EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR TRANSLATION Directorate S - Customer relations
S.2 - External Translation
INSTRUCTIONS FOR USERS
(last update: September 2015)https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/dgt/freelance
This manual will guide you through the basic features of the
eXtra
portal
Access is confined to translators working for the Directorate-General for
Translation of the European Commission. Current contractors have been
given a personal login and password to access the portal.
If you run into any
technical problems
, please contact the portal manager
(
[email protected]
). Tel. +32.2.29 55701.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Contents
1.
CONNECTING TO EXTRA ... 4
1.1 ECAS account ... 4 1.2 Computer environment ... 72.
HOME PAGE ... 8
2.1 What’s new ... 82.2 What would you like to do? ... 9
2.3 My reading corner, the archives ... 10
3.
MY PROFILE ... 11
3.1 Current data of your file online ... 11
3.2 SMS notification ... 11
3.3 Sending a request concerning My profile data ... 11
3.4 Ranking ... 11
4.
JOBS ON OFFER ... 12
4.1 New job's (detail) screen ... 13
4.2 Handling of "Confidential" documents ... 14
4.3 Notification of availability ... 15
5.
NOTIFICATION OF AWARD OR NON-AWARD OF A JOB ... 16
6.
AWARDED JOBS ... 17
6.1 Ongoing assignments ... 17
6.2 Confidential documents ... 20
6.3 Orders sent back for quality reasons ... 21
7.
NEW TENDER ANNOUNCEMENT BY NEGOTIATED PROCEDURE ... 22
9.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR) ... 24
9.1 Filling in your IPR forms ... 24
9.1.1 Option 1 ... 25
9.1.2 Options 2 & 3 ... 25
9.2 Signing your IPR Annex(es) ... 28
9.3 Uploading your Annex(es) A1 and (if any) Annex(es) A2 ... 30
9.3.1 Annex(es) A1 ... 30
9.3.2 Annex(es) A2 ... 30
10.
TRANSLATION MEMORIES ("TMS") AND ANNEXES (SRC FILES) ... 32
10.1 Translation memories sent by the Commission ... 32
10.2 Sending your Translation memories ... 32
10.3 Annexes - Non editable images ... 33
11.
SENDING THE TRANSLATION TO THE COMMISSION ... 34
11.1 Sending your translation, comments and other documents ... 35
11.2 Sending a new version to replace my first upload ... 37
11.3 Sending back a translation of a multilingual document ... 37
11.4 Upload error ... 38
11.5 Details of a document that has already been delivered ... 38
12.
TRANSLATION SENT BACK ON GROUNDS OF QUALITY ... 39
12.1 Documents provided online ... 39
12.2 Sending your revised translation ... 39
13.
FEEDBACK AND QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF THE TRANSLATION ... 40
13.1 Feedback ... 40
13.2 Quality assessment of the translation ... 41
14.
“MY INVOICES” SCREEN ... 42
1.
CONNECTING TO
eXtra
The eXtra portal is a gateway to the External Translation web site of the DG for Translation of the European Commission, to which contractors connect to consult newly announced jobs, download and upload documents and perform many other actions related to their contracts with the DG for Translation.
1.1
ECAS account
To connect to eXtra, since November 2013, you must have an ECAS account. ECAS is the European Commission Authentication Service which allows to check user credentials (e.g. login/password) and retrieve user identity.
All external translators who did have an access before November 2013 should have been asked by DIGIT (Directorate General for Informatic Tools) to register and create an ECAS account. Should you still be active in our database and if you do not know your new ECAS credentials, please contact the Portal Manager by email ( [email protected])
Should you not have an ECAS account yet, please create one following the procedure described below:
Go to http://ec.europa.eu/visits
Click on "online application form" under "How to apply?"
Choose "External" for the question "Where are you from?"
The ECAS Authentication page appears
Click on "Create an account" OR
Go to the portal url:
https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/dgt/freelance/index/home.cfm The connexion page to ECAS will open
Click on "Create an account"
NB: Be sure that you log in into the domain External. Should you not be on
Fill in all the fields, making sure you enter a correct e-mail address
Type the Captcha code (do not leave spaces and enter only lower case letters).
Then click on "Create an account"
You will receive a confirmation e-mail to complete the registration and choose your password.
Click on the link mentioned in the e-mail. You will be redirected to another page to create your password.
Please click submit. You then need to go back to the homepage of the visit requests (http://ec.europa.eu/visits/) to complete the application form. After completing all the fields of the application form, submit the request. You will receive an email confirming that your request was correctly introduced into our system.
Detailed information on how to create an ECAS account can be found on
http://ec.europa.eu/visits/documents/ecas-step-by-step_en.pdf
To connect to the eXtra Portal, use the same url as previously, i.e.
