Frequently Asked Questions
Translation Workspace includes tools and technologies for a global workforce. This next-generation cloud computing system combines advanced Live AssetsTM functionality with proven performance, and delivers unparalleled value and return on investment for all participants. In this section, you can find the answers to commonly asked Translation Workspace questions. See how you can take advantage of our solution, and produce more with the right people and the right tools.
Key Features
What is Translation Workspace?
Translation Workspace is a hosted Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution available to all participants in the localization supply chain. Both buyers and providers of language services can access the same advanced language assets functionality in an innovative, pay-for-use subscription model.
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What are the components of Translation Workspace?
Translation Workspace provides server-based Translation Memories (TMs), glossaries, and review packages (collectively "linguistic assets"), and Translation Workspace Clients (Microsoft Word Plug-in, XLIFF Editor, Online Review Client). With the Translation Workspace Web interface, you can:
- Create and manage large TMs and glossaries
- Share linguistic assets in real-time over the internet with all those working on a project, so translations become available to everyone on the project instantaneously
- Link your internet-enabled linguistic assets together to form massive reference resources for yourself or for teams that you outsource to, while keeping the underlying information separate and protected
- Create review packages that can be shared and accessed by reviewers in a Web-based interface
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Where can I see the Translation Workspace interface?
Subscribers and registered users of Translation Workspace can access streaming training materials on the Training & Tutorials page. For a preview of specific functionality, take a look at our Feature Spotlights.
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What are the benefits of Translation Workspace?
Translation Workspace is designed for freelancers, LSPs managing translation projects, and enterprises who need content translated. In addition, the GeoWorkz Directory is available to users to search for other subscribers.
Freelancers
If you are a freelance translator, you can create new TMs and glossaries yourself, import TMs you currently manage, filter files in preparation for translation, and work on projects for other subscribers. Translation Workspace gives you all the tools you need to do your work.LSPs
If you are an LSP, you can configure and use Translation Workspace to manage linguistic assets and perform pre- and post-processing tasks. Content owners may provide you access to their linguistic assets, which can in turn be shared with subscribed translators.Enterprises
If you have content you need translated, you can use Translation Workspace to create linguistic assets and perform file preparation and post-processing. You can provide linguistic assets to LSP and freelance subscribers, or your vendors can perform these services for you while you maintain control of your linguistic assets.
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What is the GeoWorkz Directory?
The GeoWorkz Directory is a platform-side subscriber list. Subscribers can create a profile for themselves or their organization, and be discovered by other subscribers and system users.
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What is a Translation Workspace Subscriber user? What is a system user?
Subscribers:
- Can work in Translation Workspace with full permissions, including the ability to create linguistic assets and share them with other subscribers, or accept and connect to linguistic assets shared from other subscribers
- Own the management of the subscription, including plan selection and payment information
- Can purchase licenses, words, and Extended Support
- Are automatically created in Translation Workspace, from where they can create system users
- Can consult the GeoWorkz Directory and search in the GeoWorkz Marketplace
- Can create and manage a GeoWorkz Directory Profile
- Can bid on localization jobs in the GeoWorkz Marketplace
- Have access to support and training
System users:
- Can work in Translation Workspace with permissions granted by privileged system users
- Can consult the GeoWorkz Directory and search in the GeoWorkz Marketplace
- Have access to support and training
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What is the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model?
SaaS is used to refer to the provision of and access to commercially available software via the Web. Translation Workspace is SaaS because it offers on-demand access to the industry's most advanced linguistic asset tools without the costly and time-consuming infrastructure investment associated with on-premise systems. Lionbridge guarantees security, high availability and response time with each subscription.
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What are the advantages of SaaS-based linguistic asset management?
Unlike other TM systems, Translation Workspace hosts linguistic assets securely in a web accessible location. Assets from multiple projects and workgroups are easily linked to increase efficiency. Translators access Translation Workspace server via the Internet, using the Translation Workspace web interface or one of the two lightweight translation clients. Updates are posted back to the Live Assets in real-time. With this advanced, Internet-based architecture, valuable assets are no longer stored on dozens of machines around the world. Instead, Translation Workspace allows secure, centralized management of TMs and glossaries, facilitating greater efficiency and consistency in the translation process — and better protection for sensitive data.
