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Poll: When I install new software, I prefer to learn how to use it by
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Jan 16, 2013

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
Mary Worby  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:42
German to English
+ ...
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).

 
Francesca Battaglia
Francesca Battaglia
Italy
Local time: 20:42
English to Italian
+ ...
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
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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..
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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 19:42
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
I'm with Mary! Jan 16, 2013

I have an aversion to reading manuals, so lots of painful trial-and-error...

 
Gianluca Marras
Gianluca Marras  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 20:42
English to Italian
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.


 
Noni Gilbert Riley
Noni Gilbert Riley
Spain
Local time: 20:42
Spanish to English
+ ...
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)
Sitiens (X)
Sweden
Local time: 20:42
English to Swedish
+ ...
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
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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.
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Julian Holmes
Julian Holmes  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 04:42
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
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]


 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 20:42
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
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
Michael Harris  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 20:42
Member (2006)
German to English
Trial and error Jan 16, 2013

and "if everything else fails, I read the instructions"

 
Patricia Charnet
Patricia Charnet
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:42
Member (2009)
English to French
manual Jan 16, 2013

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


 
Philippe Etienne
Philippe Etienne  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 20:42
Member
English to French
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]


 
Marta Riosalido
Marta Riosalido
Spain
Local time: 20:42
German to Spanish
+ ...
Soooo happy Jan 16, 2013

I' so happy that I'm not the only one!!!!

 
Julian Holmes
Julian Holmes  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 04:42
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
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
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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?
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Filipa Plant dos Santos
Filipa Plant dos Santos  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 19:42
Portuguese to English
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
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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.
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Poll: When I install new software, I prefer to learn how to use it by






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