Getting started with Wordfast Anywhere

Getting started

The Wordfast Anywhere site is accessible via your browser from the following URL https://www.freetm.com. The WFA site will appear with the following screen in front:

The main body of the page is the login form which requires your account email and password. Below are two links for helping you get back your password and to create a new account.

At the top right you'll find some icons:

Wordfast Anywhere Twitter (for notifications about service interruptions)
Wordfast Facebook page (for news related to the Wordfast community)
Wordfast YouTube channel
Contact form to report bugs that may occur before logging in. Technical support is only in English.
? to open the start guide.

At the bottom right you'll see flags to change the language of the page.

Before logging in

How to create an account

On the start page (see above) click on Create a new account to open the create account form.

Enter:

An existing valid email address. It will be used to activate the account and to recover your password.
A secure password. It should have at least 8 characters and contain at least one number.
Check the captcha to prove you are not a robot.

If fields are correct an email will be send to the email address to activate the account.

Check your spam folder if you do not see the email, sometimes the email is there.

If there is any problem filling the form a red message will be shown under the Start button. Possible errors are:

Invalid email address.
Invalid password. It should have at least 8 characters and contain at least one number.
Captcha not checked or validation failed.

You can also read the terms and conditions by clicking the Conditions & terms link.

Get your password back

If you have forgotten your password, click Forgot your password?

Enter:

The email address of your account.
Check the Captcha to prove you are not a robot.

If there is any problem filling the form a red message will be shown under the Start button. Possible errors are:

Invalid email address.
Captcha not checked or validation failed.

An email will be send (check your spam folder) with the instructions to recover your password on a new form:

Enter:

A secure password. It should have at least 8 characters and contain at least one number.
Confirm password. Type again the password to prevent mistypings.

If there is any problem filling the form a red message will be shown under the Change Password button. Possible errors are:

Invalid password. It should have at least 8 characters and contain at least one number.
Confirm password is different from password. Both need to be the same.
Captcha not checked or validation failed.

Cannot log in to Wordfast Anywhere

We recommend using Chrome or FireFox browsers as some cookie problems have been detected on IE and Safari.

Wordfast Anywhere is a web application where the communication between your local browser and the remote server may be in trouble. If you cannot connect or cannot work properly, try the following:

Make sure you are on the Wordfast Anywhere site.
Check there are no spaces before or after the email or the password.
Make sure to prove that you’re not a robot using the captcha
Check Cookies and JavaScript are enabled on your browser and that you are not using the browser in incognito/private mode.
If it still does not work, try to refresh the page, then log in.
If it still does not work, try to clean your browser cache and cookies as it may contain old files. This operation is different on each browser and version. To know how to clean your cache try this cache help page 1 and/or this cache help page 2. Then refresh the page and log in.
If it still does not work, check if the browser has some pending update. Then refresh the page and log in.
If it still does not work, try a different browser.

If you are having problems with CAPTCHA validation (I’m not a robot), here are some tips to solve the issue:

Make sure your browser is fully updated.
Check that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.
If CAPTCHA is too hard, don’t worry. Some CAPTCHAs are hard. Just click the reload button next to the image to get another one.
For more information about CAPTCHA check this Google help page.

Logging into your Wordfast Anywhere account

If you have already created your free account, simply enter the Login (email address) and Password (your password) information and click on Log In.

If you have not created an account yet, click on the Create a new account and follow the instructions.

If you ever forget your password, click on the Forgot your password? and follow the instructions.

If you are having login problems check Cannot log in to Wordfast Anywhere and follow the instructions.

The first time you login, you need to set up the initial configuration of the account. This configuration is minimal, allowing you to start translating immediately. You can always refine/change your configuration later.

You must specify the language pair (source and target) of your translation. Since English is the most used language in the world, its code (EN) is the default value. Enter a dash to the right of EN in the Source code language field to obtain a list of English variants available:

Choose your source language and variant (if any). Then repeat for the target language. Finally, click OK.

WFA gives you the ability to translate each segment by online translation services called Machine Translation powered by different engines/companies. The translations proposed are not ever likely to be fully acceptable. However, by making a few small adjustments, you will be able to use them extensively in your translations.

When using this service, the source segments that will return a translation are transmitted to the several engines. It is up to you whether or not to accept these translations; these companies are not made aware of your choice. However, be aware that sending the segments to any engine may raise privacy issues between you and your customers.

Machine Translation (MT) is activated by default and will be used if your translation memory has no translation to offer. To disable the MT, or for more details on how it works, see the section below related to machine translation.

Project content

If you are accessing for the first time, you see the content of your default project with your chosen language pair ready for your first document.

