditable files types: .story, .avp
File extensions that are NOT source files:
- Ready for print file extensions, such as .pdf
- Flattened image files, such as .png, .jpeg, .tif, .gif
- Video files such as .mp4, .mov
A good way to tell if something is a source file is to see if you can edit it yourself. During the translation process, all text in the document will need to be changed – can you change all the text in the document? Try selecting all the text in the document and changing the font color – is there anything left in the original color? That text is uneditable.
Note that some files include images that have been placed or copied into the document, and thus are not editable. Make note of which of these you do and do not need localized and provide sources for these images as necessary. If available, provide an editable format (e.g., .psd) with the image and text layers. If all else fails, even sending over any images used to create the text/image combo will make the process smoother.
It is good practice to translate all elements of a file, including tables, graphics, diagrams, infographics, etc., so that the experience in the translated languages is as clear and effective as in the source language.
Why Can’t You Just Use My PDF for the Translation?
While Adobe Acrobat Pro allows you to edit PDFs, the process is riddled with opportunities for issues to arise. To begin, you must choose one of two approaches: convert the PDF into a Word file and wrestle with the Adobe-generated formatting post-translation, or extract the text by hand and paste the translations into the PDF.
The first option can cause delays due to the unexpected and inconsistent ways the Word document was generated. There may be line returns, columns, and text boxes inserted where they should not be, as the program attempts to exactly match the formatting of the PDF.
The latter causes issues due to the lack of tools available within Acrobat. There are no page guides, rulers, or grids to help ensure the text is aligned perfectly. Time-saving tools like paragraph styles aren’t available either, and their absence can also lead to human error in consistency. The final nail in the coffin is the software re-rendering the text and layout each time the typesetter saves the document, which often creates delays as it may interpret the layout differently each time, or even ignore text that was previously made editable. The file would need to be saved and rendered again—possibly several times—to edit all text.
Both options add costs and extend the amount of time it takes for a translation order to be completed while introducing many opportunities for errors in the manipulation of the content.
What If I Don’t Have the Source Files?
That depends! Send us the document, and we will let you know what options you have. File recreation may be an option, depending on how your file looks.
If You Recreate My Document, Can You Make It Look Exactly Like the Source Doc?
This also depends! Some source documents are easier to recreate than others. It is also important to keep in mind that the document will be translated, so there is no need to make it perfect before changing all the text. Each language will sit slightly differently in your document, as each has its own sentence length and grammar structure to take into consideration. Most translated documents need to go through multilingual DTP before they can be used.
Why Do I Even Need File Prep and Multilingual DTP?
File preparation is needed to ensure that, when the content enters the translation environment, the translator has access to all the text in the document and that translated phrases are organized and connected to their context.
Multilingual DTP, also called “Desktop Publishing” or “Typesetting,” is necessary because each language conveys the same message using different numbers of words or characters. This causes the content length to contract or expand. For translations where the content is moving to a different character set, such as English into Chinese or French into Arabic, the font will often need to be changed to one that supports those characters, or they may display incorrectly (or not at all). Languages like Arabic and Hebrew are written right to left and may require an entire overhaul of the content layout to ensure the same experience in both the source and target languages..
Once a file is translated, it is important that a typesetter who understands the language examine the new document. They will ensure that the document’s visual design is as close to the original as possible, and that no text has overflowed off-page, or a number of other small readability improvements.
A Better Looking Translated Document
Source files are an important resource that will speed up the translation of your document, allow us to closely follow your existing formatting, and enable us to deliver a file that can be easily updated in the future.
Nowadays, there are a plethora of ways to create documents and videos, including online software such as Canva. We can help you get those files or documents translated as well! Please give us a call or send us a quote request with a brief explanation of what you need. We’ll make sure there’s a solution that’s right for you!
