Translate the world.

Frequently Asked Questions

I am having issues with my LEC Translate or Power Translator product

I am having problems running under the Vista operating system

Microsoft's Vista operating system causes problems for older versions of LEC software. If you have installed versions of LEC Translate prior to LEC Translate 2007 or of Power Translator (including some versions of Power Translator 11), and find that your translation software is not working correctly, then you can fix the problem by downloading and running an application patcher.


If you have extremely old versions of LEC software (such as Topics Deluxe 1.0, Power Translator 9.0, or versions of LEC Translate prior to 2005) then you must first update to a newer version of our translation software (contact your vendor for Topics and Avanquest customers, or send mail to techsupport@lec.com).


For newer software you can run an automated patch program that will update your software to be compatible with Microsoft Vista. You can get the patch program here. Download the program, unzip it, and run "LEC Application Patcher.exe". You should quit running all other applications before running the application patcher.

A window comes up when I run the software saying it has "problems connecting to local server" or "could not find any language pairs on local machine"

There are two major causes of this situation: either the LEC Translation Server is not running or (more commonly) some other software is blocking communications between the LEC Translation Server and other programs. When you first encounter this problem, you should make sure that the translation server is running properly. To do that, please take the following steps:

  • Open the control panel "Services" found under "Administrative Tools"
  • Right mouse click on the service named "LEC TranslateDotNet Server", and choose "Properties" from the menu
  • Make sure the 'Startup type' is set to "Automatic"
  • If the 'Service status' field reads 'Stopped' press the 'Start' button

If the service was stopped, then this should solve your problem. Rerun LogoTrans and see if it now performs properly.


If your translation service was running normally, then the source of this problem is security and firewall software, such as Norton Internet Security. Such software can interfere with our program's functioning, even though our programs are not contacting the internet.


To see if your security software is blocking our software, try to temporarily disable all of your security software and then run LogoTrans. If our programs run fine, you will have to configure your security software to not block our software (read in the manual or contact your security software provider if you are unaware of how to set it to allow this).


Some users of older versions of our software may encounter problems if they are installing the software for a limited user. If you are installing for a limited user, and are encountering problems, please contact LEC detailing the problem and the product you have purchased, at info@lec.com.

When I tried to translate, I got the error message "Translation Error = user failed authentication"

If you have using LEC Translate or Power Translator this message should not appear. Please run LogoTrans. Click on the icon in the lower left and make sure it say "Use local machine for translation".


If you are using Translate DotNet or iTranslate, then you need to check your server settings. Run LogoTrans DotNet. Choose "Options" from the Tools menu, and click on the Network tab. Set the radio button to "Authenticate for this user". Make sure that the User (email) value is your email address, and is the address you entered when installing LEC Translate DotNet. Make sure that the password is correct.


This problem can be caused by selecting a language pair for which you do not have an active subscription. You may need to purchase a new subscription package for the additional language pair that you wish to use.

When I run Word I get a message saying the macros certificate has expired

Digital Certificates are a security measure used to protect users from malicious software. The idea is that a company that wants to distribute software buys a "certificate" that basically says that they are not crooks, or spammers, or what not. The company issuing the certificate is supposed to investigate the company that is purchasing the certificate, to make sure they are legitimate.

This model works fairly well to protect users doing downloads on the internet, which was its original design goal. Unfortunately, Microsoft decided to adopt it for their Office addins as well. The problem there is that we produce the addin a long time, potentially years, before the customer purchases it. Also, the customer wants to use the software for years as well. But in order to keep the certificates from being abused, the issuing companies will only issue them for short durations (maximum of 2 years for the kind we are interested in).

There is a program available that will patch your addins to have up-to-date certificates. You can get a copy here. You should quit running all Office applications before running this updater

LEC Translate menu does not appear in Word (or Excel)

This is usually due to the security settings you have in Word. If you set the security settings high enough, and don't specifically bless our addin when the security warning dialog comes up, it will not be allowed to run.