You will reach the ECAS authentication page. On the "Where are you from" page, please select "External" (if necessary):
Then type your ECAS Username and password and then click on . Do not forget that both User Id and password are "case sensitive".
Should you have forgotten your password, click on "Lost your password?" and follow the procedure described in that section. You will receive an email enabling you to get a new password.
Once the system has identified you as our contractor, you will be redirected to the Home Page (see point 2 below).
If you type a wrong username or password, you will get an error message:
Check them and try again.
If they still do not work, your login may have been disabled and you should contact the Portal manager [email protected] for further help or phone +32 2 29 55701.
1.2
Computer environment
The portal has been tested in the following environments:
Browser:
Microsoft Internet Explorer Versions 7.0 & 8.0
Opera Version 11.62 for Windows
Firefox Version 12.0 The browser must:
Enable SSL 3.0
2. HOME PAGE
On the top-left hand side of the screen, your ECAS details are displayed: name, email address, Domain, Domain username and ECAS userid, as well as your contract details (name and contract number). This box remains permanently on display through all the portal screens until you decide to log out.
Underneath the connection/disconnection box, we publish in real time useful and important notifications and information relating to the Portal and the way you must perform your work for us. Do please consult regularly these notifications. On the top right-hand side of the screen, below the menu bar you will find several hyperlinks which lead you to useful practical information: the Important legal notice (relating to the use of the Portal, the data and the documents put online, copyright etc.), some information on Cookies, a Help section (leading to this Users' guide) as well as a FAQ, and a Contact page which informs you on the persons in the External translation unit who can handle any queries related to the performance of your contract with us:
• Work in progress, ranking, quality issues management teams:
Brussels: [email protected]
Luxemburg: [email protected]
• Linguistic matters (email to the linguistic department):
• Technical problems: [email protected]
• Invoices: [email protected]
• Contracts: [email protected]
• Administrative matters: [email protected]
When sending your queries we advise you to clearly indicate in the "Subject" field of your e-mail the keyword(s): new job, target language, order n°, invoicing, contract n°, upload problem, change of address, quality, feedback… followed by the complete number of the document you are referring to. This will allow us to quickly identify the subject of your mail and deal with your enquiries effectively.
The Home page also displays three frames: "What’s new", "What would you like to do?" with the menu of all the portal functions and "My reading corner, the archives", where you will find archives of the most relevant older notifications
published by the External translation unit.
2.1
What’s new
This window allows you to see at a glance all the new items that have been posted online for you and that you have not yet read. The data is arranged in three columns: New Jobs, My orders and Feedback.
New jobs: Click on the order number to view the new job details
My orders: Click on the order number to see further details concerning this particular assignment that has been allocated to you.
Feedback: Follow the link of the document number to get to the page where you can see the quality assessment given to your translation and download the feedback file that has been posted to you together with all related documents.
Important! Orders for which the translation has been sent back to you for quality reasons will not be indexed on this list.
NB: The links will be removed from this screen as soon as you have clicked on the link and viewed the pages with the job, order or feedback details.
2.2
What would you like to do?
This menu displays all actions that can be carried out on the Portal. By clicking on each of these links you will be transferred to a new screen.
Consult the new jobs the Commission has announced to you by e-mail and state whether you can take on any specific assignments
Start working on the orders assigned to you
Send your completed documents to the Commission (upload)
Revise evaluated translations to improve quality
Send your final revised translation (upload)
See your current ranking position
See if some feedback has been sent to you
We strongly advise you to visit our site on Europa:
http://ec.europa.eu/translation/index_en.htm. All DGT's language departments provide guidelines, glossaries and useful information intended for translators working for the Directorate-General for Translation. The purpose of these guidelines is to set the standard to which all translations into the official languages are to be carried out.
2.3
My reading corner, the archives
Older relevant communications will be listed in this window so that you can come back to them at any time. You will find the titles sorted by their publication date.
3. MY PROFILE
3.1
Current data of your file online
On this page you can view some of the data in your file online, in particular your address, telephone and fax numbers, mobile number (for sms notification) and your current e-mail address. Please inform us as soon as possible of any change in your
e-mail address, your postal address or telephone. Your e-mail address is essential to ensure that our job announcements get to you safely. E-mail notifications can be sent out to one e-mail address only.
3.2
SMS notification
If you subscribe to the SMS feature, you receive a short message announcing the publication of a new item online, and this for each new job notification and each awarding of a job. The SMS function was mainly devised to replace fax notifications which still exists but cannot be combined with the SMS notification.
3.3
Sending a request concerning My profile data
Should you like to activate the SMS option, stop receiving fax notifications or just modify data in your file, write to us by clicking on the link "Fill in this form" on the bottom of My profile window to submit your request. Your request will be sent to the contracts manager and you will receive a confirmation by e-mail as soon as the required modifications have been introduced.
