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Unexpected .idml to .docx source file format change

Dear All,

 

A client sent to me a .idml.sdlxliff file for TEP, which we handled and returned in the same format. It must be noted that three different linguists worked on the file on my end (translator-editor-proofreader) and it is quite possible that three versions of Trados were used.

Finally, the TEP file was sent back to the client in the same .idml.sdlxliff format.

Now the client complains that when they try to export the resulting translation, they get a .docx file instead of the expected .idml file, which, according to them, was the format of the source file.

I am not sure how to comment on that, no format change has happened on our end. And is such a change even possible?

 

Best regards,

Pavel

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  • I think this is next to impossible. If you open the SDLXLIFF you delivered in Notepad++ (or similar text editor), you will see the file name of the source file in the SDLXLIFF header.
    Look for the element "file original=" - it will tell you the path to the file and the name of the file.
    So this way you can check the file from the customer and all the files between the steps taken.

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    When asking for help here, please be as accurate as possible. Please always remember to give the exact version of product used and all possible error messages received. The better you describe your problem, the better help you will get.

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  • Hi Jerzy,

    Thank you for your answer.

    I have checked as advised and the result is: ***Released_prepped.idml , so the original was indeed an .idml file. And yet, when the resulting translation is exported, the file is in .docx format. I have tried it on my end, and I can confirm it.

    Best regards,
    Pavel
  • So the "released_prepped.idml" was a docx. To check what was the source, go to File, chose Advanced save and "Save source as". Then you can see, what the source was.
    If the source was IDML indeed, and the target produces DOCX, so you should win a Nobel prize, really...

    _________________________________________________________

    When asking for help here, please be as accurate as possible. Please always remember to give the exact version of product used and all possible error messages received. The better you describe your problem, the better help you will get.

    Want to learn more about Trados Studio? Visit the Community Hub. Have a good idea to make Trados Studio better? Publish it here.

  • It's so funny to see people being so helpless when the only thing they can do on computer - doubleclicking a file and waiting what the OS does with it - doesn't give the result they expect...

    You should simply open the file in a TEXT VIEWER (like F3 in Norton/Total Commander or similar) and immediately SEE by looking at the beginning of the "binary mess" what format it is. And if you don't see it immediately, then you at least get a clue where to look further... like if it's a zipped format (i.e. it can be either idml or docx), that you should use your favorite archiver (e.g. Ctrl-PageDown in Total Commander) to open the zip container and see its content, which - after just a few seconds of investigation - gives the final clear and definitive answer.

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  • It's so funny to see people being so helpless when the only thing they can do on computer - doubleclicking a file and waiting what the OS does with it - doesn't give the result they expect...

    You should simply open the file in a TEXT VIEWER (like F3 in Norton/Total Commander or similar) and immediately SEE by looking at the beginning of the "binary mess" what format it is. And if you don't see it immediately, then you at least get a clue where to look further... like if it's a zipped format (i.e. it can be either idml or docx), that you should use your favorite archiver (e.g. Ctrl-PageDown in Total Commander) to open the zip container and see its content, which - after just a few seconds of investigation - gives the final clear and definitive answer.

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