To test this, run Word and go to Tools\Macro\Security. If the setting is currently high, try lowering it to Medium or Low and rerunning. If our addin appears, it means that we are not considered a "trusted source" (you can verify that by going back to Tools\Macro\Security and clicking on the "Trusted Sources" tab. After this has worked, if you reset the security to high it will either keep working or bring up a dialog asking whether you should trust software from "Language Engineering Company", to which you should answer "yes/enable".

If you are using Outlook as your email editor, you may need to open Word first, then start Outlook. If you start Outlook before starting Word then all addin in Word, including ours, will not run.

You may also open your Word or Excel program, then select Add-Ins or Template & Add-Ins from the Tools menu, and make sure the "LEC Translate.dot" file is checked.

LEC Translate menu does not not appear in my Internet Explorer or Firefox
Please open your IE or Firefox browser, and go to View in the menu bar, and select Toolbars. Make sure that LEC is checked.
I am using your translation software and when I try to translate, the translation I get are questions marks or gibberish
If you are trying to translate into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian or Ukrainian, you may need to set up your Windows to display additional languages. Please see the section Setting Up Windows for Additional Languages
I am using FileTrans, and I cannot translate a Word file
If you purchased a CD translation product, your LEC FileTrans application should be able to translate files in text, RTF, PDF, HTML, XML, or DOC (Word) format

If you have a Premium subscription to Translate DotNet, and are using LEC FileTrans DotNet, you can translate files in RTF, PDF, HTML, XML and DOC formats.

If you have a non-Premium subscription to Translate DotNet, your FileTrans DotNet can only translate files in text or html format.
I can not translate my .PDF file with the FileTrans program.
Currently our FileTrans and FileTrans DotNet programs can not translate the Image-Only type of PDF documents because the text on this kind of PDF files is actually a surface picture without underlying characters. FileTrans may also have issues translating the Searchable-Image type of PDF documents depending on the OCR process used when creating the PDF document.

You may check the following information if you are not sure which type of PDF document you have.

1. Image-Only PDF
An image-only PDF contains a photographic image representing each page, and virtually no textual characters or vector graphics. Although text may appear on a page, the text is actually a surface picture without underlying characters. Individual characters are needed for translation into speech or braille, so an image-only PDF file is inaccessible.

2. Searchable Image
Searchable-image PDF also contains an image for each page, but this type includes a text layer as well. The textual characters are produced from an OCR process, which analyzes each image for what appear to be characters. Wherever characters are recognized in the image, the software draws a layer of text under them. An observer of the page sees the surface image only, as with image-only PDF.

3. Formatted Text and Graphics
A third PDF type, called formatted text and graphics, minimizes the use of photographic images in favor of textual characters and vector graphics. No image layer rests on top of a text layer. Instead, textual characters and vector graphics are drawn wherever they can represent the content of a page. Photographic images are used only when they are pictures that cannot be generated from building blocks of textual characters and vector graphics. This type of PDF is usually the result of conversion from another electronic file format, such as Microsoft Word. This type is the most compact (often 10% of an image-only file with the same content). Also, since this type is built from more structured components, it may be used more flexibly for other purposes. For example, such a PDF file might be converted to HTML for display as web pages or converted to Microsoft Word for editing as part of another document.
After installing Internet Explorer 7.0, I get a connection error

Internet Explorer 7.0 changed the call sequence to a system call in a way that broke LEC translation applications. If you have extremely old versions of LEC software (such as Topics Deluxe 1.0 or Power Translator 8.0) then you must first update to a newer version of our translation software (Topics and Avanquest customers, please contact your vendors; others, please send email to techsupport@lec.com).

For newer software you can run an automated patch program that will update your software to be compatible with Internet Explorer 7.0. You can get the patch program here. Download the program, unzip it, and run "LEC Application Patcher.exe".

Words appear all garbled when I try to translate an e-mail

Most of these problems are within your e-mail application, and not within LEC software. To test this, run LogoTrans and try and translate some text in it.

If LogoTrans cannot properly display the text, then the problem is that your operating system is not set up to display the language you have chosen. We discuss this issue in our FAQ here.

If, on the other hand, our software correctly displays the characters but your e-mail system does not, then the problem is with your e-mail program (old versions of Outlook Express have this problem, for example). You will need to contact your e-mail vendor about potential upgrades to resolve this problem.

