| Stran v tématu: [1 2] > | Poll: When I install new software, I prefer to learn how to use it by Autor vlákna: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "When I install new software, I prefer to learn how to use it by".
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| | | | Mary Worby 
Velká Británie
Local time: 00:08
němčina -> angličtina
+ ...
| Trial and error | Jan 16, 2013 |
Generally I jump in at the deep end and give it a go on! If it's translation software, I'll trial it on an active project (albeit a short and non-urgent one).
| | | | | manual first | Jan 16, 2013 |
because generally I am not "nerdy" and I need to give a read to try the basic operations but then I tend to let my tries go by instinct. Unless it's very simple or I know that even if I fais 100 times it will not damage me, my computer or the work I am doing..in this case I skip the manual part and go straight to the point.
Yet in these cases I always feel there are more operations I could do with it and functions that could ease my work a lot more and I ignore them because I didn't read ... See more because generally I am not "nerdy" and I need to give a read to try the basic operations but then I tend to let my tries go by instinct. Unless it's very simple or I know that even if I fais 100 times it will not damage me, my computer or the work I am doing..in this case I skip the manual part and go straight to the point.
Yet in these cases I always feel there are more operations I could do with it and functions that could ease my work a lot more and I ignore them because I didn't read the guide..This would lead normal people to actually go and read the guide but I must confess it doesn't happen very often - shame on me. When I am busy I have no time to do it and when I finish the job I either pass to another one and forget or simply forget until the next time I need it.. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I'm with Mary! | Jan 16, 2013 |
I have an aversion to reading manuals, so lots of painful trial-and-error...
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| same here and.... | Jan 16, 2013 |
Mary Worby wrote:
Generally I jump in at the deep end and give it a go on! If it's translation software, I'll trial it on an active project (albeit a short and non-urgent one).
but I usually keep the manual ready, in case at least to understand the first passages.
| | | | | Bit of everything | Jan 16, 2013 |
I wouldn't have installed it unless I had a good idea of what it could do, so the overall approach is to work at it until it does what I expect it to do. For that, I may need training, to ask patient editors, a fair dose of trial and error, and even (but only when desperate and with calming infusions to hand) the manual.
Why is the screen they show in the manual NEVER the same as mine? The vital button/category in the dropdown/option is always missing.
| | | | Sitiens (X)
Švédsko
Local time: 01:08
angličtina -> švédština
+ ...
| All the things | Jan 16, 2013 |
Actually, a bit of this and a bit of that. I recently bought Trados (first-time user) and I started with trial and error, and then added to this by various blog walkthroughs, discussions with friends, questions here on Proz, as well as a 1-hour SDL webinar.
In my opinion, if you have some experience with CAT tools from before, starting with the deep end can be quite rewarding and time efficient. However, not all CAT tools are created equal, so there's a risk of missing out on intere... See more Actually, a bit of this and a bit of that. I recently bought Trados (first-time user) and I started with trial and error, and then added to this by various blog walkthroughs, discussions with friends, questions here on Proz, as well as a 1-hour SDL webinar.
In my opinion, if you have some experience with CAT tools from before, starting with the deep end can be quite rewarding and time efficient. However, not all CAT tools are created equal, so there's a risk of missing out on interesting features if you happen to be a cautious user. I never comprehended WinAlign fully until I found a blog post about it (oh, you're supposed to draw little lines!), but after that, it was quite straight forward. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Julian Holmes
Japonsko
Local time: 08:08
Člen (2011)
japonština -> angličtina
| Trial and error | Jan 16, 2013 |
Mostly but not completely
I also resort to reading the manual - after all, I translate manuals for a living - and the other options provided.
"A combination of the above" and "Go with the force" could have been included as options. 
Edited small typo
[Edited at 2013-01-16 12:07 GMT]
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| A good manual | Jan 16, 2013 |
Julian Holmes wrote: ... "A combination of the above" and "Go with the force" could have been inlcuded as options.
Now we are talking preferences, so you are allowed to wish...
