# testing: WR application for Windows



## mkellogg

Hi everybody,

We are working on an application for Windows that accesses the WR dictionaries.  If you are interested, please test it for us. Link

Note: It currently works with the "WordReference dictionaries", not the Oxford or Espasa dictionaries, so it won't be very helpful for some languages like Spanish. Also, this is "beta" quality, so I'm not responsible if anything bad happens to your computer!  (The program is pretty basic, so it should do no harm.)

Let me know what you like and what you feel should be improved!

Mike


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## mwebster

Hi Mike
I downloaded the new program and tried it in Word 2007 (for Windows).  The double click feature doesn't seem to work.  When I double click it doesn't start the WR routine it just brings up a faint Word Text Format Tool Bar.  I have gotten your new tool to work in other generic programs though.  The F12 word look up seems to work in Word but you have to retype the word in the box. I am using XP and the Italian-English set up. Has your developer been able to get it to work in Office 2007 programs?
Thanks
Mark


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## Nanon

Hi Mike,

I am testing it with Office 2007, XP. It looks great. So far I have tested English-French, French-English, English-Portuguese, English-Russian in Word, Outlook and IE. Unlike mwebster, I can access the translation when I double-click a word. For a few words with English-Russian, I get an empty window with a link to the corresponding WR dictionary page underneath (the translation is available in the dictionary page but not in the application).


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## bondia

Hi, Mike,
Just for your info.,  I've tried it from  iPad where all I get is "error". On my PC, for the past 10 minutes, no way can I access. Maybe it's my lousy connection...
Best regards
bondia


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## mkellogg

An iPad?  No, this is a Windows-only program.

Russian?  Russian and German shouldn't be options since we don't have WR dictionaries for those languages.  (We have something small for Russian.)

XP? I have had trouble with XP, but haven't tried it on Office on XP.  My experience with XP is that I have to double-click slowly, but it does work.


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## floboc

Hello everyone,
I am the developer of this project and it is always good to see that there are people interested in this.

I just want to precise, as Mike said, that the software is designed for Windows only (at least for now, in fact there is only the double-clicking feature that requires the software to be under Windows).

@mwebster:
Thanks to you I identified the source of this problem (I never tested it under Word 2007 before, and you were right, it wasn't working). The source of the problem was the "faint Word Text Format Tool Bar" which grabed  the focus, but now i managed to correct this.

@Nanon:
As mike said, maybe the problem comes from the WR dictionnaries. It would be nice if you could send me some examples of words to confirm that.

@Bondia:
I don't know how you could have tested it on an iPad since it is for Windows only, but if you  get the "error" message (I mean by that that the application is  running, but when you search a word you have a bubble popup with "error"  in it) there are two possibility :
- you had a error with the message "Invalid json data" ==> that is a connection problem
- you had an error with the message "Impossible to get the text !" ==> that is an OS error.
Which one did you get ?

I will send a new version to Mike very soon


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## Vanda

You mean XP like Windows XP?! This is what I use and I have no problem with the new application! Estou adorando!


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## mwebster

Yes Vanda, XP would be referring to Windows XP operating system.


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## mwebster

Hi flobac
Again Word 2007 XP, I see that when double clicking on a word the first time the WR window pops up now.  However, if you check a second word, the window is no longer visible unless you close Word, open it again and double click on the new word. Basically you have the opportunity to look up one word per Word session. I think what is happening is that the WR window/box _may_ be present, but is it is just not staying in the forefront, because when I closed all open windows I found it on the desktop. I haven't tested this theory out completely but that was my first impression.


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## Nanon

Bonjour Florent ,

English-Russian: I just tried with your reply. I double-clicked the word "developer" and it gave me an empty box with a link that remits to the "developer" entry of the WR English-Russian dictionary, in which the translation _is _available. Same for "entry", "software", "possibility" and "tried". But "dictionary", "empty" and even "managed" and "found" (conjugated forms) are OK.
I also noticed that if I quit the application, it won't work again - I have to suppress and reinstall everything (luckily it doesn't take long ).


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## Vanda

> I also noticed that if I quit the  application, it won't work again - I have to suppress and reinstall  everything (luckily it doesn't take long ).


ahhh! That happened this morning when I looked for the icon on the bar... no icon. Had to go to the downloads to open it again.


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## mkellogg

Thanks for your feedback. We already have some fixes ready (MS Office 2007, an installer and other things).  I've updated the link in my first post.  Please replace the old version with this one.


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## Vanda

Now, it doesn't work.