I get the following error message: "A required security module cannot be activated. This program cannot be executed."
This message is a Sony SecuROM error message. The message appears when the user is running software that interferes with the copy protections. SecuROM noticed the offending software and reported the error message. In order to install, you will have to deactivate (not necessarily uninstall) the software that is causing the problem.

I am having issues with my Translate DotNet or Translate ToGo subscription

I purchased your software, but now it is complaining that my subscription has expired

For most LEC software that you purchase, you get a free trial subscription to our DotNet service along with the software that you purchased. This subscription is a free supplement to the software that you received, and is not required for you to do translation. The product you bought came with translation software that runs without any need for a subscription (although you are more limited in the available language pairs and in the programs available). If you look in your Start menu, you will find both our DotNet software, and the software you purchased, as separate applications that you can run.

If you wish to continue to take advantage of the many attractive features of our DotNet software (such as free product updates, a huge number of available language pairs, and no restrictions on the number of machines you install our software on), then you will need to purchase a subscription. Otherwise, run the version of our software that does not include the word "DotNet" in the title.

I am not able to use my subscription service
If you have purchased a subscription to the online translation service Translate DotNet, which is installed in your computer, please go to Start / All Programs / LEC Translate DotNet, and use any of the translation applications included.
If you purchased a subscription TranslateToGo, you will need to log onto our website at http://www.lec.com/browser-translation.asp to use your subscription service.
I keep getting an e-mail telling me my password. Why?

This e-mail is automatically sent out when the software tries to log onto our translation server and cannot because of invalid user account information. You are most likely triggering this each time you run Internet Explorer (if you have our translation addin installed) or in Word (if you have our office addins installed). The easiest way to avoid getting the e-mails is to either uninstall our software or fix the problem. You can fix the problem easily with the following steps:

1) run LogoTrans DotNet
2) choose "Options" under the Tools menu
3) click on the "Network" tab
4) set the User (email) field to XXXX (the name sent you in the e-mail you received)
5) set the Password field to: XXXX (the password sent you in the e-mail you received)
press OK

You should never get those password reminder e-mails again.

I am having problems with electronic download and distribution

How do I purchase a product electronically?
Electronic software distribution lets you download your copy of an LEC product across the internet. This allows you to get the software in the fastest possible time, and eliminates any shipping and handling charges -- which can be particularly important for customers outside of the United States.
Language Engineering installers are large, about 500 megabytes, so it is very helpful to have a fast, stable internet connection. Downloading the software with a dial-up connection is possible, but will take 4 or more hours. And dial-up connections tend to drop some data, resulting in corrupted files. So if you have a dial-up conection you may want to consider purcashing a CD version of the software instead.
When you download an LEC installer, it comes in compressed file (a "zip" file). This speeds up the download process, and also protects you from virus software. All recent Microsoft operating systems have built-in support for zip files. If you have an old computer, you can download free utility programs for zip files, such as Winzip.
You must copy the downloaded installer to the machine you wish to install on. You cannot burn the installer onto a CD. There is no need to, as you can always download a new copy of the installer if you need to. Once you have copied the installer out of the zip file, you run the program "InstallTranslate". It is important that when you run "InstallTranslate" that your computer is connected to the internet, and that firewalls you have installed do not stop the installer from contacting the LEC website.
The installer will ask you for an access code, which is a twelve character code that will be given you (it will be both displayed on the screen at the end of the purchase process and sent to you in an email). Type in the code you are give exactly as it is written (it is case sensitive). The installer will then verify your access code on the LEC website, and then installation will begin.
The download link does not work.
Most email programs and web browsers will correctly support the download link. If you have a problem you will need to copy the link into your web browser. You can do that with the following steps
  • Press the left mouse button on the beginning of the web link
  • Drag the mouse, hold the left button down until the whole link is highlighted
  • Release the left mouse button, and press down the right mouse button. Choose "Copy" from the menu that appears
  • Open Internet Explorer or whatever web browser you prefer. Click the right mouse button into the address bar at the top of the window and select "Paste" from the menu that appear.
  • press the enter key and the download process should start

