Contents   Index   Previous   Next



Scout

The MetaTexis Scout is a powerful search tool. If it is run along with a MetaTexis document, it displays the search results for each TU in an alternative way. The search results can be displayed in the document only, in the Scout only, both in document and Scout completely, and partly in Scout, partly in the document. This means, when the Scout is run for a MetaTexis document, the settings in the Document Options apply.

However, the Scout can also be run when no MetaTexis document is open. That is, the Scout can be used as a general translation search tool. In this case, special options apply (see below).

To display the Scout, execute the Show/Hide translation scout command in the Tools sub-menu (or in other related sub-menus). Alternatively, you can click  on the toolbar. When you have done this, the Scout will be displayed either on the right or on the left side of your screen, according to your setting in the General Options (see General Options). Below is a typical Scout dialog with search results:

 

Below, the elements and functions of the MetaTexis Scout are explained in detail:

·       Text searched:

In the Text searched textbox, the text searched is shown when you navigate through a MetaTexis document and an automatic search is executed. So when you search for a segment, it is displayed in this textbox.

However, this textbox not only displays text. You can enter and change the text displayed and you can enter a completely new text. To search for the text entered, just click the Search or C button (see below).

·       Search command button:

When you click the Search command button, the TMs, TDBs and machine translation engines are accessed in the same way as when you execute a search command for a segment in a MetaTexis document.

When a MetaTexis document is active, the settings for the MetaTexis document are used. When no MetaTexis document is active, the settings defined in the Scout Options are used (see below).

·       C command button:

When you click the C command button, a concordance search is executed. This means that the defined databases are searched in a different way: All items that contain all words entered are displayed.

For example, when you enter the word ‘wild’, only those items in the TMs and TDBs are displayed where the source text contains the word ‘wild’. Segments that do not contain the word ‘wild’ are not displayed. (E.g. a segment that contains ‘wilder’ but not ‘wild’ is not displayed.)

When you enter two or more words, only those database items are displayed where the source text contains all the words entered. When you enter ‘wild bunch,’ all database items are displayed where the source text contains both the word ‘wild’ and ‘bunch’ (in any order). A database item where the source text contains only one of the two words is not displayed.

·       S1, S2, S3, S4 command buttons:

When you click one of the command buttons S1, S2, S3, S4, another kind of search is executed, namely a string search. This type of search simply searches for the complete string entered. Four different kinds of string searches are available:

  Search for string in source text (S1 command button):

When you click the S1 command button, the source text of the databases is searched, and only those TM or TDB entries are displayed where the string searched is fully contained in the source text.

  Search for string in translation (S2 command button):

When you click the S2 command button, the translation of the databases is searched, and only those TM or TDB entries are displayed where the string searched is fully contained in the translation.

  Search for string in source text AND translation (S3 command button):

When you click the S3 command button, both the source text and the translation of the databases is searched, and only those TM or TDB entries are displayed where the string searched is fully contained both in the source text AND in the translation.

  Search for string in source text AND translation (S4 command button):

When you click the S4 command button, both the source text and the translation of the databases is searched, and only those TM or TDB entries are displayed where the string searched is fully contained in the source text OR in the translation, that is, the string searched must only be contained in one field, source text, or translation. Unlike string search type 3, the string searched must not be contained in both fields.

·       TM command button:

The TM button is only enabled when the search results include items from a TM (or from a TDB also used as TM). When this is so, the text in the button becomes red and the number of items found is displayed in brackets.

When you click the button, the cursor in the results textbox jumps to the TM results.

·       TDB command button:

The TDB button is only enabled when the search results include items from a TDB (or from a TM also used as TDB). When this is so, the text in the button becomes red and the number of items found is displayed in brackets.

When you click the button, the cursor in the results textbox jumps to the TDB results.

·       MT command button:

The MT button is only enabled when there are machine translation results. When this is so, the text in the button becomes red and the number of machine translations is displayed in brackets.

When you click the button, the cursor in the results textbox jumps to the MT results.

·       Clear command button:

When you click the Clear button, the dialog is completely cleared so that you can enter a new text to be searched in an empty box.

·       Results list:

The biggest element in the middle of the dialog is the results list. Here, all results are displayed.

Each result type has a header with the result type (e.g. TM hits), and below, the items found are displayed. TM and TDB results are displayed in a way that the source text is shown in bold characters while the translation is shown directly below, indented, in normal characters. Machine translation results are listed without source text.

When you click on an item in the result list, the complete result is shown below in the Source text and Translation textboxes. When you click TDB results, the related segment of the text searched is highlighted.

·       Source text textbox:

In this textbox, the source text of the displayed result is shown.

In the case of a normal search, for a TM result, the segments that are identical with the text searched are marked according to the settings in the Document Options.

In the case of concordance search results, the words found are highlighted.

·       V command button:

This button is only enabled for TM or TDB results.

When you click this button, the related TM or TDB result will be displayed in the database center (see Database Center for TMs or Database Center for TDBs).

·       S command button:

This button is only enabled for TM or TDB results.

When the translation of a TM or TDB result has been changed, the changes can be saved directly in the TM or TDB by clicking the S command button. Note that this button is only enabled when the translation has been changed.

·       D command button:

This button is only enabled for TM or TDB results. By clicking the D button, the TM or TDB entry can be directly deleted. If the deletion has been successfully executed, the related result will be grayed out in the results list.

·       Translation textbox:

In this textbox, the translation of the selected result is displayed. The translation can be manually edited.

Right above, the translation textbox and information text are displayed. In the case of TM or TDB results, the last editor of the translation is displayed, while, in the case of machine translations, the name of the engine is displayed.

·       --> command button:

When you click this button (Take over translation), the translation is copied to an open TU in a MetaTexis document.

Note: Instead of selecting the listbox item and clicking the button, you can simply double click the listbox item that you want to take over into the active document.

The behavior of the take-over function depends on the type of document and on the location of the cursor:

  If the active document is a MetaTexis document and if the cursor is not located in the translation box of an open TU, the translation is copied to the end of the translation box. If the cursor is located in the translation box of an open TU, the translation is copied to the position of the cursor, or it replaces the selected text part.

  If the active document is not a MetaTexis document, the translation is copied to the position of the cursor, or it replaces the selected text part.

·       Options command button:

When you click the Options button, an Options dialog is displayed depending on the type of active document. If the active document is a MetaTexis document, the Document Options are displayed. If the active document is not a MetaTexis document, the Scout options are displayed. The Scout options are explained in detail in the next chapter.

·       Help command button:

When you click the Help button, the help text for this dialog is displayed.

·       || command button:

When you click this button, the Scout dialog is aligned with the main Word window. According to the setting in the General Options, the Scout dialog is either displayed on the left or on the right side of the screen (see the General Options). Note that you can change the width of the Scout dialog manually while the length will be aligned with top and bottom of the usable screen.

·       Close command button:

When you click the Close button, the dialog is closed.

Note: Almost all commands can also be executed via a shortcut. The shortcut information is displayed in a little yellow box when you move the mouse over a command button.

More:

Scout options