Translation process

There are a number of different stages of a Translation Job from Definition to Completion. This concept describes how translations are processed by Translation Manager and the various statuses a Translation Job can be in.

You can see the current stage of a Translation Job—the job status—in the Translation Job Queue. The following diagram provides an overview of the translation process:

Translations are handled in the following main stages by the Translation Manager:

1. Definition
The Translation Job has been defined and has been saved but has not been sent to the translation management system. At this stage, you can still edit the Translation Job and add or remove items. When you send the job for translation, the job status is set to Ready for Translation.
2. Ready for Translation
The Translation Job has been defined and has been sent and is awaiting transferral to the translation management system. In the Ready for Translation stage, the Translation Jobs are waiting to be picked up by the Translation Manager Service. The service polls the Translation Manager at configured intervals for Translation Jobs submitted for translation. When the service picks up the job, the job status is set to Sending for Translation.
3. Sending for Translation
The Translation Job is being processed for transferral to the translation management system. In the Sending for Translation stage, the Translation Manager Service retrieves Translation Jobs ready for translation from the Translation Manager and does the following:
  • checks out and localizes the Content Manager items in the relevant Target Publications.
  • splits the Translation Job into one or more jobs depending on settings in the Translation Manager configuration file.
  • sends the jobs and source content to the translation management system when polled (the translation management system polls the Translation Manager Service at configured intervals to check for translations waiting for transferral).
  • sets the job status to In Translation, unless an error occurs in one of the previous steps in which case the job status is set to Error sending and the process is stopped.
4. In Translation
The Translation Job is being processed in the translation management system using the specified translation workflow. During this stage, the Translation Manager Service polls the translation management system at configured intervals to check for translations that have been processed through workflow. You can derive information about the state of the job in the translation management system from the workflow status. You can see workflow stages in the Translation Progress tab of a Translation Job.
Between the In Translation and Completed stages the Translation Manager Service retrieves completed translations from the translation management system and does the following:
  • copies over the translated items, one by one as they are completed, to the relevant Target Publications.
  • checks in the checked out items.
  • sets the job status to Completed when the translated content is back in the Content Manager, that is when all items that were part of the original Translation Job have been translated and updated in the Content Manager, unless an error occurs in one of the previous steps in which case the job status is set to Error retrieving. In the Error retrieving state, if the error is related to a specific item as opposed to be a generic error for the job the Translation Manager will retry receiving the specific item every 24 hours, although you force this by selecting Retry retrieving. Note also that if the Translation Manager Service is restarted, it will reset its list of failed items and try to retrieve them all again.
5. Completed
The items in the original Translation Job have been returned from the translation management system and checked in.

A Translation Job can also be one of the following states:

Error sending
An error was encountered while processing the Translation Job for transferral to the translation management system. You can view details of the errors in the Translation Job Error tab.
Error retrieving
An error was encountered while returning a Translation Job to the Content Manager. In the Error retrieving state, Translation Manager continues to attempt to receive items that have not yet been sent back from translation. If errors are related to specific items, for example the returned XML is not valid, as opposed to be a generic error for the job, for example unable to connect to the server, the Translation Manager does the following:
  • Attempts to retrieve items previously failed every 24 hours ago. If unsuccessful, it reverts to the Error retrieving state.
  • Attempts to retrieve items previously failed if you choose Retry retrieving. If unsuccessful, it reverts to the Error retrieving state and retries fails items every 24 hours.
  • Resets its list of failed items and will try to retrieve all of them again if you restart the Translation Manager service.
Canceled
The Translation Job has been canceled on the translation management system and the checked out items undone.
Deleting
The Translation Job is being processed for deletion (appears when you delete a Translation Job in Error sending or Error retrieving state).