The Translation Workspace SaaS-based approach to Live Assets management has a number of advantages:
- Better control and utilization of valuable linguistic assets
- Lower transaction costs related to translation asset handling and management
- Improved collaboration among translators
- Greater reuse due to sequencing of TMs
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What are Live AssetsTM?
Your linguistic assets (TMs and glossaries) can be thought of as "live" because they can be updated from anywhere at any time by subscribers with access permissions. Updates are instantaneously available to all. Based on ground-breaking asset sharing privacy functionality, globally-distributed teams of linguists can contribute to and reference centralized assets in real time, introducing key efficiencies into the production process. Live Assets are self-maintaining, facilitating process-driven management and eliminating costly synchronization work. With near-zero latency and response time measured in milliseconds, Live Assets increase speed of work, reduce internal language asset management costs, and contribute to lower overall localization spend.
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What is Asset AliasingTM?
Asset Aliasing is the process of sharing linguistic assets between subscribers, without risk. The owner - or issuer - maintains control of their linguistic assets and can decide how long other subscribers - or recipients - should have access to them. Identities of both the issuers and recipients are protected during the aliasing process.
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What is a tenancy?
When you subscribe to Translation Workspace, you are given a tenancy, which is your workspace. Your tenancy is your own space within Translation Workspace that contains your users, workgroups, and linguistic assets - the full working environment. You control your tenancy and decide what, if anything, you want to share with others as you execute work in Translation Workspace. To login, you need your tenancy name as well as your username and password, so this is an important credential to remember.
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Subscription Information
What does purchasing words mean in Translation Workspace?
In order to create and work with TMs and glossaries in Translation Workspace, a subscriber must purchase words. When you purchase words, you are buying the number of source words you expect to query against your linguistic assets each month during pretranslation and interactive translation. The Translation Workspace server counts the words as they are accessed. A subscriber only needs to purchase a plan with a minimum number of words if only working on linguistic assets provided by other subscribers.
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How is my word usage measured?
Word usage is measured against the linguistic assets that you own. The manager of your subscription can access GeoWorkz to view a daily update on word consumption—that is, the number of words accessed in your TMs.
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How does word metering work?
The words balance in a tenancy is consumed as content is translated using TMs owned by the subscriber. Translation Workspace reports the tenancy’s daily word usage. When the subscriber’s TMs are queried during translation, words are debited from the purchased words balance. If the TM is made available to users outside the tenancy by issuing an Asset Alias token, the queries made by those users are debited from the original TM owner’s purchased word balance. Users are not charged for work they do using TMs owned and aliased to them by other tenancies.
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How does word metering work for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Thai?
When the language setting for the source content is Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Thai, Translation Workspace analysis reports count the number of all characters including punctuation, but not white spaces. Then, Translation Workspace programmatically applies a ratio to these character counts before passing the results to the metering engine used for word usage charges.
The per language ratios are as follows:
- Chinese (Simplified) source: 2.8 characters to 1 word
- Chinese (Traditional) source: 2.8 characters to 1 word
- Japanese source: 3 characters to 1 word
- Korean source: 3.3 characters to 1 word
- Thai source: 6 characters to 1 word
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What operations are metered for word usage?
Any segment open operation from a Translation Workspace Client (Microsoft Word Plug-in, XLIFF Editor, and Online Review) or Translation Workspace Tools is metered. When a user opens a segment – either a single segment during an interactive translation or a collection of segments during pre-translation – the system deducts the number of source words in the opened segments from the balance of words in the subscriber's plan. Concordance search, analysis, and terminology lookup operations are NOT metered.
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If the same segment is opened twice, is it metered twice?
Translation Workspace has a system-wide 60-day metering period. The first time a segment is opened, it is flagged as having been metered. If the same segment is opened again in the 60-day metering period, it is not counted again against the word balance.
