LOCALIZATION UTILITIES
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Ad-aware |
Lavasoft Ad-aware is a free multi-spyware removal utility
that scans your computer's memory, registry, and hard drives for known spyware and
scumware components and lets you remove them safely. Not a localization utility per
se, Ad-aware is highly recommended for anyone who spends an appreciable amount of
time on line. Be sure to download
RefUpdate as well: RefUpdate is a freeware add-on that searches for and installs
Ad-aware spyware reference file updates.
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Do you have ideas/suggestions for this page?
If so, please let me know!
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Alchemy CATALYST QuickShip |
Alchemy CATALYST QuickShip Environment is a freeware
translation companion to the Alchemy CATALYST Developer/Pro Edition (arguably
THE industry-standard software localization tool). Quickship allows
translators to work with CATALYST toolkits (TTKs), and provides visual editors and
interactive validators to ensure that the translation process is fast, smooth, and
error-free.
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The American Translators Association |
The American Translators Association website contains information about the translation
profession, ATA accreditation, ATA chapters and local groups, etc.
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aquarius.net |
Aquarius.net is a European portal for freelancer translators, translation
agencies, and those in need of their services.
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CAT (Computer-Aided Translation) & TM) Translation Memory Tools |
Cypresoft Trans Suite 2000
Déjà vu
Lionbridge Foreign Desk
(open source)
SDL International SDLX Translation Suite
STAR Transit
Trados Translator's Workbench (not that you need to
visit the website...)
Wordfast
For a more exhaustive list of CAT/TM tools, with links to download demo/trial versions,
visit The Translator's Home Companion Tools Garage.
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Copernic
Agent Professional |
Copernic Agent Pro is a great search tool for Web power users.
More than 1000 search engines in 120 specialized and language or and country-based
categories.
From a single query, consult multiple search engines at once, combine results, remove
duplicates and keep only the very best of the information gathered from queried search engines.
Create your own customized search categories using available engines. Mix categories and
engines to create your perfectly targeted search categories and create a list of favorite
categories for quick access.
Integrates seamlessly with Internet Explorer and MS Office by adding a toolbar that
allows you to access a search query box directly within these programs. The IE toolbar
also includes keyword highlighting and seeking functions within browsed pages, and even
a "Track this Page" shortcut.
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Dr. International's
Developing International Software, 2nd Ed. (Microsoft Press) |
The long-awaited update to Nadine Kano's 1995 reference work is
slated for October release. Designed for anyone who wants to write world-ready code
for the Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows XP platforms, Developing International
Software explains how to localize applications easily and inexpensively, determine
important culture-specific issues, avoid international pitfalls and legal issues, use the
best technologies and coding practices, and more. Updated and new topics include:
Globalization; Localizability; Localization and Testing; and Tools and Technologies.
Highly recommended for those working in software internationalization and/or localization.
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Eurodicautom |
The European Terminology Database.
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The Eurotexte Portal for Professional Translators |
A good centralized source for terminology, international news, multilingual
dictionaries, meta search engines, etc.
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Foreignword.com |
Foreignword.com is a lexical portal that provides access to over 200
online dictionaries (in 69 languages) and over 4,000 glossaries grouped by domain and
language.
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Help Decompilers |
WinHelp
HELPDECO v2.1
HELPDECO is a free command-line Help file decompiler and internal file
extractor. Note: unless you are proficient with and comfortable using command-line
utilities, I'd recommend that you download and use the Help Compiler Shell to run HELPDECO
(see below). If you don't know what a command-line utility is, then you should DEFINITELY
download and use the Help Compiler Shell!
Help
Decompiler Shell
Help Decompiler Shell is a "point-and-shoot" GUI for HELPDECO. The company that
produces this software has suspended operations pending sale or transfer of assets. However,
you may still download and use Help Decompiler Shell indefinitely in its free trial
form.
