BA: The Basics of Adapt It

A consultant/trainer has already installed both programs and has set up a project for you containing the source text in various documents. Now we are going to begin adapting the source language into your (target) language.

Adapting text involves more than just typing a word by word equivalent of the source text. If the languages are very close, then you may spend most of your time typing word by word. Nevertheless, there will be other times you will need to use other features to make the adapted text more natural.

Either from the Start Menu

• Click on the Start Menu
• Choose All Programs
• Choose Adapt It WX Unicode

Or from the Desktop (if an icon has been added to your desktop)

• Move the cursor so that the point of the cursor is on the Adapt It WX Unicode icon.
• Double-click the left mouse button (that is, click the mouse button twice quickly).

After opening Adapt It, your screen will display a list of projects:

• Click on the name of your project then click Next
• Choose how you want to work with the project
  • for Paratext files choose "Work with my Paratext Scripture texts (collaboration on)"
    • then choose the book and then chapter to work on
    • click OK.
  • for other Adapt It texts choose "Work with other Adapt It texts (Paratext texts not availalbe: Collaboration off)
    • then choose the document to work on
  • if you are an advisor or consultant choose "Read-only mode".
    • then coose the document to look at.

NOTE: It is necessary to set up Paratext source, target projects and collaboration before working on Paratext Scripture texts.

• Read the verse/sentence in the source language first.
  • If one word in the source language can be translated with one or more words in the target language then
    • type the word(s) of the target language in the phrase box and then press enter.
  • If you have already added a word(s) in the target language but need to use a different word this time then
    • click the Show the Choose Translation Dialog button.
    • Then double-click on the desired translation, or type a new translation and press enter
  • If you need to use two or more words in the source language for one or more words in the target language,
    • select the words in the source text (using Alt+ →) and then type the equivalent word(s) in the target language into the phrase box. Then press enter.
  • If the word order of a phrase or sentence is very different in the source language to the target language, you will want to retranslate the text.
    • Select the word(s) in the source language, then click the Retranslate button.
    • Then type the new translation into the dialog box then press enter
  • If you need to add a word in the target language, even though there is not a word in the source language,
    • click on the word after the added word and then click Insert a placeholder button.
    • Type in the extra word(s) then press enter
  • If you don't need to translate a word in the source text ( i.e. there is no word in the target language,
    • click the button. Then press enter.
• Continue working through the document as needed.
• Once you have finished working on a document you should reread the document and make any corrections necessary to make it more natural. If necessary, attach notes so that you can make further changes in Paratext. (see below)
• Save the translation to Paratext using Ctrl+S. Note: Paratext must be closed.

When you have finished the current chapter you can close that document and start on a different document.

• From the File menu choose Start Working
• Double-click on the desired book and then chapter
• Continue adaptation

• From the File menu, choose Start Working
• Click on the Change Folder button
• Click on the group of book folders
• Click on the particular book folder
• Click OK
• Double-click on the desired chapter
• Continue the adaptation.

If you want to work on a book that hasn't been added, see a consultant or trainer who will help you to add a new document.

There will be times that you want to add a note to explain how or why you have translated something differently than the source text.

• Move the phrase box to the place in the text where you want to insert the note.
• Click on the Open a Note Dialog button in the toolbar. The Note dialog is displayed.
  • Type in the note.
  • Click OK.
  • The note window closes and two icons (the note icon and a green wedge) are added above the text. One can move to previous notes or to the next note using the jump to previous notes or jump to next note buttons (notes icon with right arrow and left arrows).

Note: Exporting Adapt It Notes to Paratext is not yet supported when using Paratext Collaboration.

At times it is necessary to move up or down in the document. Adapt It doesn't always show you all of your text. So that your computer doesn't slow down, it limits what you see to a bundle of about 300 source text words.

One way to move up or down in the document is to use the "PageUp" and "PageDown" keys.

To move up a bundle

• Click in the text box of the first word on the page.
• Press the <PageUp> key.

To move down a bundle

• Click in the text box of the last word on the page.
• Press the <PageDown> key.

The five arrows in the middle of the toolbar can be used to move around in the document.

Advance To End (To End)

• Click to make the Phrase Box jump to the last possible active location in the document.

Back To Start (To Start)

• Click to make the view in the main window return to the start of the document, and put the Phrase Box at the first possible active location.

Move Down One Step (Step Down)

Move Up One Step (Step Up)

Jump Back (Back)

• Click to put the Phrase Box at the previous active location. If the previous location was at the end of the file (no Phrase Box is visible when at the end of the file), or if there was no previous location because the document has just been opened, then the button will be disabled.

To move to a specific verse in a chapter, one can use the Go To command under the Edit menu. Because we are using a method in which each chapter is in a separate document, one must open another (chapter) document to go to a verse in another chapter.

If you find an mistake in the source text, you should make the change in Paratext. To refresh the text in Adapt It you should use the Start working.

• Go to Paratext
• Modify the text in the Paratext project for the source text.
• Save the Paratext project (ctrl+s)
• Go back to Adapt It
• From the File menu choose Start Working
• Choose the book and chapter
• Click OK
• You may receive a message saying that the Copy Source to Target has been turned off because the source text was edited outside of Adapt It. You now need to adapt the changed parts again.
• From the View menu choose Copy Source to turn the copy source to taget back on.

If your project is in collaboration with Paratext, when you save your work Adapt It will also save the projects in Paratext. Because it will change the text in Paratext you must close Paratext first.

• Make sure Paratext is not running
• From the File menu choose Save (transfer translation draft to Paratext) (or Ctrl+S)
• Adapt It saves the Paratext projects as well.