Déjà Vu X: A Review of Version 7.5, Part I
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25 The ATA Chronicle ■ August 2007 The purpose of this review is to describe what Déjà Vu X (DVX) offers translators who do not currently use a translation environment tool. Translators who use a different tool, but who might be interested in switching, may find the details mentioned here just as useful as downloading a trial copy (since you would then be obliged to read the 600+ page manual). I have been using DVX for five years, so I have quite a lot to say. When evaluating any tool, I ask the following questions: • How easy is it to get started? • Is the translating/editing environ- ment easy to use? • Can I use the tool even when I will work with others who do not have it? • Is the terminology database well- integrated with the translating environment? • Is the translation memory database well-integrated with the translating environment? • What file formats and other tools can it work with? • What quality control features does it offer? • Is it stable (will it crash or, worse yet, cause my PC to crash)? How easy is it to get started? One advantage of DVX is that it is one program, rather than a collection of smaller programs, and that one pro- gram is relatively intuitive. For example, to translate a file, you must first open the program and then create a new project. This opens a wizard (an interactive help utility) that asks you to identify the file(s) to be translated, the languages in question, etc. The file is then imported and you can begin translating immediately. The transla- tion environment looks like a spread- sheet, with one column containing the source text and the other column con- taining the translation. New users will want to start with the Getting Started Guide (62 pages). The full manual is 622 pages long, and I can usually find what I am looking for in it, so I start looking there first. But again, I like manuals—I used to write them for a living—so perhaps this would be too much information for most users. The online help appears to contain the same information. The software inter- face is available in English, French, Spanish, and Dutch, but manuals are available only in English and Dutch. Is the translating/editing environment easy to use? Figure 1 on page 26 shows the basic DVX working environment (in this case, the translation has already been done). Figure 2 shows a close-up of two source and target cells. DVX uses codes inside braces to indicate formatting, and you must insert the codes (using the shortcut Ctrl+D for the next code) to match. The codes are in numerical order, beginning at the start of the document, and do not indi- cate what underlying formatting is represented. They could stand for bold, italic, a tab, a symbol, etc. In some cases, you will need to look at the source in the original format (MS Word, etc.) to see what the Déjà Vu X: A Review of Version 7.5, Part I By Naomi J. Sutcliffe de Moraes One advantage of Déjà Vu X is that it is one program, rather than a collection of smaller programs, and that one program is relatively intuitive. ➡
Transcript of Déjà Vu X: A Review of Version 7.5, Part I
25The ATA Chronicle � August 2007
The purpose of this reviewis to describe what Déjà Vu X (DVX)offers translators who do not currentlyuse a translation environment tool.Translators who use a different tool, butwho might be interested in switching,may find the details mentioned herejust as useful as downloading a trialcopy (since you would then be obligedto read the 600+ page manual).
I have been using DVX for fiveyears, so I have quite a lot to say.When evaluating any tool, I ask thefollowing questions:
• How easy is it to get started?• Is the translating/editing environ-
ment easy to use?• Can I use the tool even when I will
work with others who do not haveit?
• Is the terminology database well-integrated with the translatingenvironment?
• Is the translation memory databasewell-integrated with the translatingenvironment?
• What file formats and other toolscan it work with?
• What quality control features doesit offer?
• Is it stable (will it crash or, worseyet, cause my PC to crash)?
How easy is it to get started?One advantage of DVX is that it is
one program, rather than a collectionof smaller programs, and that one pro-gram is relatively intuitive. Forexample, to translate a file, you mustfirst open the program and then createa new project. This opens a wizard (aninteractive help utility) that asks youto identify the file(s) to be translated,the languages in question, etc. The fileis then imported and you can begintranslating immediately. The transla-tion environment looks like a spread-sheet, with one column containing thesource text and the other column con-taining the translation. New users willwant to start with the Getting StartedGuide (62 pages). The full manual is622 pages long, and I can usually findwhat I am looking for in it, so I startlooking there first. But again, I likemanuals—I used to write them for aliving—so perhaps this would be toomuch information for most users. The
online help appears to contain thesame information. The software inter-face is available in English, French,Spanish, and Dutch, but manuals areavailable only in English and Dutch.
Is the translating/editingenvironment easy to use?
Figure 1 on page 26 shows thebasic DVX working environment (inthis case, the translation has alreadybeen done). Figure 2 shows a close-upof two source and target cells. DVXuses codes inside braces to indicateformatting, and you must insert thecodes (using the shortcut Ctrl+D forthe next code) to match. The codes arein numerical order, beginning at thestart of the document, and do not indi-cate what underlying formatting isrepresented. They could stand forbold, italic, a tab, a symbol, etc. Insome cases, you will need to look atthe source in the original format (MSWord, etc.) to see what the
Déjà Vu X: A Review of Version 7.5, Part I
By Naomi J. Sutcliffe de Moraes
One advantage of Déjà Vu X is that it is one program,rather than a collection of smaller programs, and that
one program is relatively intuitive.
➡
The ATA Chronicle � August 200726
Déjà Vu X: A Review of Version 7.5, Part I Continued
codes stand for. DVX does provide anoption to see the context, but I havenever found it to be helpful for MSOffice documents due to their encoding.This option does not open the originaldocument in its native program.
A drawback to this numerical codemethod is when you have a word in thesource text that is bolded for somereason, and the target text requires twowords (like a verb with a helping verb)that need to be separated (one next tothe subject, the other at the end of thesentence). There is no way to do this in
DVX. You can only use each code once.Fortunately, this does not happen oftenfor my language combinations.Another disadvantage is that youcannot change the formatting from boldto italics. You can remove formattingaltogether by placing the begin and endformatting codes next to each other, ineffect applying them to nothing.
