January 2012
8 posts
Download your WebTranslateIt TermBase as a TBX...
I pushed a few improvements to the TermBase. One of these improvements is the ability to download your TermBase as a TBX File.
TBX (TermBase eXchange) is an industry standard for exchanging glossaries between translation tools.
The green button will let you download all the language pairs in a single TBX file. You can also download specific language pairs by clicking on the small button to...
New API endpoints: zip_file and top_translators
I added two new API endpoints to WebTranslateIt’s API lately: zip_file and top_translators.
The zip_file endpoint serves all your project’s language files as a zip archive. It also takes an optional ?locale=xx parameter to serve all your project’s language files for in a specific locale. This feature has been added to the File Manager as well.
The top_translators endpoint serves a list of most...
WordReference Integration
WebTranslateIt’s integrated dictionary just got updated and now use WordReference.com as a source.
WordReference is one of the best dictionary website on the web and is well-liked among the translator’s community. It is now perfectly integrated to WebTranslateIt, so you can lookup words without leaving the translation interface.
Even better: you can request a definition for any word in the...
New in WebTranslateIt: Top Translators
I just released Top Translators. This feature is a page which ranks the most active translators on a project. This is useful to reward the most active contributors on open-source or crowd-sourced translation projects.
You can filter this list by team, or see the user’s ranking across all language teams.
I hope you will find this feature useful. Thank you for using WebTranslateIt.
1 tag
TermBase API
I just released an important update to WebTranslateIt’s API.
This update gives you full control on your project TermBase, its terms and its translations. It adds 8 new endpoints:
The TermBase API gets 5 endpoints: List, Show, Create, Update, and Delete.
The TermBase Translation API gets 3 endpoints: List, Create and Update.
You can use this API to import and export all the terms and...
1 tag
New in WebTranslateIt: Autosave, WebHooks, new...
I rolled out a few improvements to WebTranslateIt this week: Autosave, Webhooks, new keyboard shortcuts…
Autosave
Autosave is a new option available in the translation toolbar.
It’s turned off by default. When you turn it on, translations are automatically saved as you type them. No need to click on save or type the Ctrl+s keyboard shortcut.
WebHooks
You can now setup a WebHook to...
1 tag
Support for Adobe FrameMaker .mif files and beta...
WebTranslateIt now supports Adobe FrameMaker .mif files.
.mif (Maker Interchange Format) is a proprietary markup language associated with Adobe’s FrameMaker product for technical document preparation.
I am also currently testing support for LaTeX documents, a widely used file format in academia.
WebTranslateIt now supports more than 34 different linguistic file formats.
1 tag
New Batch operations: Translate Complete Matches...
I added 2 new batch operations to WebTranslateIt: Translate complete matches and Add Label.
Translate complete matches is a batch operation that looks for repetitions within your project (repetitions are segments matching entirely another segment which is already translated). When possible, this batch operation automatically translates the segment using the project translation memory. When no...
December 2011
6 posts
1 tag
Support for Docbook
WebTranslateIt now supports Docbook files.
Docbook files are intended to be used for writing technical documents related to computer hardware and software but it can be used for any other sort of documentation.
Docbook is one of the 32 different linguistic file formats you can translate with WebTranslateIt.
i18next →
i18next is a third-party i18n Javascript library you might find useful for localizing Javascript in your application.
Add the i18next.js after the jquery JavaScript.
<script type="text/javascript" src="jquery-1.6.4.min.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="i18next-[version].js"></script>
Add your resourcefile under /locales/en-US/translation.json....
1 tag
web_translate_it rubygem v1.9.2 released
I just released a new version of the web_translate_it gem, the open-source synchronization tool for Web Translate It.
This version 1.9.2 introduces a few bug fixes and improvements.
Improvements
wti now includes a library to connect to the String and Translation APIs. This improvement was contributed by @bray.
This greatly facilitates building tools around WebTranslateIt to manipulate...
API Update
Following last month’s API update, I added a new endpoint to WebTranslateIt’s String API: String List.
This new endpoint lets you query your project and fetch strings. You can query by key name, label, category names, status, creation date and file.
The String Create endpoint was also improved: you can now create Translations while creating a String by passing an optional array of...
