clever workaround: TRADOS Workbench and PS code frames

["Jason Aiken" <jason.aiken@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In a clever display of genius, an esteemed colleague, Plamen Djambazov, has crafted a solution to this issue that appears to be remarkably clean.

As you recall, PS codes on the first master page (used in conjunction with TimeSavers to tweak PDF output) were appearing in the translation stream destined for the TRADOS software.

Conditional text can "hide" the code prior to the translation process, but still requires manual intervention before and after the conversion to TRADOS software. Using TimeSavers and a controlled environment, one can also reference external text files containing the codes. Unfortunately, neither of these possibilities were seen as desirable by all parties involved in the process.

After observing that the TRADOS software does not recognize data stored on the FrameMaker reference pages, Plamen developed and verified the following workaround:

1. Create an empty graphic frame on the Reference page and assign it a name.
2. Inside the graphic frame, create a text frame containing the desired PDFmark commands.
3. In Object > Properties, assign the text frame to be PS pass-through code by selecting the PS Code checkbox.
4. On the first master page used by the Frame template, build an empty text frame with an empty para return.
5. Assign that empty para a unique paragraph tag name.
6. Use the Paragraph Designer advanced property to "Use rule above/below" and select the graphic frame built in step 1.

The PDFmark code still affects the PDF output, but does no longer carries over to the ancillary.rtf file for Workbench.

Thanks to Plamen for coming up with the rare win-win solution. That's what I call thinking outside the text frame.

Have a good weekend all,
Jason

********************
   Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 13:49:32 -0600
   From: "Jason Aiken" <jason.aiken@medtronic.com>
Subject: TRADOS Workbench and PS code frames

This question applies only to those who use both TRADOS translation memory
software and PostScript and/or PDFmark code in PS code text frames on the
FrameMaker master pages. Apologies for the cross-post, for I am neither
angry nor made of wood.

We've noticed that the PDFmark tags come out in the ancillary.rtf files as:
<ps "" 36>

The PDFmark commands and their values are treated as legally translatable
text. Unfortunately, the PostScript interpreters do not take well to the
commands coming across in any language other than English.

Moreover, PS coordinates with decimals get converted to commas, rendering
the PAGES command useless. We've worked around this by using whole numbers,
but are still faced with the greater dilemma.

The command text also counts against our word count and increases
translation costs.

I've heard of TRADOS Tag Editor's ability for users to tweak an .ini
file---allowing the software to lock or ignore structural SGML elements.

Does Workbench have that same capability? Does anyone have any ideas?


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