Crystal Translator — FAQ

Does this software translate automatically?

No, Crystal Translator is not a machine translation system.  It can pre-translate automatically using translation memory based on your previous translations. The output of machine translation systems is usually not of sufficient quality for publication.

What is a Translation Memory?

In its simplest form, a translation memory is a database containing source and translated words and phrases. The translation is first entered by a human and then can be re-used automatically. Crystal Translator uses a custom TM which not only includes source segments and translated segments but also report name, field name, and property type. This allows the software to avoid context mismatches.

Is a Translation Memory similar to a dictionary?

A dictionary contains translations of words while a TM contains translation of segments. The advantage of a TM compared to a dictionary is that it retains the context. While a word can have several translations, a segment or sentence usually has only one.

What is pre-translation?

Pre-translation is the process of analysing the source texts and retrieving from the translation memory database any translations for segments that match the source texts.

What is the benefit of pre-translation?

Each time you have a new version of your source report, you can pre-translate it and re-use the translation you created for the previous version. Therefore, you only have to translate what has changed, saving you time and money.  The process also benefit similar reports that use some of the same words and phrases.

How do translators benefit from using Crystal Translator?

• It is easier to localize reports with Crystal Translator as it extracts the translatable texts and properties. There is no need to buy or learn the comprehensive Crystal Reports development tool. Also, it removes the risk to forget translating some hidden texts such as formula or report summary.
• Thanks to the built in translation memory database, you only have to translate what has changed since the previous version. With an average update, 90% of the text is identical to previous version thus saving you a lot of time and money when translating updated reports.
• You can obtain an immediate word-count allowing you to estimate the translation cost beforehand.

How do report designers benefit from using Crystal Translator?

• You can obtain an immediate word-count of all your source reports at once, allowing you to estimate the translation cost beforehand.
• If you do not have the linguistic skills on site, you can export all the translatable text of a report into an Excel spreadsheet that can then be sent to an external translator. You can then import the translated Excel spreadsheet to generate a translated report.
• Thanks to the built-in translation memory database, you can recreate all the target reports in a few seconds after updating the source report formula, SQL, grouping, sorting, and so on. This means that you only have to maintain the source reports, Crystal Translator will maintain the target reports for you.
• You can reuse the translations at each new version of your source reports and between reports, reducing considerably the translation cost.
• You can import reports that you previously translated and start reusing these translations in the new version of your source reports, allowing you to recapture your previous investment.

How does Crystal Translator pre-translate?

By default, it first checks that a translation exists specifically for the report by checking the report filename, field name, property type and source text. If no translation is found then it checks if a translation exists for the field name, property type and source text, in case the source report has been renamed. If no translation was found, it checks if a property type and source text match from any reports. This process ensures the same translation each time a report is pre-translated but also allows reuse of translations between reports. This pre-translation process can be customized by changing the pre-translation options.

Can context mismatch between reports occur?

Yes, this can happen when you have two reports with the same source text but the translation should be different. When translating the second report, Crystal Translator will retrieve the translation of the first report and mark its status with an asterisk (*) to indicate that it is a new translation. You can easily review these translations using the modified (*) filter. After editing, you can then save the second report and the database will now contain two translations for the same source text with an indication as to which report the translation belongs to. Therefore, the next time you pre-translate these reports, Crystal Translator will select the translation specific to the report being pre-translated. You can also turn off translation re-use between reports in the pre-translation options.

Which text is extracted for translation?

Crystal Translator extracts translatable text from:

• Text objects (data fields in text objects are supported)
• Text in graphs/charts
• Text in report parameters
• Formulas returning a text value (translated formulas are validated automatically)
• Text in report summary fields such as title and keywords
• Text in alerts

What happens if a text object contains a data field?

The translator will see a tag such as {1} in the translatable text. He/she will be able to move this tag in his/her translation. If there are many fields in the text object, then the translator will see many tags {1}, {2} and can position each tag independently.

What happens if the translated text need more space?

The preview will be automatically refreshed as you translate. If you notice that the translated text is truncated or overlaps another object, you can resize and re-position it by activating the "size" and "position" property filter.

Why do we need to localize dates, numbers, currencies and fonts?