3.4
Ranking
This table shows your position relative to all other contractors who are included on our lists for the language combinations and sublots in question. The quality component of the quality/price ratio is updated on the first day of every month in order to take into account the assessment of each assignment evaluated in the preceding month and to update the contractor's ranking position accordingly. Other adjustments may be made to the contractor’s ranking position during the month as a consequence of temporary suspension or termination of contracts.
Key:
Active active sublot
Inactive temporarily suspended sublot Excluded terminated sublot
4. JOBS ON OFFER
Our contractors have been registered in our database following specific calls for tenders. All transactions relating to the performance of these contracts take place via this portal. The DGT’s External Translation unit announces translation jobs (translation, post-editing, revision) online.
For each job on offer, a notification is automatically sent by e-mail and by fax or sms to a list of contractors, following the order of the official lists drawn up according to the number of marks obtained on the basis of the contract award criteria.
Selected contractors receive the “new job announcement” and are invited to connect directly to the “New Jobs” screen, by clicking on the link to eXtra at the bottom of the message.
If you fail to connect to eXtra via this link, we advise you to log on to the portal manually by typing the eXtra URL: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/dgt/freelance in your
browser’s address line.
The “New jobs” screen displays a list of the jobs currently on offer and their current status. Here contractors are asked to indicate online whether they are interested in taking on any of these jobs.
4.1
New job's (detail) screen
This screen has entirely been rebuilt in order to give you for all "New job announcements" a quick and complete overview of the job contents:
View of the related Framework contract: ex. GEN11SL EN, FR, DE into SL
Identification of the Order number YYYY/XXXXX: ex. 2015/02851
View of the Origin of the job announcement either coming from our unit in Brussels (BXL) or Luxemburg (LUX)
In case of Follow-up view of the related document Nr currently or already translated by your services
View of the "Expected deliverables" if required :
o IPR annexes (see point 9 and seq.) o TM (translation memories)
o LegisWrite format document
View of the Reply deadline (GMT+01:00/02:00 Brussels' time) of the job announcement's.
On the bottom of this frame, you will find the documents which can be downloaded:
the information sheet which is to be read carefully as it contains useful information for the proper treatment of the assignment in general: the language combination, the sublot, the type of document (LegisWrite, …) and specific instructions for each document if need be, translation memories (FLM) and annexes (FLA) to be delivered together with the translated text,
the original to be translated,
translation memories and/or reference documents if any that can be helpful and need to be taken into account.
At this stage, documents are supplied purely for information purposes, without any effect on the final allocation of the job concerned. The publication of the documents on the portal does not imply any contractual commitment on the part of the Commission.
Important notice !!! Please reply by the deadline. Once the deadline has passed, the new job announcement will be removed. Deadlines are indicated according to Brussels time (GMT + 01:00/02:00).
4.2
Handling of "Confidential" documents
Some sensitive documents may be classified as "confidential". It means that those documents have to be handled with more caution.
In this particular case, a flag is added: - on the list of new job's proposals:
When published, the original (ORI) is replaced by a summary (RSM) of the text to translate. This summary enables the contractors to have a general idea of the text (technical, legal text, etc.). All other information (number of pages, language
combination, special instructions, ...) are identical to the information given for jobs' proposals of non-confidential texts.
Before stating your availability, you are asked to "accept to observe the instructionsfor the treatment of the confidential documents … " by ticking the box.
When the order is validated solely the contractor who is awarded the job, receives the original to translate together with the Order form and other material.
Next steps of the workflow remain unchanged.
4.3
Notification of availability
On the “new job details screen” you are asked to state your availability by clicking on one of the buttons [Yes, I am available] / [Sorry, I am not available] at the bottom of the frame. Scroll down the page if necessary.
NB: You can change your answer as long as the reply deadline has not expired.
Accepting an assignment means that you accept the conditions set out in the
information sheet (agreed deadline: date + time, number of pages, reference material to be used, expected deliverables, etc.).
Once the reply deadline has passed, the job announcement is removed from the new jobs' screen and moves to the “status information” frame underneath. This
frame shows the answer you have given for your availability for each job. The provisional order status is shown in real time (in the example below, "job not awarded" means that a contractor upper placed in the list is also available). As soon as the job is allocated (= order validated), the order number will be removed from this screen.
If you have replied "Yes" you should receive:
an official notification by e-mail and by fax or sms in case the job is assigned to you,
an official notification by e-mail only in case it is not awarded to you.
Please note that the job might not be assigned to you even though you have declared yourself available. Indeed we select, from among the contractors available, the one who is best placed on the list.
IMPORTANT: Even if you are on the top of the list, you should not start working on this job before receiving the official notification from the Commission by e-mail stating whether or not the job has been assigned to you.
