SDLClipboard Translator Help and FAQ


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General questions:

Payment questions:

Installation questions:

Using SDLClipboard Translator:

Account questions:

General questions:

Will I be able to translate text from within any application?

If you can copy the text using the normal Windows® "Copy" function then you will be able to translate the text. In the case of a PDF document you will be unable to paste the translated text back into the PDF document.

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Is the free service still going to be available?

Yes. The free translation service will still be available in its present form.

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Are all the language directions currently available on FreeTranslation.com available in SDLClipboard Translator?

Unfortunately, we are not able to offer English to Russian, Russian to English, English to Japanese, Japanese to English, or English to Chinese (Simplified or Traditional) as part of SDLClipboard Translator.

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How comprehensive are the specialized dictionaries?

The specialized dictionaries are always being updated. For instance, we will monitor the usage of the specialized dictionaries for untranslated words and will update the dictionaries at regular intervals with the top 100 untranslated words. This way we will be providing a continuing improvement in the quality of translations returned to you when you use the specialized dictionaries.

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Will the specialized dictionaries improve the quality of all my translations?

Not necessarily in every case. The specialized dictionaries are quite comprehensive but this does not mean that every word associated with a specialization is contained within them. We are constantly monitoring the system looking for unfound and mistranslated words within the specialized areas and we will be adding them to the dictionaries on a regular basis.

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Will my translations be 100% accurate?

No, only professional translation can give you 100% accuracy. The translations are intended to give a gist understanding of the original source language text. If you are intending to use the translations for external publishing purposes please ensure that you always get them professionally checked before publication.

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Is there any limit to the size of document that I can translate?

Yes. The maximum size of content you can translate is limited to 800 Kbytes or 20,000 words. Please remember that every time you do a translation everything you have copied is sent to the translation server and back again. This will slow down the return of your translation. The translation process itself is extremely fast but we have no control over the time it takes to upload and download what you have copied into your Clipboard. The system may timeout if it is too large, which is why we have put a limit on the size of content you can translate.

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Will the application work on my Macintosh PC?

No.

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Is there a limit to the number of translations I can make per day?

Yes. As described in the Terms and Conditions there is a daily limit of 50 translations per day for every subscriber. The counter is reset at midnight GMT each day.

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Payment questions:

Why do I have to pay for something I can get for free?

You don't. What you are paying for is an added value service. When you go to FreeTranslation.com you get a free translation of approximately 750 words. You have to go to the website and type in the words or copy and paste them. With the subscription service this is no longer necessary. You will have an application that allows you to translate the contents of your clipboard, maintaining all your formatting. You will also get access to specialized dictionaries which will improve the quality of your translations in specific specialist areas, such as Business and IT.

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Can I pay by giving my credit card details over the telephone?

No. Only online transactions will be supported. The system we use is a secure online payment system.

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If my card expires before my next subscription payment, what do I do?

If a payment request is made on a card number that has expired, your subscription will obviously not be paid. This will result in your access to the system being suspended. You will then need to subscribe again.

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How do I cancel my subscription?

Simply visit https://secure.freetranslation.com/account/clipboard/cancel/ and submit your request.

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Installation questions:

Why couldn't I download and run the installer?

Some companies and individual PCs stop the download of an executable file. You will have been sent a link to download a zip file in your subscription acknowledgement email. Please click this link to download the zip file. If you have not kept this email, please login to your account and select the downloadable zip file. Once you have downloaded the zip file and saved it on your computer unzip it and run the setup file.

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Why is the installation process not working on my Windows® system?

In order to install the SDLClipboard Translator application on a Windows® 2000 or Windows® XP operating system you need to be a super user or above. Please see your Operating System manual for further details.

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What is a proxy server and why is it included in the installation procedure?

A company uses a proxy server to protect their internet connection. It is a device which sits between a PC within a company and the internet. If you are subscribing from home there is no requirement to specify a proxy server connection. If you are subscribing from within a company environment, please contact your system administrator for the details of your proxy server.

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Using SDLClipboard Translator:

Why do I have to be connected to the internet when the SDLClipboard Translator application is running?

The service we are providing comes from an internet server. This means that although you have the SDLClipboard Translator application installed you still need to be connected to the internet to use it.

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What do I do if I get the error "Unable to connect to SDL Translation Subscription Server at this time"?

Check that your Internet connection is currently available and you can connect to the Internet as usual. If you can, this probably means that you have a proxy server on your network or some type of firewall software.

You might be able to get all the information you need to set up the proxy directly from your computer.

  1. Open Microsoft Internet Explorer
  2. Click on Tools \ Internet Options
  3. Select the Connections tab
  4. Click on the Lan Settings button

You probably have a check in either Automatically detect settings, or a check for Proxy Server.

If you are set with Automatically and nothing is under Proxy Server, you will need to contact your IT department for the appropriate information.

If you have a check in Proxy Server, there is either a computer name or IP Address in the box for Address and a number in the box for Port. This information needs to be placed in the Tools \ Connection Options... \ Connection Tab of the SDLClipboard Translator. Also, under the Tools \ Connection Options... \ Connection in SDLClipboard Translator, there is a radio button for HTTP or Socks. Start with HTTP. If that doesn't work, move it to Socks. If you need a username/password for the proxy you can also enter it here. If a username is required, the proxy is most probably a Socks server. Again, your IT Department can help with the appropriate information for the proxy.

If you have a personal firewall software installed on your computer, you might have to go through the procedure to set the firewall to allow the SDLClipboard Translator dlls access to the internet.

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Why is my text returned untranslated?

This problem commonly occurs when a document is produced by scanning a hard copy of a document without using an OCR program. (An OCR program is able to read the text in the document when it is scanned and convert it to editable text.) If the text cannot be edited then we cannot return a translation. Please check that the text you have copied into your Clipboard is not part of an image before you send it for translation.

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What is to stop me giving my email address and password to other people?

Nothing. As described in the Terms and Conditions there is a daily limit of 50 translations per day. The counter is reset at midnight GMT each day. If you give your email address and password to another person they may use your daily translations before you get a chance to use the service.

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Account questions:

How do I get to login to my subscriber account to view or change details?

Visit https://secure.freetranslation.com/account/.

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Can I change my email address?

Yes. Simply login to your account using your old email address and existing password and you will be able to change your email address. Remember you will also have to change your email address in your SDLDesktop Translator, SDLClipboard Translator and / or SDLChat Translator as well.

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Can I change my password?

Yes. Simply login to your account using your existing email address and existing password and you will be able to change your password. Remember you will also have to change your password in your SDLDesktop Translator, SDLClipboard Translator and / or SDLChat Translator as well.

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