WordFast questions Initiator des Themas: Edward Potter
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Edward Potter 
Spanien
Local time: 05:03
Mitglied (2003)
Spanisch > Englisch
+ ...
Hello everyone. I'm still trying to find the great benefits of WordFast which only once in a while saves me work. I am using it right now for a manual I am translating and have some questions:
1) How can I edit my target text without seeing the source text and all of the codes? How do I make my corrections to supersede the old text in the TM.
2) I went back and edited a previously translated segment but the old translation keeps appearing. How do I get my latest v... See more Hello everyone. I'm still trying to find the great benefits of WordFast which only once in a while saves me work. I am using it right now for a manual I am translating and have some questions:
1) How can I edit my target text without seeing the source text and all of the codes? How do I make my corrections to supersede the old text in the TM.
2) I went back and edited a previously translated segment but the old translation keeps appearing. How do I get my latest version of the segment to appear?
3) How do I expand or shorten a segment when it appears? I need a step by step explanation.
Thanks to anyone who can help. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sonja Tomaskovic (X)
Deutschland
Local time: 05:03
Englisch > Deutsch
+ ...
1) After you have translated the document, press Ctrl+, [Comma]. It may be necessary to do so twice (or even three times; when I tried for the first time it wouldn't work immediately, only after a restart). The source segments along with the segment delimiters will disappear, and you will only see the target segments. If you need to edit one segment, go to the beginning of the segment (sentence), and press Alt+Down.
2) What settings do you have in Translation Memory->TM rules? If yo... See more 1) After you have translated the document, press Ctrl+, [Comma]. It may be necessary to do so twice (or even three times; when I tried for the first time it wouldn't work immediately, only after a restart). The source segments along with the segment delimiters will disappear, and you will only see the target segments. If you need to edit one segment, go to the beginning of the segment (sentence), and press Alt+Down.
2) What settings do you have in Translation Memory->TM rules? If you want to overwrite your existing TU, you have to change the settings to "Add to TM by overwriting existing TU". However, you should note that the old TM will be replaced by the new one. Alternatively, instead of changing this setting, you may try to press Alt+Right to view all proposed matches.
3)If you have a segment that is too large (e.g. you want to split a sentence with a colon or semicolon), press Alt+PageUp (Shrink segment). If you want to expand a segment press Alt+PageDown. You may need to press it more than once to get the expected results. This won't work if there is a line break within the segment. In this case, leave the segment untranslated, close it and remove the line break manually.
HTH.
Sonja ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Further hints | Oct 15, 2003 |
Sonja Tomaskovic wrote:
1) After you have translated the document, press Ctrl+, [Comma]. It may be necessary to do so twice (or even three times; when I tried for the first time it wouldn\'t work immediately, only after a restart). The source segments along with the segment delimiters will disappear, and you will only see the target segments. If you need to edit one segment, go to the beginning of the segment (sentence), and press Alt+Down.
Or just click on the paragraph mark-looking button in your Word toolbar.
2) What settings do you have in Translation Memory->TM rules? If you want to overwrite your existing TU, you have to change the settings to \"Add to TM by overwriting existing TU\". However, you should note that the old TM will be replaced by the new one. Alternatively, instead of changing this setting, you may try to press Alt+Right to view all proposed matches.
Of course, for Sonia\'s suggestion to work, you have to open the segment (put the cursor in the middel of it and press ALT+down arrow) prior to editing it and close it (ALT+end arrow) after finishing.
Also, do take some time to read the manual (these features are describes in very basic terms) or visit the WF Beginners\' Bible clicking on the relevant links at
http://www.your-translations.com
[ hope Sylver won\'t mind ]
| | | | Edward Potter
Spanien
Local time: 05:03
Mitglied (2003)
Spanisch > Englisch
+ ...
THEMENSTARTER | Follow up question | Oct 16, 2003 |
Dear Sonja,
You have been very helpful! Muja too. I have a follow up question:
Suppose I want to make the same change 50 times throughout the document. Do I have to open and close the segment each time I find it or is there some way to use the Word search function to make life easier for me?
Edward
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| Search and replace is the answer | Oct 16, 2003 |
If the change is the exactly the same (same string all over to be replaced always with the same new string), it might be faster to resort to Search & replace, without opening-editing-closing each segment (in Word, Edit > Replace).
I also suggest you change one occurence at the time (Replace button, not Replace All), so you can take a look at each case and see if it's correct to change it.
