Igor has done it again: He simplified the Project interface after reading my previous entry on this blog.
Click to enlarge
However, he's cheating a bit - a few bytes even - because all 28 items are still there, hidden behind tabs (highlighted in yellow). This UI is far less `frightening' than the old one, so it's an improvement anyway.
In my wish list, I suggested to skip this interface all-together, and go straight to the workflow UI. Igor does not agree, and argues this `sounds good only if you want to continue the project.'
My arguments in favour of skipping the Project UI:
You can find the very same Project UI in the workflow UI under Project>Project Info. So why not take the `risk'? If you don't continue a project, set up a new one in the workflow UI.
Igor argues that it would take more steps: `first you would need to close all the memories, glossaries from the previous project and next go to the Project UI to configure them anew, which might be totally different than in the last project.' But is that true? I mean, `totally different'? I asked a question on Rosetta: How many language pairs do you work in, and how often do you switch between them? I don't have the results of this poll yet, but I bet the number of pairs is very limited. And if you work with Big Mamas and Papas for each pair, switching will not take much time. No time at all, if Igor manages to link the Mamas and the Papas (all the leaves are brown) to the various language combinations. That would only leave the project specific glossaries to select, and you'll have to do that anyway.
IMPORTANT NOTE for MAC users: For the time being, close CafeTran via the Project menu instead of using the keyboard shortcut. Igor will fix this soon. SOLVED
First responses from Rosetta (thank you, Rosettans):
ReplyDeleteI have two language pairs, French to English and Italian to English, and translate around the same amount in each pair.
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I only advertise Spanish to English, but longstanding clients have often had me work from Portuguese to English and even from English to Spanish. The latter is mostly for one particular client, but when they have a conference or a meeting I might switch between English>Spanish, Spanish>English, and Portuguese English several times a day over the course of a week or two....and I am someone who only advertises one combination.
So I think you have a point.
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Spanish into English, because those are the only two languages I know.
I also do “English” into English.
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I translate professionally exclusively from French to English. With
extremely occasional exceptions.
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Only one language pair, in both directions.
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I do Czech-to-English, Slovak-to-English, and French-to-English. I daresay there are very few native anglphones who know either Czech or Slovak at a high level, who would translate out of only one of the two. That is, any good Czech-to-English translator can do Slovak-to-English without stretching, and vice-versa. The same would, I'm sure, be true of Czech-to-French and Slovak-to-French, i.e., regardless of target language, the two sources are likely to be equally possible. That's a special case, but not unique; it probably holds for the languages of the former Yugoslavia, too.
More from Rosetta:
ReplyDeleteEssentially three language pairs, fr>en, es>en, de>en. Proportion of es>en has been rising but still probably not more than 30%; fr>en in excess of 65%; de>en very occasional.
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I work with En>Ru projects as often as with Ru>En ones, so the proportion is 50/50. Once in a while I have some Fr>Ru translations but in general their volume is incomparably small as opposed to the above-mentioned.
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Mainly German and French into English and sometimes Italian to English
in my government office and the same in my home office.
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Almost exclusively Danish into English; on rare occasions* also Swedish or Norwegian into English.
Never English into Danish - there are plenty of native Danish-speaking translators.
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French to English, tho' have sometimes done other direction for information only and for clients I know very well.
Primary language pair (into mother-tongue) in specialty niche, ongoing (daily).
ReplyDeleteSecondary language pair (also into mother-tongue) general texts on relatively rare occasions (once every few months).
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As for me, I work from Ru to En; I think I've made $50 in the other direction in 25 years. That doesn't count farmouts/subcontracts, of course.
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Exclusively German to English.
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I handle 8 language pairs (3 according to the "mother tongue" principle, 3 that I was trained for and 2 when specifically asked), which means I have at least 8 different mdb files in DV3.
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Me: German to English - about 90% of the time; French to English 10%, if a large job arises where John ( French to English only) can't meet the deadline alone.
I advertise two source languages, English and German, and one target language, Swedish, but receive a growing number of projects from Norwegian, sometimes also from Danish. Originally just emergency translating, but the clients were happy and have been sending more now and then. I typically only do them if I know there's someone knowledgeable checking them, but haven't had any other corrections back than matters of taste and preference. So I'd need one target language and four source languages, at worst so far three source languages within one project.
ReplyDelete---
Normally only IT> EN. Very rarely EN>IT for very reserved documents for information purposes only. Very rarely FR>EN and only for international politics.
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Very roughly:
nl=>en 40%
fr=>en 30%
it=>en 10%
pt=>en 10%
es=>en 10%
I have done very small amounts of de=>en, but nothing trickier than birth/marriage certificates. In theory, it=>en is the pair for which I am best qualified and nl=>en the least, but, well, that's how it goes.
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I do Catalan into English and Spanish into English, probably 60% Catalan and 40% Spanish.
I can handle French but would only do it if I had no other work to do as it’s not an everyday language I use for communicating with people around me so it takes me about three times as long to do, I’d rather keep my French for travelling and understanding things I want to understand!
I never translate from English into Catalan/Spanish, there are enough people out there who do a far better job than I would do!!
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Let me comment on the current state of the start-up panel. When the translator runs the program he/she has three choices:
ReplyDelete1) Start a new project
2) Continue the last project
3) Continue any of the other still unfinished projects.
The whole point of the initial start-up panel is to let the translator decide and start the translation with as few clicks as possible.
Since CafeTran remembers the recently used resources and main memories, the continuation of a project means just approving your choice by clicking on the button with the last project name (the last improvement).
To continue another recent unfinished project choose it from the "Recent project menu".
To start a new project, configure it in the Documents and Memory settings.
To each of the project there may be a different set of resources attached (memories, glossaries, online resources). Not only the number of languages used by the translator is important but also the direction of translation. Moreover, CafeTran offers a few types of workflow suitable for different purposes. And everything should be decided here with one or two clicks.
It would be possible to skip the initial panel altogether when you launch the program, but I am afraid the users would often have to go through this panel anyway to make their choice (e.g. while working on a few projects in the same period of time)
The initial panel was a bit messy at first but now it is more compact and organized exposing the necessary items and hiding the less frequently used settings behind tabs.