5. NOTIFICATION OF AWARD OR NON-AWARD OF A JOB
Once the reply deadline has passed, the External Translation unit imports all the responses received to each specific announcement and the job is allocated to the contractor best placed among those who have stated their availability for that job.
If you have been selected, the DGT sends an official notification announcing that the job has been awarded to you by e-mail (and fax or sms) and invites you to connect directly to the “My orders” screen, by clicking on the link “eXtra” at the bottom of the message.
If you have not been selected, DGT sends, by e-mail only, an official notification announcing that the job has not been awarded to you.
You can also read under the “Status information” window of the “New jobs" screen, the provisional statement “job not allocated”, shortly before the non-attribution notification is sent.
In this case, no order will be added to your list of “My ongoing assignments”.
6. AWARDED JOBS
6.1
Ongoing assignments
You have received the official notification by email. By clicking on the link eXtra at the bottom of the message, you will be logged on and connected to “My ongoing assignments” screen.
This screen shows all your "ongoing assignments" and their main information: the target language, the number of pages, the delivery deadline and the status of the job.
New orders are added to the list as they are allocated to you and they are tagged with the " " alert. Once a translation has been evaluated, the assessment note and the feedback file (if any) is added to the “Feedback” screen.
You can sort the information displayed in ascending or descending order by clicking on the small arrows in each column.
The icons and colours used on this screen are meant to give you a quick overview of the work that remains to be done for a specific order. Click on "View legend" at the top of this window to better understand the workings of this screen :
For each job the status in real time is indicated.
“Not yet returned” status (red) means that you have not yet deliver the expected deliverables to the Commission.
“Partially returned” status (orange) means that at least one translation of an order has been delivered but some other translations related to the same order have still to be delivered.
“Fully returned” status (green) indicates that you have successfully uploaded all deliverables needed for that order i.e. translation, translation memories (if requested) and IPR annexes (if any).
“In evaluation” (grey) means that our unit has viewed all your deliverables and successfully transmitted them to the requesting department for evaluation. If an order remains “in evaluation”, it may mean that some follow-up is taking place for quality reasons. You will be informed if a translation is considered not to be up to the required standards.
“Partially accepted” status (blue) indicates that some, but not all documents received by DGT have been accepted.
“Accepted” status (yellow) means that all deliverables have been accepted by DGT and that the order form can be invoiced.
To get the detail of the job assigned, click on the Order number. The following screen appears .
At the top of this screen you see the date on which this order has been allocated to you, the framework contract under which the job has been allocated and the status of the order as a whole – "not yet returned", "partially returned", "fully returned", "in evaluation”, and "accepted" (or "partially accepted").
The Order details' screen shows all needed information necessary to complete the job:
Related Framework contract: ex. GEN11SL EN, FR, DE vers (into) DA
Identification of the Order number YYYY/XXXXX : ex. 2015/02790 View of the "Expected deliverables" if required :
o IPR annexes (see point 9)
o Translation memories to be delivered under the FLM file (see point 10) o LegisWrite format imposed
o Annexe(s) (translated SRC files to be delivered under FLA file – see
point 10).
Please note that the terms and deadlines (date and time) specified in the order are binding on the contractor. The information sheet will give you detailed instructions to help you to carry out the job and the contact persons for the assignment.
The information and the documents which can be downloaded in the order details
are as follows:
The electronic order form for the job (pdf),
The information sheet with specific instructions to be taken into account for this job,
The original document as well as the deadline set (date and time) for this document,
A pre-processed translation package containing associated translation memories and/or files in the XLIFF format,
Intellectual Property Rights form (IPR) (if any),
Reference documents (if any)
Be careful: in case there are several documents to translate in the same order, the deadline set for the delivery of the translation can be different from one document to another.
Whenever an order form contains several documents to be translated, the screen shows the first deadline to be met. This field is dynamic, which means that as soon as the first deadline has been met, the next deadline for a different document will be displayed and so on.
From this screen you can upload (= send) your completed translation and all requested deliverables to the Commission.
After we have imported your deliverables, the order form will remain available until the related invoice is paid by the Commission.
6.2
Confidential documents
If the order refers to a confidential document, a tag is added both in the list of "My ongoing assignments":
The specific instructions to be observed for this treatment, that you have accepted while stating your availability can still be consulted.
When the translation is completed, the procedure (IPR, upload, etc.) is the same as for a non-confidential document.
6.3
Orders sent back for quality reasons
In the “My Orders” screen you may also find a frame called “Orders sent back for quality reasons”, which is displayed only if you have been asked to bring an already translated document up to the required standard. Click on the order number to see further details of the document to be re-translated (see point 12).
7. NEW TENDER ANNOUNCEMENT BY NEGOTIATED PROCEDURE
We highly recommend you to first read the contractual provisions and the conditions laid down in the specifications for tenders by negotiated procedure. Click on the link “eXtra” at the bottom of the e-mail message you have received and download these documents by clicking on the corresponding links to be found on the page with the new job details.
