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Summary

In general, Trados Studio 2022 is a good tool to translate Markdown files. However, it shows strange behaviour and errors in some of the settings.

Advantages

  • Imports a lot of content in default settings, e.g.:
    • link descriptions
    • hover text
  • Code block can be translated. This is useful when you need to translate comments in code or messages from developers
  • Comments <!-- comment example --> can be translated
  • Imports the content of embedded HTML code, but only in Html Embedded Content 5 2.0.0.0

Disadvantages

  • Bizarre behaviour of hover text between different references
  • Markdown reference in links cannot be translated, which makes it impossible to translate a table of contents or all other references to headers in Markdown files
  • Inline code is ignored and cannot be translated
  • HTML in the Embedded Content Plain Text v 1.0.0.0 filter is shown as text, which increases the risk of accidental editing

Recommendations for translation of Markdown files in Trados Studio

This section contains recommendations for technical writers (or generally, authors writing in Markdown) and translators.

Recommendations for technical writers

  • Inform the translator about basic Markdown syntax because tags in code block are shown as text
  • If references are to be translated, inform the translator:
    • The references need to be translated in the Markdown file
    • How to open a Markdown file
    • The syntax: one hash symbol, no space between the hash symbol and the first word, small letters, and minus symbol instead of spaces; e.g., the reference to this section should be #recommendations-for-technical writers
  • Inform the translator about HTML or quoted code syntax, because the content in the code block is shown as text
  • If possible, use code block even for inline code because inline code cannot be translated
  • Encourage the translator to contact you if the CAT editor shows any characters that are not used in a standard way in the source language as these are most likely tags
  • Be aware that some content between different HTML tags may or may not be imported into Trados and, as a result, translated

Recommendations for translators

  • Adapt the settings to your needs — if the embedded HTML does not contain content to be translated, uncheck the Translate HTML block box
    • This way you do not risk accidental editing of the HTML code
  • Do not edit something that may be a tag when you translate the content of the code block
  • Contact the technical writer if the source text in the CAT editor shows unexpected characters, as they may be part of Markdown or HTML syntax shown as text
  • Be aware that some content between different HTML tags may or may not be imported into Trados and, as a result, translated
  • Carefully check the output file for any missing elements or elements placed incorrectly, e.g., hover text

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