Proofreading enhancements
I just improved the proofreading feature of WebTranslateIt. I added the ability to attribute proofreading rights to translators, and the ability to proofread empty translations in a very simple way.
Proofreading rights
When inviting a translator, you can now choose whether or not this translator has proofreading rights in the translation interface.
As usual, the translation interface with...
Support for iPhone and CakePHP file structures
I just improved the algorithm used to automatically create target project files names depending on the master project file name.
When you create a new file in WebTranslateIt, WebTranslateIt automatically chooses a target file name for you. For instance, if you translate from English to French and Italian, this file name:
en.yml
Will automatically create and keep in sync:
fr.yml
it.yml
...
November 2011
13 posts
File encoding detection improvements — Hello,...
Today I released an update to WebTranslateIt to improve the file encoding detection.
Until today our file encoding detection strategy was using the character encoding detector rchardet when we couldn’t reliably determine the character encoding of a file. The thing is, rchardet was an unmaintained ruby library, so I forked it and maintained it myself.
It was all jolly good, except rchardet...
1 tag
web_translate_it rubygem v1.9.0 released
I just released a new version of the web_translate_it gem, the open-source synchronization tool for Web Translate It.
This version 1.9.0 essentially deprecates and removes the wti server command. This command was introducing a dependency on the web server Sinatra, which is far from desirable when including web_translate_it on a Rails application.
If you need wti server, don’t worry: this...
Improvement to the translation highlighter
I just released another update following last week’s update to the syntactic highlighter so now just any word can be clicked and paste to the translation box.
This is great for translating product names, code, HTML…
HTML blocks:
Words:
Code:
Fine-tuning Translation Memory Suggestions
A few weeks ago, I blogged about the recent changes to the Translation Memory server: new ranking algorithm, aberrations removal and pushing the 100% matches to the top.
This morning I added a setting to fine-tune the translation memory matching, based on ranking. At the bottom of the translation interface, in the toolbar, you will find a new selector:
It lets you choose the minimum level...
1 tag
WTIpress v0.0.3
I just released a new version of WTIpress, the Wordpress gateway for WebTranslateIt. The current version hits 0.0.3.
This new version adds the ability to manage languages from WTIpress, and fixes one bug.
If you already use an older version of WTIpress, the update should show up on your dashboard.
Support for Microsoft Windows .rc files
I just added support for Microsoft Windows .rc files to WebTranslateIt.
Windows .rc files are widely used for localizing translatable text, dialogs, menus for Windows applications.
WebTranslateIt now helps you translate over 31 different linguistic file formats.
WebTranslateIt’s Changelog
I only write a blog post when I release important features to WebTranslateIt. There are actually quite a lot of changes released to the website everyday: bug fixes to the different linguistic file importers, internal changes, small user interface improvements, …
You can view WebTranslateIt’s changelog at this address: http://changelog.webtranslateit.com
Support for PHP Define files, MicroDVD .sub and...
I just added support for 3 new file formats.
PHP Define files
I added support for PHP array files months ago. You can now import PHP Define files, which are also popular for localising PHP applications.
MicroDVD and Subviewer subtitle files
In addition to the existing YouTube .sbv and Subrip .srt files, WebTranslateIt now support MicroDVD and SubViewer 2.0 .sub files.
This makes a grand...
2 tags
Translate large chunks of code with ease
Strings sometimes contain quite a lot of untranslatable content. URLs, HTML tags, code… For translators, translating these strings really are a pain, because the content is not translatable, but there also shouldn’t be any mistakes while retyping it.
I just released an update that should make translating strings containing untranslatable content more fun. Let’s have a look at how it...
API Update
I just released an important update to WebTranslateIt’s API.
The focus of this update is to give you full control on your strings and translations. The update adds 8 new endpoints:
The File API gets a new Delete File endpoint, to delete a master language file.
The Locale API gets a new Delete Locale endpoint, to delete a locale from a project.
We now have a new String API, which allows you...
1 tag
web_translate_it rubygem v1.8.3 released
I just released a new version of the web_translate_it gem, the open-source synchronization tool for Web Translate It.
This release fixes several minor bugs. The web_translate_it gem now adheres to semantic versioning, which is why this release number is made of only 3 digits.
Install or Upgrade
To install web_translate_it, please refer to the gem documentation.
