Start with the purpose of your project
Documents in the same industry can have different audiences, purposes and deadlines. Define the task before agreeing source material, staffing and review.
Explain product-family differences clearly
For overseas product literature, exhibition brochures and technical discussions, align family names, models and functional descriptions. Connect promotional wording to product facts without presenting an option as a feature of every model.
- Useful input
- Provide catalogues, model naming rules, configuration tables, confirmed functional descriptions and intended readership.
- Work focus
- Align product and component names, check comparison-table applicability and preserve limitations and option notes.
- Agreed output
- Outputs may include product-family copy, model naming references and wording queries for the product owner.
Match text and figures to the equipment
For user manuals, installation documentation and training files, establish part names, interface labels and figure numbers by chapter. Preserve distinctions between explanations, conditions and warnings, with clear information hierarchy and applicability.
- Useful input
- Provide editable manuals, parts drawings, interface screenshots, applicable model lists and agreed warning terminology.
- Work focus
- Cross-check captions, part numbers and button names; retain source sequences and prerequisites and check references after layout.
- Agreed output
- Agreed outputs may include translated manuals, part terminology, text-to-figure queries and reading files in the agreed format.
Check differences when reusing text
For added models and continuing service updates, map product and document versions to their applicability. Track renamed or replaced parts and configuration changes so earlier text does not overwrite information about newer equipment.
- Useful input
- Provide earlier translations, revised sources, change lists, affected models and service-document identifiers.
- Work focus
- Separate shared chapters from model-specific content; check replacement relationships and applicability and record changes across manuals.
- Agreed output
- Outputs may include incremental translations, model applicability tables, terminology updates and revision handover records.
Different documents need different checks
Define translation, review, layout and supporting explanations from the actual file list. The following scopes can be combined as agreed; they are not an automatically included package.
Product catalogues and technical descriptions
Translate family introductions, functional overviews, specification tables and sales presentations after aligning product categories and configurations. Base promotional wording on supplied facts and retain applicability conditions across tables, prose and captions.
Review focus: Check families, models, standard and optional features and comparison subjects without adding performance or certification claims.
Installation and user manuals
Translate descriptions, source procedures, notices and appendices within the manual structure, using figures to identify components and directions. Preserve prerequisites, references and source order, and review drawing labels against the narrative.
Review focus: Check actors, step numbers, warning hierarchy and figure references, interpreting directions with their viewing position.
Parts catalogues and illustrated lists
Organize translation by part number, illustration item number and name, distinguishing assemblies, subassemblies and individual parts. Use location and established naming for similar terms. Retain part numbers and do not equate item numbers across configurations.
Review focus: Check assembly hierarchy, part numbers, quantity fields and left/right names, preserving the meaning of empty fields.
Interfaces and displayed messages
Translate buttons, menus, status messages and interface help using screen position and interaction context. Preserve string identifiers and protected fields and record length and screenshot references. Align interface quotations in manuals with the displayed wording.
Review focus: Check intent, state distinctions, variables and display space; agree interface import and testing as separate tasks.
Service manuals and bulletins
Distinguish fault symptoms, described causes, source remedies and service notices, preserving model and revision applicability. Trace changed part names and replacement lists into related manuals and catalogues without adding diagnostic or repair methods.
Review focus: Check applicability, replacement relationships, negative conditions and cited bulletins, keeping old and new part names distinct.
Training files and technical agreements
Use manual terminology in training and technical discussions while distinguishing operator explanations from purchaser descriptions. Organize technical agreements by clauses and attachments, retaining party names and supply boundaries rather than replacing details with summaries.
Review focus: Check terms across slides, illustration labels, supply items and attachment relationships without expanding responsibilities.
Adapt the approach to the document’s use
Consider the subject, audience and relationship between files together, so that terms remain traceable across different documents.
Standalone and standard equipment
Manuals and parts catalogues need shared names so readers can trace illustration items to entries. Connect models, assemblies and parts for retrieval, distinguishing versions that look similar but have different configurations.
Production lines and integrated systems
Production-line files combine several supply units with different names and interface descriptions. Preserve line-level and individual-equipment identifiers, using mappings to connect names without merging suppliers’ applicability scopes.
Model extensions and options
One manual may cover several configurations. Retain applicability markers and separately review option notes, captions and section references, so extensive shared wording does not conceal small but important differences.
Service-network training
Distributors and service teams use slides, bulletins and manuals together. Align names and issue descriptions while retaining course versions and reference sections, allowing training shorthand to be traced to formal documentation.