Submission of an offer implies acceptance of the conditions laid down in the tender specifications and acceptance of the contractual provisions. You undertake to perform the job as requested in the information sheet (agreed deadline, number of pages, processing format, delivery of translation memories, transfer of IPR, etc.). Please read carefully the instructions given.
In this case, since negotiated procedure applies, you are invited to submit a bid online by entering your price per language combination and per standard page
including all costs relating to the performance of the contract. The number of pages has been fixed by the Commission according to its own counting rules and is not subject to revision. The contract will be drawn up on the basis of this fixed number of pages. You can send your bid by clicking on [Yes, I am available] at the bottom of the page. Bids not submitted via the portal will be rejected.
Before stating your availability and price, you are also asked to accept the general conditions for negotiated procedures by ticking the box: "I adhere to the contractual provisions and to the conditions laid down in the specifications for this tender. I undertake to perform this service as requested in the information sheet (agreed deadline, number of pages, processing format, etc.)."
If you don't, your bid will neither be sent nor taken into consideration.
Until the reply deadline has passed, you can view your submitted bid by following the link of the specific order number. If you feel you have made an error, you can modify the data you have entered and submit your bid again before the reply deadline expires. To keep track of your bid, print out this page for your records.
8. AMENDMENT TO AN EXISTING ORDER
You are currently working on the translation of a document. If for any reason, there is a need to change the deadline, the Request management team (Brussels or Luxembourg) will send you an amendment to the Order form.
From a practical aspect, you will receive an email, as usual, asking you to connect to the
eXtra
Portal. In my Order screen, "Ongoing assignments", click on the Order form for which a change of deadline has been asked. There is a new line :Amendment – YYYY/12345_AV1 as well as the new deadline set. The download button will allow you to see the amendment form (pdf). Downloading the amendment form will give us the confirmation that you agree with the new deadline set:
Please note that the amendment is an addition to an existing order. All other provisions of the initial order remain unchanged.
9. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR)
These provisions only apply to GEN11 contracts
An IPR Annex is a document to be signed by the author(s) of the translation to formally transfer the Intellectual Property Right (IPR) of the translation to the European Commission.
For each document to be translated included in an order awarded under the GEN11 contract, you will have to fill in a form indicating if the assignment was executed exclusively by employed staff and/or by one (or more) subcontractor(s). In this latter case you have to indicate the name/s of all the subcontractor/s and confirm that :
- the translation delivered is an original and free of any claims of third parties; - you have all the relevant documents which prove the acquisition of all IPR; - subcontractors have received or will receive their remuneration on the due date.
Important: IPR only apply to the translation work performed under a contract (not to revision/editing work, not to negotiated procedures).
9.1
Filling in your IPR forms
Click on [IPR].
The following form is shown on your screen.
Name of the contractor Title of the treatment
(N.B.: texts in blue bold will be automatically filled in):
For each document to translate, three different cases can apply: o first option: the translation was done exclusively by the contractor or
its employed staff
o second option: the translation was done exclusively by one or by
several external creators (subcontractors)
o third option : the translation was made partly by the contractor, partly by one or several external creators (subcontractors)
9.1.1
Option 1
If you select the first option, all you need to do is click on Save and proceed to point 9.2
9.1.2
Options 2 & 3
Should you indicate that one or several subcontractors have participated in the total or partial execution of the assignment (options 2 & 3), a new part of the form will be displayed on your screen in which you will have to fill in with the data relating to the subcontractor(s):
Click on Add to add a new subcontractor. For each subcontractor, please indicate
the name (first name and family name), the name of the company (if any) as well as a personal e-mail address,
the date of the contract transferring to you all the rights
the date in which the subcontractor(s) received their remuneration in full, or (please do not fill both boxes, it is either one of them),
the number of weeks (from receipt of confirmation of acceptance of the job) within which they will receive their remuneration in full.
The system will register all the data relating to your subcontractors. Next time, you will have to fill in an Annex A2, the system will display a dropdown list (next to Add new) containing the names of your subcontractors already registered in the database.
Use the button Add new to add subcontractors already registered in the database, select the subcontractor then click on Add.
To erase one subcontractor, click on Delete next to the relevant subcontractor.
In the
Specific remarks field
(mandatory): please specify which part of the translation has been done by the subcontractor (for each subcontractor).Should you have stated that the translation was made partly internally and partly externally (option 3), please also indicate in the General remarks field, which parts of the translation has been done by the contractor or its employed staff.
NB: This field will only show up and is mandatory when selecting option 3.
Before saving the form, tick the three checkboxes to accept the statements mentioned next to them.
Then click on SAVE .
N.B.: You can change the data in the IPR form at any time, provided that you did not upload and send out your deliverables (translation + requested document(s)) and that the External Translation Unit did not retrieve them from the Portal. To modify this data, click on [IPR] and modify the form.