I purchased by software from a company other than Language Engineering

I am having problems with my Power Translator which I purchased in Europe other than UK, and not at LEC website
Thank you for your support inquiry. Our partner in Europe for Power Translator is Avanquest and they provide hotline support in each country. Please direct your inquiry to the contacts below:
Germany, Austria, Switzerland
Tel: +49 0900 1101 299 (1.50 EUR/min)
E-mail: kundendienst@avanquest.com / avanquest@funmarkt.de
Spain:
Tel: +33 1 41 8344 17
(de las 9.30 hasta las 12.30 por la mañana y de la 1.30 a las 5.30 por la tarde)
Web: www.bvrp.com/spanish_support.htm
E-Mail: anvanquest.ib@technicity.fr
Italy:
support_italia@avanquest.it
France:
Web: www.bvrp.com/pagemail.htm
www.avanquest.fr/pagemail.htm
I am having problems with Instant Immersion Translator Deluxe v.2.0
Translator Deluxe is published and supported by Topics Entertainment. Please contact Topics at http://www.topics-ent.com/HelpDesk/index.asp or email at Support@topics-ent.com to get support for Translator Deluxe. Please be advised that there are two sets of programs included on the Deluxe CD. The Translate DotNet program is our online subscription service. We provide customers with a certain duration of the DotNet subscription service when they purchase the Deluxe product. You will need to purchase a new subscription package when it expires if you wish to continue using the Translate DotNet program. Please email us at info@lec.com if you have any questions about the DotNet subscription service.

Tips and Tricks for high quality translation

I am not satisfied with the translation quality
We are sorry to hear that you are not satisfied with the product.


Machine translation is not like human translation. Machine translation follows strict language rules to get good translation quality. Please visit the section on Translation Tips on how to get good translation quality. You can also use ""Translate Back"" feature in LogoTrans application to monitor the translation result and adjust the source text to get good quality.

The most important thing you can do is to make a user dictionary by using the Dictionary application which is included in the Pro and Euro version.

Entering accented characters while translating
Using the numeric keypad (make sure NUM LOCK is on), hold down ALT, and then, type in:
  • Grave
    • 0192 for À 0224 for à
    • 0200 for È 0232 for è
    • 0204 for Ì 0236 for ì
    • 0210 for Ò 0242 for ò
    • 0217 for Ù 0249 for ù
  • Acute
    • 0193 for Á 0225 for á
    • 0201 for É 0233 for é
    • 0205 for Í 0237 for í
    • 0211 for Ó 0243 for ó
    • 0218 for Ú 0250 for ú
    • 0221 for Ý 0253 for ý
  • Circumflex
    • 0194 for  0226 for â
    • 0202 for Ê 0234 for ê
    • 0206 for Î 0238 for î
    • 0212 for Ô 0244 for ô
    • 0219 for Û 0251 for û
  • Tilde
    • 0195 for à 0277 for ã
    • 0209 for Ñ 0241 for ñ
    • 0213 for Õ 0238 0245 õ
  • Umlaut
    • 0196 for Ä 0228 for ä
    • 0203 for Ë 0235 for ë
    • 0207 for Ï 0239 for ï
    • 0214 for Ö 0246 for ö
    • 0220 for Ü 0252 for ü
    • 0159 for Ÿ 00255 for ÿ
  • Other Characters
    • 0199 for Ç 0231 for ç
    • 0140 for Œ 0156 for œ
    • 0223 for ß
    • 0161 for ¡
    • 0191 for ¿
Setting up Windows for Additional Languages
Adding support for additional languages within your computer's Windows settings may be required to display and enter text in those languages. Language support is built-in to many systems or may have been added when you installed LEC Translate. Follow the instructions in this section only if you are having trouble displaying or entering text in a particular language.
Note that Microsoft has stopped supporting some older operating systems, such as Windows 98 and Windows ME. It may no longer be possible to update these operating systems. If the instructions below do not work, you will need to contact Microsoft for further assistance.

