Author: Claudia Alvis

DRAE and RAE’s DPD results just one letter away with Firefox’s Quicksearches/Smart Keywords

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Sorry, this entry is only available in Spanish.

A few months ago, I wrote an article about Firefox for translators (Internet & Applications for Translators). In the article, I mentioned that one of my favorite Firefox features was Quick Searches. Firefox renamed this feature to Smart Keywords but the functionality remains the same.

Here’s what I wrote then:

QuickSearches

By far one of the best Firefox features. Quicksearches allows the user to assign keywords shortcuts in order to perform searches, so instead of opening a web site, type the term and click on Search, Go, etc, the query can be done directly from the address Toolbar. For instance, instead of going to the KudoZ page, entering the term I’m looking for and hit search, I just type ‘kz [whatever term I’m looking for]’ and the page is automatically directed to the results. It saves a lot of time. In order to create a Quick Search entry, place the cursor on the search field, right-click and select ‘Add keyword for this search’, the keyword is bookmarked. Tip: By default, the Quicksearch Bookmark is stored with the rest of the Bookmark, but I prefer to store it in a folder named Quicksearches to keep them organized.

Some of my Quicksearches are: the Blue Board – bb, KudoZ – kz, Word Reference English to Spanish – ws, WordReference Spanish to English – wd, Acronym Finder – a, DRAE – e, hesaurus – t, etc. The key is to use a keyword that is going to be easier to remember.

I thought of this feature when I read a post on Twitter about a website where the results from both the DRAE (Diccionario de la Real Academia Española) and RAE’s DPD (Diccionario panhispánico de dudas) can be brought up using one single search via the Academia Costarricense de la Lengua. The post was originally twittered by Elizabeth Sánchez and later by Pablo Muñoz Sánchez. The original post (and link) can be found here: Buscar palabras en el DRAE y en el DPD al mismo tiempo (thanks Elizabeth).

Additionally, the cursor can be positioned automatically in the URL bar using a simple shortcut: CTRL+L. In my case, my Smart Keyword is ‘r’, so now I only have to press CTRL+L and r plus the term I’m looking for and that’s it.

Click for a screenshot
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Resultados del DRAE y del DPD mediante una sola letra, gracias a las Búsquedas rápidas/Palabras claves inteligentes de Firefox

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Sorry, this entry is only available in Spanish.

Hace algunos meses, escribí un artículo sobre Firefox para traductores (Internet & Applications for Translators). En ese artículo mencioné que una de mis funciones favoritas de Firefox eran las ‘Búsquedas rápidas’. Firefox le cambió el nombre a Smart Keywords (Palabras claves inteligentes) pero la funcionalidad sigue siendo la misma.

En ese entonces esto es lo que dije (traducción):

Búsquedas rápidas

De lejos una de las mejores funciones de Firefox. Las ‘Búsquedas rápidas’ permiten que el usuario pueda asignar accesos directos con palabras claves [o letras] para que, en vez ir a la página, ingresar el término y hacer clic en Buscar, Ir, etc., la búsqueda se puede hacer directamente desde la barra de direcciones. Por ejemplo, en vez de ir a la página de los KudoZ, escribir el término que estoy buscando y hacer clic en Buscar, solamente tengo que ingresar ‘kz [el término para buscar]’ y la página con los resultados se abre automáticamente. Ahorra un montón de tiempo. Para crear una ‘Búsqueda rápida’, colocar el cursor en el campo de la búsqueda, hacer clic con el botón secundario y seleccionar ‘Agregar palabra clave para esta búsqueda’; así, la palabra clave queda guardada. Consejo: Las ‘Búsquedas rápidas’ se almacenan con los demás marcadores, pero yo prefiero organizarlas en una carpeta a la que le puse ‘Búsquedas rápidas’.

Algunas de mis ‘Búsquedas rápidas’ son: Blue Board – bb, KudoZ – kz, Word Reference inglés a español – ws, WordReference español a inglés – wd, Acronym Finder – a, DRAE – e, Thesaurus.com – t, etc. Lo importante es usar una palabra clave que sea fácil de recordar.

Me acordé de esta función cuando leí una entrada en Twitter sobre una página web que te permite obtener los resultados del DRAE (Diccionario de la Real Academia Española) y del DPD (Diccionario panhispánico de dudas) a través de una sola búsqueda, gracias a la Academia Costarricense de la Lengua. La entrada la publicó Elizabeth Sánchez originalmente y después lo hizo Pablo Muñoz Sánchez. La entrada original (y el enlace) aparecen aquí: Buscar palabras en el DRAE y en el DPD al mismo tiempo (gracias Elizabeth).

