Hello,

I have the following situation: a very long and technical manual
(hundreds of pages) about a complex piece of software that is
constantly changed and (hopefully) improved. Each chapter is another
Word document.

Problems and questions:
* Each document has to be translated from Dutch to French. Some of the
files are already translated, but not all.
* Some of the existing translations are outdated.
* Most images are screenshots, those have to be translated too. The
person who translates doesn't have access to the software the manual
describes.
* Images: should they be inside the document or external files?
* The translator doesn't have the technical knowledge the original
authors have, and she doesn't have a lot of time.
* There are about 4 people working on the manual, not always
simultaneous.
* Each time a part of the manual is updated, the changed paragraph is
mailed to the translator, who translates, sends it back, and the author
copies the translated part in the final document. Or is there a better
method?
* The manual is usually two versions behind the software it describes.

In short: maintainability is becoming a problem.
How is this done in "the real world"?

--
Amedee Van Gasse