To set up Windows XP for additional languages
Support for most languages is pre-installed. Follow the steps below to install additional languages, which may include East Asian languages, languages entered right to left languages, and languages requiring complex scripts. Have your Windows XP CD handy. You may be prompted to insert it so that additional languages can be downloaded to your computer.
  1. Open the Windows Control Panel from the Start menu.
  2. Under 'Pick a Category', click the Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options icon.
  3. In the area under 'or pick a Control Panel icon' click the Regional and Languages Options icon. The Regional and Languages Options dialog box appears.
  4. Select the Languages tab and under 'Text services and input languages' click the Details button. The 'Text services and input languages' dialog box appears. The languages already installed are shown in the box.
  5. Click Add to open the 'Add input language' dialog box.
  6. Select the desired language from the pull-down menu and then click OK.You can repeat steps 5 and 6 if you want to add additional languages.
  7. Click Apply in the 'Text services and input languages dialog' to save your new settings and then click OK.
  8. If you want to install support for Asian languages, right to left languages, or languages requiring complex script, go to the 'Regional and Language Options' dialog box, select the appropriate check box(es) in the 'Supplemental languages' area of the dialog box, and then click Apply.
    You may be prompted to insert your Windows XP CD so the new languages can be downloaded.
    When installation is complete, click OK to close the Regional and Language Options dialog and then close the Control Panel.


To set up Windows 2000 for additional languages
  1. Click the Start menu on the Windows task bar, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
  2. In the Control Panel window, double-click the Regional Options icon.
    The Regional Options control panel opens.
  3. Click the General tab in the control panel.
  4. In the 'Language settings for the system' area at the bottom of the control panel, select the checkbox next to each language you want to use.
  5. Follow any instructions that appear, such as inserting the Windows CD or restarting your computer.
  6. Click the Input Locales tab.
  7. Click the Add button to display the Add Input Locale dialog box.
  8. Select the desired locale from the 'Input locale' menu, and click OK.
    When you change the input locale, the keyboard layout selection also changes.
  9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 to add as many locales as you need, and when done, close the control panel by clicking the 'X' in the upper right corner.


To set up Windows ME, 98, and NT for additional languages
  • Older Windows versions, such as ME, 98, and NT, may lack built-in support for displaying some languages. You can download such support using the Language Support downloading utility LEC has provided. Refer to the 'Setting Up Windows to Use Additional Languages' section of your ReadMe file, and click on the link to the "Windows 9x/NT Language support downloading utility". You can access the ReadMe file from the Windows Start menu by choosing Program Files/LEC/Notes/ReadMe. Entering new strings for some languages requires a special component that may not be pre-installed on Windows 98, ME or NT. This component–an 'Input Method Editor' or 'IME' –makes it easier for users to enter these languages into the computer.

The steps required to add limited Input support* for East Asian languages on Windows 98, Windows ME and Windows NT are different depending on whether or not you have Office XP installed. These steps are described in more detail over here

  • If you do NOT have Microsoft Office XP installed on your computer, install Global IME 5.02:
    1. Go to this link
    2. Choose the support for the desired language WITH the Language Pack if available.
    3. Proceed with the download and follow instructions to install, and reboot.
  • If you have Microsoft Office XP installed on your computer, install IMEs for Office XP:
    1. Go to this link
    2. Choose the language you want to add support for.
    3. Proceed with the download and follow the instructions that appear as you install.

    *Note: The usefulness of Global IME on Windows 98 and Windows ME is limited to certain Microsoft applications such as Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, and the Office suite of application. You cannot use Global IME to input East Asian language scripts directly into LEC applications. Global IME does permit you to enter the East Asian scripts into the Microsoft applications, and you can then use the LEC translation tools to translate those scripts.
    • Translation Tips - Preparing for translation
    • Machines do not have the linguistic capabilities of humans. To obtain the best results from machine translation, documents should be written using clear, concise, grammatical English. Producing good text for machine translation is similar to producing text that humans can read easily. Following are tips to generate more accurate results from machine-translated documents.
      1. Avoid idiomatic expressions.
        If you are not sure whether a phrase is an idiom, consider the literal meaning of the words. If the literal sense is not clear, try to express the same idea in a different way.
        Suggested: It rarely happens.
        Not Suggested: It happens once in a blue moon.