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Are different TM match levels metered differently?
TM match percentage is not a factor in metering, as only source words in opened segments are counted.
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In the case of aliased assets, who gets charged – the issuer or the recipient?
When an asset is aliased, the issuer of the alias is charged for any usage of that TM. If the recipient re-aliases the TM to another tenancy (for example, an agency re-aliases the TM to a freelancer), any work done using the alias (by the original recipient or the user it is re-aliased to) is charged to the owner of the original TM.
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Are background TMs metered as well?
Segment queries resulting in a match from a background-linked TM are metered against the foreground working TM. Source word counts are associated with the working TM, regardless of the origin of the actual match or non-match.
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Can I roll my words over if I do not use them all during my subscription period?
Words are provided as part of the subscriber's current plan, and cannot be "rolled over" from period to period or into another plan. When a plan expires, the available words in that plan also expire.
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How do I cancel my account?
You can cancel your account via a Cancel button in the Translation Workspace tab of the "My account" section at GeoWorkz.com. Your cancellation will take effect at the end of your current billing cycle—monthly or yearly. When your account is cancelled, you assets will be deleted, and your tenancy deleted, so export any assets you need to keep prior to the cancellation date. Annual plans have no cancellation fee. Monthly plans have a cancellation fee equal to 3 months of the subscription fee.
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Can I transfer my words to another subscriber?
Words are provided as part of the subscriber's current plan, and cannot be transferred to another subscriber.
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How many "words" should my plan include?
It depends on how often you will use your own TMs for translation projects. Word usage is metered against the owner of the TM. If you plan to use your own TMs to perform the translation, either in your own tenancy or by aliasing them for others to use during translation, you should purchase as many words per month as are likely to be translated. If, instead, you plan on working only with TMs aliased to you, the owner of the TM is charged for the word usage, and you can purchase the minimum number of words.
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How many licenses do I need?
Purchased licenses are available for assignment to individual system users. You may configure more system users than the quantity of licenses, however, each user in a subscription must have an assigned license to use Translation Workspace.
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How are licenses assigned?
An automatic on-demand license management model makes license assignment easy and quick. "Floating" licenses are assigned automatically at login to the users who are actively working in your subscription. If a user no longer needs a license, it is automatically freed up when the user logs out. No hardware locks, no license keys. An admin can manually assign a "Fixed" license to a user, to ensure that the user always has a license (and the admin can remove this license at any time). To give you security from misuse of you licenses, Translation Workspace allows the flexibility of connecting to the server from multiple applications concurrently on up to two machines.
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How do I get Support?
GeoWorkz provides a Support page where subscribers and system users can access reference materials and troubleshooting information. Access to log a support request is available to all system and subscriber users with a valid license. Subscriber users have the option to purchase an Extended Support plan which provides access to advanced feature support for their system users.
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What is Extended Support?
Extended Support is an optional addition to your subscription, and can be added at any time. With the Extended Support plan, you get personalized assistance with the advanced features of Translation Workspace, such as:
- Penalty and Premium TM linking
- Live Asset Aliasing™
- Permissions management
- Review management
- Translation client configuration and usage
Lionbridge experts can offer extensive knowledge on these in-depth topics.
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How do I get a copy of my Invoice?
GeoWorkz.com is a subscription service, which means that your account is automatically invoiced and payment collected. When this occurs, an Account Statement is automatically sent to the email address you specified on GeoWorkz.com, in the My Account tab.
The GeoWorkz Account Statement indicates a 0 balance because it reflects payments that have already been made, as compared to an Invoice which would indicate an outstanding balance due. The Account Statement automatically emailed to you from GeoWorkz.com fully conforms with tax and accounting requirements worldwide, and includes: statement date, invoice number, a description of services provided, service cost and account balance, GeoWorkz tax address and VAT ID (if applicable), and your billing address and VAT ID (if applicable).
