Popular Business Translation File Formats
Our company performs translation services for businesses on a regular basis. The file formats of translation source material for businesses (including non-business professional organizations) can be virtually any common file format but tends to most frequently be:
1. MS Word files. Word files are often received for legal documents, manuals, and sometimes basic brochures that don’t contain elaborate formatting. Letters and correspondence for translation comes to us a Word files. Training and instruction materials are sometimes created in Word (at least initially).
Word files have the advantage for translators of being directly editable. File analysis to determine word counts works smoothly with Word files. It’s also relatively easy to control any document formatting post-translation since document styles tend to be basic in Word files. Among all the various file types we receive, text in MS Word is probably the most basic.
2. PDF files. Business clients often send us PDF files for translation. Some PDF files we receive are generated from original Word files. Other PDFs are exported from desktop publishing application such as InDesign. Translation of InDesign files is a common request we receive. The Adobe desktop publishing application InDesign is widely used among business and professional organizations.
Virtually any file type with text (including image files) can be translated.
PDF files work well for translation. Depending on the clients’ preference, translated text can be delivered unformatted (for subsequent client-side formatting) or completely formatted in documents to match the original source text. When translating InDesign documents with formatting included, we request the original source language InDesign file set (including links and fonts).
3. PowerPoint files. Powerpoint is a well-known, popular application for creating presentations. Business and professional organization utilize PowerPoint frequently. Just as with MS Word files, PowerPoint files are directly editable and are well-suited for professional translation. Existing formatting within the PowerPoint environment can usually be preserved in the translation deliverable. At most some minor manual adjustments to the formatting can be needed post-translation due to more or less space required in the target language.
Virtually any file type with text (including image files) can be translated. The above three file types mentioned are the most common for businesses.
