New to Cafetran: why is the interface so BIG ? Thread poster: Tom in London
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:24
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Out of curiosity I downloaded the free version of Cafetran for Mac - just to see what it looks like as compared to other CAT tools.
My first impression is completely off-putting. The user interface is ENORMOUS!
I actually have to push my chair back from the computer just to see this GUI!
I've tried changing the GUI from (so-called) Mac-like to the other 2 options that are offered (under "Appearance) - "Metal" and "Nimbus" but they're equally bad.
<... See more Out of curiosity I downloaded the free version of Cafetran for Mac - just to see what it looks like as compared to other CAT tools.
My first impression is completely off-putting. The user interface is ENORMOUS!
I actually have to push my chair back from the computer just to see this GUI!
I've tried changing the GUI from (so-called) Mac-like to the other 2 options that are offered (under "Appearance) - "Metal" and "Nimbus" but they're equally bad.
I can't work with this.
Is there at least some way of making the fonts smaller? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 06:24
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Tom in London wrote:
My first impression is completely off-putting. The user interface is ENORMOUS!
I actually have to push my chair back from the computer just to see this GUI!
Welcome to CAT land. When you get to testing MemoQ or Trados (if that is possible on your Mac), you'll have the opposite problem: everything is tiny. FWIW, CafeTran is oversized on Windows, too. Perhaps it's a selling point.
By the way, I'm not a CafeTran user although I have tried it briefly a few times. From what I know of the CafeTran development team and their philosophy, there SHOULD BE some way to customise it to your heart's content.
I've tried changing the GUI from (so-called) Mac-like to the other 2 options that are offered (under "Appearance) - "Metal" and "Nimbus" but they're equally bad.
These names are familiar to me, but I think they refer more to look and feel than to size. Let me guess: these options only changed the colours and the way buttons and scroll bars look, right? Similarly named options in other Java-based programs do not affect font and widget size, but only how they look.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:24
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Samuel Murray wrote: Tom in London wrote:
My first impression is completely off-putting. The user interface is ENORMOUS!
I actually have to push my chair back from the computer just to see this GUI! Welcome to CAT land. When you get to testing MemoQ or Trados (if that is possible on your Mac), you'll have the opposite problem: everything is tiny. FWIW, CafeTran is oversized on Windows, too. Perhaps it's a selling point. By the way, I'm not a CafeTran user although I have tried it briefly a few times. From what I know of the CafeTran development team and their philosophy, there SHOULD BE some way to customise it to your heart's content. I've tried changing the GUI from (so-called) Mac-like to the other 2 options that are offered (under "Appearance) - "Metal" and "Nimbus" but they're equally bad. These names are familiar to me, but I think they refer more to look and feel than to size. Let me guess: these options only changed the colours and the way buttons and scroll bars look, right? Similarly named options in other Java-based programs do not affect font and widget size, but only how they look.
Correct. I'm actually using OmegaT but I just wanted to see what differences there are. The actual functions seem to be much the same in both applications - and indeed in all CAT tools. The so-called "Mac-like" appearance isn't really Mac-like at all; more like a caricature of what a Mac user would expect.
So having seen CafeTran I think I'll just dump it. By the way the OmegaT interface doen't have this size problem. It's not too big and it's not too small.
[Edited at 2020-03-28 10:09 GMT]
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 06:24
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Before you dump it... | Mar 28, 2020 |
Tom in London wrote:
So having seen CafeTran I think I'll just dump it.
Here's the big secret to using CafeTran: when you start it, it starts with the "Dashboard", and you have to close the Dashboard to access the juicy stuff.
To the left of the "New" button at the top, there is a nav burger (☰☰). Click it, and select "Close Dashboard". Then (in the Windows version), go View > Font > User Interface, and select something, e.g. "13". Unfortunately you have to restart CafeTran each time you change the font size, but "13" is a good fit on my computer.
Also, OmegaT is infinitely more intuitive than CafeTran. With OmegaT, you can jump right in. With CafeTran, things just don't work the way you expect. I suspect that once you know how things work, it'll no longer be a bother. But I'm sure you're not a wuss -- all new programs have a learning curve. Good luck.
The OmegaT interface doen't have this size problem. It's not too big and it's not too small.
It depends on what you think of as "too small". In OmegaT, you can't change the UI font at all (unless you do so at operating system level). You can only change the font that is used to display the file, fuzzy matches, etc. And you can't change it on a per-pane basis (you can't, for example, choose an easy-on-the-eye serif font for the editor but an easy-to-glance-at sans-serif font or monospace font for e.g. the glossary pane. With CafeTran, you can.
The so-called "Mac-like" appearance isn't really Mac-like at all; more like a caricature of what a Mac user would expect.
I will only have to guess about what it looks like, I'm afraid. On Windows, the only options are Metal, Nymbus and Windows. The "Windows" option looks roughly Windows-like (although I don't use the default Windows theme on Windows anyway, so I can't really tell for sure).
[Edited at 2020-03-28 10:39 GMT]
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:24
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER | Already gone | Mar 28, 2020 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
...... OmegaT is infinitely more intuitive than CafeTran. With OmegaT, you can jump right in.
Exactly. So I have already dumped CafeTran.
First impressions matter. Whoever is responsible for CafeTran should note how long it took me to make my decision not to use it (and why).
As a hardened Mac user my approach is: if I'm going to be looking at something all day it had better look nice.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 06:24
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Tom in London wrote:
I have already dumped CafeTran. ... First impressions matter. Whoever is responsible for CafeTran should note how long it took me to make my decision not to use it (and why).
Would you have stayed a little longer if the Dashboard contained a helpful "How to use and customise CafeTran in just 5 minutes" in the same way that OmegaT has the "Learn to use OmegaT in 5 minutes" help screen when you run it?
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:24
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Samuel Murray wrote:
Would you have stayed a little longer if the Dashboard contained a helpful "How to use and customise CafeTran in just 5 minutes"?
Maybe. But I'd still have had to look for the dashboard and anyway, it's too late
| | | | | Getting comfortable | Mar 28, 2020 |
FYI, I have made a document for CafeTran called "Getting comfortable", which is targeted at beginners and briefly explains how to set up the user interface to suit your needs and esthetics.
From my own experience and screenshots from CafeTran users that are working on a Mac, I would think the look can be made to be quite pleasant. It is customizable, that is for sure. Options can be a... See more FYI, I have made a document for CafeTran called "Getting comfortable", which is targeted at beginners and briefly explains how to set up the user interface to suit your needs and esthetics.
From my own experience and screenshots from CafeTran users that are working on a Mac, I would think the look can be made to be quite pleasant. It is customizable, that is for sure. Options can be a boon and a curse.
https://github.com/idimitriadis0/TheCafeTranFiles/wiki/6-Getting-comfortable
[Edited at 2020-03-28 13:46 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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