A project named "Project_1" is created by default. If you had an account before version 6, it will contain all the files from the previous version grouped by language pair.
Every document now belongs to a language pair, which in turn belongs to a project.
Double-click a project to open it to see the content (documents grouped by language pairs).
Double-click a document to start/resume work.

Wordfast Anywhere 6 Basic Projects video

Create a New Project

On the Project tab click on

New to create a new project. This will open the Project Seup window where the settings for the project are done.

Up to 3 projects can be stored at any given time.

To access the project setup once the project has been created, when the project is opened click on the project name or on the

icon next to the project name.

The Project Setup window has two sections that need to be set in order to create the project. Setting one section opens the next one.

1.General

On this section general information of the project is set. This includes:

Project name (required)
Description (optional)
Project type. Defines the type of the project:
- Standard: For translators working alone.
- Advanced: For Project Managers (PMs) managing large, multi-language projects.
Project status (for advanced type). Defines the status of the project:
- In preparation (blue): When project is being prepared (files, TMs and glossaries and linguist being added)
- In progress (orange): This marks the start of the project. Files are shared with the linguist at this point.
- Completed (green): The project is finished.
Currency (optional). It will be used to calculate the project cost.
Decimals (optional). Use decimals when showing the project cost.
Auto (optional). By default Project Manager will be responsible of pushing files to the next job when completion is done. Check it to automatically send files to the next step upon completion

2.Language Pairs and tasks

On this section language pairs and tasks are added.

Use the + next to the language pair header to add a new language pair. This will open the language selection dialog and then the TM and glossaries dialog to assign them to the language pair.
Use the + at the end of the header row to add new tasks. Only 10 tasks can be added.
A row is shown for each language pair where the default word rate (left box) and speed rate (right box) for each task can be set.
Use the - next to the language pair to remove it. Associated files and shares will be revoked.
Use the - next to the task name to remove it. Associated files and shares will be revoked.

Once all compulsory fields are set, click on Save project to save the project and go to the Project Content panel.

It is possible to move from standard to advanced but opposite is only possible if the advanced project has only one task.

Upload a document

To translate your document, you must first upload it to WFA.

There is a file size limit of 20 Mb.

From the Project Content Panel there are two ways to add files to a project.

Using the icon on the header will add the files to all the languages in the project.
Using the icon on the language row. This will add the files only to that language.

The following window will be displayed:

There are several ways to upload a document

From local file: Use Browse... to navigate through the directories on your computer and locate the document to be uploaded.
From URL: This option allows you to upload a file that is located on an Internet server by entering the address (URL) into the field. This feature is useful for tablet computers and other mobile devices that do not possess a hard drive.
From Google Drive: Choose a file from your Google Drive to be uploaded. You'll be asked to allow access rights to WFA before choosing the file. This feature is useful for tablet computers and other mobile devices that do not possess a hard drive.
From Dropbox: Choose a file from your Dropbox to be uploaded. You'll be asked to allow access rights to WFA before choosing the file. This feature is useful for tablet computers and other mobile devices that do not possess a hard drive.
From Clipboard: Paste the text to be uploaded into the text area. A text file will be created with the text.

At the bottom of the window click on View allowed formats to check the allowed formats:

Finally click on:

Upload: to only upload the file, which will be listed on the Document Management.
Upload and Open: to upload and open the document, which will be displayed in the document panel.

Depending on the size of the file, this may take some time. Please be patient.

Upload can also be done by using drag and drop area.

Setting up language pair, Translation Memories and glossaries

Language pair with its associated TMs and glossaries set in the project setup

To access the project setup dialog, when the project is opened click on the project name or on the

icon next to the project name.

Click on the language pair + button.

Enter the languages and save, the TMs and glossaries dialog opens.

If no TM and glossary exists for the language pair, a new dialog will propose you to create them. Save and wait until they are listed.
You can create and choose one or more TMs and glossaries. They are selected by checking the row in the Active column.

Finally, save the TMs and glossaries selection by clicking the Save button. The new language pair is now in the project setup and one icon is displayed for each TM and glossary.

The TMs and glossaries can be updated for a language pair by clicking on the icons. But if documents already exists for that language pair, they will not be affected by this change, only new documents added after the update.

TMs and glossaries set individually for a document

This selection for a document is overwriting the Language pair selection. In the project content select a document by checking it and then click on the TMs and glossaries icon

of the File menu.

The same TMs and glossaries dialog opens.

Saving will update only the TMs and glossaries for the selected document. A control can done hovering the TM icon.

Setting up Machine Translation

The Machine Translation setting is done In the general setup dialog. Click on the Setup button

of the Wordfast Anywhere menu and go to the MT tab.

To disable an engine just uncheck it in the list.

To enable an existing engine in the list, just check it and run a test with the Test button.

To add a new one click on the Add button.