9.2
Signing your IPR Annex(es)
When the IPR form has been filled in, new additional buttons will be available : In case the translation is made by the contractor or its employed staff (Option 1 - only 1st part of the IPR form filled in) :
Click on [View Annex A1] which generates a pdf document that you can print and save on your computer, according to information filled in the 1st part of the IPR form.
The Annex A1 is to be printed, dated and signed by you (or by the legal representative in the case of a company).
Click on [Upload Annex A1]: Annex A1 is to be uploaded and the
In case the translation is made totally or partially by subcontractors (Options 2 or 3 - 2nd part of the IPR form filled in):
Same procedure as above for Annex A1.
Click on [View Annex A2] which generates a pdf document you can print and/or save on your computer, according to information filled in the second part of the IPR form. Annex A2 will have as many pages as subcontractors have been indicated for executing the translation.
Each Annex A2 is to be sent to your respective subcontractor. Annex A2 is to be dated and signed by the concerned subcontractor who must send it back to you.
Click on [Upload Annex A2]: Annex(es) A2 (compiled in one single pdf file) is(are) to be uploaded through the eXtra Portal (see 9.3.2).
NB: - Annex A2 can be sent to the subcontractor (for signature) as soon as you have filled in the form.
- The upload of the Annex A2 must be done before the upload of the translation.
- Annex(es) A2 can be uploaded at any moment even before the translation has been done/uploaded.
In conclusion, for each document translated, you are requested to
in any case, fill in the Annex A1, date and sign it and upload it through the eXtra Portal, and send the original by post, and,
in case of subcontracting, upload the dated and signed Annex(es) A2 (if several subcontractors are involved, Annexes A2 are to be compiled in one single pdf document) through the eXtra Portal.
9.3
Uploading your Annex(es) A1 and (if any) Annex(es) A2
!!!! Uploading Annex A1 and A2 (if any) is to be done before uploading your translation !!!!
9.3.1 Annex(es) A1
Your dated and signed Annex A1 must be scanned and uploaded through the eXtra Portal.
Besides, the original is to be sent to the Commission by post together with the invoice.
Click on [Upload Annex A1], then on Browse… and select the pdf file containing the signed Annex A1. Then click on Send. Once the Annex A1 is sent out and that there is no Annex A2 (no subcontractor), the
[Upload] button is available so that you can upload and send your translation.
N.B.: The [View Annex A1] button remains available until your translation is evaluated.
9.3.2 Annex(es) A2
When the translation was executed, exclusively or partly, by one or more subcontractors, one or more Annexes A2 must be signed by the subcontractor(s). This has to be done for each document to be translated included in an Order. The dated and signed Annex(es) A2 must be scanned into one single pdf document and sent to the Commission through the eXtra Portal.
Click on [Upload Annex A2], then on Browse… and select the pdf file containing the signed Annex(es) A2. Then click on Send.
N.B.: The [View Annex A2] button remains available until your translation is evaluated.
Uploading and sending Annex A1 and Annex(es) A2 are mandatory when the translation is executed exclusively or partly by one or more sub-contractors.. Should you fail to upload them, the system will not allow you to send your translation to the Commission!
You must upload a pdf copy of the signed & dated Annex A1 and send the original by post together with the invoice mandatorily!
Once the whole IPR procedure is completed, the [Upload] button is available so that you can upload and send your translation to the Commission (see 11)!
10. TRANSLATION MEMORIES ("TMs") and ANNEXES (SRC files)
10.1
Translation memories sent by the Commission
When a new job proposal is published on the eXtra Portal, in addition to the original document(s) to translate, the Information sheet, and reference documents if any. There might be also a pre-processed translation package containing associated translation memories and/or files in the XLIFF format.
When a job is awarded to you, you can find on the eXtra Portal the Original, the Order form, the Information sheet and, if any, reference documents and the TMs which can be downloaded.
10.2
Sending your Translation memories
!!!! Uploading Translation memories (if required) is to be done before uploading
your translation !!!!
DGT's Translating units can specify in the instructions indicated in the Information sheet that they wish to receive the TMs you used for translating the document.
In this case, you have to upload the TMs prior to uploading the translation.
A new specific browsing field for uploading TMs is available on the order detail screen [Upload FLM] (FreeLance Memories):
The accepted formats are
*
tmx, *xml and *zip (upload of *xliff format is not yetpossible, please deliver in a zipped file). If several translation memories are to be delivered, you have to zip them first as well.
10.3
Annexes - Non editable images
!!!! Uploading the Annexe(s) (if required) is to be done before uploading
your translation !!!!
Some documents to be translated may contain non editable images, graphics or pies. To allow contractors to translate texts and captions included in these images, an Annex file containing an editable version of the texts is provided as reference document (more often an xls file SRC document).
