Speed Up Translation Delivery with the New XTRF‑XTM Smart Integration
The enhanced XTM/XTRF integration enables Project Managers to manage the entire localization process in one place.
Create a project within the fully-featured XTM Translation Management System, then source the right linguist for the job within XTRF, and enable them to utilize XTM’s advanced CAT tool and translation memory features to deliver the highest quality content, on time.
The process is completely seamless, real-time, and automated while remaining secure.
How Does It Work?
Automate your translation process by connecting your CMS, TMS, CAT tool,
and Business Management system together, all in one place.
Reducing your time-to-market and improving project management efficiencies.
Create a new project in your CMS or the XTM translation management system.
XTRF automatically syncs with XTM to deliver full project and vendor management capabilities.
Vendors are notified that a job is available via XTRF.
They can then use the XTM CAT tool and translation memory functionality to deliver the work.
Watch a System Demo
The Benefits of Two
Market‑Leading Systems
The XTM and XTRF platforms each bring advanced functionality to the table
and perfectly complement one another.
Here’s how you can benefit from this blend of technology.
Using XTM Cloud, a Project Manager can:
- Create and manage localization projects from start to finish (utilizing project templates to save time).
- Build automated workflows.
- Provide linguists with access to Terminology, Translation Memory, and Concordance.
- Analyze project files and access metrics.
- Use their preferred Machine Translation engine.
- Use visual mode to avoid reworks (ensuring linguists can see their work in context).
- Use filter templates to exclude what doesn’t need to be translated
Using XTRF, a Project Manager can:
- View, edit, and filter vendors. See their status, availability (including remaining capacity), evaluation, language combination, job type, and specializations
- Filter Linguists or LSPs to show in-house or external, and if they have worked for a specific client or not in the past
- On a vendor’s record, quickly see their competencies, rates, job history, feedback, holidays booked, and qualifications
- Create quotes, easily manage vendor payables alongside client receivables, plus issue invoices.
- Harness powerful project insight data to drive efficiencies at every stage.
Create translation projects directly in your CMS system
Take your localization efforts a step further by creating a new project in your preferred CMS platform and watch as it automatically synchronizes with XTM and XTRF. In this example, we’ve used Kentico to demonstrate just how easy this is to do. But the choice of which CMS to use is up to you.
Upgrade Your XTRF Account Today
Keen to hear how this or any other integration can make your life easier?
Reach out to our team today.
The Technical Details
Creating Smart Projects integrated with XTM
The integration periodically queries XTM for new projects and automatically creates integrated Smart Projects in XTRF.
Multiple language combinations within one XTM project are reflected identically in XTRF. Languages are mapped by ISO 639-1 code. If the integration cannot find a mapped language, it will still create a project in XTRF, but leave the language in question unspecified. You can adjust the language yourself. Keep in mind that after you select the language, it cannot be changed anymore.
Once the XTM project is mapped, all you need to do is select the dates and Vendors for Jobs in XTRF, and the integrated Smart Project is ready to be processed until completion.
Note
Upon creation, the XTM project needs to include at least one document ‘For Translation’, otherwise XTRF will not be able to recognize and map it. For the same reason, switching documents in the XTM mid-project will not be recognized by the integration, and these documents will need to be uploaded to XTRF manually. The integration is still in the early access stage, and these issues will be addressed.
Mapping project details
The integration maps essential project details from XTM to XTRF:
- Project name
- Client name
- Client deadline
- Service
- Language pairs
Vendors are not mapped by the integration, so choosing them in XTM will not be reflected in the Smart Project. Vendor Management is to be handled entirely on the XTRF side.
Reflecting XTM workflow in XTRF
The integration reflects the XTM workflow on the ‘Process’ card in the XTRF Smart Project.
XTM step name Corresponding XTRF step name Default Job Type Translate Translate (XTM) translation Correct Correct (XTM) editing Review Review (XTM) proofreading LQA LQA (XTM) quality assurance Note
Multiple XTM steps may be mapped to one step in XTRF, but it applies only to the list above. Additional XTM steps like “Management task”, “Non-CAT tool Process” and “Automatic” (e.g. Approve TM) are not supported yet.
Linking XTM documents
For the documents uploaded upon creation of an XTM project, the integration creates placeholder links in XTRF, and:
- Categorizes them as ‘XTM Document (Link)’
- Adds them to the ‘Process’ card (one link per XTM Task: meaning one per source document, and one per workflow step)
- Shares them with respective Jobs and, consequently, with Vendors through the XTRF Vendor Portal
Documents uploaded to XTM, after the project has already been created, will not be linked by the integration!
Note
As a security measure, XTM links to documents have a short expiry period, and then new links are generated. However, placeholder links on the XTRF side maintain attachment to documents and don’t expire with their XTM counterparts. Whenever an XTRF user clicks on the placeholder link, the actual, valid link is being retrieved every time.
XTRF links to XTM documents remain safe though, by being accessible only to signed-in Home Portal users, and signed-in Vendor Contact Persons with access to the Job.
Fetching metrics
The integration automatically downloads XTM metrics for all ‘For translation’ files available at the project creation stage and saves them as a CAT Analysis file in the Smart Project (in .XLSX format). The file can be used to calculate CAT Payables and Receivables in XTRF.
Note
For the time being, XTRF does not parse multilingual CAT Analysis files in the .XLSX format. Proper handling of XTM metrics for multilingual projects will be addressed in future versions of the integration.
Synchronizing statuses
Once the project has been started in XTM, the integration aligns statuses of XTM Workflow Steps with linked XTRF Jobs.
Synchronization works both ways. However, in case of XTM-to-XTRF, a global callback setting for a particular Client needs to be configured by XTM Helpdesk (read the XTM documentation for more details). The integration will work without it, but actions on the XTM side will not be reflected in Job statuses in XTRF.
For example, after completing a translation in XTM, a Vendor will need to click I Finished the Job in the Vendor Portal to close it. With proper callback configuration in XTM, the Job in XTRF will get closed automatically.
Direction Cause and effect XTRF-to-XTM Integration can start the workflow in XTM XTRF job status ‘Ready’ ⇒ XTM job moved to the next workflow step XTRF job reopened ⇒ No effect in XTM (going back to the previous workflow step is only possible from XTM side) XTM-to-XTRF
(with proper callback configuration in place)Integration can start the process in XTRF XTM job started ⇒ XTRF job status ‘Started’ XTM job finished ⇒ XTRF job status ‘Ready’ Document returned to the previous XTM job ⇒ previous XTRF job reopened Note
Status synchronization is not supported for the documents split in XTM.
Note 2
If a Vendor is obliged to declare the time spent on a given Job, the integration will not close that Job until the worklog has been declared.