Wordfast in Action

There are several options for free CATS available online, and I'll mention two here right now: OmegaT and Wordfast. OmegaT is a true FOSS (Free and Open Source Software), meaning that it can be used free-of-charge in all its versions. The problem with it is that it segments the text by paragraphs which means that it almost impossible to get any matches with your translation memory (TM). Perhaps if you are translating financial reports or form contacts... but that's about it.

Why they designed OmegaT this way is a mystery to me. I don't want to say "you get what you pay for" since some other FOSS is excellent. (I'll be given some prime examples soon.)

The other free option is Wordfast - which happens to be the one I use. Wordfast is not FOSS, but rather it has a very generous, unlimited-time free version which is designed to entice you to buy the full version (only 300 Euro!). Wordfast segments your text by sentence or phrase.

To understand what I mean by segmentation and to view some other good features of Wordfast, click here.

I must point out that Wordfast seems to have a few bugs but in spite of that I definitely find it worthwhile for use on longer docs with a technical element.