In The Press
MadCap Lingo 4.0 Brings New Level of Ease and Flexibility to Translation
Industry’s Most Integrated Translation Memory and Authoring Tool Solution Enhances Collaboration Between Authors and Translators, and Adds PowerPoint Translation Support
La Jolla, CA, USA – September 7, 2010 – MadCap Software, Inc., the leader in multi-channel content authoring and a showcase company for Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Visual Studio and Microsoft XPS, today announced that MadCap Lingo 4.0 is now available. MadCap Lingo, the XML-based, fully integrated translation memory system (TMS) and authoring tool solution, eliminates the need for file transfers in order to complete translation—preserving valuable content and formatting to deliver a consistent experience across multiple languages. With version 4.0, MadCap Lingo adds:
- Updated Project Packager gives authors greater flexibility in working with translators who use MadCap Lingo or other TMS.
- New utility for easier translation alignment.
- Microsoft PowerPoint translation.
- Redesigned Translation Editor.
Through direct, seamless integration between MadCap Lingo and MadCap’s industry-leading authoring and multimedia applications (Flare, Blaze, X-Edit, Capture and Mimic), MadCap offers the most powerful integrated authoring and localization workflow available.
“Businesses are seeking ways to cut the time and costs required to translate their print and online documentation—while maximizing their brand value by providing a consistent experience to customers around the world,” said Anthony Olivier, MadCap co-founder and CEO. “MadCap Lingo builds on its proven reliability to address these demands with an enhanced Project Packager to facilitate collaboration between authors and translators, new functionality for simplifying the translation workflow, and the ability to translate files from Microsoft PowerPoint, one of the most popular business applications today.”
Project Packager for Author/Translator Collaboration
Project Packager in MadCap Lingo helps authors who need their documentation translated into another language but work with a translator who relies on another TMS tool by providing single-click simplicity for bundling all the project files that the translator needs.
New in MadCap Lingo 4.0 is the flexibility for authors to choose only certain files to bundle for translation, so translators receive only files that need attention. Authors simply go to the local toolbar of the File List window pane, select the files to send to a translator, and then click on the option to prepare the bundle. The selected files—along with the translation memory—are placed in a ZIP file to send to the translator. If no files in the window pane are selected, Project Packager reverts to the default setting, and all the files will be included in the ZIP bundle for the translator.
In addition, MadCap Lingo and the Project Packager provide full reports on items such as word count, exact matches, translated segments, how many words need translation, etc. Authors now have complete visibility into the details of the translation, allowing for better project planning and estimates.
New MadCap Align Utility
MadCap Lingo 4.0 features the new MadCap Align utility, which allows translators to create an alignment project and manually align files and segments as needed for legacy content. MadCap Align, which replaces the old “Align Project” feature in MadCap Lingo provides two benefits. First, it provides a more intuitive workflow with a clear separation between the translation and alignment processes. Second, it provides greater flexibility, since translators can continue to work within MadCap Align even when the MadCap Lingo software is closed.
Microsoft PowerPoint Translation
With MadCap Lingo 4.0, it is now easy to translate files created in Microsoft PowerPoint, the leading application for business presentations. When translators create a MadCap Lingo project, they can now point-and-click on PowerPoint files to import them and begin translation. In addition to standard PowerPoint formats (.ppt and .pptx), MadCap Lingo supports several other widely adopted formats, including Microsoft Word (.doc and .docx), Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) content, RTF, TXT, XML, and HTML.
Redesigned Translation Editor
MadCap Lingo 4.0 features a redesigned Translation Editor to provide greater ease-of-use. Among key new features:
- One editor type now supports all file types, creating a consistent experience.
- Separate “Translation” and “Preview” modes simplify the localization process. Translation only occurs in Translation mode, which has a grid view. Preview mode provides a visual view of how the localized content will appear when published. A button in the Translation Editor toolbar lets users quickly switch between the two modes.
- Color-coded backgrounds provide a quick visual cue on the status of segments. They include white (not translated), gray (translated/confirmed), and red (match exists from TM).
- Translation confirmation is as simple as clicking on a check mark button, which inserts the translation and moves the focus to the next segment in the file. Pressing Enter on the keyboard does the same thing.
- An updated toolbar provides more intuitive access to translation functions.
Availability and Pricing
MadCap Lingo 4.0 is available today. Perpetual licenses are priced at $599 for a single license, $1,995 for five licenses, and $2,990 for ten licenses. Subscription licenses for MadCap Lingo are available at $149 for three months, $299 for six months, and $449 for twelve months. MadCap’s solutions are backed by a range of service and support options, delivered by MadCap’s US-based team of authoring and technical documentation experts. Support fees are $199 per year for the Bronze Level, $299 for the Gold Level, and $499 for the Platinum Level. Discounts for multiyear support contracts are also available.
About MadCap Software
MadCap Software is a trusted resource for thousands of companies around the globe for single-source, multi-channel authoring and publishing solutions designed to streamline the process of developing and delivering training content, learning and development programs, technical documentation, online Help, knowledge bases, and more. From authoring, publishing and translation, to cloud-based content management system, to contribution and review in the cloud, you can streamline content delivery and manage the entire content development lifecycle with MadCap Software. MadCap Software’s services include product training, consulting services, translation and localization, and an advanced developer certification program. Headquartered in San Diego, California, with offices in Austin, TX, MadCap Software is home to some of the most experienced software architects and product experts in the content development industry.
PR Contact:
Rebecca Hurst
Kinetic.PR for MadCap Software
rebecca@kineticprllc.com
650-679-9282
