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our official guide to

SOURCE FILE FORMATS

This article explains which file types The Geeky Pen prefers working with, why we prefer working with them, and which added costs will be applied in case we still have to prepare your files for translation.

For a fast and smooth localization process, please provide us with the correct type of source files from the start. Thanks in advance!

Google Docs Translation Table ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – BEST AND EASY!

  • Translation tables are the best format to deliver your files in, because they’re the easiest to use for both the translation and the graphic design teams.
  • All formatting, such as bold/italic/colored text, should be in the table.
  • Non-translatable items such as icon tags should be mentioned as <icon>. If there are many different icons close together, the tags should have names that are easy to distinguish (e.g., <icon-power>, <icon-health>, or <icon-red>, <icon-blue> etc). Icon tag names should be consistent to facilitate the work of the graphic designer.
  • Here’s an easy-to-use translation table template. Feel free to download and use it!
  • Action to be taken: none.
  • ADDED COSTS: none.

Google Docs (Continuous Text) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – EASY

  • Almost as good as a translation table, but the graphic designer might experience difficulties comparing the source text to target languages that don’t use the Latin alphabet (e.g., Greek, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Farsi, etc). If you use a translation table, the graphic designer always knows what has to go where.
  • All formatting, such as bold/italic/colored text, should be in the document.
  • Non-translatable items such as icon tags should be mentioned as <icon>. If there are many different icons close together, the tags should have names that are easy to distinguish (e.g., <icon-power>, <icon-health>, or <icon-red>, <icon-blue> etc). Icon tag names should be consistent to facilitate the work of the graphic designer.
  • Action to be taken: creation of a translation table if needed, based on editable text.
  • ADDED COSTS: none to low.

InDesign (*.idml) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – EASY

  • Provided that your open files are structured properly, it’s relatively easy to translate IDML files directly with the help of a CAT tool or TMS. Translating open files also reduces the cost of DTP.
  • The most important thing to ensure is that all of the layers in your open files are unlocked, otherwise the TMS won’t be able to recognize the text inside of them.
  • Note that the translation will happen in the IDML files, not the INDD files.
  • Depending on the complexity of your files, the order of the text might no longer be correct when imported into a CAT tool or TMS. Rulebooks are instruction manuals, which means the translators should be able to read the paragraphs in the correct order. That’s why it’s extra important to provide us with clear reference PDFs.
  • Action to be taken: none, provided that the IDML files are properly prepared and clear reference files in PDF format are available.
  • ADDED COSTS: none to low.

Google Sheets ⭐️⭐️⭐️ – MEDIUM

  • Almost as good as a translation table, but spreadsheets were not designed for word processing.
  • CAT tools (computer-assisted translation) like memoQ and Trados, and TMS (translation management systems) like Phrase handle spreadsheets relatively well, but formatting issues could arise when exporting the translations, such as missing bold/italic/colored text. Therefore, for games of 5000 words or more, we always recommend creating translation tables in Google Docs.
  • Action to be taken: formatting might have to be re-inserted manually after the translation process (sub-optimal for bigger games).
  • ADDED COSTS: low to medium.

PDF (selectable text) ⭐️⭐️⭐️ – MEDIUM to HARD

  • Translation tables need to be created manually from PDFs so your game can be translated. This incurs extra costs for file preparation.
  • If the PDF has multiple layers, sometimes there are hidden symbols/numbers/text. This means you can’t just press CTRL-A to select all the text and paste it into a Google Doc. Depending on how the PDF files are structured, each paragraph (or in the worst case scenario, each individual sentence) might need to be copy-pasted manually.
  • Action to be taken: creation of a translation table, based on manual copy-pasting from a PDF.
  • ADDED COSTS: medium to high depending on the size of your game, at a rate of €30/hour. The estimated cost for file preparation will be mentioned on your quote.

PDF (non-selectable text) ⭐️ – IMPOSSIBLE

  • This type of document is not suited for creating a quote, let alone for translation. In most cases, we don’t accept this file format. Please prepare your rulebook layout in Adobe InDesign and not in Photoshop! 🙏
  • Action to be taken: manually type out the entire text, or use OCR (optical character recognition) software, often with sub-optimal results.
  • ADDED COSTS: very high.
Are your files ready to go?

If so, great!
If not, we can help you prepare them for localization.

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