The units in your translation memory will be updated with the new translatio when you perform ... See more If the change is the exactly the same (same string all over to be replaced always with the same new string), it might be faster to resort to Search & replace, without opening-editing-closing each segment (in Word, Edit > Replace).
I also suggest you change one occurence at the time (Replace button, not Replace All), so you can take a look at each case and see if it's correct to change it.
The units in your translation memory will be updated with the new translatio when you perform the clean-up on the document (refer to Wordfast manual).
HTH
Edward Potter wrote:
Suppose I want to make the same change 50 times throughout the document. Do I have to open and close the segment each time I find it or is there some way to use the Word search function to make life easier for me?
Edward ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Wordfast questions | Oct 17, 2003 |
I've been looking for the same tremendous benefits, too, Edward. If you find them, or some of them, or even one of them, please give me a bell. Thanks.
| | | | Edward Potter
Spanien
Local time: 05:03
Mitglied (2003)
Spanisch > Englisch
+ ...
THEMENSTARTER | Benefits of WordFast | Oct 17, 2003 |
I have had WordFast for 2 years now and have yet to see its great benefits. I keep trying though. The manual I just completed had 17% matches so I figured I'd try the CAT tool again. It really did not save me any time and probably took me longer. However, with the help of my Proz colleagues on this thread I have answered some of the basic questions I had which sped up my work somewhat.
I remember that I used WordFst last year for a longtime client and they came back with a complaint fo... See more I have had WordFast for 2 years now and have yet to see its great benefits. I keep trying though. The manual I just completed had 17% matches so I figured I'd try the CAT tool again. It really did not save me any time and probably took me longer. However, with the help of my Proz colleagues on this thread I have answered some of the basic questions I had which sped up my work somewhat.
I remember that I used WordFst last year for a longtime client and they came back with a complaint for the first time ever. The loss of quality was directly related to the use of a CAT tool. I think that my main objection is that it makes editing and correcting difficult. ▲ Collapse
| | | | sylver
Local time: 11:03
Englisch > Französisch
| Talking about benefits | Oct 18, 2003 |
and qualities, and ...
1. NO tool is any good, *unless* you know how to use it. That goes for Wordfast, like every other tool I can think of. If you don't really know how to use it, don't. Learn first.
2. A tool has an intended purpose. CATs can improve quality/productivity in many cases, but *not always*. Once again, knowing your tools allows you to determine when you should use it and when you shouldn't. For instance, segmentation at sentence level is great for techni... See more and qualities, and ...
1. NO tool is any good, *unless* you know how to use it. That goes for Wordfast, like every other tool I can think of. If you don't really know how to use it, don't. Learn first.
2. A tool has an intended purpose. CATs can improve quality/productivity in many cases, but *not always*. Once again, knowing your tools allows you to determine when you should use it and when you shouldn't. For instance, segmentation at sentence level is great for technical stuff, but it may be a problem in ad copies.
As a side note, there is hardly any instance when a translation quality problem is caused by a CAT. You translate, and you check your final product, regardless of which tool you use. Whatever you send to a customer is supposed to match your personnal quality standards.
Providing that you know how and when to use Wordfast, it will offer, amongst other things, the following advantages:
1. Segmentation. It displays neatly the source and the target, one above the other, making it much clearer to translate.
2. The TM will, depending on the text, offer usefull matches, helping you to improve your consistency.
3. Context search will allow you to find other instances of a peculiar word/phrase in the memory, again helping you to remain consistant with not only your own previous translations but also that of other translators working on the same project, or past translations. In the absence of a TM, finding what term was used by other translators is a pain.
4. Glossaries allow you to easily access customer and/or subject specific terminology with a simple shortcut, and check that you do use the terms requested by your customer.
5. Direct look-up in multiple dictionaries
6. Quality check options allow you to ensure that you do not alter tags when translating a tagged format.
...
I could go on and on like that, but the basic idea is that Wordfast is a tool. Often useful, sometimes indispensable, and -although rarely - it can also be useless and time consuming, and should not be used. If you know how to use it, you will gain a considerable leverage with many documents. This at least is my experience.
For instance, just a few days ago I received a 3500 words web page, which turned out to be near identical to parts of some past translations of mine. It took me only a couple hours to translate the missing bits and check what would have been otherwise a full day worth of work, so as far as I am concerned, using Wordfast is quite rewarding. ▲ Collapse
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