Languages, regions and review references
Include the source and target languages, destination and recipient. Supply approved terminology, prior translations, document conventions or required templates. The client’s designated specialist confirms questions of professional applicability.
Explore languages ↗Professional care in practical document details
These fictional Chinese–English examples illustrate review methods. They are not client originals, actual deliveries, professional findings or fixed translations.
图FIG-08中的序号12为支架组件，其部件号见表PL-08。
ILLUSTRATIVE TRANSLATIONItem 12 in Figure FIG-08 is the bracket assembly; its part number is listed in Table PL-08.
What the reviewer checks
This fictional translation distinguishes an illustration item from a part number and retains the assembly level; the item number is not presented as an ordering code.
本附录仅说明MX-A型号的命名方式，不适用于MX-B型号。
ILLUSTRATIVE TRANSLATIONThis appendix describes the naming convention for model MX-A only; it does not apply to model MX-B.
What the reviewer checks
This fictional example preserves model characters, the restriction and the negative relationship to demonstrate applicability, without recommending equipment selection.
手册MN-04第D版中的“状态概览”对应界面文本ID screen_status。
ILLUSTRATIVE TRANSLATION“Status overview” in manual MN-04, Revision D, corresponds to interface text ID screen_status.
What the reviewer checks
This fictional example translates the interface wording while retaining its ID; the manual revision identifies the version of the wording relationship.
Actual work follows the complete source, approved terminology and specialist feedback. Queries are documented rather than resolved by inventing missing facts.
From linguistic review to final-file checks
Agree review coverage for the purpose and risk of this set of documents, distinguishing language issues, source queries and matters needing specialist confirmation.
Keep model configurations distinct
Review models together with applicability notes, including local differences in shared chapters. Similar sentence structure does not justify direct reuse for options, regional variants or different control panels.
Cross-check parts and illustrations
Connect figure numbers, item numbers, part numbers and names, checking captions against lists. Interpret left/right, inside/outside and front/rear with the source viewpoint and query missing perspective.
Preserve warnings and procedural information
Check warning hierarchy, prerequisites, negation and procedural references, including whether layout places a notice beside the wrong item. Concise wording must preserve qualifications and technical meaning.
Align interface and documentation wording
Compare menu, button and state names with supplied screenshots and text tables. Short interface labels and full sentences should retain the same meaning; record outdated screenshots rather than assuming synchronization.
Keep queries traceable
The project manager links queries to responses. The client’s specialist confirms factual, business or technical decisions; linguists apply those decisions and check related affected content.
Language services cover meaning, terminology, identifiers and agreed text-to-figure checks, not equipment design, product safety judgments, selection, diagnosis or repair decisions. The client and designated personnel confirm technical content. Source uncertainties are raised as located queries and handled against confirmed text. Service combinations and delivery formats follow the project agreement.
A workflow from receipt to a usable file set
Agree inputs, approvers and outputs at each step. Phased delivery and source changes continue to use the same file identifiers and revision baseline.
- 01
Register models and documentation
Agree product families, models, configurations and uses. Divide manuals, catalogues, interfaces and slides into work packages, recording applicability and source versions.
- 02
Organize part and interface references
Collect parts lists, drawings and screenshots, identifying earlier translations and manufacturer names. Resolve naming questions affecting several chapters before preparing reusable references.
- 03
Agree a representative chapter
Use a chapter containing captions, warnings, tables and procedures to agree language and layout, including interface quotations, units and numbering, before processing the full set.
- 04
Translate and review document packages
Keep translation and review tied to the same configuration, locating queries by figure or screen. Propagate product-owner naming decisions across manuals, catalogues and training files.
- 05
Check text and figures in output files
Review pagination, contents, cross-references and captions in agreed outputs, including text expansion. Editable sources and reading files should represent the same revision.
- 06
Hand over and record revisions
Hand over translations by language and model, recording which revision contains client feedback. Compare new models and service updates with the baseline to assess reuse, changes and additions.
A delivery list your team can work from
Agree outputs, review levels, formats and revision arrangements at the outset. Supporting records are scoped rather than assumed to be included in every service.
Translations with model applicability
Provide agreed manuals, product copy or service files with language, revision and applicable models identified in filenames and registers.
Part and interface terminology
Provide assembly, part, menu and state names with identifiers, configurations and references; record identical words for different objects separately.
Text-to-figure check records
Agreed records may cover figures, captions and narrative references, identifying image text that could not be edited and screenshots requiring client updates.
