XLIFF Documents for Translation
XLIFF documents contain attributes for the service structure that can be translated. An XLIFF can be automatically generated when the translation package is created, manually generated, or manually created. XLIFFs are included in a translation package when it’s created. When translated XLIFFs are imported from the vendor and a translated XLIFF document changes state from a non-preparation state to Preparation State, their content is uploaded to the appropriate Windchill translation dictionaries. The translation dictionaries then provide translated attribute values to the service structures.
As part of the translation package creation, XLIFF documents are generated from the root of the service structure (not available from individual groups or sections contained in the structure). The titles and other translatable text are collected from the service structure and put into the XLIFF file. Parts lists each have their own XLIFF as well. XLIFF dynamic documents are also created for the localized strings contained in Creo Illustrate (c3di) files from Creo Illustrate. When a Creo Illustrate (c3di) file is translated, either by itself or as part of a Windchill Service Information Manager structure, it is the XLIFF file that is included in the translation package. However, a translation package can only be created for a nested publication structure or information structure from its original source location.
When Windchill Service Information Manager creates a translation package for service structures, the Authoring Language attribute value specified on the service structure objects provides the available source languages. However, dynamic documents (including XLIFFs) use the Document Language Attribute, set to PTC_DD_LANGUAGE by default, to determine their authoring language.
The Create XLIFF Automatically preference controls whether XLIFFs are automatically generated at the time you create a translation or a quotation package. By default, it’s set to Yes. Any generated XLIFFs are set to the same state as the service structure. An XLIFF is also generated for each nested publication structure, information structure, and parts list. However, these XLIFFs are always created within the context where the nested structure originates.
The XLIFF format, which is the XML Localization Interchange File Format (XLIFF) document type, is an XML standard that is specifically designed to help standardize translation. For more information see:
Manually Generating an XLIFF
You can also manually run Generate Translation Document to create an XLIFF document from service structures, from information groups, from publication sections, and from parts lists and parts. These XLIFFs are not automatically included when you create a translation package from the service structure. Individual XLIFFs are translated separately as individual dynamic documents.
1. Open the Structure tab on the information page for the structure or one of its hierarchical components (such as a group, section, or parts list) for which you want to generate a translation document.
2. Click the location in the structure to select it.
3. Choose Generate Translation Document from the shortcut menu for service structures or the Actions menu for parts lists.
The Generate Translation Document banner reports that the translation document has been generated successfully. The translation document has the .xlf file extension.
4. A Dynamic Document containing the XLIFF content is created in the Xliff folder as configured for your context.
5. Because the XLIFF document is a dynamic document, you can create the translation package from the XLIFF’s information page. Find your XLIFF file in the Xliff folder, check it in, and set its lifecycle state to the value of the Preparation State. Then choose Create Translation Package from the Actions menu.
You can use
Generate Translation Document on the service structure or the parts list to generate an XLIFF for testing when you are setting up attributes in
localizable_attset.xml. The generated XLIFF contains only attributes that are correctly configured, so you can detect missing or undefined attributes. For more information, see
Translation and Quotation Logs and Manifests.
XLIFFs Notes
When filter criteria are applied, the translation package process then applies the filters to the objects being collected from the structure, including XLIFFs, before generating the translation package. However, if an object is already out for translation, it will not be included. You can find information on objects that are excluded from a translation package in the translation log file. For more information, refer to
Translation and Quotation Logs and Manifests.
If you choose to manually create XLIFFs, you need to follow the supported file format so that the translated attribute strings from the XLIFF can be uploaded to their associated translation dictionaries.
XLIFF Customizations
Markup definitions for the AttributeSet configuration file support the ability to define default include or exclude behavior for each attribute class. AttributeSet samples are located in:
<Windchill-path>\codebase\com\ptc\arbortext\windchill\siscore\attset\xml
The localizable_attset.xml defines the set of attributes to send to an XLIFF file for translation. For example, two sections of the file identify the attributes for translated documents:
If the CustomMetaDataSourceProvider hook is set up for use by publishing, then it is also used when generating an XLIFF. Any metadata from external objects that are specified in localizable_attset.xml is included in the XLIFF file.
You can maintain customized versions of the localizable_attset.xmlby following the recommendations in Setting Up a Directory Structure for Managing Customized Files and Text Tailoring, Best Practices for Customizing Files Supplied by PTC, and other sections of the Windchill Customization Guide.