Wordfast PRO 3 x Wordfast PRO 4: any interests to migrate?
Thread poster: CHPTranslations
CHPTranslations
CHPTranslations  Identity Verified
Belgium
Local time: 09:43
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Sep 28, 2016

Dear colleagues,
I am an old user of WF PRO, and since its release I have been successfully working with WF PRO in its version 3.
I wonder if I have any interests to migrate to WF PRO 4 (great advantages and more?) or if I better keep working in an environment that I am familiar with and that, until now, corresponds with my translation necessities.
Another doubtful point regarding this migration is that I am not sure if once downloaded, I can come back to my previous version i
... See more
Dear colleagues,
I am an old user of WF PRO, and since its release I have been successfully working with WF PRO in its version 3.
I wonder if I have any interests to migrate to WF PRO 4 (great advantages and more?) or if I better keep working in an environment that I am familiar with and that, until now, corresponds with my translation necessities.
Another doubtful point regarding this migration is that I am not sure if once downloaded, I can come back to my previous version in case it does not fit my expectations or in case I cannot really handle it.
Please let me know your opinions and experiences!
Thanks in advance,
Claudia
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Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 09:43
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Claudia Sep 29, 2016

Claudia H. P. Hoogewijs wrote:
Another doubtful point regarding this migration is that I am not sure if once downloaded, I can come back to my previous version in case it does not fit my expectations or in case I cannot really handle it.


According to the WF company's logic, I think, WFP3 and WFP4 are simply versions of the same program (even though they're not). The same license applies to both. If you have a license for "Wordfast Pro", then you can get a license key for both WFP3 and WFP4. And you can install both of them on the same computer (I know I have). They get installed in two separate directories and they don't share any settings.

So if you want to use continue using WFP3 and only use WFP4 for certain tasks, then that is quite acceptable.

I wonder if I have any interests to migrate to WF PRO 4 (great advantages and more?) or if I better keep working in an environment that I am familiar with and that, until now, corresponds with my translation necessities.


Well, there are some downsides. For example, WFP4 is less forgiving if you misguess the language codes of your input files. For example, if your input file's source language code is EN, and you don't know it and simply set up a project for EN-US, then WFP4 will refuse to accept the input files, and you'll have to start all over again. Also, in WFP4, you can't simply open files in the program, but instead you have to create a project using several dialogs. In WFP3, if you open a file and the current language settings clash, WFP3 will simply tell you, it takes only a second to create a new setting with the correct language codes automatically filled in by WFP3.

There are also some upsides. For example, there is a degree of segment filtering in WFP4, which is not present in WFP3. You can e.g. filter by displaying only 100% matches. Some things have odd names that you just have to discover by accident, for example if you want to see edited 100% matches, you have to select the filter called "All except 100%". (-:

Hmm, what else, let's see.

WFP4 has a TransCheck pane next to the TM Lookup, Notes and Segment History panes. But you still can't set WFP to show some or all of those panes simultaneously, and the panes don't have shortcuts -- you have to click on the pane's tab to see its content, every single time.

And even if you have a wide screen, the Notes in WFP4 are still displayed only in the Notes pane (and not, where it would make much, much more sense, in a column with each segment's comment directly next to the segment).

As in WFP3, the vertical height of the panes is limited to something allowing you to see only a few items of content (even if you make the WFP window very, very tall). It seems that the WFP designers think that all translators would want to see as much of the Editor as possible and as little of the informational panes as possible.

The Segment History pane in WFP4 makes more sense than it does in WFP3.

In WFP4, you can't run TransCheck on a file that is not actually in an existing project (so you have to create an entire new project, go through all them little dialogs, etc, if you want to TransCheck a file).

WFP4 is slower (I mean, less responsive) than WFP3. It almost feels like you're using one of those original Java programs when Java just came out, except that the UI is prettier.

I think the biggest reason why I don't use WFP4 for any but the most necessary tasks is the fact that, unlike WFP3, it does not save files in a location of my choosing, but instead it uses a complex set of nested folders to put things in (in the same way Trados 2009+ does, but only with more subdirectories).