Once the translation of these texts are completed, upload the file as Annex (FLA
FreeLance Annex) in one of the following format : * doc *docx, *xls, *xlsx *ppt, *pptx,*zip, *pdf, *xml, *rtf, *txt. The upload is to be done through the field [Upload FLA]. If several files are to be delivered, you have to zip them first.
11. SENDING THE TRANSLATION TO THE COMMISSION
As soon as all mandatory documents (IPR annex(es), TMs and/or Annex(es) if required) have been uploaded, a new [Upload] button appears. It will enable you to upload your translation.
The [Download] and the [Upload] links are displayed at the same level as the original document
On this screen you will find all details related to the document you are about to upload. You can view the original document to ascertain that you are putting the right document in the right place.
If your order contains several language combinations, they will be displayed in the document details and you should carry out the upload accordingly.
Please be reminded that for GEN11 contracts, the IPR annexes must be uploaded before you can send your translation to DGT.
11.1
Sending your translation, comments and other documents
In order to send your translation to the External translation unit, click on [Upload]: A new page opens (Document details) :
Translation: next to the document, click on Browse… and select the file of your final translation from your hard disk.
Comments file: You can also submit your comments for a specific job in a separate file. Next to "My comments", click on Browse… in order to upload your comment document if any (we recommend you to send one).
Add any other remarks you think necessary in the field "Remark" (this remark will only be sent by email to the requesting unit).
When your document(s) is(are) uploaded, click on Send. The following warning message is displayed:
Are you sure you want to send your
[product : translation, post-edited document,
etc.]
in
[target language]
to the Commission?
Check the product and language details. If you accept, your deliverables will be sent to the External Translation unit via the portal.
The status of the order will change to "Fully returned".
IMPORTANT: Until the status remains "Fully returned", you can still upload a new version of your deliverable(s) if necessary: translation, TMs (FLM), Annex (FLA),
comments file (FLC) and IPR Annex(es) (if any). The [Upload] buttons remain
active.
Once the External Translation Unit has imported your deliverables from the Portal, the order status will change in "In evaluation" and the [Upload] buttons are removed.
The Order however remains in "My ongoing assignments" screen until your invoice has been registered into DGT system. This will allow you to still see and download the documents you have sent.
11.2
Sending a new version to replace my first upload
You can perform as many uploads as you need provided that the External translation unit has not yet retrieved your files from the portal. Otherwise contact us as soon as possible. We will either make a turn back in our system so that you could upload your new version, or ask you to send us the new version by email. The system displays the date and time of your first and last upload. The former will be registered in our system as the official delivery date and time of your assignment. You can use this information to demonstrate that you have or have not met the agreed deadline. For any query regarding a particular order, send an email to the "contact" person indicated on the "Document details" screen. We highly recommend you to add the requests management team ( [email protected] for Brussels / [email protected] for Luxembourg) in copy of your e-mail, to make sure that it is read in time by the External translation unit.
11.3
Sending back a translation of a multilingual document
Some document to be translated are written in two (or three) languages. Such job may therefore contain one original split into two (or three – which is the maximum) different source languages. The system being based on language combinations, therefore on the screen you will find twice (or three times) the same reference number of the multilingual job (*- LG-ORI-*), one for each source language into the same target language.
You are expected to produce one single document in the required target language containing the complete translation of the text in both (or in the three) source languages. To upload your translation, click on one of the available [Upload] links of the screen and send the file, the second link (and the third one if any) will
automatically change to [Detail], that's to say, that you close down all treatments at one go.
Please do not deliver two (or three) separate translations one per source language, the second upload will replace the first one in the system, and so on, and the delivered translation will be incomplete.
11.4
Upload error
Whenever the system detects an error while the document is being uploaded onto the portal, an error identification key will be generated and a “Send by mail” button will be added on the Upload screen next to “Send”. We advise you to keep a copy of the generated error (PDF file) as proof of an upload error for your own records.
As mentioned online, remember that if no error is generated and you are still unable to upload your file, you should send your translation to our requests management team by e-mail : [email protected] (Brussels) or [email protected]) (Luxemburg), so that you can meet the delivery deadline.
11.5
Details of a document that has already been delivered
Data regarding any delivered document and the document itself remain available online on the “document history” of the “order detail” screen of a specific order displayed on the “My ongoing assignment” screen.
requesting department of the DGT has performed and completed the quality assessment procedure, the assessment mark and the feedback file (if any) will be added on the “Feedback” screen, one entry for each document translated.
12. TRANSLATION SENT BACK ON GROUNDS OF QUALITY
The External Translation unit may ask you to supply a final version of a translation. In this case, orders will be sent back to you because they do not meet the Commission’s quality standards.