      2. Use proper Grammar.
        Use a pronoun before a verb, even if it can be implied and the sentence is understandable without it.
        Suggested: I studied history, but I did not learn much.
        Not Suggested: I studied history, but did not learn much.


      3. Do not omit words.
        Do not omit words like "that, which, who, and whom". Use them liberally. These words are often implied in English, but they are required in other languages.
        Suggested: I know that Bob works on Monday.
        Not Suggested: I know Bob works on Monday.


      4. Use 's only for possessives, not to contract is or has.
        Suggested: Mary is singing at the church tonight.
        Not Suggested: Mary's singing at the church tonight.


      5. Keep your sentence structure clear, simple, and direct.
        Break up long sentences filled with many ideas into short sentences expressing one main idea.
        Suggested: The local government completed projects such as the construction of a new bridge. The bridge allows travel between our city and Springfield. It has increased commerce in both communities.
        Not Suggested: The local government completed projects such as the construction of a new bridge, which allows travel between our city and Springfield and has increased commerce in both communities.


      6. Do not split separable English verbs, such as "pick up" and "look up."
        Suggested: I have to look up the information in our database.
        Not Suggested: I have to look the information up in our database.


      7. Write your documents in standard, formal English.
        In formal English, grammatical connections are clearly expressed: subjects agree with predicates, modifiers relate to what they modify. Unnecessary words are kept to a minimum. Clear, formal writing, which is easiest for your reader to understand, will result in the most comprehensible translations possible. Informal English is marked by loose grammatical style that is typical of a conversation. This may be perfectly appropriate for conversation. It is not beneficial for the translation process.


      8. Add the appropriate accents.
        Whenever possible, enter text with the correct diacritical marks. Some accent marks look very similar (i.e., é and è); please be sure to enter the proper one.


      9. When entering text unfamiliar to you, be sure to type it as accurately as possible.
        Pay particular attention to spelling and punctuation.


      10. Use sentence context.
        When translating interactively, you will be prompted to choose between multiple translations. Use the surrounding text to aid in your decision-making.
        Note: During interactive translation, the first pass is only to select the correct vocabulary. All words will appear in their root forms.


      11. Write explicitly.
        Machines cannot read between the lines. They only translate what is there, not what the author might have intended. Do not omit important words (like relative clause pronouns) or phrases. Create clear and complete sentences.


      12. Use proper grammar.
        Create well-organized, well-constructed sentences making sure to use proper spelling. Set punctuation and spacing properly, e.g. use question marks for questions, otherwise the machine may not find correct sentence boundaries, or may not be able to identify words in the dictionary, which leads to translation errors.


      13. Write clearly.
        The more straight forward the information in the sentences the better translation you will receive. If a sentence contains three thoughts break it into three different sentences. Avoid ambiguity, e.g. in using prepositions or conjunctions. Avoid unclear references e.g. in pronouns; refer only to things which are clearly identifiable. Unclear input leaves room for misunderstanding by the machine. Avoid using slang.


      14. Be Concise.
        Limit sentences to15 to 20 words. Avoid wordiness and complicated sentence constructions with subordinate clauses but do not omit necessary grammatical elements.


      15. Avoid pidgin writing.
        Pidgin writing is characterized by the omission of articles, explicit verb forms and other pieces of grammar. Be explicit and grammatically correct, think of the way you would talk to a 5-year-old child.


      16. Be consistent in your wording.
        Use consistency when naming objects an inconsistent naming can cause confusion for both man and machine.


      17. Update the dictionary.
        Machines can only translate words that are in the lexicon, these are the words the machine knows. An unknown word can lead to a misinterpretation of the complete sentence. Machine Translation systems provide the opportunity to find unknown words and update the dictionary before translating the document, increasing the accuracy of the final translation.


      18. Check the layout of the document.
        Allow text to wrap naturally as hard returns are interpreted as line breaks, implying the end of a sentence. Make heading information explicit as headings often contain different spelling conventions than normal text, example capitalization rules. If there are numbered or bulleted lists, ensure each bullet is grammatically well formed otherwise the machine will try to reconstruct a complete sentence.


      19. Who, Whom, Which
        Make sure to include the words such as that, which, who, and whom. The words are often implied in English however; they are required in other languages.
    .
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