[Edited at 2016-09-29 06:22 GMT]


 
JohnWhi
JohnWhi
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:43
French to English
Choosing project file location Sep 29, 2016

Samuel, I don't follow your point about WFP4: "It does not save files in a location of my choosing." When setting up a project, the first dialog box "Project Details", has at the bottom the option "Save Project To." and a Browse button. I tend to put the project folder in the same folder as the source files. Some people suggest this is not a good idea, but it has tended to work for me. With Translation Memories, Create Local also has Location and a Browse button. I tend to keep my personal ones ... See more
Samuel, I don't follow your point about WFP4: "It does not save files in a location of my choosing." When setting up a project, the first dialog box "Project Details", has at the bottom the option "Save Project To." and a Browse button. I tend to put the project folder in the same folder as the source files. Some people suggest this is not a good idea, but it has tended to work for me. With Translation Memories, Create Local also has Location and a Browse button. I tend to keep my personal ones in a TM folder and those related to a particular project in the same folder where the project is situated. I may have misunderstood the point you were making? If so, apologies. [Wordfast Pro 4.9.1, either on Mac OSX 10.12 Sierra or Windows 10]Collapse


 
CHPTranslations
CHPTranslations  Identity Verified
Belgium
Local time: 09:43
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks Samuel... Sep 29, 2016

for taking the time to reply and help me with such useful details.
I fully agree with you about the Notes pane (in whatever version of WF). It is badly displayed and it is annoying to be obliged to go looking for that window seeing that eventual notes could be automatically displayed near the translation space while segments are being translated.
Nice to know WF 3 and 4 are independent, indeed I tried downloading it and the icon of my WF3 is still displayed and working separately!... See more
for taking the time to reply and help me with such useful details.
I fully agree with you about the Notes pane (in whatever version of WF). It is badly displayed and it is annoying to be obliged to go looking for that window seeing that eventual notes could be automatically displayed near the translation space while segments are being translated.
Nice to know WF 3 and 4 are independent, indeed I tried downloading it and the icon of my WF3 is still displayed and working separately!
Thanks again!
Claudia
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Richard Bartholomew
Richard Bartholomew  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 09:43
German to English
Installed Wordfast Pro 4 and now Pro 3 won't start running. Oct 26, 2016

[quote]Samuel Murray wrote:

If you have a license for "Wordfast Pro", then you can get a license key for both WFP3 and WFP4. And you can install both of them on the same computer (I know I have). They get installed in two separate directories and they don't share any settings.

So if you want to use continue using WFP3 and only use WFP4 for certain tasks, then that is quite acceptable.

[\quote]

And it worked fine until I got an activation key from my Wordfast account and used it to set up the full version of Wordfast 4.9.5. Having done that, the full version of Pro 3.8.5 began refusing to start. The introductory Pro 3 banner pops up, but the rotating blue busy cursor spins indefinitely until I kill the Pro 3 process. Has anyone else had this problem?

I'm running with Windows 10 Professional on an HP Probook 455 (see https://www.amazon.de/Backlight-Notebook-Bluetooth-DVD-Brenner-Professional/dp/B01LCETK9Y/ref=sr_1_10?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1477491385&sr=1-10).


 
Patrick Wahl
Patrick Wahl  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 05:43
Portuguese to German
+ ...
time-comsuming Nov 4, 2016

[quote]

Samuel wrote:
WFP4 is less forgiving if you misguess the language codes of your input files. For example, if your input file's source language code is EN, and you don't know it and simply set up a project for EN-US, then WFP4 will refuse to accept the input files, and you'll have to start all over again.

[\quote]

That is really annoying and time-consuming. From a linguistic standpoint I never understood why this is given so much importance, in any tool, MemoQ etc.

When I translate into German, I don’t care if my source language is Brazilian or European Portuguese.

- And yes, less subfolders –

As a general input, I would like to ask the developers to keep it as simple as possible.

