| Developer(s) | Yves Champollion |
|---|---|
| Stable release | WFC v.6.01g / WFP v.2.4.4 / Wordfast Anywhere v.1.4.8 / WFC 16 June 2011/ WFP 14 December 2011 / WFA 9 December 2011 |
| Operating system | Cross-platform, WFC requires Microsoft Word 97 or higher |
| Type | Computer-assisted translation |
| License | Commercial software |
| Website | wordfast.com |
Wordfast is a provider of translation memory software. Wordfast provides platform-independent TM solutions for freelance translators, language service providers, and multi-national corporations.
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Wordfast was founded in 1999 in Paris, France by Yves Champollion. Champollion has over 25 years of experience as a freelance translator, project manager and consultant in the translation & localization industry. Yves Champollion is a collateral descendant of Aegyptologist Jean-François Champollion who is credited with deciphering the Rosetta Stone.
In 1999, Yves Champollion developed the original Wordfast software, which was made up of a set of macros that run inside of Microsoft Word, version 97 or higher (unlike its competitors Trados, DéjàVu, and MemoQ). Up until late 2002, this MS Word-based tool (now known as Wordfast Classic) was freeware. Through word of mouth, Wordfast grew to become the second most widely used TM software among translators.
In January 2009, Wordfast released the Wordfast Translation Studio which included Wordfast Classic and Wordfast Professional, a standalone Java-based TM tool. The two tools can be purchased separately or bought as a suite.
In May 2010, Wordfast released a free online tool known as Wordfast Anywhere. This tool allows translators to work on projects from virtually any web-enabled device including smartphones, PDAs and tablets. Wordfast Anywhere currently has over 15,000 registered users.
Wordfast offers a suite of desktop solutions known as the Wordfast Translation Studio. The Wordfast Translation Studio consists of the following, which can either be purchased separately or as a bundle:
Additional products include:
Wordfast Classic can handle the following formats: any format that Microsoft Word can read, including plain text files, Word documents (DOC/DOCX), Microsoft Excel (XLS/XLSX), PowerPoint (PPT/PPTX), Rich Text Format (RTF), tagged RTF and HTML. It does not offer direct support for OpenDocument formats because the current versions of Microsoft Word do not have import filters for OpenDocument files.
Wordfast Pro can handle Word documents (DOC/DOCX), Microsoft Excel (XLS/XLSX), PowerPoint (PPT/PPTX), Rich Text Format (RTF), Text (TXT), HTML, XML, ASP, JSP, Java, InDesign (INX/IDML), FrameMaker (MIF), and PDF.
Wordfast Anywhere can handle Word documents (DOC/DOCX), Microsoft Excel (XLS/XLSX), PowerPoint (PPT/PPTX), Rich Text Format (RTF), Text (TXT), HTML, InDesign(INX), FrameMaker (MIF), TIFF (TIF/TIFF) and PDF (live and scanned/non-editable).
The Wordfast translation memory format is a simple tab-delimited text file that can be opened and edited in a text editor. Wordfast products can also import and export TMX files for memory exchange with other major commercial CAT tools. Wordfast's glossary format is a simple tab-delimited text file. Wordfast Pro can also import TBXfiles for terminology exchange with other major commecial CAT tools.
Wordfast products can support multiple TMs and glossaries. TMs can store up to 1 million TUs and glossaries can store up to 250,000 entries each.
Wordfast is able to use server-based TMs, and retrieve data from machine translation tools (including Google Translate and Microsoft Translator).
Comprehensive user manuals can be downloaded from the Wordfast web site. Wordfast Pro and Wordfast Anywhere also offer online hlp pages. Users can access the Wordfast wiki for help getting started, tips and tricks, FAQs, etc - http://www.wordfast.net/wiki/Main_Page . Video tutorials are avilable on Wordfast's dedicated YouTube page - http://www.youtube.com/user/WordfastTM
Wordfast offers users 1 year of free professional support with the purchase of a license. Users can login to the support system here - http://www.wordfast.net/index.php?whichpage=aftersale. After that year period, additional support can be purchased for a fee. Users can also access free peer support forums available in dozens of languages.
All Wordfast licenses include, from date of purchase: free email support for one year; free upgrades to new releases of the software for three years; the right to relicense the software to keep it running for three years.
After the 3 year license period, users can renew their license for another 3 years for 50% of the standard list price of a license at the time of renewal.