Just starting out, need some help with Wordfast pro 3 Thread poster: Sarah Mathieson
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Hi everyone, I am doing some freelance work for a magazine here in Spain. They do not use software or send TM files. I have been using the Wordfast anywhere as it seems to be OK for my macbook however do you know how I can get TM etc to start using Wordfast pro 3 or should I stick to what I am using or look into something else?.
I am a native English speaker, should I only translate from Spanish to English or can I do both?.
Thanks alot.
Alba... See more Hi everyone, I am doing some freelance work for a magazine here in Spain. They do not use software or send TM files. I have been using the Wordfast anywhere as it seems to be OK for my macbook however do you know how I can get TM etc to start using Wordfast pro 3 or should I stick to what I am using or look into something else?.
I am a native English speaker, should I only translate from Spanish to English or can I do both?.
Thanks alot.
AlbaGU. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Download the TM from your Wordfast Anywhere account | Oct 15, 2015 |
Sarah Mathieson wrote:
I have been using the Wordfast anywhere as it seems to be OK for my macbook however do you know how I can get TM etc to start using Wordfast pro 3
Under TM & Glossaries > Setup, you will see a Download button:
Use it to save your TM to your local drive, after which you can select it in Wordfast Pro.
Sarah Mathieson wrote:
or should I stick to what I am using or look into something else?.
It’s up to you. There are other CAT tools that work natively on Mac, but the learning curve would most likely be smoother with Wordfast Pro, since you’re already familiar with Anywhere.
Sarah Mathieson wrote:
I am a native English speaker, should I only translate from Spanish to English or can I do both?.
Your competive advantage is probably in Spanish into English, as I guess there is no shortage of skilled native translators who can translate in the opposite direction.
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Hi and thank you Dominque.
Have you ever used XTM Cloud? I had the same issue, there was no TM etc. Is it better than WF Pro 3?
I was wondering if I should abandon my mac and invest in a windows laptop and get something like SDL Trados Studio? Is it a better software than WF Pro 3?
Kind regards.
Sarah.
| | | | | Selecting a CAT tool | Oct 15, 2015 |
Sarah Mathieson wrote:
Have you ever used XTM Cloud? I had the same issue, there was no TM etc. Is it better than WF Pro
As the name implies, XTM Cloud is an online tool, like Wordfast Anywhere. Wordfast Pro, OTOH, is a standalone tool that you install on your computer (whether it’s a Mac or a PC).
I’m not really familiar with XTM, but if you are interested in an online tool, you should (IMO) start to have a look at Wordfast Anywhere (which you already know), Memsource and MateCat.
Sarah Mathieson wrote:
I was wondering if I should abandon my mac and invest in a windows laptop and get something like SDL Trados Studio? Is it a better software than WF Pro 3?
First of all, there are plenty of CAT tools that work natively on a Mac, so you may want to have a look at them first.
Secondly, even if you end up using a tool that’s only available for Windows (eg. Trados, memoQ, Déjà Vu etc.), you can still do it on your Mac: just install virtualization software (Parallels, Fusion, VirtualBox) and a copy of Windows. Unless your Mac is very old and has limited resources, this works very well. If you’re happy with your Mac, why would you abandon it?
As to whether tool A is "better" than tool B, it’s up to you to assess. Nearly all tools provide a free trial, so give them a try. You may also want to have a look at my "First steps with ..." series of videos on YouTube (here). They will give you an general idea of the "look & feel" of each of the covered tools. You can then short-list those tools that appeal most to you and give them a try.
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Hi Dominique, I downloaded the TM from wordfast anywhere, though I have only translated a few documents, when I went to add them to wordfast pro 3 nothing happened when I opened the document that I needed to translate.
| | | | | Use TM Lookup | Oct 16, 2015 |
Sarah Mathieson wrote:
Hi Dominique, I downloaded the TM from wordfast anywhere, though I have only translated a few documents, when I went to add them to wordfast pro 3 nothing happened when I opened the document that I needed to translate.
For "things to happen" without you doing anything, the document you are translating in Wordfast Pro must be similar (at the sentence level) to the ones you translated in Wordfast Anywhere. You can improve your chances of getting fuzzy matches by decreasing the fuzzy threshold percentage under Edit > Preferences > Translation Memory. The default is 75%, try something like 50 or 60%.
Otherwise you can use the concordance search feature (called TM Lookup in Wordfast Pro), by highlighting a word or expression you’re interested in and pressing Ctrl+Shift+T (default shortcut), or the corresponding toolbar icon (the blue one with four arrows pointing in different directions).
Generally speaking, "things happen" with a TM only after a certain period of time. If you’re just starting, you need to build up your TM. The main immediate benefit for you will be being able to see source and target segments side-by-side when translating, one segment at a time. You can still make things happen by actively performing concordance searches whenever needed.
| | | | | Limitation of demo mode | Oct 16, 2015 |
One more thing: when used in demo mode (= without a license), Wordfast Pro will only let you use TM’s that have no more than 500 entries. If your TM is larger than that, nothing will happen, and this is expected. I believe you should be warned about it when selecting the TM in Wordfast Pro.
| | | | | Downloading. | Oct 16, 2015 |
Is there any way to get free TM that I could download too?
Thanks.
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Thanks alot, I was thinking of buying a license in the long run I think it would be better than WF Anywhere???
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Sarah Mathieson wrote:
Thanks alot, I was thinking of buying a license in the long run I think it would be better than WF Anywhere???
It’s up to you to decide. Just use Wordfast Pro for a while and then compare it to Wordfast Anywhere. Both do the same things, but in a different way (standalone, local tool vs. browser-based, online tool).
If you feel adventurous, you may want to give the new Wordfast Pro 4 a try. It’s available as a "Public Preview" here. One benefit of being adventurous is you can use it without the limitations of demo mode until next January. I recently made a video about it.
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