Revision and difference register
Identify source versions, reused passages and model differences, distinguishing product changes from language corrections for continuing maintenance.
Review queries and final files
Hand over queries, answers and incorporated changes, retaining items requiring product-owner confirmation and mapping reading files to editable files where layout is included.
Assign responsibilities around the task
Project manager
Coordinates scope, batches, timing and queries, maintaining the delivery register and revision history.
Translator
Assigned after assessment of language direction, field and files, working to approved terminology and references.
Review and file checks
Reviews meaning, completeness, key information and file format within the agreed scope, recording matters for client confirmation.
Client specialist reviewer
Confirms source facts, professional applicability and disputed terms, consolidating feedback and owning business decisions.
Experience supported by records and a clear method
Plan the service around the actual documents and required outputs. Existing records describe participation, not a promise based on a client’s business results.
Engineering documentation for Baosteel
This case concerns language services for Baosteel engineering projects. A supplier’s later account describes the procurement in 2019. SENIOR TRANS confirms participation in related language-service work. The retrospective provides background, not evidence that SENIOR TRANS held the prime contract.
Read the project background and scope ↗ISO 9001:2015
Quality-management certification for translation services, excluding branches, with briefing, review and delivery checks defined in the project scope.
ISO/IEC 27001:2022
Information-security management certification associated with translation services, excluding branches.
TAC institutional membership
Staffing is assessed by language, document type and scope, with specialist-review and linguistic responsibilities agreed before work begins.
Agree access, transfer, tool use and retention before confidential work begins. Confidential files are not entered into external AI or other online services without prior agreement. Read about confidentiality · Credentials and scope
Scope the work before price and timing
Review files before agreeing inclusions and separate charges, distinguishing language work, client review, additional services and any shipping.
Models and reuse scope
Language direction, model count, configuration differences and earlier translation quality affect assessment. Analyze repetition and changes before scoping translation and review; page count alone does not establish reuse.
Illustrations and interface work
Assess drawing text, complex tables, string extraction and layout reconstruction separately. Specify bilingual outputs, editable files and screenshot replacement so costs reflect defined tasks.
Delivery and revision arrangements
Equipment-shipment milestones need time for client review and final files. Added models, replacement screenshots and continuing source revisions affect scope; confirm differences and priorities before rescheduling.
A clear brief makes assessment more useful
Start with a non-confidential description or redacted sample, then agree how to transfer complete files. This list helps organize the key details; an initial discussion is also welcome if material is incomplete.
- Product families and configurationsSupply model lists, configuration differences and document purposes, indicating multi-model manuals and optional content.
- Editable sources and attachmentsProvide manuals, catalogues, tables and full attachments, identifying source applications and outputs; scans should retain figure references and small text.
- Part and naming referencesProvide part numbers, assembly structures, existing terms and approved names, distinguishing internal names from customer-facing ones.
- Interfaces and illustrationsProvide screenshots, string tables, drawing labels and known length constraints, identifying interface owners and images needing replacement.
- Reviewers and feedback methodsIdentify product, technical-writing and service reviewers and how feedback is consolidated to avoid competing final versions.
- Milestones and tool arrangementsSpecify equipment-documentation batches, review windows, transfer and tool permissions, and the permitted reuse of earlier translations.
Questions before work begins
Can translations be reused across a product family?
Assess model, configuration and source-revision differences first. Shared passages can be references, while specifications, warnings, captions and option notes need individual checks. Earlier files and change notes help align reuse with the new equipment.
What if an editable manual is unavailable?
Clear reading files or scans can be assessed for extraction and layout reconstruction. Small image text, part numbers and tables require particular attention. Agree whether an editable output is feasible and what layout it will retain after file review.
Can interfaces and manuals be handled together?
They can share confirmed names and a revision baseline. Supply interface positions, identifiers and screenshots so quotations in manuals can be checked. Agree engineering import, display review and screenshot replacement separately at the outset.
How are similar part names distinguished?
Use assembly hierarchy, illustrated location, part numbers and manufacturer naming alongside terminology references. Raise located queries for missing context or conflicting names, then propagate product-contact decisions into related catalogues and manuals.
Can review focus on text and figure alignment?
Agree specific coverage such as figure numbers, captions, part names and narrative references. Full linguistic review or retranslation should be scoped separately. Supply matching source, translated and illustrated files.
Will translation improve repair methods?
Translation does not add diagnostic, operating or repair steps from experience. Preserve the source and query unclear meaning with the product or service owner. When the client makes technical revisions, confirm the source version before updating the translation.