The option I would REALLY prefer was 'it works intuitively', but I suppose that comes under trial and error, just without serious errors.
Sometimes easily reversible 'errors' reveal useful features I had not discovered before, so maybe I would not eliminate them entirely. (When the force is with me )
I voted for a manual.
The trouble with trial and error is that, after I have made umpteen errors and the thing finally works, I can't remember how I got there, so I have to go through the umpteen trials every time.
Eventually I take a pencil and write down what I did, but if I just end up writing down a dozen failed attempts, the process of elimination gets very frustrating.
If the software is complicated, e.g. Trados and now Trados Studio, I contact a certain very good instructor. There is no such thing as a stupid question - he systematically explains and demonstrates. (It costs a day away from work plus his fee, but it's money well spent!)
I simply don't think like computers.
Free webinars are sometimes a godsend!
| | | | Michael Harris
Německo
Local time: 01:08
Člen (2006)
němčina -> angličtina
| Trial and error | Jan 16, 2013 |
and "if everything else fails, I read the instructions"
| | | | Patricia Charnet
Velká Británie
Local time: 00:08
Člen (2009)
angličtina -> francouzština
much faster and less errors - also your efficiency is much improved
nowadays most manufacturers have easy to use notices
trados was different however - reading the manual made little sense to me to start with! lots of trial and error with that old version
| | | | | Believing in the usefulness of our job | Jan 16, 2013 |
Julian Holmes wrote:
...reading the manual - after all, I translate manuals for a living...
in target language first, then source. If not even technical translators read them, then who will?
I also consider it to be part of skills development for technical translators.
However, when I bought my first Trados 3 in 2000, the manual was so complicated, thick and user-unfriendly to simply get started that I actually mostly used the trial and error method...
Philippe
Edit:
patriciacharnet wrote:
...trados was different however - reading the manual made little sense to me to start with! lots of trial and error with that old version
Glad to hear that it was not only me!
[Edited at 2013-01-16 10:42 GMT]
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I' so happy that I'm not the only one!!!!
| | | | Julian Holmes
Japonsko
Local time: 08:08
Člen (2011)
japonština -> angličtina
| For clarification | Jan 16, 2013 |
I start off "test-driving" (i.e. trial and error) the software to get an overall idea of its look and feel. Hopefully, it's intuitive (thank you @Christine and Patricia) and I'm freed from the need to plod through lots of Help files and tutorials, and can get up and running in a short time.
Nevertheless, however well-designed or intuitive the software is, the manual is the ultimate fallback (thank you @Philippe for the support for us technical translators!).
Strange coincid... See more I start off "test-driving" (i.e. trial and error) the software to get an overall idea of its look and feel. Hopefully, it's intuitive (thank you @Christine and Patricia) and I'm freed from the need to plod through lots of Help files and tutorials, and can get up and running in a short time.
Nevertheless, however well-designed or intuitive the software is, the manual is the ultimate fallback (thank you @Philippe for the support for us technical translators!).
Strange coincidence but...
Why did I just get a Proz.com Training e-mail for a well-known CAT tool in my Inbox 40 minutes ago?  ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Manual AND Training | Jan 16, 2013 |
No way am I going to muck about with something I haven't a clue about, ending up worse off than before I started.
It has to be said however that 18 months ago I didn't even know that CAT tools existed, nor could I make sense of what 'leveraging' meant, and a whole bunch of other words that go with the subject. I couldn't even find a CAT tool glossary on the net!
Don't need it now of course, but I was very ... See more No way am I going to muck about with something I haven't a clue about, ending up worse off than before I started.
It has to be said however that 18 months ago I didn't even know that CAT tools existed, nor could I make sense of what 'leveraging' meant, and a whole bunch of other words that go with the subject. I couldn't even find a CAT tool glossary on the net!
Don't need it now of course, but I was very grateful for the training programs that allowed me to get started on my CAT tool of choice! Yes, as Mary says, the screenshots often don't match up (versions change, training programs trail sadly behind), and a vital instruction is sometimes skipped, but on the whole they did a good job. ▲ Collapse
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