Technical forums » Trados support »
'time out' , 'doc files chaníng automatically into rtf', 'very slow TW' ... '
Thread poster: Birthe Omark
Birthe Omark
Birthe Omark  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 21:23
Member (2006)
French to Danish
+ ...
Oct 21, 2007

Hi,

I have received er really wicked PDF-file consisting of a number of documents. Some with stamps across text or hand-written komments.
The documets are expert comments relating to a civil court hearing, and the request is to 'retain the format' !
I am using a powerful PDF transformer (ABBEY), and with corrections to unrecognisable words and ingoring tables, isolating 'images' I manage to get a pretty good word file.
Size approx 180 kb .. then I change a coupel ... See more
Hi,

I have received er really wicked PDF-file consisting of a number of documents. Some with stamps across text or hand-written komments.
The documets are expert comments relating to a civil court hearing, and the request is to 'retain the format' !
I am using a powerful PDF transformer (ABBEY), and with corrections to unrecognisable words and ingoring tables, isolating 'images' I manage to get a pretty good word file.
Size approx 180 kb .. then I change a coupel of things. and Wupti.. the file has transformed itself into a 1800 kb rtf !
When translating in workbench, it works alright at the beginning, and I jump manually all problem areas.

But as I move along, everything gets incredibly slow, and I get 'time out' messages when I ask for a segment and again when I want to close and get a new...

And then i crashes, and nothing barges with a segment open !

I am baffeled and have been struggeling far beyond what can be justified in this job.

Can anybody come up with solutions ?

1) why the automatic change to rtf + boosting of file
2) why the 'time out'
3) why the messages .. this is not allowed in asyncronic mode - or something to that effect .


Maybe working in tag-editor is less heavy. The problem is, that I constantly see errors from the conversion which I hadn't picked up in the reading. The job is of about 6000 words.

Thanks in advance
Birthe ▲ Collapse
 
Peter Linton (X)
Peter Linton (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 20:23
Swedish to English
+ ...
WordPad / NotePad Oct 21, 2007

Birthe Omark wrote:
Can anybody come up with solutions ?

I have had quite a few PDF files like this, and there are no easy solutions.
The first thing I would do is to clean up the file in WordPad or even Notepad. Copy your text (less the final paragraph mark) and paste it into a new WordPad file (with a new name), save the WordPad file as RTF, then open it in Word. See if that is better.

If not, do it in Notepad (save as TXT). This will delete the graphics, which are likely to be part of your problem. But at least you can then translate the text.

Tell the customer that you will do your best to preserve the format, but PDF files always present problems, particularly graphics files. They may be surprised to hear this, but customers need to be educated about PDF files. They usually have no idea about the potential difficulties.

I have been through the same learning code as you, and these days I tell customers that there is a surcharge for handling PDF files, sometimes 100% for really difficult PDF files. Sometimes they agree, sometimes I lose the business and they give it instead to someone like you. That suits me just fine.
 
Birthe Omark
Birthe Omark  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 21:23
Member (2006)
French to Danish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
word pad / note pad Oct 21, 2007

Hello Peter,

Thank you for yuour comments.. you write this:

Copy your text (less the final paragraph mark)..

Why less the final paragraph mark ? it seems that when I tried to get rid of a very scrambled and I deleted the final paragraph mark, was when TWB refused to do anything..


And yes .. there is indeed a payment issue ! An increase of 10% for formatting, was far below the reality ! But done is done, and the customer (an agency, mind... See more
Hello Peter,

Thank you for yuour comments.. you write this:

Copy your text (less the final paragraph mark)..

Why less the final paragraph mark ? it seems that when I tried to get rid of a very scrambled and I deleted the final paragraph mark, was when TWB refused to do anything..


And yes .. there is indeed a payment issue ! An increase of 10% for formatting, was far below the reality ! But done is done, and the customer (an agency, mind you) has promised to try to get some better material.

I'll trot along following your advise - but isn't is annoying how much such problems take possession of your mind, when your thoughts and hours should go to making good translations.

Best regards
Birthe ▲ Collapse
 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Natalie[Call to this topic]
Myron Netchypor[Call to this topic]
Marco Ramón[Call to this topic]
Maya Gorgoshidze[Call to this topic]
Prachya Mruetusatorn[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

'time out' , 'doc files chaníng automatically into rtf', 'very slow TW' ... '







TM-Town
Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business

Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.

More info »
Anycount & Translation Office 3000
Translation Office 3000

Translation Office 3000 is an advanced accounting tool for freelance translators and small agencies. TO3000 easily and seamlessly integrates with the business life of professional freelance translators.

More info »