When reactivating MT engines, you will have the following warning:

Translating a document

Document translation

Your TM and document are now ready. You can start a translation session.

Click on the Start/Next button

of the Translation tab. The first segment opens.

Basic to know about the segment:

The source segment. It is not editable by default.
The target segment. It is editable - this where you type your translation.
There are 3 possible views of the segment: Classic, Horizontal (the default) and vertical (To change go to View tab => Doc Layout button ).
If there is no proposition from the TM, WFA will prefill the target with Machine Translation (MT). Machine Translation will be proposed against an orange background.
If an exact source text exists in the TM (an "exact" match or 100%), the corresponding translation will be proposed against a green background.
If a similar source text exists in the TM (a "fuzzy" match lower than 100%), its translation will be proposed against a yellow background, and differences will be highlighted.
If you are re-opening an already translated segment, the existing translation will have a pink background.

When translating, the segments are saved automatically in the translation memory and on the database system as soon as you go to the next segment.

We recommend the use of the Alt+Down shortcut for this basic action. Common actions are associated to shortcuts (see Wordfast Anywhere tab => Setup button

=> Shortcuts tab).

Click on the Close & Commit button

to end the translation session.

When WFA loads a big document, not all the content is visible on the screen. The document is loaded bit by bit while you are translating. However, you can move inside the document by using the buttons on the View tab.

An auto-suggest feature is enabled by default to help you translate. It will propose you non translatable words or phrases, terminology. If you want to recopy a tag from the source segment please type < to trigger the tags proposal.

Check the Translation section on the Wordfast Anywhere Manual for more information.

Document delivery

Click on File tab.
Click on the Download button .
Choose Translated document and click on the OK button.

Verify documents after download. Note that you can have no more than 10 documents in your Workspace at any time: delete translated documents from the Workspace after verification to free space for more documents.

Shortcuts and buttons for main features

This start guide assumes the basic of the CAT tool. Please refer to the Learn more about... chapter for a full explanation of all features.

More Information

Check the Wordfast Anywhere Manual.
Check the Wordfast Anywhere FAQ.
Check out these Wordfast Anywhere tutorials on our Youtube channel.

Translation	Start translation / Next segment	Alt+Down	Starts a translation session by opening the currently selected segment / Commits the current segment to TM and opens the next segment.
Translation	Previous segment	Alt+Up	Commits the current segment to TM and opens the previous segment.
Translation	Close & Commit	Alt+End	Ends translation by closing the current segment and committing it to the TM.
Translation	Close	Shift+Alt+End	Ends translation by closing the current segment without committing it to the TM.
Translation	Close & Delete	Alt+Delete	Ends translation by closing the current segment and emptying the target. Do not commit to TM.
Translation	Provisional segment	F10	Marks a segment as provisional with a yellow Post-It.
Translation	Copy Source	Alt+Insert	Copies the source segment over the target segment.
Translation	Expand	Alt+PgDn	Expands a segment, if it actually extends beyond the punctuation mark (wrong segmentation). Note that a segment cannot be extended beyond a paragraph mark, page break, tabulator, or table cell.
Translation	Shrink	Alt+PageUp	Reverses any use of the Expand segment command.
Translation	Translate	Shift+Ctrl+PgDn	Translates until a non-exact match is found.
Translation	Toggle empty	Ctrl+Alt+X	Empty the target - remove the tags from the target - restore the original target
Wordfast Anywhere	Wordfast setup	Ctrl+Alt+W	Opens the Wordfast Anywhere general setup dialog.
Edit	Search & Replace		Search and replace in the document.
TMs and glossaries	TMs and glossaries setup		Opens the TMs and glossaries setup dialog.
TMs and glossaries	Concordance search	Ctrl+Alt+C	Looks up TUs in the TM containing a specific word or expression.
TMs and glossaries	Glossary Search	Ctrl+Alt+G	Looks up a term in the glossary
TMs and glossaries	Add term to glossary	Ctrl+Alt+T	Pops up a glossary term entry form.
TMs and glossaries	Copy TU	Alt+right	Copy a TU from the TM panel to the target segment. If many, press many times, it will start by copying the second one assuming the first one is already copied. The TU can be a MT proposal.
TMs and glossaries	Delete TU		Delete from TM the current or selected TU visible in the TM panel.
View	TM pane	Ctrl+Alt+M	Closes or opens the TM pane.
View	Glossary pane	Ctrl+Alt+H	Closes or opens the Glossary (Terminology) pane.
View	Outline pane		Closes or opens the Outline. The outline is a view of all the segments showing which ones are translated but also which ones have notes or are provisional.
View	Move next block	Page Down	Move to the next block of document's content.
View	Move previous block	Page Up	Move to the previous block of document's content.