Together, HELPDECO and the Help Decompiler Shell allow you complete access to
the internals of Windows RTF-based HLP files, permitting complete decompilation to
fully-recompilable source code, including RTF-formatted text and all included bitmaps,
or extraction of specific files or data contained within a help file.
HTML Help
KeyTools
KeyTools extracts the source files from a compiled HTML Help (.chm) or
compiled Internet Explorer (.its) file. You can also use KeyTools to recreate a project
file (.hhp file) or recompile a help system. Like HELPDECO and the Help Decompiler Shell,
KeyTools is free.
For additional info on free Help authoring, manual and documentation writing tools,
visit
thefreecountry.com.
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IBM developerWorks Glossary of Unicode Terms |
A glossary developed by IBM international software researchers to
help define the key issues associated with software internationalization.
Click here to view the glossary in PDF format
(right-click to download).
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IconForge |
Use IconForge to create or change icons, cursors, animated cursors,
and icon libraries for Windows. Optimized for editing small images, you will find a
full set of painting tools at your disposal. You can import from and export to a
variety of other image, icon, and animation types, so you can take advantage of work
that you've already created or scanned from other sources. IconForge is also an
excellent tool for other graphics, such as producing bookmark/favorites icons for
a web site, repeating tiles for wallpaper backgrounds, animated GIF bullets to make
listings stand out, or cursors for various projects. IconForge is commercial
software ($37.95).
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Infosource |
KSU offers students, faculty, and staff free web-based training
on Microsoft Office 2000 software, namely Word, Access (including relational database
design), Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as Infocheck, which enables you to test your
knowledge of a particular program at different levels. No login is necessary on campus.
However, you will need to configure your browser to use the KSU web proxy server if you
want to access Infosource off campus. (The proxy server validates you as a legitimate
University user and allows you to connect to restricted KSU online resources such as
Infosource, KentLink and OhioLink research databases.)
Click here for
instructions on how to configure your particular browser to use the KSU web proxy server.
After making the necessary changes, point your browser to http://infosource.kent.edu
and log on to Infosource using your Kent username and password.
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ISO 639 Language Codes |
ISO 639 is an alpha-2 (two-letter) code used for the representation
of names of languages. Originally devised by ISO (The Organization for International
Standardization) for use in terminology, lexicography, and linguistics, ISO 639 is
widely used today used for software and website applications that require language
expression in two-letter coded form.
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LISA (Localization Industry Standards Association) |
Consisting of over 200 corporate clients and their globalization
solutions partners—the LISA provides best practices, business guidelines and
multi-lingual information management standards for making enterprise globalization
become a reality!
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Microsoft Global Development and Computing Portal |
A very good resource of software internationalization information.
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Microsoft HTML Help Workshop 1.3 v4.71.1015.0 |
HTML Help Workshop is part of the MS Office Resource Kit, and can be
used to author and/or localize HTML Help topics. MS HTML Help Workshop also allows you
to integrate those topics with the Microsoft Office XP Help system, or combine them with
custom Answer Wizard databases to create a complete assistance solution. Also included in
the Office Resource Kit are two cascading style sheets that you can use to build your own
custom Help topics using Microsoft styles. The style sheets, Office10.css and Startpag.css,
must be used with Internet Explorer 4.0 or later. HTML Help Workshop is freeware.
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MSDN (Microsoft Developers
Network) Glossaries of Translated User Interface Terms |
Available free of charge from the Microsoft FTP site, the MSDN user interface (UI)
terminology glossaries provide an invaluable shortcut, and are an indispensable part of any
efficient localization process. Glossaries are contained in separate .ZIP files, identified
by language/country name, and are comma-delimited ANSI files that you can open in MS Excel.
The compressed files cover various Microsoft applications and systems, not just the simple
subset found in the Microsoft GUI Guide. (See the Index.txt file in your language's ZIP archive
for a detailed list of included applications.) NOTE: If you have trouble downloading the
glossaries using ftp through your browser, try using a separate FTP application.
