Configuring pivot language localization

Pivot language localization is an optional feature configurable as part of the sequential localization method, which allows the localization of objects from the Localization cycle.

Localization typically starts from a single source language in the Authoring cycle directly producing one or more target languages in the Localization cycle. In some cases you may not be able to perform a direct translation from your source language to your target language and instead need to translate into an intermediate language before proceeding to your target language. This intermediate language is referred to as a pivot language. To localize from a pivot language, you must configure pivot language localization in IXIASOFT CCMS. When you start using pivot language localization, you will have one or more source languages in the Localization cycle in addition to the one in the Authoring cycle with each producing one or more target languages.

You configure pivot localization by defining all the source and pivot languages and their target languages in the pivotLanguages.xml file. In this file the pivot language is treated like just another source language. As a result, the options available in the dialog box when you right-click an object and select Localization > Localize are limited to the target languages configured and available for that source language.

For example, if your authoring language is English and you localize from English to French, Japanese, and German and use French as a pivot language for Arabic, you would need to configure the following:
  • English as a source language with its target languages of French, Japanese, and German
  • French as a source language with its target language of Arabic

Following this example once it was configured, when you right-click an English map, the options displayed in the Select Languages dialog box would be limited to French, Japanese, and German instead of offering all the languages configured in the languages.xml file.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN:

Choose your pivot languages carefully. The configuration choices you make will have far-reaching and long-term effects on your content:

  1. Consider the long-term translation cycle. Once an object has been localized from a pivot language, you cannot shortcut the sequence using a different localization sequence. For example, if you have localized a map and its child objects from Japanese to English to Arabic, you cannot go through the cycle of updating that map and its child objects from Japanese directly to Arabic.
  2. Once a map has been localized using a particular localization sequence, it and its child objects cannot be translated back into any of the languages already used in the localization sequence. For example, if you have localized a map and its child objects from Japanese to English to Arabic, you cannot localize from Arabic back to English or Japanese. When you select Localization > Localize, your choices will be limited to the available target languages configured in the pivotLanguages.xml file minus the languages already used in the localization sequence.
  3. Consider where objects will be shared and reused. You cannot mix objects that were localized using different sequences in the same map. For example, if you have configured a sequence of Japanese to English to Arabic and also a sequence of French to Arabic, you cannot mix topics localized using the Japanese to English to Arabic sequence in a map containing topics localized using the French to Arabic sequence.

To configure pivot language localization:

  1. Open the TEXTML Administration perspective by clicking the TEXTML Administration shortcut on the tool bar. If the shortcut is not displayed, follow these steps:
    1. Select Window > Perspective > Open Perspective > Other
    2. Click TEXTML Administration.
    3. Click Open.
  2. In the TEXTML Administration view, double-click the server. If your server is not displayed in the view, you must add it to the view.
  3. When the Connect as dialog opens, type your username and password and click OK.
  4. Double-click the name of your Content Store to open a connection to it.
  5. Configure your localization workflow.
    Restriction: Pivot language localization is only available with the sequential localization model.
  6. Open the Access Manager window.
    1. Right-click the Content Store.
    2. Click DITA CMS Admin.
    3. Click Manage Access.
  7. In the Actions column, click Localize and click Lock.
  8. For each condition, define which objects in which statuses can be localized:
    1. In the Conditions column, click a condition.
    2. Click the arrow next to an object to expand the list of cycles.
    3. Click the arrow next to Localization to expand the list of statuses.
    4. Select each status which is authorized to be localized.
    5. Repeat for each object.
    6. Repeat for each condition.

    For example, if you only wanted objects in Localization:done (or the equivalent in your deployment) in the Localization cycle to be a pivot language, you would select only that status. This means that objects in the Localization:done status will have the Localization > Localize right-click menu enabled depending on your configuration.

  9. In the Actions column, click localize_api to define which statuses are set to Localization:tb translated (or the equivalent status in your deployment) when you click the Localize command.
  10. For each condition, define which statuses in the Localization cycle can be sent through the localization process:
    1. In the Conditions column, click a condition.
    2. Click the arrow to expand the list of cycles.
    3. Click the arrow next to Localization to expand the list of statuses.
    4. Select each status for which you want to authorize to be translated.
    5. Repeat for each condition.

    For example, if you only wanted objects in Localization:done (or the equivalent in your deployment) to be translated, you would select only that status. This means that objects in the Localization:done status will be set to Localization:tb translated when they are sent to be localized.

  11. Click CheckIn Document to commit the changes to the access rights back to the Content Store.
  12. Locate the pivotLanguages.xml file in the repository's /system/conf collection.
  13. Right-click the file and click Check Out.
  14. Double-click the file to open it in the editor.
  15. Define the source and target languages using the template in the pivotLanguages.xml file. Use the language codes defined in the languages.xml file.
    For example, if you were translating from English to French, Japanese, German and using French as a pivot language for Arabic, you would configure the following in the pivotLanguages.xml file: 
    <pivotlanguages>
	<sourcelanguage name="en-us">
		<targetlanguage>fr-fr</targetlanguage>
		<targetlanguage>ja-jp</targetlanguage>
		<targetlanguage>de-de</targetlanguage>
	</sourcelanguage>
	<sourcelanguage name="fr-fr">
		<targetlanguage>ar-ma</targetlanguage>
	</sourcelanguage>
</pivotlanguages>
  16. When you are done, click CheckIn Document to commit the changes to the access rights back to the Content Store.
  17. Test your implementation. If it is not behaving as expected, verify the access rights are configured correctly for each object and status in each condition.
  18. Inform users of the changes.
    The changes will be applied automatically once users close and then reopen their CCMS Desktop. Users can also apply the changes without restarting their CCMS Desktop by clicking IXIASOFT CCMS > Synchronize Configuration. Additionally, have an administrator refresh IXIASOFT CCMS Web so that users will see the change reflected there.