Además, el cursor puedo ir a la barra de direcciones automáticamente mediante un par de botones CTRL+L. En mi caso, mi ‘Palabra clave inteligente’ es ‘r’, así que solo tengo que presionar CTRL+L y ‘r’, más el término que estoy buscando; eso es todo.

Clic para ver una imagen
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Subtitling: “You want to tell me that that wants to chase a plastic fist Put is a homosexuality into my fart eye?”

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Sorry, this entry is only available in Spanish.

“You want to tell me that that
wants to chase a plastic fist
Put is a homosexuality into
my fart eye?”
–Borat

Seriously?

Is it machine translation? Crowdsourcing? Back-translation? Maybe all of the above, but these subtitles are as funny (and intelligible) as they can get. Not even a professional translator could decipher that.

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Increased productivity and shortcuts for multiple and single-monitor set-ups

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Sorry, this entry is only available in Spanish.

Most people with more than one monitor will agree that a multiple-monitor set-up can improve productivity. In fact, a study commissioned by Fujitsu showed that having two monitors increases productivity by 8.4% and having three monitors increases productivity by 35.5%; a study by Jon Peddie Research showed a productivity increase of 42%!

Another study by NEC concluded about text editing tasks: “… both the 24-inch widescreen and 20-inch dual screens were significantly more productive than the 20-inch single monitor configuration in completing these text tasks.” And: “With the costs of larger LCD displays falling, the smaller, (less than 19-inch) monitor is no longer justified in terms of productivity returns and worker well-being… Based on performance and preference from this study, large widescreen or multiple monitor configurations are recommended for use in any situation where multiple documents of information are an ordinary part of the work.” The same report showed a Return of Investment of 600% in certain work environments.

It is also important to note that many studies show that the increase in productivity decreases with monitors that are 26 inches or larger.

Having multiple monitors also has its disadvantages; mainly, space problems. But if you have the space, I say go for it. The only thing needed is a video card that allows the use of multiple monitors or one display adapter (like the ones made by EVGA) per monitor.

Once the multiple monitors are installed, navigating throughout the extended display can be tricky. A simple way to manage all the monitors and windows (even for a single monitor set-up) is through a simple but very useful utility called  reSizer. It enables keyboard shortcuts to switch, focus, move, resize and change other window properties in a fast and intuitive way without even touching the mouse. Some of my favorite reSizer shortcuts are: […]

28% discount for all AIT products (including Translation Office 3000 and Projetex)

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Sorry, this entry is only available in Spanish. AIT has announced a new-year campaign with a 28% discount on all products, including Translation Office 3000 and Projetex. I’ve been using Translation Office 3000 for several years and it’s one of the best investments I made. It not only creates invoices and handles payments, but it’s[…]

SDL Trados Studio: Importing Multiterm 2007 termbases into Multiterm 2009 (Video Tutorial)

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Sorry, this entry is only available in Spanish.

Multiterm Termbase

Multiterm Termbase

Unlike previous versions, the new Multiterm 2009 allows the user to select where to store the termbases. In my opinion’, working directly with Multiterm 2009 termbases is much better and allows more flexibility over the termbases.

Converting a Multiterm 2007 termbase (mdb file) into a Multiterm 2009 termbase (sdltb file) is very easy to do. But since the new termbases create additional files (just like Trados TM’s), the best approach is to place each termbase into a single folder. Here’s how to do it:

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Free 1-year subscription to Multilingual (Localization Magazine)

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Sorry, this entry is only available in Spanish. MultiLingual offered a one-year subscription at the ProZ Virtual conference last month. I just received an email from them offering the same one-year subscription for the magazine. It’s not too late to sign up for a free one-year digital subscription. With focuses on such topics as quality[…]

First chapter of José Saramago’s new novel: Cain

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Sorry, this entry is only available in Spanish. Cain (Caín in Spanish, Caim in Portuguese), the highly anticipated new book by Nobel-laureate José Saramago will hit the shelves on October 15th. With this book, Saramago takes up the topic of “god”, 18 years after The Gospel According to Jesus Christ. The book starts with: “”Cuando[…]