HOWTO: Translating OmegaT into your languageHOWTO: Translating OmegaT into your language"We" refers below to the OmegaT project team. The OmegaT project team is not a company or formal legal body; just a group of volunteers involved in the OmegaT project.
OmegaT is a free, open-source translation memory program. The user interface and documentation were originally written in English. As the program is intended for translators throughout the world and not just in English-speaking countries, it is appropriate that the documentation (and, if possible, the program itself) be available in other languages. However, as the program is being given away and not sold commercially, there are no resources available to pay for translations. Instead, those involved in the OmegaT project hope that translations will be provided first and foremost by translators who have tried OmegaT and are convinced of its value to the translation community as a whole.
At the time of writing, the material to be translated comprises:
* The user interface (menus etc.)
* The user manual (very comprehensive)
* The "instant start" guide (a short introduction to using OmegaT)
* The readme file (a document that contains general information
about OmegaT)
* The OmegaT web pages (probably where you are reading this)
Translators are free to tackle as much or as little of the work as they wish. In particular, the main user manual is likely to take two weeks to translate, and several translators may wish to share the work.
1. Contact the localization co-ordinator, who will be able to tell you of any specific issues regarding your language.
2. Join the OmegaT user group (also known as "OmT"). During the subscription process, you will have to send a short message to the group moderators: this is to enable them to distinguish genuine users from spammers.
After joining, visit the OmegaT Localization Plan at tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/omegat/database > OmegaT Localization Plan. This plan shows what translation/localization work has already been done on OmegaT, and what work is currently in progress. If a suitable piece of the work for your language has not yet been started, you can make an entry in the plan to indicate that you have assumed responsibility for it. The purpose of the plan is to prevent two or more translators from working on the same translation without being aware of it (duplication of effort). In order to prevent two or more translators from working on the same language at the same time, it is therefore very important that you make an entry in the localization plan when you begin work on a translation.
3. Although not essential, we recommend that you also join the OmegaT localizers' mailing list (also known as "OmT-l10n").
4. Download the files for translation. The localization files of the OmegaT program itself can be downloaded here. Select "Download" for the package "Other - L10N projects". You will be offered a choice of two packages for download, "Full" and "Minimal".
The full package contains the user manual, the instant start manual, the user interface resource bundle and the readme file. The minimal package contains the same files as the full package, except for the main user manual. You do not have to translate a complete package; you can, for instance, translate just the user interface (Bundle.properties), or just the instant start tutorial.
If you wish to translate the OmegaT web pages, the package of files can be downloaded here. (Note: these are the English files. If you prefer to translate from a different language into which OmegaT has already been localized, please contact the localization co-ordinator.
5. There may be older versions of the documentation and/or translation memories (TMX files) available for your language which are useful to your translation. A repository of such files can be downloaded here, but it is also worth asking on the localizers' list (OmT-l10n) whether anyone has any reference material which might facilitate your translation.
6. Translate the files you have chosen. Needless to say, we would prefer you to use OmegaT for the OmegaT localization work. You can however use other software if you wish.
Unpack the zip archives of the full or minimal package you have downloaded. When unpacked, the files for localization of the OmegaT program are a ready-to-use OmegaT project. You do not need to create an OmegaT project as you normally would.
You have complete freedom in how you translate. You can modify, correct, add or delete information at your own discretion. If you have any questions, the OmT-l10n list is the best place to post them.
If the document you are translating contains it, please do not translate the GPL (GNU Public License) or the GFDL (GNU Free Documentation License). Firstly, only the original English is legally valid. A translation may also be provided for information, but it has no legal validity. Secondly, unless yours is a very uncommon language, both documents have in all probability already been translated. Search the web and you’ll probably find the translations.
Please keep translations of files in their original format. The formatting is retained automatically if you use OmegaT. We are grateful for all translations, but it simplifies our work considerably if files are returned in the same format (and not as Word files, for example).
7. Test your translation (optional).
To test the user interface:
Launch OmegaT from the command line (MS-DOS window) with the following commands (if you are unsure how to do this, refer to the OmegaT user manual)
cd [full path to OmegaT]
java -jar OmegaT.jar resource-bundle=[name of bundle with full path]
To test display of the instant tutorial at launch:
Create a sub-folder with the ISO code of your operating system language, and copy the manual into this folder. Then launch OmegaT normally. (If you have translated into a language which is not your operating system language, see below, "How OmegaT handles localized versions".)
8. Produce a screenshot of OmegaT in your language. This is also optional (and only if you have been able to launch OmegaT with your localized bundle, see above), but if you are able to do it, it will enhance the quality of your translation. To produce a screenshot of OmegaT, proceed as follows:
In Windows XP:
Launch OmegaT and create a suitable screen for a screenshot, such as
the "Create new project' dialog showing typical paths
Press Alt+PrintScreen
Open Paint (Start menu, All programs, Accessories, Paint)<br>
Paste (Edit menu/Paste, or just use Ctrl+V)
File/Save as
Choose the PNG file type
Name the image NewImage.png
Linux users can use ksnapshot for this purpose.
9. Deliver your file to the localization co-ordinator, who will pass it on to the development team for inclusion in the next release of OmegaT. If you used OmegaT or another CAT tool for the work, please also send your translation memory (TMX file) together with the translation. This will greatly simplify updating of your translation in the future. Please do NOT deliver your entire Omega T project file to the localization coordinator (he doesn't need multiple copies of the entire project clogging up his hdd). Rather, create two separate zip or tar.gz files, one containing the target documents only, and the other containing the tmx files.
10. Don't forget to update the OmegaT Localization Plan (see Step 2 of the procedure) to show that you have completed translation of a particular document/version. Equally, if you abandon the translation work for any reason, please update your entry in the plan to show this. This enables the document concerned to be released for translation by another translator. If you discontinue before completing the transation, please do create the tmx files for what you have done and send them along to the localization coordinator.
At the time of writing, OmegaT detects the language of the operating system you are using. It then loads the user interface and/or user manual in that language, if available. If a user interface or user manual are not available in the language of your operating system, OmegaT defaults to displaying the English versions.
If OmegaT contains a language version which you would like to use but is not the language of your operating system, you can force OmegaT to use the desired version by changing the launch command. The launch command can be found in the file "omegat" and/or "omegat.bat" in the folder containing the program. The normal command is:
java -jar OmegaT.jar
Change this by adding the user language option and the corresponding language code, e.g. in the following case for French:
java -Duser.language=fr -jar OmegaT.jar
Most of the OmegaT documentation is licensed for re-use under the GNU Public License (GPL) or GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL). The web pages are not licensed for re-use. None of this need concern you unless you are particularly interested in copyright issues. You will be credited as the author of your work and named as joint copyright holder.
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©
Marc Prior, 2008