Working with localization kits
The localization kit is bundle of content that you send to a translation LSP. CCMS Web creates the kit as a zip file.
You can create a localization kit at the same time you create a Translation Manifest, or you can create (or re-create) the kit at any time after the Translation Manifest is created. You can create a single kit that includes all the languages in the Translation Manifest, or you can create multiple kits for the same Translation Manifest, each containing different languages.
For each language you include, the kit contains the map being translated as well as sub-maps, referenced topics, and images that require translation. This content is extracted from Authoring and the language code is changed to match that of the target language.
Remember that at this point, the objects do not actually exist in Translation (unless they were previously translated and have not changed since then.) They are only virtual pointers.
Images
Unlike CCMS Desktop, which required you to generate a separate localization kit for images, CCMS Web combines all content in a single kit. When you generate the kit, you can choose whether to include all images or only the images that need translation (those that have the Translation check box selected.)
Images that require translation are included in the kit twice—once using their original file format (such as .svg, .png, .jpg, etc.) and again using the .image file format. Images that do not require translation are included in the kit using only the .image file format.
The .image format is unique to CCMS Web. Topics reference the .image files so if your language services provider (LSP) needs to generate an output of the content, or if they validate the content in the kit, they might need the .image files as well as the images in their original file formats. Consult your LSP to determine what you need to include.
Do not edit any files that have a .image extension, since they are not imported when the kit returns from the LSP. Any images marked for translation are included in the kit with their original file formats so that they can be easily edited using a graphics editor. The images in the kit with file extensions such as .jpg or .svg are the images that are imported into CCMS Web from the translated kit.
Including sample content
Based on the configuration, CCMS Desktop was able to include an output of the current source content as well as an output of the previous translation in the localization kit. CCMS Web does not yet have that capability. If you need to include sample outputs in the localization kit, you can generate those outputs separately and add them to the kit before sending it to the LSP.
Pre-localization
CCMS Web does not yet include a pre-localization feature. MadCap Software recognizes the importance of this feature and it is currently under consideration.