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Microsoft ASP.NET
Web Matrix Project |
ASP.NET Web Matrix is a community-supported, easy-to-use WYSIWYG
application development tool for ASP.NET, and is absolutely free! NB:
ASP.NET Matrix requires the MS .NET framework.
Click here to download the .NET Framework Redistributable (languages supported
as of 30 Aug. 2002: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish). If you're
new to ASP, take the
ASP.NET Web Matrix Project Guided Tour.
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MultiLingual Computing & Technology |
MultiLingual Computing & Technology is a monthly magazine
for language industry professionals and covers topics related to—you guessed it!—
multilingual computing and technology.
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OSCAR/TMX (Translation
Memory eXchange) |
The purpose of TMX is to facilitate TM data exchange between tools
and/or translation vendors with little or no loss of critical TM data. OSCAR
(Open Standards for Container/Content
Allowing Re-use) is the LISA Special Interest Group
responsible for its definition. Visit LISA's TMX
pages to learn more about TMX tools and implementation.
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PopupEliminator |
PopupEliminator blocks all annoying pop-up/pop-under advertisements and
prevents them from leaving cookies on your system. The program works without any user
intervention, sitting in the taskbar quietly until it detects that a popup is about to be
spawned from a window. It then intercepts the window call and discards it. PopupEliminator
is shareware, but if you're a heavy web user, you'll find that the time savings—and
irritation avoidance—justify the cost ($30).
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Resource Hacker |
Resource Hacker is a small but robust freeware utility
for viewing, modifying, renaming, adding, deleting, and extracting resources in
compiled 32-bit Windows executables and resource files. It incorporates an
internal resource script compiler and decompiler and works on Win95, 98, ME, NT,
2000 and XP operating systems. Note: Resource Hacker is particularly useful for
localizing compiled Delphi resource files that Alchemy CATALYST cannot "see."
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Resource Hunter |
Resource Hunter is a Windows executable resource explorer. Use
Resource Hunter to scan your computer and extract all bitmap, icon, cursor,
JPEG/GIF/PNG image and AVI/WAV/MIDI media resources inside the programs/DLL files
of your choice, and save them as regular image/media files. Resource Hunter is
shareware ($29.95).
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RoboHelp Office X4 |
RoboHelp is the top-selling Help authoring software suite for
Windows and Web-based applications.
Creates WebHelp, the standard for browser-based Help,
as well as all other popular Help formats such as MS HTML Help, WinHelp, and more.
Supports Help deployment in 11 different languages.
The industry standard in Help authoring used by more
developers and technical writers worldwide than any other Help development tool.
RoboHelp Office is commercial software (approx. $1000 for a
new user license.)
Click here to download a 15-day trial version.
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SnagIt |
SnagIt is a multimedia Windows screen capture utility that makes
it easy to:
Capture an exact copy of anything that appears on your screen.
Apply edits and annotation.
Send the screenshot directly to the printer, a file, an e-mail, or the Web.
Integrate product shots into software documentation.
Enhance presentations with graphics.
Send exact copies of error messages to tech support.
Create easy-to-understand training material.
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The Translator's Home Companion |
The Translator's Home Companion bills itself as "the single most
useful source of information for the professional translator and those in need of
translation services." I have yet to find a site that can undermine this claim.
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UltraEdit 32 |
UltraEdit 32 is a 32-bit Text/HEX/HTML/programmer's editing tool
for power users. UltraEdit 32's features include:
Multi-level undo/redo of cut, copy or paste; Find Next/
Previous; Replace Next/Previous/All; etc.
Find-in-files/Replace-in-files support for all open files and projects
Highlighted syntax - pre-configured for C/C++, VB, HTML, Java,
and Perl (configurable)
100,000 word spell checker supports American English, British English,
Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish
Built-in FTP client provides access to FTP servers with multiple
account settings and automatic logon/Save (use UltraEdit to manage your web site)
French, German, and Spanish localized versions available
Project/Workspace support
UNICODE support
A 45-day demo version can be downloaded free of charge; product registration costs $30.00.
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