The DGT will provide you with a short revised extract of your original translation to help you bring the rest of the translation up to the required standard. This file will be provided online and will be called: "revised extract".
Please note that the revision work, which must be completed by the deadline
specified by the Commission will not give you the right to any additional payment. For further information, contact our quality team / E-mail: [email protected]. By clicking on the link at the bottom of the message you received, you will be logged on to eXtra and connected to the “Orders sent back on grounds of quality” window of the “My orders” screen, where you will find the order number of the job to be revised. Click on the order number to display the details.
12.1
Documents provided online
the electronic order form
the information sheet with the details and specific instructions to be taken into account
the original document
reference documents (if any)
pre-processed documents (retrievals, alignments, machine translations, if available)
your delivered translation to be revised
revised extract of your delivered translation with markings
12.2
Sending your revised translation
Once you have finished your work, please submit your completed revised translation to the Commission. As for the first sending, go to the order details, click on [Upload] and you will get the screen where you can Browse and select your revised file. Add any remarks you think necessary and click on Send.
13. FEEDBACK AND QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF THE TRANSLATION
13.1
Feedback
The DGT intends to provide you with as much feedback as possible to help you to have a better idea of the standards required.
Click on the Feedback screen and check if new files have been posted. You should consider this part as a sort of personal mailbox, where you will be notified every time a new feedback file is uploaded (" " alert).
If for any reason the DGT modifies and sends a new version of the feedback file, you will be alerted with the sign “ ”. The alert signs “ ” and “ ” are removed as soon as you click on [View].
If feedback related to a certain translation is available online, a “View” link will appear on this screen alongside the document it concerns. Click on this link to open a new window to see the details. Here you will now be able to view and download the feedback file and see the date on which it has been posted. The original and your translation are also made available for your convenience.
Important:
Please note that feedback files will automatically be removed 30 days after their posting date. If related to a confidential document, the feedback files will be removed two days after you have downloaded them. Make sure you have viewed and/or downloaded the files you may need before their removal.
The Feedback screen also provide you with the "Ready for invoicing" information which means that the Order can be invoiced to DGT. Please be aware that the date of your invoice must be equal or greater than the date indicated in this column.
The translations still under evaluation and/or the deliverables not yet accepted, are tagged with a red cross and cannot be invoiced yet.
For any additional information on invoicing, please consult the specific guidelines:
https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/dgt/freelance/help/instructions_invoicing_en.pdf
13.2
Quality assessment of the translation
Once your delivered translation has been evaluated, a new line will be added at the top of the Feedback screen. Quality assessment given to your completed assignment will be displayed alongside the document it concerns. Possible quality marks: "Very good", "Good", "Acceptable", "Below standard", "Unacceptable".
The "Acceptable" mark should be understood as "Barely acceptable". In other words, it may refer to translations that are not ready to be sent as such to the requesting service and will possibly require significant revision or upgrading efforts by DGT services. First of all, this quality mark will of course have an impact on your
position in the ranking and secondly, it may lead in the long term to a re-assessment of your quality provided in the lot in question.
If you have been asked to re-translate a document on grounds of poor quality, the first feedback file will be posted at the time you have received the email notification. As soon as your revised translation has been examined, a second line will be added on the Feedback screen with the code “2nd eva”, so that you can easily differentiate it from the first one. You will now be able to see whether your re-translation has finally met the required quality standards.
Please note that even if after this second evaluation the quality assessment changes and instead of “Below standard” your job is now assessed as “Good”, the appreciation mark that is taken into account for the monthly calculation of the ranking remains the first one.
14.
“MY INVOICES” SCREEN
This screen closes the life cycle of your orders. You will be able to follow the status of your orders in their final stage: payment.
The invoice must be sent to the Commission within 10 days of the acceptance of the deliverables i.e. the translation, the translation memories if requested (FLM), the annexes if requested (FLA) and the original IPR annex A1 in original (GEN11 only). As soon as the External Translation unit receives your invoice and the IPR annex(es) (GEN11 only), it is entered in DGT system and your Invoice number will first appear on this screen only if the related jobs have been duly delivered to the DGT. If any of the deliverables is missing or if the evaluation of the translation requires further checks, the payment delay will be delayed or suspended.
The status displayed relates to the processing stages of the invoice received. We talk here of: “registered invoice”, “in progress”, “sent for payment” or “closed”. Once payment has been settled (Closed), data will still remain online for 30 days.
”Closed” means that you should expect to receive the corresponding amount in your bank account soon, depending on the speed of bank transactions.
Payment shall be made within 45 days of the receipt of a correctly established invoice if the delivery has been accepted by the Commission.
15.
HOW TO DISCONNECT?
The Disconnection box remains permanently on display on the left-hand side of the screens. Click on « Logout User Id » when you decide to quit eXtra. Log out eXtra will also disconnect you from ECAS.
