Month: November 2009

Categories
Felix release

Felix version 1.5.2 released

I’ve just released version 1.5.2 of Felix.

Download the latest version here.

This release features several small improvements to the user interface, and improved support for PowerPoint.

A list of the main improvements follows.

Felix

  • Dependency on DHTML Edit control removed
    This was my number-one source of tech-support inquiries, so hopefully this will eliminate a major pain point for new Felix users.
  • “Switch views” toolbar button
  • “Close active memory/glossary” toolbar buttons (or press Ctrl+W)
  • “Close active memory/glossary” menu items
  • Keyboard shortcut for adding entries (F2)
  • Keyboard shortcut for registering glossary entries (F3)
  • Menu entry for registering glossary entries (Edit > Register to Glossary)
  • When registering glossary entries, the current selection (if any) is used as the source
  • Customized context menus for memory and glossary
  • Press F4 key to cycle focus between Felix and glossary windows

Word Interface

PowerPoint Interface

  • “Add to Glossary” menu command brings up dialog box, with selection as source. Just type in the translation and click Add to add the glossary entry.
    See the manual for details about the new add-to-glossary feature.
  • Improved support for PowerPoint, especially PowerPoint 2007
Categories
Felix

(Tentative) Linux roadmap for Felix

I sometimes get requests about when and if I’m going to support Linux (or the Mac). In fact, several Felix users are almost completely on Linux, and only go back to Windows for applications like Felix.

I do have some non-concrete plans to support Linux (and by extension the Mac) in the future.

Firstly, I plan to offer Felix as an online service. This will essentially be Memory Serves, behind a secure server. That will make Felix itself available from any platform that supports a Web browser.

Secondly, I have a very rough OpenOffice Writer extension for Felix, with plans to improve it and add extensions for Impress and Calc. These can then be updated to work with the online service.

Thirdly, I’m currently working on an XLIFF-based translation editor, the first beta of which is scheduled for December. This is being written in Python, and it should be possible to make it run on Linux without too much extra work.

I know that many CAT tool users won’t use online services, because they’ve told me so. But some users do want a hosted service, and at any rate, as a solo developer this is the only realistic way I have of supporting platforms other than Windows.

Categories
development Felix

It should just work

By far, the most common tech-support inquiry I get has to do with the DHTML edit control. Until now, Felix has used this control to provide WYSIWYG (visual) editing of translation entries.

The problem is that as of Windows Vista, Windows no longer ships with this control, although it’s still available as a download. I’ve kept the DHTML edit control until now because Microsoft’s replacement doesn’t include all the functionality of this control. Currently, if the DHTML edit control isn’t installed then it’s not possible to edit translation records, or do several other actions from Felix involving translation entries.

Although the download page for Felix includes a prominent notice that Vista and Windows 7 users need to install this component, together with a link, many users fail to see this, and download the installer only, expecting Felix to just work.

And they’re right. Software should just work. Users don’t care about excuses like “it’s hard” or “it’s this other software’s fault.” And they shouldn’t need to care. It’s our job as developers to make it feel easy, even when it’s not.

That’s why the next release of Felix (due by end-November) will eliminate this dependency on the DHTML edit control. Hopefully it will also eliminate the single biggest stumbling block for people trying Felix.

Categories
Felix release

Felix version 1.5.1 released

I’ve just released version 1.5.1 of Felix.

You can download the latest version here.

This is a minor release, with several bug fixes and improvements.

  • Improved support for PowerPoint interface (especially 2007)
  • Register Glossary Entry dialog box allows you to select the destination glossary
  • Use the “Advanced” button the Register Glossary Entry dialog box to set default values for added glossary entries (such as context, validated flag, and reliability value)
  • Concordance view now starts numbering matches as 1 (was 0 before)
  • Bug fix: When loading preferences, remote glossaries were not removed
  • Bug fix: Removed behavior to delete identical glossary entries when a memory entry was deleted
  • Bug fix: Remote memories always had the name “New” in the Memory Manager dialog
  • Bug fix: Background color setting in Edit Record dialog box did not work