Hi everyone!
Did you know that once upon a time translators had to use a pen, paper, and hard copy dictionaries in order to do their tasks? Can you imagine how long it took them to get a translation done?
Thankfully, there have been amazing advances in technology in the last few years, thus translation has become faster and easier to do. Translators work faster due to the use of computers and CAT tools. Still, here are some other tools that you might find helpful to increase your productivity:
Text processors. Such tools are the basic ones, and pretty much all computers have them. The most commonly used word processors are Microsoft Word and Open Office. The latter is free to use and it is compatible with all OS.
PDF Processors. We might receive files in PDF format, so these are very helpful. The most famous one is Adobe Acrobat.
Desktop Publishing Tools (DPT). A translator needs to have at least a basic understanding of how DPTs work. Some of the most common are: Adobe InDesign, CorelDRAW, Microsoft Publisher, and Canva.
Image Editors. If a customer has images with text, an image editor is a must. It helps to translate the text contained within an image. The most used image editing software to date is Photoshop, but there are other free options online.
Electronic dictionaries. These are a must! Some of my favorites are WordReference, Collins, and RAE, among others.
CAT Tools. Of course, we couldn’t leave them out! CAT Tools help us to make our translations faster, plus you create translation memories that will speed up, even more, the time you spend translating.
Time Management Tools. If you know you can get easily distracted from your work, having one of these tools can be helpful.
Others. Anti-virus, anti-malware, anti-spyware, back-up, file compression, or decompression software.
What tools do you use? Which ones are your favorite? Which of these tools that you are not currently using would you like to use? Let me know all about it in the comments.
Thank you again to Day Translations for sponsoring this blog post (stay tuned for more surprises!). Check out more about them and their services here: https://daytranslations.com/
Until the next time, take care and stay safe!
XX
Translation Expert 