If you did not receive this Account Statement or have accidentally deleted it, please submit a support request indicating the date and amount of the invoice / payment for which you need the statement resent. If you need to update the email address associated with your GeoWorkz.com account, please log in to GeoWorkz.com and then click on your name at the top of the page to go to the My Account tab and edit your account information.
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Purchasing Options
How do I subscribe to Translation Workspace?
To subscribe and get started with Translation Workspace, please select a plan from Products > View All Plans. Your user account will get created during the checkout process.
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What are the available plans?
Each Translation Workspace plan includes a base allocation of words and licenses in the subscription fee. Please reference Products > View All Plans for a list of available subscription plans.
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What if I need additional licenses?
If additional licenses are required during the billing cycle, you can add licenses immediately with a supplemental plan. For each additional license above the base allocation, the subscriber is billed on a per license basis.
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What if I need more words than included in my subscription plan?
Every subscription plan has a base allocation of available words. If additional pay-as-you-go words are required, the subscriber is billed on a per word basis for each additional word above the base allocation.
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What currencies can be used to pay for my plan?
Payments can be made in Euro or US Dollars.
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Is there a trial version?
Free trials are available for you to try Translation Workspace for a limited time. The free trial lets you enjoy all the features and benefits of a Translation Workspace with no risk and no commitment. Sign up now for a free trial!
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Is there a student version?
At this time a student version is not available.
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What payment methods are accepted?
Payments can be made using major credit cards, debit cards, or PayPal.
Note: Debit cards with a Visa or Master Card logo are accepted as payment mechanisms.
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What are my payment installment options?
Plans are available in monthly or yearly installment options.
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GeoWorkz Marketplace
What types of jobs are available on GeoWorkz Marketplace?
The GeoWorkz Marketplace contains all of the jobs that Lionbridge project managers, language leads, and others are posting to their suppliers via Lionbridge’s own internal marketplace. These jobs range from translation to proofreading, to technical tasks such as desktop publishing and localization engineering. Every GeoWorkz subscriber will be able to see and reply to these jobs in real-time as they are posted by each Lionbridge office. It also means that experts who do not have prior experience with a particular Lionbridge office will have the exact same access to jobs from that office as those experts who are local to that office.
Within each job posting, the GeoWorkz Marketplace provides the key information about this job—including its languages, activity, volume of work, and dates. When additional information, such as the subject matter of the job, is available, it is posted as well. Because of the complex nature of localization, many projects will have multiple activities within them. For example, a document may need to be translated into a set of languages, have desktop publishing (DTP) done on it per language, and then be proofread in each language. Each of these steps—translation, DTP, and proofreading—in each language could be a single combined job or multiple separate jobs in GeoWorkz Marketplace. In each case, the activity of a job lets you know what tasks need to be performed on that particular job.
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Why is Lionbridge positing jobs on GeoWorkz Marketplace?
The localization industry needs to move quickly to support customers’ needs and vision. At the same time, the task of matching the right task to the right person is a daunting one—everything from language to technical skills to availability needs to be considered. The GeoWorkz Marketplace addresses the need for greater work placement velocity via an automatic posting of all eligible Lionbridge jobs—as soon as a job is posted, it is visible to all GeoWorkz subscribers. The GeoWorkz Marketplace also allows subscribers to reply only to those jobs for which they are qualified, and allow Lionbridge to match all responses against each expert’s qualifications. In other words, information about the job and the posting is entirely transparent, allowing all parties to focus on matching the right job to the right resource. In other words, the GeoWorkz Marketplace makes sure that everyone who is interested in a job has access to that job!
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How do I know when new jobs are posted to the GeoWorkz Marketplace?
The GeoWorkz Marketplace jobs feed allows GeoWorkz subscribers to sign up for a Web feed (RSS or Atom) of Lionbridge jobs. This feed is a continuous stream of jobs that you can choose to access via your Web browser or email client. You can decide which types of jobs you are interested in—for example, all English to European Spanish translation jobs, or all DTP jobs regardless of language—and receive only those postings in your feed. You can choose to receive this feed to any number of mobile devices as well, so, wherever you are, you will have immediate access to the GeoWorkz Marketplace jobs that matter to you.
