GEMTrade v1.00

 

World-wide exclusive 

 

Joe Connor unveils the first shareware project sponsored by Atari Computing...

 

Wearing my InterActive/TransAction hat I've been translating software from German to English for years. I've always used Ruftrade to generate the first English draft which, thanks to its highly targeted dictionaries, produces better translations of Atari documentation than commercial packages costing hundreds of pounds.

I once described Ruftrade's interface as "a necessary evil" so when Ruftrade author, Charles Edwards, decided to stop development I asked for permission to use the dictionaries and started to look around for a friendly programmer to continue development.

Mark Wherry's articles on BubbleGEM, OLGA and other System enhancements convinced me he was the man for the job - all I had to do was persuade him to get involved. GEMTrade is the result of many months of development.

Although GEMTrade is based on the original Ruftrade dictionaries, the translation routines have been rewritten. GEMTrade was developed to intelligently handle case sensitivity, HTML tags, email addresses and so on which leaves GEMTrade translations of heavily formatted documents easier to understand.

The enhanced GEM interface supports all the latest interface developments including dialogs in windows, OLGA, document history and AV protocol support along with BubbleGEM and ST-Guide help which means GEMTrade integrates well with the desktop and other programs.

Translation

Files can be translated by calling the file selector to load the target file into the Source line. Alternatively a file can be dragged from the desktop onto the GEMTrade icon in which case GEMTrade auto-starts, translates the file, then auto-closes (unless the [Alternate] key is held down) - marvellous!

No translation software will recognise every word but to make it easier for subsequent editing GEMTrade can optionally surround untranslated words with a user-defined marker character.

Electronic dictionary

Apart from file translation GEMTrade can be used as an on-line dictionary to translate individual words. Enter a German or English word into the editable field, select the language - or Auto, which works 90% of the time, then click on the lookup icon. The translated word appears in the line below ready for insertion into your text editor at the cursor position by dragging it onto an open editor window.

GEMTrade as CAB Module

Imagine you're browsing the web and you stumble across a tasty looking site full of Atari goodies and the page is in German, what are you going to do?
With GEMTrade installed in your CAB modules folder all you have to do is select GEMTrade from the Modules menu or pop-up and the page is automatically translated and re-displayed in English. It's not perfect but it works and is a brilliant concept!

The unregistered version translates the first 1000 words and the look-up dictionary works twice each session which means you can thoroughly test GEMTrade before parting with your money.

There's still plenty of room for development. For example, GEMTrade could be adapted to handle loadable dictionaries which would make it easy to support other languages and two-way translation. Options to edit and browse the dictionary could be added but future development really does depend on you. If you use GEMTrade and find it useful please do register your copy and encourage both Mark and Atari Computing to continue developing Atari software.
 

Product name
GEMTrade v1.00

Author
Mark Wherry

Status
Shareware

Contact
4 Fernpark Close, Topsham Road, Exeter, EX2 6AW, England
Email: mark_wherry@cix.co.uk
URL: http://www.cix.co.uk/~mark_wherry/

Cost
£9.99 for key and master disk presented in CD case including P&P or £8.99 for key only by email

Requires
All Ataris, 1Mb memory minimum

Pros
Modern stylish interface, ongoing development, intelligent document format handling

Cons
No English to German translation, odd INF file handling, few minor bugs to be ironed out

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