the excel file challenge
A file is not a file and this is particularly true for files that can do more than displaying stuff. We all know that text written in text boxes can be difficult to detect for CAT tools - some never find it (like Trados sometimes do) and some double up (which seems to be Deja Vu’s problem at times). But do you also remember the last file that had a word count of 2000 but you didn’t see a single word - I’ve seen it all (not): hidden fonts disappear in the print-preview, text disappears behind text boxes or even the famous “white font on white background” failed not to impress.
This is stuff where you cannot do with out a CAT tool that shows you what’s going on in a text. But even those tools are challenged when you get into translating an Excel file with linked content and truckloads of macros. Well - it is work in progress and my fingers are still crossed that a translation dummy will reveal that the CAT tool can cope.