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How do I bid on a job?
To bid on a Lionbridge job, log in to GeoWorkz.com, then go to the GeoWorkz Marketplace page to browse or search for a job of interest. When you find one, click the "Submit bid" button next to the job listing. Translation Workspace subscribers who have been qualified as a Lionbridge supplier will be directed to the Service Partner Portal to bid on the job. If you are not yet a Lionbridge supplier, you will be prompted to register.
If you have not yet purchased a Translation Workspace subscription plan, you will be directed to subscribe (or upgrade your Free Trial) to a paid Translation Workspace subscription plan. After you have subscribed, you can bid on the job, as described above.
Only subscriber users can bid on jobs. If you are a Translation Workspace system user, you must contact your tenancy subscriber.
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I'm on a Free Trial. How do I bid on a job?
When you find a job of interest and click the "Submit bid" button, Free Trial users will be prompted to upgrade to a paid plan. Once you have done so, you can click the "Submit bid" button again to bid on jobs. If you are not yet a Lionbridge supplier, you will be prompted to register.
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I have not worked with Lionbridge before. How do I bid on a job?
If you have not worked with Lionbridge in the past, you need to register as a Lionbridge supplier at the same time that you submit your bid for a job. This registration process will pull data from your GeoWorkz directory listing, as much of your directory listing (such as contact information and languages in which you work) is also part of the Lionbridge registration process. Therefore, your GeoWorkz directory listing must be created before you can reply to a GeoWorkz Marketplace job. Once you have completed all the registration screens, you may submit your bid for the job you had selected. Once you are awarded your first job, a Lionbridge representative will contact you to complete the Service Level Agreement (SLA) that governs your commercial relationship with Lionbridge as a supplier.
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Are jobs awarded solely on the basis of price?
No, because the primary purpose of the GeoWorkz Marketplace Beta is to increase the velocity and transparency of awarding the right job to the right expert. If you are already a member of Lionbridge’s community of global experts, you have a rich profile that contains everything from your linguistic skills to your technical competencies. You indicate a price in order to be considered for a job, but it is the full range of your profile, coupled with the needs of the immediate job, that determines which expert will execute the work.
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Compatibility
Can I export my linguistic assets?
Yes, Translation Workspace is compatible with many common formats used by other translation software packages. However, the exported linguistic asset is no longer a Live AssetTM.
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Can I import my linguistic assets into Translation Workspace?
Yes, Translation Workspace is compatible with many common formats used by other translation software packages. Importing your linguistic assets will turn it into live data.
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More Information
Where can I find information about upcoming events?
Please reference Resources > Webinars and Resources > Training for a list of upcoming events.
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In what languages is Translation Workspace available?
At this time, Translation Workspace interfaces are available in English only.
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How long has Translation Workspace been available?
Translation Workspace is powered by LogoportTM, Lionbridge's own Translation Engine. Logoport has been available since 2000 and has been used exclusively by Lionbridge and their customers since 2005, but is now available for general use as Translation Workspace.
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Is Translation Workspace secure?
Translation Workspace runs on a best-in-class SLA backed by a SAS 70 Type II certified data center with high availability, disaster recovery, and business continuity.
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What are the privacy policies?
Please refer to the privacy policy at the bottom of any GeoWorkz web page.
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What are the system requirements for using GeoWorkz.com?
GeoWorkz.com is compatible with these combinations:
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What are the system requirements for using Translation Workspace?
Translation Workspace Web Interface
The supported browsers for the Translation Workspace Web interface are Internet Explorer versions 7 and 8, and Firefox versions 3 and 3.5.
Microsoft Word Client Plug-in
The Microsoft Word Plug-in is compatible with:
- Microsoft Word 2000 / 2002 / 2003 / 2007 / 2010 (32 bits)
- Microsoft Windows 2000 / XP / Vista (32 or 64 bits) / Windows 7
XLIFF Editor
The XLIFF Editor is compatible with:
- Microsoft Windows: XP / Vista (32 or 64 bits) / Windows 7
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