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## swift

Oi Vanda. 



Vanda said:


> You mean XP like Windows XP?! This is what I use and I have no problem with the new application! Estou adorando!





Vanda said:


> Now, it doesn't work.


I tested this new application yesterday on a PC that is running Windows XP SP2. Once the application installed, the tray icon appeared on the taskbar and everything was doing all right. This morning, I "updated" the app but I noticed there were two tray icons on the taskbar instead of one; I wasn't able to perform any search after that: I decided to uninstall the app but... there was no "WordReference Translation" application in my currently installed programs box. 

...

En otras informaciones:

I just installed the app on my PC and I'm testing it on Windows 7. I've had no error messages so far.


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## floboc

It seems that you all have strange things happening :-(
It works perfectly fine for me.

@Manon : this is not due to the software, they all are words that are currently not in the available dictionnary (I mean the one we use for the app).


> I also noticed that if I quit the application, it won't work again - I have to suppress and reinstall everything


What do you mean by this ? Do you mean that you can't launch the application anymore ? Do you have an error message or something ? Where did you unzip the app ?

@Vanda:


> Now, it doesn't work.


What do you mean exactly ? Do you manage to launch the application but don't get any translation ? I suggest you to see the note below, maybe it is the source of your problem.

@Swift :
The app doesn't appear in the installed programs box because i don't add the program to the registry. If you want to uninstall the application just go to the folder where you installed it (Program Files/WordReference Translator by default) and run uninst.exe. By the way, the old version (not the .exe one, the .zip one) is not an installer, thus to uninstall it, you just have to delete the folder.
If you have two tray icons that means that you probably didn't quit the old application, or that you chose "Run on startup" for the old version.

*IMPORTANT NOTE :*
If you are not the admin of your computer, please NOT install the software in the Program Files directory now. It will be solved in the next version.
(If anyone is in this case, please tell me if the program is working when you install it IN the Program Files folder, thanks).


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## Vanda

Again, this morning, the icon is there but I get no results when I type in the box. Do I have to download it each time I log in?


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## floboc

Did you read the previous note ?
Which dictionnary do you use ? (or is it not working with all dictionnaries ?)
If you want me to fix this, I need more informations.


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## Vanda

huhhhh... I am not an expert on PCs, so let me try to explain myselg. The icon is there but then when I type a word and click it doesn't appear anymore. So I have returned to the first version that is working for me. I use mostly the English/Portuguese dictionary.


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## Vanda

Swiftly, have you experimented log out and log in again? Did work when you did that?


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## Nanon

floboc said:


> What do you mean by this ? Do you mean that you can't launch the application anymore ?


Yes, but that was true for the first version. This problem must have been fixed in the updated version, thanks .  I am now able to quit and launch it again.

Edit: I just tested French-English too: I get blank boxes with links to the WR dictionary page or boxes with compound forms for some (not all) nouns and adjectives in plural. Conjugated verbs seem mostly OK. My "sample words" were:  _matières, premières, livraisons, suivants_ (not recognised). But it worked well for _résultats, référentiels, clients, seuls, remerciements._ It seems that nouns need to have an entry for the plural form in the WR contents to work with the app, while conjugated verbs don't.


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## mwebster

Hi Floboc
Again XP SP3, Word 2007. My main focus and interest has been the double click lookup. I am using the Italian to English set up. I have uninstalled and reinstalled several times. I loaded your newest version as of yesterday and took all the defaults. (I removed the programs as best I could prior to the reinstalls, I used the uninstall routine in WR from the Programs list under Start, removed the WR folders I could find and closed anything related, I am signed on as Admin). I will try the additional step of the uninstall from the folder you described in your last post.
At this point the double click feature either doesn’t start the WR lookup at all or it quits working after one or two look ups within Word. At one point it was working perfectly and l looked up several words one after the other including going to WR on the net and back to the next word. J But then it quit working. Maybe this is a “focus” conflict again. When I double click a word in Word I noticed it always activates the Proofing scan to “Check for Proofing Errors”, there is a little symbol at the bottom of the screen indicating that it is checking the document. I wonder if this is conflicting with the WR action. The WR double click seems to work more reliably on web documents. I tried it in Notepad and it crashed your program completely, I got the “Do I want to notify Microsoft of the Problem window” (I’m not sure we want to resolve that issue at this point) My post earlier referring to the event where I found the WR box/window beneath the other program windows has not recurred so maybe that was a fluke.
I will try to do further testing this weekend and see it I can clarify more specifically what is happening.
FYI the F12 function lookup box has been pretty reliable, though I haven’t worked much with it since I am more interested in the double click feature.
Keep up the great work Floboc and thanks for being willing to work on this.
Mark


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## swift

Bonjour Floboc,

Yes, I realised that I had to remove the application manually. Now it works again.

