Splitting large Word document Thread poster: bendksu
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bendksu 
Thailand
Local time: 18:15
Member (2011)
Danish to English
+ ...
Hi,
I have an 80 page MS Word document, where we are two translators, who will be working on this using Trados Studio 2011.
Since the document is so large, I want to divide the 80-page Word document into 4 single Word documents, so that I can portion them out and each of the two translators can take 2 smaller documents each.
What is the best way to do this? I have spent hours trying to divide this large document using the Outline tool in Word, but I cannot get it ... See more Hi,
I have an 80 page MS Word document, where we are two translators, who will be working on this using Trados Studio 2011.
Since the document is so large, I want to divide the 80-page Word document into 4 single Word documents, so that I can portion them out and each of the two translators can take 2 smaller documents each.
What is the best way to do this? I have spent hours trying to divide this large document using the Outline tool in Word, but I cannot get it to work.
Are there other ways of doing this....so that the formatting and heading is retained...and that when I have the translated files, I can piece them together again to create the large 80-page translated file (single file)?
Thanks,
Bendksu ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tony M
France
Local time: 18:15
Member
French to English
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | It may seem obvious, but... | Oct 16, 2012 |
...why can't you just create 4 copies of the document, and then delete from each the unnecessary part? I have used this technique before and never had any problems.
As for the paragraph numbering etc., even though it will be messed up in each of the individual documents, surely it ought to go back OK when you re-assemble them?
| | | | bendksu
Thailand
Local time: 18:15
Member (2011)
Danish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks. I am considering this solution....cutting and pasting into four documents....but does anyone know how:
a) will the formatting come back together, when I put the document back together?
b) will this affect the generation of the table of contents in the final document?
Thanks.
bendksu
| | | | Tony M
France
Local time: 18:15
Member
French to English
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | As far as I know... | Oct 16, 2012 |
Everything should go back together OK, AS LONG AS the document was properly, cleanly formatted from the outset.
If the TOC uses the styles to determine the levels of hierarchy and the contents, then when you update it at the end, everything should be normal; the same for paragraph numbering and bookmarks, as long as you don't make other changes affecting them.
However, I would suggest NOT copying and pasting into fresh documents, but rather doing the opposite, as I said... See more Everything should go back together OK, AS LONG AS the document was properly, cleanly formatted from the outset.
If the TOC uses the styles to determine the levels of hierarchy and the contents, then when you update it at the end, everything should be normal; the same for paragraph numbering and bookmarks, as long as you don't make other changes affecting them.
However, I would suggest NOT copying and pasting into fresh documents, but rather doing the opposite, as I said before: taking 4 copies of the original document, and simply deleting the unwanted parts. In fact, when I have worked in this way before, I haven't even deleted the unwanted parts, I simply used a grey highlight to indicate to the other translators which parts they were not to touch. This created a little more work putting it all back together again, but did at least mean that each translator had the entire document to refer to if necessary. This was a 150+ pp document with a team of around 8 translators.
[Edited at 2012-10-16 19:46 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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| I would suggest NOT to delete anything... | Oct 16, 2012 |
Tony M wrote:
Everything should go back together OK, AS LONG AS the document was properly, cleanly formatted from the outset.
If the TOC uses the styles to determine the levels of hierarchy and the contents, then when you update it at the end, everything should be normal; the same for paragraph numbering and bookmarks, as long as you don't make other changes affecting them.
However, I would suggest NOT copying and pasting into fresh documents, but rather doing the opposite, as I said before: taking 4 copies of the original document, and simply deleting the unwanted parts. In fact, when I have worked in this way before, I haven't even deleted the unwanted parts, I simply used a grey highlight to indicate to the other translators which parts they were not to touch. This created a little more work putting it all back together again, but did at least mean that each translator had the entire document to refer to if necessary. This was a 150+ pp document with a team of around 8 translators.
