The Memory Serves manual is now online.
The manual provides more detailed information about Memory Serves and how to use it. I’ll be adding to this manual continually, so if you have any questions about using Memory Serves, let me know!
I’ve just released version 1.2 of Memory Serves.
Download the latest version here.
In addition to some minor bug fixes (like a problem adding records with non-ascii characters in the context field), version 1.2 of Memory Serves includes a new program called Memory Importer:
Uploading large memories or glossaries to Memory Serves would sometimes cause a time out error; you can use this application to import your translation memory (.ftm/.xml) and glossary (*.fgloss/.xml) files into Memory Serves, without worrying about time outs.
To launch Memory Importer, go to the Start menu, then select All Programs >> Memory Serves >> Memory Importer.
Next, simply select a memory or glossary file, then click Import. You can also edit the meta information about the memory, such as the source language, creator, or client, or add notes about the memory.
Note that you have to run Memory Importer on the computer where Memory Serves is installed. It can’t import memories over the network (yet).
Memory Serves is a free application that shares Felix translation memories and glossaries over a local network, allowing multiple translators to share their TMs/glossaries in real time. Translations added to the memory by one translator are available to the other translators instantly.
This is great when several translators are working on the same project, when you have a company-wide standard glossary, or any time you need to share a memory/glossary that is still being added to.
Memory Serves creates a Web server on your local machine using the open-source cherrypy framework. This server is visible within your LAN or VLAN only; it’s not visible to the entire Internet. The IP address it uses is that of your own computer.
I’m starting to roll out a “check online for updates” feature for my various applications. So far, it’s implemented for TagAssist and Count Anything, and I’m gradually adding it to my other applications as I upgrade them.
I thus think that this is a good time to review my policy on collecting information from users. Right now, I use Google Analytics to track visitors to my site: things like what pages they visit, how long they stay on the site, what files they download, and what keywords they used to find the site. I don’t track individual users, but only trends to help me improve the site (like, a lot of visitors are searching for the keyword “PowerPoint”; I ought to add some content about translating PowerPoint files). I also never share this information with third parties (this is basically detailed in this site’s privacy policy).
I think that it’s pretty reasonable to collect this information, especially because I don’t track any individuals. At any rate, almost all the information I get through Google Analytics (and more) would be available from my Apache log files anyway.
But what about checking online? Even if Felix doesn’t send any information, the mere fact of connecting to my server tells me that somebody is running my software, and from the user’s IP address, I could tell a lot more (like link that IP address to the IP addresses of people who have downloaded the software — presto, download-to-install ratio).
So collecting that information could be useful to me, and it doesn’t violate my privacy policy. Even so, I’ve decided not to do it, because my users are checking online for updates: they’re not connecting to my server in order to feed me statistics, and I don’t think it’s reasonable for them to expect that.
Some other software makers are quite strident about “capturing” user information. Many will force you to give an email address before even allowing you to download their software, or make you contact them in order to get a price. They call people like me foolish to not grab every “lead” I can. I strongly suspect that most such companies are run by graduates of marketing or business programs, and not software developers.
But to me, it’s not about what you can do, or what will earn you the most money in the short term, or even what you can get away with. I prefer to be as open and transparent about my activities as possible, and if some action strikes me as sleazy or shady, I’d rather just avoid it.
I’ve just released version 1.4.5 of Felix.
Download the latest version here.
This release consists mainly of bug fixes, with a few changes to improve performance, and some new features.
For a full list of changes, see What’s New in the Felix manual.
I just finished using Fog Creek’s Copilot for the first time with a Felix user, and I must say that I’m impressed.
Using Copilot, I was able to remotely control the user’s desktop from my own computer. In a few minutes, I was able to run through most of the possible issues, eventually finding the problem (the user had been using an older version of Felix, and the Felix interface for Word had apparently crashed, because Word had disabled the Felix add-in).
From experience with other users, running through the kind of checklist I just completed using email or the telephone would have been extremely difficult, if possible at all. Copilot made it very easy to get in, find the problem, fix it, and get out while the user went for coffee. Very nice!
I’m a professional translator, and I use Felix in my work. Actually using the software you make is called “eating one’s own dog food” (or “dogfooding”), and it’s a great way to improve the quality and usability of software (you might also be surprised to find out how rare it is — or not surprised, depending on your cynical bent).
While dogfooding does help make software a lot better, it also has two main weaknesses/blind spots:
This is why user feedback is so important. I actually love it when users tell me things that they don’t like about Felix, or things that need improving. Firstly, I know that if one person takes the trouble to send me feedback, there are at least 10 other users feeling the same pain. Secondly, getting a new perspective on my “baby” can help me see new opportunities for improvement.
I just got finished doing a fairly large (200-page) translation, and I noticed that three new Felix features inspired by users were really convenient and made my work easier. I’ll list them below.
To Felix users: keep that feedback coming, it’s very much appreciated!
I’ve just made a quick release of version 1.4.4 of Felix in order to fix two bugs: one had to do with glossary lookup, and the other had to do with a GUI bug in the Memory Manager dialog.
I’ve just released version 1.4.3 of Felix.
Download the latest version here.
Below are some of the main changes and improvements in version 1.4.3.
For a full list of changes, see What’s New in the Felix manual.
If you’ve installed Felix version 1.4 or later, you might notice that “.fhist” files are created next to your MS Word or Excel files when you translate them. This is due to a new feature of Felix called translation history. Translation history makes it easier to revise your translations, and reflect your edits in your translation memory. For details about translation history, see here for Word and here for Excel.
If you don’t need this feature or don’t want these files to be created, then you can disable translation history in the preferences.
In Word, from the Felix menu select Felix Preferences, then go to the “Translation History” tab and clear the checkbox.
In Excel, go to Felix >> User Preferences, and do the same.
I’ve just released version 1.4.2 of Felix. This new version includes several improvements and new features requested by users, a few bug fixes, and improved support for some older Windows configurations.
Download the latest version of Felix.
The main new features and improvements are described below. See the manual for a full list of changes and improvements.
Felix translation memory and glossary files now have separate file extensions. By default, translation memories are saved with the “.ftm” extension, and glossary files are saved with the “.fgloss” extension. You can still use files with the old “.xml” extension, and save TMs and glossaries as “.xml” files.
You can now save user profiles in Felix. This is handy when you have multiple different sets of memories/glossaries, that you want to load in different situations (e.g. depending on the client).
The following information is saved:
With previous versions of Felix, you could control the zoom level of text using the CTRL + Mouse Wheel combination. Now there’s a zoom dialog box to give more fine-grained control over the zoom level. To display the Zoom dialog, select View >> Zoom… from the menu.
When you start Felix, the last zoom level you used is restored.