Translation tools and workflow

Information technology is playing an ever-increasing role in translators' daily work. We therefore make various computer tools available to translators, who use them according to their translation needs and personal preferences. The main document formats we work with are Word, Excel, PowerPoint, HTML and XML. Irrespective of their preferred working methods, all translators' needs are basically the same. - Appropriate terminology (dictionaries, glossaries, terminology databases, etc.). - Reference documents (paper and electronic archives, aligned texts, etc.). - Possibility to reuse previously translated texts (translation memories, electronic archives, etc.). - Central and local assistance. The role of secretaries has evolved from being a typist into a fully fledged translation assistant. Secretaries and translators work hand in hand more than ever, with pre- and post-processing being handled by secretaries and translators focusing on the actual translation work. Assistance is provided centrally by a helpdesk and an alignment and pre-processing team, and locally within the language departments themselves.