Like in translations: the simpler the language, the more complex the content I can express. The simpler my tool, the more I can focus on the actual translation work.


 
Jean Lachaud
Jean Lachaud  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 04:43
English to French
+ ...
I'm with you on that. Nov 4, 2016

[quote]Patrick Wahl wrote:



Samuel wrote:
WFP4 is less forgiving if you misguess the language codes of your input files. For example, if your input file's source language code is EN, and you don't know it and simply set up a project for EN-US, then WFP4 will refuse to accept the input files, and you'll have to start all over again.

[\quote]

That is really annoying and time-consuming. From a linguistic standpoint I never understood why this is given so much importance, in any tool, MemoQ etc.

When I translate into German, I don’t care if my source language is Brazilian or European Portuguese.

- And yes, less subfolders –

As a general input, I would like to ask the developers to keep it as simple as possible.

Like in translations: the simpler the language, the more complex the content I can express. The simpler my tool, the more I can focus on the actual translation work.



 
Anna Sarah Krämer
Anna Sarah Krämer
Germany
Local time: 09:43
Member (2011)
English to German
+ ...
Yes, please keep it simple Feb 7, 2017

I just decided to give WF 4 a go. It is now already taking 10 minutes to add a large file to a translation project and hasn't finished yet - whereas WF 3 opened the same file in a couple of seconds. I really don't understand why so many things that are supposed to be new and better are just a step back in a shiny new skin. Getting tired of it (see also my other post about DNS 13 and 12.5). Plus the 100% hard disk usage in Windows 10 that everybody just seems to accept these days, plus many more ... See more
I just decided to give WF 4 a go. It is now already taking 10 minutes to add a large file to a translation project and hasn't finished yet - whereas WF 3 opened the same file in a couple of seconds. I really don't understand why so many things that are supposed to be new and better are just a step back in a shiny new skin. Getting tired of it (see also my other post about DNS 13 and 12.5). Plus the 100% hard disk usage in Windows 10 that everybody just seems to accept these days, plus many more things that are off topic and just too annoying to think of....

Does this planet increasingly resemble the movie "Idiocracy" or am I just getting old and cranky?
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Anna Sarah Krämer
Anna Sarah Krämer
Germany
Local time: 09:43
Member (2011)
English to German
+ ...
Working with Wordfast Pro 4: an update Feb 8, 2017

To be fair, once the software has uploaded the file into the project, it works well. I am especially pleased that it does not get slow when using it together with DNS 12.5, something that gave me a lot of trouble in Wordfast 3. I am very glad to have my old productivity back.

 
John Di Rico
John Di Rico  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 09:43
Member (2006)
French to English
Works for Dragon Dictate on Mac as well Feb 8, 2017

Anna Sarah Krämer Fazendeiro wrote:

To be fair, once the software has uploaded the file into the project, it works well. I am especially pleased that it does not get slow when using it together with DNS 12.5, something that gave me a lot of trouble in Wordfast 3. I am very glad to have my old productivity back.
As

Hi Anna,

I just tested on a Mac using Dragon Dictate and works great. If you haven't done so already, I recommend customizing commands like "Next Segment", "Previous Segment", "Clear Target", etc. to press the shortcut keys for you.

Best,

John


 
Karel Theys
Karel Theys
Local time: 09:43
German to Dutch
+ ...
Wordfast Pro + DNS Apr 16, 2017

Anna Sarah Krämer Fazendeiro wrote:

To be fair, once the software has uploaded the file into the project, it works well. I am especially pleased that it does not get slow when using it together with DNS 12.5, something that gave me a lot of trouble in Wordfast 3. I am very glad to have my old productivity back.


I am using Wordfast Pro3 and DNS 13 together as well. However, I have not figured out yet how to correct misinterpretations by DNS. With Wordfast Classic (and therefore MS Word) it is easy by using {NumKey-}, but that does not work in WF Pro. Perhaps you could help me out? Thank you very much.

Karel Theys


 


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Wordfast PRO 3 x Wordfast PRO 4: any interests to migrate?







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