To upgrade web_translate_it...
Support for TMX files
WebTranslateIt now supports Translation Memory Exchange (TMX) files.
TMX is an open XML standard for the exchange of translation memory data created by computer-aided translation and localization tools.
We now support over 27 different linguistic file formats.
1 tag
Support for Babel Flash .xml files
WebTranslateIt now supports Babel Flash .xml files.
Babel Flash is a smart library to localize Flash projects. As its creator describes it:
Babel Flash is a free AS3 library whose goal is to make localizing your flash projects easier. It handles loading external font swfs and replace graphics and text on the fly. Setting it up can both be done programmatically or in the IDE, so it’s both...
October 2011
7 posts
1 tag
Translation Memory improvements
I just released another round of improvements to the translation memory server.
New ranking algorithm
The most important change is the matching algorithm. For the nitty-gritty details, the translation memory was previously using the BM25 algorithm. We now use another algorithm, which is a mix of BM25 with exact phrase matching. I’ve been using it for a few weeks now, and it gives much better...
3 tags
Introducing WTIpress, a Wordpress plugin for...
Today I am introducing WTIpress. WTIpress is a free Wordpress plugin for WebTranslateIt that makes your blog multilingual in a few clicks.
It syncs with WebTranslateIt.com and lets you translate your blog posts and pages using the WebTranslateIt.com service, and then lets you publish the translated posts.
This is great tool, especially if you already use WebTranslateIt.com to translate your...
1 tag
New embeddable charts
We’ve had embeddable charts for years now, but it was then only possible to embbed them for public projects (these are projects have all pages accessible to the public and allowing visitors to apply as a translator).
We now have new charts embeddable for just any project. Here’s mine:
You’ll find the new charts in your project settings, under “Goodies”.
2 tags
New in WebTranslateIt: Translation Resources
Translation Resources is a new feature to fine-tune the content of your Translation Memory.
In the project settings, you’ll find 2 new settings under the “Translation Resources” tab.
Fine-tuneable Project Translation Memory
Your Project Translation Memory is now configurable.
Select the projects you want to re-use, and suggestions from these projects will be displayed as you...
Changes to the machine translation and support for...
There was a lot of chatter about Google closing its Google Translate API recently. In fact, Google won’t shut down their API but will turn it as a paying service on the first of December.
It doesn’t make a financial sense for me to keep supporting this API for all WebTranslateIt customers, so I decided to make this machine translation service optional, and to add another optional machine...
Maintenance window on Saturday, October 8th 10AM...
Web Translate It will be unavailable for about 10 minutes tomorrow Saturday, October 8th, 10:00 CET as I move the service to our new host Softlayer.
Softlayer’s network and connectivity is entirely redundant and renown to be excellent. This will make Web Translate It’s website even more reliable and accessible to users.
UPDATE: We’ll postpone the server migration to another day, as I am stuck...
R.I.P, Steve
I’m saddened to learn of Steve Jobs’ passing. He inspired generations of people to do great things. He certainly inspired me in what I do today.
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just...
September 2011
4 posts
1 tag
API update: new public API token and JSONP support
I just released an update to WebTranslateIt’s API, which now accept two API keys for a project:
the usual private token, which authenticates read and write API endpoints,
a public token, which only authenticates read API endpoints.
Developers should use the new public token to develop features where the API token will be exposed (when developing a Javascript client for instance). You’ll find...
1 tag
Get the most out of developer comments
Developer comments are instructions or help for translators left by developers in a locale file.
They are very different from regular comments. Comments are meant to be used for discussion, whereas developer comments as meant to be used for leaving a brief instruction to a translator.
When importing most language files, WebTranslateIt automatically extracts these developer comments and...
1 tag
Translation Suggestions 2.0
I just released a large update to WebTranslateIt’s translation suggestion system. What’s new?
Term Base Integration
Translation suggestions now integrate with the Term Base. What’s the Term Base? It’s a glossary of recurrent terms in your project. You can read more about it here.
When a term from your term base is detected, the translation interface will automatically pull its translation for...
web_translate_it gem v1.8.2.0 released
I just released a new version of the web_translate_it gem, the open-source synchronization tool for Web Translate It.
This release brings one important speed improvement, as well as an important change in the configuration file.