Depending on the target country, dates and numbers need to be displayed using different format. For instance in the US, you would use MM/DD/YYYY, while in the UK you would use DD/MM/YYYY. The report designer can also select to use the system local settings of the user.

Can I export the translatable text to Excel?

Yes, you can with the Professional version. You could for instance send the Excel sheet to a translator and then re-import the translated Excel sheet into Crystal Translator. However, note that you may have to reformat the target report after the import as the translator cannot preview and resize the objects in the report.

What is the purpose of importing previously translated reports?

If you have translated some reports before acquiring Crystal Translator, you can import these reports to populate the TM database from your previous translations. Now, you can reuse these translations with the new version of your source reports, allowing you to recapture your previous translation investment.

Which languages are covered?

Crystal Translator supports Unicode, therefore you can input any character from any language. To be displayed properly, some languages may require a special font.  This tool allows you to automatically replace all the fonts in a report for a specific target language. Please note that to be able to input characters from a different language, you may need to change your keyboard layout in the control panel as explained in the help. Right to left languages, such as Hebrew and Arabic, are also supported with an automatic layout mirroring facility.

What does the layout mirroring function?

This function flips the report horizontally to support right to left languages:

• changing the position of every visual component of the report
• changing the alignment of text, but not of data field numbers
• switching the indentation of text
• flipping the right and left borders of boxes
• changing position of graph legends
• flipping the left and right report margins

Does Crystal Translator save the translation in the original .rpt file?

No, it creates a different .rpt file for each target language, adding a suffix to the filename. This is because localizing a report is much more than just translating the text. You may need to resize and re-position labels, localize date formats, change fonts and make other adjustments for each target. This would quickly become  unmanageable in one report. Crystal Translator does not edit your source report in any way.

With which versions of Crystal Reports is Crystal Translator compatible?

Crystal Translator is compatible with Crystal Reports 7, 8, 8.5, 9 and 10. It creates target reports in the same format than the original source reports.

Can I create several Translation Memories?

Yes you can. We recommend that you create a different TM for each product your are localizing.

What is TMX?

TMX is an export/import standard between translation memories (TM). It is based on XML and allow various TM such as Deja Vu, Trados, SDLX and Crystal Translator to exchange data. More information can be found at www.gala-global.org

How can I convert a translated report from Crystal Reports version 9 back into Crystal Reports 8.5?

If your source report was version 8.5 and you translated it manually with Crystal Reports 9 or with Crystal Translator for Crystal Reports 9, follow these steps to convert it to version 8.5:

  A) If you did the translation with Crystal Translator for CR 9:

• Launch Crystal Translator for Crystal Reports 8.5

• Open the Translation Memory (TM) that you used to perform the translation

• Open your source report from Crystal Reports 8.5

• The software will recreate the translated report

• Save the translated report. This copy will be saved in Crystal Reports 8.5 format.

B) if you did the translation using Crystal Reports 9

• Launch Crystal Translator for Crystal Reports 9

• Create a new Translation Memory (TM)

• Select your target language in the TM

• Open your source report from Crystal Reports version 8.5

• In the File menu, select "import translated report"

• Select your translated report from Crystal Reports version 9 and follow the wizard

• The TM will now be populated with your translations

• Close Crystal Translator for Crystal Reports 9

• Follow the steps in section  A)  above

What are the minimum system requirements?

• Microsoft Windows workstation 2000 to Windows 10.
• MDAC and Jet 4.0 (can be downloaded from our website)
• Microsoft Excel for XLS Import/Export (Professional version only)

What is property grouping?

A Crystal Reports object such as a Text box has many properties, including the text, its position, size, font, and so on. The grid editor automatically groups all the properties of an object under a node that can be expanded or collapsed facilitating navigation. Selecting an object directly from the preview window also select this object in the grid editor.

Is the software networkable?

Yes, you can have several computers running Crystal Translator linked to the same TM database, except when using the Trial version.

Do I need to uninstall before upgrading?

No, just download the new version and install it over the previous version. The new version will give you another 30 days evaluation period if you haven't registered yet. Please note that uninstalling and reinstalling the same version will not extend the evaluation period.

What are the limitations of the Trial version?

The trial version is limited to 30 days. You can translate as many reports as you want during this period and use the translated reports freely, the software does NOT add watermarks to your translated reports. Import/Export functions are also limited.