DVX uses symbols to indicate thetranslation status of a segment. Thesymbols for a pending translation andfor a finished translation are shown inFigure 2. Unfortunately, they are both
light blue, which makes them a bithard to differentiate. However, youcan choose to see only pending seg-ments on the screen (or only emptytarget segments, etc.), so this is nottoo serious a problem. You can addcomments to a segment, and thesecomments can be seen by reviewers ata later stage in the translation process.Comments are marked with an excla-mation mark as shown in Figure 2.
To move from one cell to the next(and send the segment translation tothe database), you must use the key
Figure 1: DVX working environment
Figure 2: Close-up of source and target cells
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combination Ctrl+Down Arrow.Unfortunately, this key combinationcannot be changed. You must takeyour right hand out of position topress the Down Arrow key. The Enter
key does not move the cursor. TheDown Arrow key will move thecursor, but the segment is not markedas translated, nor is it sent to the data-base.
A nice feature of DVX is that youcan join segments. Most programssplit segments every time a periodappears. Many abbreviations end inperiods, and some environment pro-grams chop up the segments, but inDVX you can teach it which abbrevi-ations are most common in your lan-guage so it will treat them correctly.
In DVX you can click on the first seg-ment of a pair, and then click on abutton to join it with the next. This isespecially useful when the originalauthor includes line breaks in unfortu-
nate places. You can also separate seg-ments when a period goes missing, orwhen a sentence is very long.
Another favorite feature in DVX isthe search and replace window, shownin Figure 3. It works just like thesearch and replace window in mostprograms, but you can search eitherthe source or the target text. I did notrealize how useful this was until Itried tools that do not have this fea-ture. Very frustrating!
An advantage of DVX is that youcan edit the source text in the left
column cells. I often scan pages andrun them through optical characterrecognition software with the expectedresulting errors (m is read as rn,accents are left out, etc.). The correctedsource text is then stored in the transla-tion memory, which is reversible.
DVX has an AutoText feature sim-ilar to that of MS Word, with oneextra step. First, you must define anabbreviation and the full text in theAutoText window. Then, every timeyou wish to insert that text you musttype the abbreviation followed byCtrl+Shift+F3. Fortunately, you canchange this ridiculously long keycombination. An AutoCorrect featurealso works like the AutoCorrect fea-ture in MS Word.
Almost anything can be done inDVX with keyboard shortcuts, but Iwish they had chosen better key com-binations. So many shortcuts requirecomplicated combinations, and the Fkeys are programmed to do things Irarely need. Fortunately, the shortcutF5 copies source to target, includingcodes. This is probably the func-
Figure 3: Search and replace window
A nice feature of Déjà Vu X is that you can join segments.
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Déjà Vu X: A Review of Version 7.5, Part IContinued
tion I use most, and a tool without itwould be useless to me. Still, a buttonfor this function would also be nice.
I rarely remember all the specialkeyboard shortcuts for all the differenttools I use, so I have created extra but-tons for the options I use most (thisworks like MS Word button cus-tomization). DVX also has an exten-sive context-sensitive menu (called upwith the right mouse button), shownin Figure 4. Just about anything Imight need is on this menu.
Can I use the tool even when Iwill work with others who do nothave it?
One disadvantage of environmenttools that use a proprietary interme-diate file format (the file format theprogram itself uses) is that onlypeople with the tool will be able toedit your work. I often work with aseparate editor for publication-qualitywork or medical texts, and this hasbeen a problem for me, depending onthe tool. DVX has two solutions.
• DVX Workgroup (the most expen-sive version) can create “satellite”files, which can be modified byany of the other DVX versions. Iwill not discuss this further, sincethe Workgroup version is notintended for freelance translators.If you do work with an agency thatprefers DVX, just be aware of thefact that you can download andinstall DVX Editor (the free ver-sion) to modify a satellite projectfile. This free version cannotimport files on its own.
• The second option can be used byDVX Professional and DVXWorkgroup owners. DVX has aspecial feature called externalview. After a translation is done, itcan be exported to a special table
Figure 4: Context (right-click) window
29The ATA Chronicle � August 2007
in RTF or HTML format, with onecolumn for source text, another fortarget text, and another for com-ments. The target text can be editedoutside of the tool and thenimported back into it. A specialscreen allows you to see thechanges made to the translation,and you can accept or reject eachnew segment. The DVX site even
provides four pages of instructionsfor proofreaders who have neverworked with an external view file(see the documentation section).
Note: If you work with another DVXuser, simply send that person yourproject file. It is self-contained and canbe modified with the Standard,Professional, and Workgroup versions.
Stay Tuned for Part IINext month, I will discuss more
advanced features in DVX, and how ittakes advantage of the integrated ter-minology databases and translationmemory databases.
References:Atrilwww.atril.com
Version reviewed:Déjà Vu X ProfessionalVersion 7.5.302
The Déjà Vu X site even provides four pages ofinstructions for proofreaders who have never worked
with an external view file.
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The 61st General Assembly of theUnited Nations (UN) has pro-claimed 2008 the International
Year of Languages, thereby recognizing thatgenuine multilingualism promotes, protects, and preserves the diversity of languages andglobal understanding.
The Assembly emphasized the importance of the equality of the organization’s six officiallanguages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. In that regard, the Assemblyrequested that the Secretary-General ensure that all UN language service providers be treatedequally and have equally favorable working conditions and resources. The Assembly alsorequested that the Secretary-General complete the task of publishing important older UN docu-ments on the organization’s website in all six official languages.
Further, the Assembly emphasized the importance of making appropriate use of the organi-zation’s official languages in all the activities of the UN’s Department of Public Information,with the aim of eliminating the disparity between the use of English and the use of the fiveother official languages.
UN General AssemblyProclaims 2008 theInternational Year ofLanguages
