Beebox Project

Translating with the Beebox is as simple as it can get. You start with creating a Beebox project. Each project exposes two regular file directories:

• The "in" directory is where you copy all files you want to have translated.
• The "out" directory is where the Beebox will save the translated files when ready.

Alternatively you can send and receive content using the Beebox Web API.

File formats

The Beebox translates almost any file format starting with Word, Excel, Xml, Json, .Net, Html, Indesign: See the list of formats.

Translated files will have the exact same format as the original. For example, if you send an English Word file to “in”, a translated Word file will be placed in the “out” directory. Beebox is capable of identifying what content needs to be translated. It further protects HTML, JavaScript, server, or other format-specific data and ensures that translators cannot alter this information.

How text content is extracted from files can be customized: You may want to exclude red colored text in Word files. You may want to specify the translatable nodes in your XML files etc.

Reuse translations

Each Beebox project remembers translations done in the past and reuses them for future translation work. This reduces translation cost and delays. Imagine you had translated a long Word file. Tomorrow you copy a new version of the file, maybe there is a new paragraph added and another one changed. The Beebox project will automatically isolate those two changes and only kick off the translation for those only. Efficient and cost optimized.

Translation process

Beebox ensures that your files get translated and according to your requirements. It can use any or a combination of machine translation, pseudo translation, human translation. All operations, including reception of source files, communication with human teams, delivery of translations can be fully automated. In most production environments, a Beebox project runs unattended, much like a blackbox that just does the work.

Read all about the process steps

Pseudo, Machine and Human translation

How do you want your text translated? Pseudo translation is often used in localization teams and simply "translates" by transforming original text to uppercase, letter shifting etc. Machine translation uses systems such as Google Translate or Microsoft Translator. Human translation connects the Beebox project to a translation team or a translation management system (TMS). All three strategies can be combined: For example, pretranslate content by machine and only then send to a human team for revision.

From test to production

Sending source files and receiving translations is simple and, best of all, independent of the actual translation process that runs inside the Beebox. 

During tests you may activate a pure machine translation process. In production you simply reconfigure the project to link up with a human translation team. You can also use two separate projects, one for testing, one for production. This is especially helpful when you integrate with the Beebox API.

Tools for developers

There are various ways to interact with the Beebox: Web API, Web Callbacks, Powershell scripts, .Net Extensions.

Read the developer guide