Speed Improvements
This release use threads to download files. It means the tool can now download several files in parallel, which makes for faster syncs. The amount...
August 2011
3 posts
1 tag
Another improvement to the Translation Validation...
I just released another improvement to the translation validation feature in Web Translate It.
The new translation validation system now checks whether line breaks in the translation text matches the ones in the source copy.
For instance, if the source copy contains a line break:
And we attempt to save a translation that contains no line break:
The improved translation validation...
1 tag
Advanced Tip: Manually set a file encoding
Web Translate It automatically detects your file’s character encoding. I already wrote a blog post on how it works under the hood.
If the encoding of one of your file is wrongly detected or if you would like to change your encoding, there is an advanced —and somewhat hidden— option to set a specific encoding directly from the file manager.
Here’s how to do it. In the File Manager, hover the...
1 tag
Improved translation validation feature
I just released an improvement to the translation validation feature in Web Translate It.
The translation validation feature checks whether the variables in the target copy are matching the ones in the source copy and prevents the translator from saving a broken string.
While this feature is really useful and prevented translators from saving countless broken strings, many translators were...
July 2011
3 posts
1 tag
Tip: Remove a label in batch
Project managers can remove a label applied to several strings in batch. This is useful to quickly remove a label which is no longer relevant.
To remove a label, click on “Filters”, then on the “Labels” button.
Click on a “delete” button to remove a label.
1 tag
Tip: Quickly invert source and target locale
Click on the » symbol on Web Translate It’s translation interface to quickly invert the locales displayed in the translation interface.
Let’s switch from “English to French” to “French to English”:
I can now read the French copy and edit the English text.
1 tag
New in Web Translate It: Translation validations
I just added translation validations checks to Web Translate It.
When translating software, language files often contain what we call “interpolated variables” among the text to translate. In this segment for instance:
%{person_name} could not be found.
%{person_name} is a variable. The text of the variable shouldn’t be translated and exactly match the source text, or it will break the...
June 2011
8 posts
1 tag
Downtime post-mortem: June 21st
At 07:11 AM GMT today Web Translate It wasn’t responding. I was immediately notified, woke up and noticed the server wasn’t reachable by any means.
I immediately reported back on Twitter and contacted our hosting company, DigitalOne in order to know if they were having issues.
The word from the hosting company was that the service disruption was due to a bug one of their core routers and they...
web_translate_it gem v1.8.1.2 released
I just released a new version of the web_translate_it gem, the synchronization tool for Web Translate It.
This release fixes 2 bugs happening when running wti under Microsoft Windows.
Here’s the changelog:
Bug fix: Disable colors when running under MS Windows. #58
Bug fix: Don’t verify SSL certificate when running under MS Windows. #57
Install or Upgrade
To install web_translate_it,...
1 tag
File encoding detection improvements
Today I released an update to Web Translate It to improve the file encoding detection.
Internally, Web Translate It use UTF-8, but we have to accept files of any file encoding. This is needed because while most files are UTF-8 encoded, Java .properties files are ISO 8859-1 encoded, while Apple .strings are sometimes UTF-16LE encoded. We also support uploading text files which can have any...
1 tag
Now testing: support for Microsoft Word .docx and...
Web Translate It works pretty well to translate software language files. Could it translate documents too?
Web Translate It now supports for 2 new file formats: Microsoft Word .docx and Powerpoint .pptx. Note that we currently don’t support the older Microsoft Word .doc and Powerpoint .ppt.
The biggest challenge for supporting these files is to minimise the amount of Open XML’s infamous “tag...
1 tag
Support for SubRip .srt subtitle files
Web Translate It now support .srt subtitle files.
The SubRip .srt file format is supported by most software video players.
You can now use your favourite translation tool to translate subtitles for your screencast or any other video using subtitles.
1 tag
web_translate_it gem v1.8.1.0 released
I just released a new version of the web_translate_it gem. Get it while it’s hot!
Here’s the changelog:
Bug fix: translation.yml file wasn’t created on new projects.
New: Gracefully quit on interrupt.
New command: wti match. Displays files matching with the File Manager.
Improved help commands.
Upgrade multipart-post dependency.
Replace rainbow dependency by ansi, which can also format...