Quality Assurance Wordfast Classic

This part of Wordfast is used to setup the actions performed during quality assurance. If QA is activated during translation, target segments are QA'ed before validation (this is the real-time mode), i.e., immediately after the user has pressed "NexSegment", but immediately before the segment is stored in the TM.

Remember that you can associate your own macro to QA, by entering it in Pandora's Box MacroQualityCheck command. See Appendix III for examples.

If Quality Assurance is started outside a translation session:

1. If the document is segmented, Wordfast will check target segments for target-only errors (typography, blacklisted terms), and compare source/target segments for possible translation errors (glossary, untranslatable terms).
2. If the document is not segmented, Wordfast will check sentences for target-only errors (typography, blacklisted terms).
3. In both cases: if the cursor is in the first sentence of the document, Wordfast will ask whether you want to QA the entire document and produce a report, or QA one segment at a time, stopping at every problem so that you may correct errors step-by-step. If the cursor is not in the first sentence of the document, the second option (step-by-step QA) will be assumed.

Spell/grammar check are available only in real-time Quality Assurance mode (during translation sessions), but not in batch mode, when a report has to be produced.

Check terminology from Glossary #1, 2, 3

This option lets Wordfast monitor the use of terminology in the translation process. If glossary terms are found in the target segment, the corresponding target term (or at least one of the target terms when one source glossary entry has multiple translations).

Check blacklisted terms

This option lets Wordfast monitor the target segment to make sure no blacklisted terms are used.

Run the Find-Replace list on translations

Wordfast can maintain a list of find-replace actions to be performed on target segments when translations are added to it (either because the TM has a proposition, or because the translator entered a translation). Find-replaces are exactly equivalent to a manual use of Ms-Word's own "Find-replace" dialog box.

The Find-Replace operation is carried out on:

any term or placeable that is being placed in the target segment using Wordfast shortcuts (Ctrl+Alt+Down, the tabulator, the Enter key with AC); the target segment when it is about to be committed, that is, when the translator presses Alt+Down or Alt+End.

Find typos in proper names

This features attempts to spot proper names in the source segment, and verifies whether they are found "as is" in the target segment. False positives are rare but possible. This feature should not be used with languages that inflect or modify proper names.

Warn if character count >=N

Wordfast can ensure that the length (in characters including spaces) of the target segment is not greater than a given quantity

Warn if ending punctuation is different in target

Wordfast can ensure that both source and target segments have the same ending punctuation. This is useful to verify that the ending punctuation is not missing in target segments - a common typo.

Warn if source/target ratio >=N

This verification will statistically detect possible cases where the target segment is empty, or nearly non-existent.

Warn if first source/target letters have different case

This verification will statistically detect cases where the first letter in source and target segments have a different cases. It is mostly used to detect a missing uppercase initial letter when it should be expected. False positives are rare, because the source segment is taken as clue to the expected target initial letter case.

Source untranslatables must be found in target

Untranslatables are figures (any combination of figures and letters, or any contiguous series of figures and letters, are considered as untranslatables). URLs and email addresses, as well as fields (to the exception of index fields and hyperlinks), are also considered as being untranslatable. Wordfast can ensure that all source untranslatables are found in the target segment.

Target untranslatables must be found in source

Same as above - but this time, the other way.

Source tags must be found in target

Wordfast can ensure that source internal tags are found in the target segment.

Target tags must be found in source

Wordfast can ensure that target internal tags are found in the source segment.

Identical bookmarks

Wordfast can check whether there is the same number of bookmark markers (red brackets like [ or [] ) in source and target segments. This is useful when the client wants source bookmarks to be transferred into the translated text. If bookmarks must be preserved during translation, please refer to the special section on bookmarks.

Enforce a strict numeric "Untranslatable" definition

QA attempts to spot discrepancies in source/target numbers. A "number" or "numeric placeable" here means any series of characters that contain at least a number. The problem is that translation may alter those numbers (23rd turning into 23 ème , or 23 ste ), so that QA will bring up "false positive" warnings. Without this option, both 23 and 23rd will match 23, 23 ème , and 23 ste . With this option checked, 23 will ony match 23, and 23rd will only match 23rd.

Enable QA on already-translated segments

This option will force Wordfast to QA existing segments. That may be necessary when working on a document that has been already segmented by the client. In other cases, systemically running QA when reopening an existing segment (which has been already translated and already QAed) can slow down Wordfast.

Back to Wordfast Classic User Manual