Vanda: I double-clicked the desktop icon and then it worked again.


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## floboc

@Vanda:
No problem. I think that maybe you don't have enough permissions on your computer to use the software within the "Program Files" directory. When you launch the .exe to setup the app, you can choose where you want to install it. Could you try to install it in a folder NOT in the "Program Files" directory ? For instance, "C:/WordReference Translator". Let me know if it changes something.

@Nanon:
The problems with plural words is due to the databse, not the software.

@mwebster:
I'm searching what causes this, but you are right, this morning it was not working anymore in Word 2007. For the crash, i don't know what to say, it could be related to the focus problem since I changed some things about how the software get the words.

Thanks all for your suggestions and bug reports.


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## mwebster

Ok I think I am starting to get the picture.
After making sure I had a clean install, the proofing feature in Word 2007 does not seem to be conflicting with WR.  What I have found though, which is reproducible is that after WR is working within an open Word document, if you close Word and reopen the document the previously working open session of WR stops working.  If you close the WR session and re start it with the Word Document still open the WR translator begins to work again. 
A couple of other thoughts… 
I am not sure how you have your program structured, but based on some of the comments made in the thread, would it be possible for the program to retain the word double clicked when it is not in your dictionary and have it either go directly to the WR dictionaries or give you the option to go to the WR dictionaries auto inserting the word for you.
I personally don’t have a high interest in resolving the Notepad error.
If I get a Microsoft error in Word, do you want the detail of the error sent you?
A less important observation: When you close WR on the tool bar, the icon remains until you touch it with the pointer, then it disappears? Not a big deal but ? 
Again thanks
Mark


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## floboc

Thank you Mark, I will look closer to this in the next weeks.
However I won't be available for at least three weeks from now because I'm moving to another city and I will be then on holiday.


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## mwebster

Have a safe move and a great holiday!


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## floboc

Hello all,
I'm back ;-)
I am still looking for a solution to the microsoft office 2007.
I tried a lot of different things but none is working.
I will let you know if i have some news on this side.


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## floboc

Problem solved !
In fact, the source of the problem was not what I expected.
It was because office2007 use is own clipboard manager which was conflicting with the software.

You can download the latest version here : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=R8JY4D44
Please let me know if you have some issues.

@mwebster:
You would like an option that ask the user if you want to go to the WR page of the word if there is no translation available ? I can add that.


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## mwebster

Hi floboc
I will try to remove and reload for the latest version.  
That would be very helpful if one could have the option to go to WR when there is no translation available.
Thanks
Mark


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## floboc

Here is the latest version : http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WY6YJVB5

Mike suggested me something and i totally agree with him.
It can be annoying to work with the previous version if you need to double-click words without the need to translate them.

*In this new version, to translate a word, you have to hold down ctrl and double-click the word you want to translate.*

@mwebster : did it work ?


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## mwebster

Yes so far it has worked, but I haven't had a lot of time to work with it/challenge it.  Initially its seems to be working more reliably. 
In your new version are you simply adding the ctrl key to the existing key strokes with no change in functionality?


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## mwebster

After installing the last version I see that neither double click nor cntrl double click work in Word 2007.


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## floboc

Are you sure ?
Because it works perfectly for me now and I had the same problem that you had with office 2007.
Does this work with other softwares (web browser, notepad, adobe reader, etc.) ?

Do you maintain the ctrl key while double clicking ?


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## mwebster

Hi floboc
Please describe the steps at this point to insure complete removal of a previous install and I will try removing and re-installing.
I know this is complicating things somewhat... but I am using a Macbook Pro to run your software, I am in Windows XP but as a virtual machine through Fusion.  With a Macbook Pro there is only one "mouse" button which behaves like a "left click".  To get the "right click" action you have to hold the Control key down while you "click".  I assume this is causing the problem?  Can you use a different key instead of the Cntrl key or give the user a choice of whether to include the Cntrl key while double clicking or just double click.  I have another translation product that I use in Word 2007 and the way it works is… with the word highlighted, I "right click" once (actually “Cntrl click” in my case) which brings up a list of choices like "Cut, Paste, Translate etc…." from this menu I choose the action I want.... which could be WR translate?
Thanks
Mark


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