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I switched to Sisulizer. Can I re-use translations from my old localization tool in Sisulizer?

Sure, Sisulizer can import translations from all known formats used by advanced localization tools to store and exchange localization resources. You don’t lose your work if your old localization tool supports at least one of below described formats. Simple, open your localization project in your old tool and export resources to this format. Next use Sisulizer’s import feature. That’s all.

List of supported import formats

• Borland Translation Repository file – Imports data from a Borland Translation Repository file. Use this if you want to import data from ITE’s translation storage (.xml).
• Comma Separated Value file – Imports data from a CSV file (.csv). CSV files are used by many software companies to create their own repositories for storing translations and other resources. It was also used by Microsoft. Currently Microsoft still use CSV extension for repository files, but format is different, and for this reason we also have Microsoft Glossary files for files with this extension.
• Database table – Imports data from a database table.
• EDICT dictionary file – Imports data from an EDICT file. The file contains Japanese-English dictionary.
• Excel file – Imports data from a selected range from Excel sheet (.xls). Personally, I don’t like this format for storing translation resources, but it is still used by many companies.
  Microsoft glossary file – Imports data from a Microsoft Glossary file (.csv).
  Note! This has the same file extension as Comma Separated Value files but the format is different. Read more about importing text and CSV files.
• Multilizer dictionary file – Imports data from a Multilizer binary dictionary file (.mld).
• Multilizer project file – Imports data from a Multilizer project file (.mpr or .m7p). More information about import from Multilizer projects you can find in the corresponding topic of our online help.
• PO file pair – Imports data from a PO file (.po). GNU Gettext standard is often used for Linux based solution, so this option opens Sisulizer also for resources unavailable for Windows platforms. Here is a link to Gettext website.
• Regular expression defined text file – Imports data from a text file containing several columns. CSV files also can be imported in this way, but I recommend use for CSV file above described import options, that is, “Comma Separated Value files” or “Microsoft Glossary files”.
• TMX file – Imports data from a TMX file. Translation Memory Exchange (TMX) format is standard used by all important localization software and CAT tool. The purpose of TMX is to allow easier exchange of translation memory data between tools and/or translation vendors with little or no loss of critical data during the process. In existence since 1998, TMX is a certifiable standard format. TMX is developed and maintained by OSCAR (Open Standards for Container/Content Allowing Re-use), a LISA Special Interest Group. More information about TMX format you can find on this LISA website. Sisulizer supports all versions of TMX (1.1 – 2.0).  So, you can import translations from all TMX files generated by various localization and translation tools.
• XLIFF file – Imports data from a XLIFF file. XLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File Format) is an XML localization. XLIFF was standardized by OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) in 2002. More information about XLIFF specification you can find on this OASIS website. XLIFF standard is supported by many localization tools and additional is often used s localization solution for non-Windows applications, e.g. web application based on Linux, so this option open Sisulizer also on resources unavailable for Windows platforms.

That’s not all. For some above described formats you can even create Sisulizer projects! So you can directly localize some projects/translation resources created by other localization tools instead import it. Sisulizer supports following file types as sources for Sisulizer’s projects:

• Comma Separated Value
• PO
• Regular expression defined text
• TMX
• XLIFF

Of course, for all these file types you can use all existed translations from source files.

Hints

1. If you have some Multilizer project you don’t need to create a new Sisulizer project before import. Simply start Sisulizer, go to “File” menu -> “Open”, and select your Multilizer project. It opens special import wizard dedicated only for Multilizer projects. It allows you in an easy way create Sisulizer project with all sources, translations etc. included to Multilizer project. Sisulizer even imports translations statuses.

2. You should take care of sublanguage extensions. Sisulizer can import translations when language names are matched and it also concern country extensions. For example if you want import “German” translations from your PO or TMX file, you can do it for “German” language in your Sisulizer project, but not for “German (Germany)” etc.. Sometimes some localization tools use non standard language identifiers and it also can cause troubles with import. For example Multilizer saves Norwegian Bokmål resources to TMX file with “no” extension, while standard is “nb” and Sisulizer use this standard. In this case you should edit TMX file (this is XML file) with any advanced text editor and replace all “no” occurrences with “nb”, e.g. <tuv xml:lang=”no”> to <tuv xml:lang=”nb”>.

3. Sisulizer can also save context values to TMX file, but most CAT tools can’t do it. So, when you try import translations from TMX file created by Sisulizer, you can select all method of import, that is, “By context”, “By value” and “By context first then by value”. If your TMX file doesn’t contains context values you can use during import only “By value” option.

Janusz

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