Three years ago, a major automotive manufacturer commissioned us to translate and publish CDs containing exhaustive automobile information, including:

• primary model characteristics;
• body repair guide
• automobile repair guide
• electrical circuit diagram

One CD typically contains 1,500 to 2,500 pages of information, sometimes more. Working with such disks was completely new to us and had nothing in common with our previous translation projects.

With the help of a special tool provided by the customer’s IT specialist and fine-tuned by us, we made the several hundred files we received translation-friendly, including image captions, which required a different approach. Once we finished translating and editing everything, we launched a reverse operation to restore the original file structure. Illustrations were edited in a graphic editor, after which the prepared Russian text along with all illustrations was checked for conformity to the original.

This project was not only about translation itself: we also worked hard on compiling a project glossary in strict accordance with the wishes and requirements of the customer. The result of this painstaking work was the creation of not only a glossary but also a special document detailing all the requirements for translating the project’s documentation: abbreviations, header patterns, a list of certain specific expressions, and much more. The documents created at the primary stage now allow saving considerable time when engaging new specialists in the project as they receive all the necessary information and do not have to look for it online, pore over reference books, and come up with things on their own.

The first CD was followed by many others; in the end, the customer received CDs with all the necessary mechanics information for each car model, and we are currently translating new editions of these materials.