Tanya Harvey Ciampi, English translator (DE/FR/IT>EN)
6673 Maggia, Switzerland, www.multilingual.ch 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/TranslatorsSwitzerland/

Swiss Translators group open to translators working with any of the languages spoken in Switzerland.
The aim of this platform is to exchange and discuss tips and tricks relating to translation and terminology research
 (including the installation of MS Word terminology search macros).
 

MS Word Macros to Speed up Translation-Related Terminology Research

Do you all too often find yourself...

	... performing tedious repetitive tasks in Microsoft Word?
	... wasting precious time trying to locate a specific function in Word?
	... spending too much time on word processing or terminology research online?

If so, then perhaps I can be of assistance to you: I have written a series of macros that I use on a daily basis to significantly speed up my own translation work. Over the years, I have held a number of Internet search courses specifically designed for translators and other language specialists at the University of Applied Sciences in Zurich/Winterthur as well as for in-house translators at banks and Swiss federal departments. During these courses I have noticed a great interest in these nifty time-saving techniques.

When we translate Word documents, we often find ourselves having to leave Word to look up terms online, for example in monolingual dictionaries for definitions, in bilingual dictionaries or translation memory databases for translations, on specific reputable websites (such as newspaper websites) to double-check usage or frequency of use, or on clients’ own multilingual websites to check how certain terms have been translated in the past to ensure consistent use of terminolgy.

This sort of research involves switching to a browser, copying and pasting or retyping our term into a search box, possibly adding specific search criteria, and finally launching a search: All that typing and clicking can be time-consuming and easily cause us to become lost among the many windows opened.

Macros to the Rescue!

This is where macros come in. A macro is essentially a short sequence of commands that automates repetitive tasks. Macros cost nothing to create and can be tweaked to do exactly what you need them to do, based on your specific language combinations and favourite online terminology resources, providing these lend themselves to this sort of querying.

How do Macros Work?

A macros consists of code, which you simply need to copy and paste into the Macros section of Word. That done, you then need to assign an icon to the macro and add it to your toolbar to launch the macro with a single click every time you need it. If you wish, you may also assign a specific key combination to the macro (for example CTRL plus a key of your choice) so that you can launch the macro from your keyboard, too.

From now on, when translating a text in Word, all you need to do is place your cursor on a word that you wish to look up and click on the corresponding icon in your toolbar (or use the assigned key combination) to launch the search. That’s all there is to it!

NOTE: The macros installed, the customization of MS Word and the techniques taught do NOT require the purchase of any additional software programmes: all the tools you need are already on your computer: no need to install any additional software programmes.

Examples of my services:

	I can install MS Word macros to automate the most frequent repetitive tasks, reducing them to a single click in Word: for example, performing various word-processing tasks or searching for terms in one or more online dictionaries, in online translation memory databases, on one or more newspaper websites, on clients' websites, on multilingual websites with pages in different languages or any other websites of your choice. The macros include a Word character count macro for counting the EXACT number of characters in a Word document. This is very useful for when you need to prepare a quote for a translation job since text located in text boxes is ignored in Word's own wordcount! In particular, my MS Word macros can automate my web-based terminology research techniques for translators, reducing them to a single click in Word!
	I can assign the most frequently used tasks in Word to shortcut keys: tasks which usually require several clicks can be reduced to a single click according to your specific requirements, e.g. I could set up CTRL-G for a Google search or CTRL-L for the launch of a macro that searches for your term in 3 online dictionaries at once;
	I can create icons that remain visible at all times in Word to launch certain functions, for example, to count the words or characters in a text or a selection of text, to insert special characters, to show or hide mark-up text, to access your Autocorrect list, to set the language of your document and to run a spellcheck: all functions that you might spend valuable time searching for each time you need them if you don't know where to look;
	I will teach you some useful tricks for locating terminology on the Internet using Google (for example, searching for words on the tip of your tongue: an aid which no dictionary can provide);
	I will show you how to make the most of the language tools available in MS Word (e.g. the thesaurus);
	I will show you how to make the most of MS Word's most useful functions: For example, how to have Word automatically replace text while you type (for instance "iaw" => "in accordance with") to reduce time spent on typing; How to compare two texts, one of which contains changes that are not marked: This is very useful if you have translated a text for a client and the client later comes back to you with unmarked changes to the original text. Word's comparision function allows you to locate the changes in the new text at the click of a button so that you don't have to go through the entire text comparing it against your previous translation searching for them.

A Few Examples of Macros and What They Can Do for You

All these macros require a single click of the mouse from within Word!

See a couple of these macros in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlvBLgJPaFk

These and more macros are available for free at https://www.facebook.com/groups/TranslatorsSwitzerland/

The macros themselves are written by a translator with translators' needs in mind and can be adapted to your specific requirements.

Macros may also be created to automate the web-based terminology research techniques for translators found at

http://www.multilingual.ch/Search_Interfaces.htm

... reducing them, too, to a single click in Word!

The original search techniques on which these macros are based were featured in the book entitled “Google Hacks” (“Hack #19: Google Interface for Translators”) by Tara Calishain, Rael Dornfest

 Why choose me?

Who better than a translator can understand the special needs of other translators? The macros that I have created are used to great effect by translators and terminologists throughout Switzerland and abroad on a daily basis (freelance translators and teams of translators working at large banks and translation companies).

Tanya Harvey Ciampi (http://www.multilingual.ch) grew up in Buckinghamshire, England, and went on to study in Zurich, where she obtained her diploma in translation. She now lives in the Ticino, the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland, where she works as an English translator (from Italian, German and French) and proofreader.