[Edited at 2012-10-16 19:46 GMT]
... because Word (like ladies...) has its own misterious (to poor ignorant me!...) ways. When you delete the top part, lots of formatting goes to pot, and pasting the pieces back together often doesn't work.
It's easier and safer to simply draw a line of asterisks (I use red colour for them) to separate each part for each translator. It also gives the whole document to all of them to keep as reference when translating other parts. Then it is easy to do a copy-paste replacing the original text, one part at the time. My 2 cents worth...
| | | | | Make a pdf file | Oct 17, 2012 |
and then split it into as many smaller pdf files as you wish.
Each translator will then convert them into Word files. Then each translator translates the file, and afterwards you convert them back to pdf files. Finally, you just merge these pdf files back into a single one pdf file.
This pdf file is then converted into a single Word file.
Too clumsy, but still, in case you have a straight text in your Word, this may help.
I sometimes use thi... See more and then split it into as many smaller pdf files as you wish.
Each translator will then convert them into Word files. Then each translator translates the file, and afterwards you convert them back to pdf files. Finally, you just merge these pdf files back into a single one pdf file.
This pdf file is then converted into a single Word file.
Too clumsy, but still, in case you have a straight text in your Word, this may help.
I sometimes use this method.
[Edited at 2012-10-17 07:07 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jaroslaw Michalak
Poland
Local time: 18:15
Member (2004)
English to Polish
SITE LOCALIZER | Do not split | Oct 17, 2012 |
If they are using Studio, do not split the document at all... Let everyone translate their part without touching the rest of the segments, then merge TMs and translate the whole document again. Formatting must be done on the whole document anyway, as formatting/layout changes done in the partial documents might not work well when they are put together again.
Moreover, the advantage is that they still are able to filter/search other segments, which might provide useful context.
... See more If they are using Studio, do not split the document at all... Let everyone translate their part without touching the rest of the segments, then merge TMs and translate the whole document again. Formatting must be done on the whole document anyway, as formatting/layout changes done in the partial documents might not work well when they are put together again.
Moreover, the advantage is that they still are able to filter/search other segments, which might provide useful context.
[Edited at 2012-10-17 07:29 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I wouldn't split anything | Oct 17, 2012 |
I would send the whole document to everybody involved in the project.
The instruction 'translate lines 1-124 only' is not hard to understand...
Don't forget, sometimes the content of the last chapter, i.e. 'Definitions', may be crucial for understanding of the first chapters
Without it the first chapters may be translated wrong.
[Edited at 2012-10-17 07:52 GMT]
[Edited at 2012-10-17 07:53 GMT]
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 18:15
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| You'd be suprised... | Oct 17, 2012 |
Sergei Tumanov wrote:
The instruction "translate lines 1-124 only" is not hard to understand...
That's what you'd think, right? Hard experience shows otherwise.
| | | | | I am not surprised at all | Oct 17, 2012 |
:0)
However, it's normal to suppose that a file to translate is sent to those colleages who have passed preliminary screening and have proved that they can read.
| | | | Tony M
France
Local time: 18:15
Member
French to English
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | Not deleting | Oct 17, 2012 |
Pompeo Lattanzi wrote:
I would suggest NOT to delete anything...
I personally have never experienced this particular problem (though using Word 2003); the greatest danger as I see it would come from pasing the text into a fresh document, where the same template may not have been used, and hence styles etc. might well be lost.
However, as I said, my own preference too is for sending the entire document to each translator, marked up appropriately for their respective sections. The advantage of doing it as I suggested, using some thing like grey highlight, is that in Wordfast this can be assigned as the 'untranslatable' attribute, hence the CAT tool will just ignore it.
It is of course also much more empowering for each translator to be able to read the whole document, since terminological mysteries in one section are so often explained elswhere in the document.
I only suggested the deletion approach as the asker seemed for some reason to be concerned about the physical size of the document — personally, even on my ancient steam-powered PC, I don't have any problem working on documents of this size.
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