Technical forums » Wordfast support »
Help! Wordfast not translating (I'm new to Wordfast)
Thread poster: raquel75 (X)
raquel75 (X)
raquel75 (X)
United States
Local time: 06:57
English to Spanish
Oct 4, 2017

Hi!

I have just downloaded and installed Wordfast 3.0, and I'm having trouble getting it to translate a text.
I created a New Project, added an empty TM, opened a file to translate, but when I click on Translate All, nothing happens!
I must be doing something wrong.
Any help with this will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
Jean Lachaud
Jean Lachaud  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 06:57
English to French
+ ...
If the TM is empty... Oct 4, 2017

You state your TM is empty. Since "Translate All" is based on the TM, nothing is going to happen.

Did you read the Wordfast manual?
 
raquel75 (X)
raquel75 (X)
United States
Local time: 06:57
English to Spanish
TOPIC STARTER
I'm not sure what a TM is Oct 5, 2017

Hi, and thanks so much for your quick reply.

I have read part of the manual, but I'm still not sure how Wordfast works.
So, isn't it supposed to translate automatically any text you provide?
I thought that the TM is empty initially, and then it populates as the program and you translate and save the changes. That's what I got from the tutorial I saw on YouTube.

Thanks, again!
 
John Di Rico
John Di Rico  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 12:57
Member (2006)
French to English
Enable MT Oct 5, 2017

You need to enable machine translation (MT) if you want it to translate automatically.

Best,
John
 
raquel75 (X)
raquel75 (X)
United States
Local time: 06:57
English to Spanish
TOPIC STARTER
So, Wordfast doesn't do machine translation? Oct 5, 2017

Hi again,

I'm trying to understand translation software, I'm starting with Wordfast.
I have a file ready to be translated, but the "machine translation" option is not available. Do you know why?
I'm sorry, but I'm getting a bit frustrated
I'm attaching a capture of my Wordfast screen.
 
raquel75 (X)
raquel75 (X)
United States
Local time: 06:57
English to Spanish
TOPIC STARTER
I can't enable machine translation Oct 5, 2017

Thank you, John.

I have enabled manual machine translation, but it still doesn't give me the option to do machine translation.
I have captured the screen for details.
 
Marcelina Haftka
Marcelina Haftka  Identity Verified
Poland
Local time: 12:57
English to Polish
+ ...
Wordfast is a CAT, not an MT tool Oct 5, 2017

Hello,
Wordfast (as other CATs) is supposed to facilitate and speed up your work. But you are the one who is supposed to translate, populate your translation memories and glossaries, make appropriate choices.
Of course, you are given the possibility to use the machine translation function, but usually for this you need to have an API key or another pay-for-MT option enabled with your MT provider.
Maybe try to start with reading... See more
Hello,
Wordfast (as other CATs) is supposed to facilitate and speed up your work. But you are the one who is supposed to translate, populate your translation memories and glossaries, make appropriate choices.
Of course, you are given the possibility to use the machine translation function, but usually for this you need to have an API key or another pay-for-MT option enabled with your MT provider.
Maybe try to start with reading this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-assisted_translation.
Good luck!
Marcelina ▲ Collapse
 
Christophe Delaunay
Christophe Delaunay  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 12:57
Spanish to French
+ ...
And maybe Oct 5, 2017

watch ALL the videos about Wordfast available on Youtube!
 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 12:57
Spanish to English
+ ...
Not a magic wand Oct 5, 2017

Marcelina Haftka wrote:

Hello,
Wordfast (as other CATs) is supposed to facilitate and speed up your work. But you are the one who is supposed to translate, populate your translation memories and glossaries, make appropriate choices.
Of course, you are given the possibility to use the machine translation function, but usually for this you need to have an API key or another pay-for-MT option enabled with your MT provider.
Maybe try to start with reading this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-assisted_translation.
Good luck!
Marcelina


As Marcelina points out, it's YOU that is the translator, so YOU have to do the donkey work, at least at first. You create the TM (Translation Memory) and as you go along, translating the text, WF "remembers" it. Then, on future occasions, when the same or similar texts appear, the program can insert them for you and save you from having to type. As you gradually build up your TM, or TMs, you can then leverage past translations, which can really speed up your output, if used properly. And if you don't have any actual translation work to do at the moment, you can always create your first TM/s by translating any random text yourself, or feeding it/them with text you may have translated previously.

Machine translation (MT) is different. You can use free MT programmes such as Google translate or DeepL in conjunction with Wordfast, but you may find it more convenient to use a paid-for API for this, for example GT4T.
 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 12:57
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@raquel Oct 5, 2017

raquel75 wrote:
I have enabled manual machine translation, but it still doesn't give me the option to do machine translation.


Have you seen this video?

https://youtu.be/xFnbN239J5Q?t=131

Also, I'm not sure if the new version of Google and Microsoft's MT systems work in WFP 3.0 anymore. Why don't you try WFP 3.4 (i.e. the latest version of WFP 3)?

http://wordfast.com/products/products_wordfast_pro_3
 
raquel75 (X)
raquel75 (X)
United States
Local time: 06:57
English to Spanish
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks, everyone! Oct 5, 2017

Thank you for all your input, I really appreciate it. I must say I feel a little silly having asked what now seem completely ignorant questions, but I'm learning a lot.
 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Natalie[Call to this topic]
Marco Ramón[Call to this topic]
Prachya Mruetusatorn[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Help! Wordfast not translating (I'm new to Wordfast)







TM-Town
Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business

Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.

More info »
Trados Business Manager Lite
Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio

Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.

More info »