Introduction (4 min)

previous lesson: Searching and Dictionaries 

next lesson: Taking Notes during Checking

this lesson in video format:  Lesson 4 videos

In this lesson you will learn how to share data with other Paratext users in a translation team using the built-in send and receive functionality of Paratext.

Where are we?

As a consultant, you would like to be added to a translation teams's project so that you can receive their text, Biblical terms, back translation, and/or interlinear text. You will use this as your reference before, during, and after a checking session.

Why is this important?

Paratext 7 permits users to share a translation project between multiple users and computers. By receiving their project via Send and Receive, you have access to all of the data, not just a paper document. You can provide helpful comments to the team during the translation work before the checking session and follow their progress in the future.

What are we going to do?

  • You will learn how to configure “users, roles, and permissions” in case you need to help the team administrator to set this up.

You will learn how to add your name to their project as a consultant and how to receive their data in your Paratext via a thumbdrive or the Internet

Lesson (20 min)

Configuring Project Sharing

Before beginning to set up to Send/Receive a project you must have the following prerequisites:

  • Be a designated administrator of the project (See: What is an Administrator?).
  • Have the latest version of the project text on your computer (See: How do I ensure that the administrator's computer contains the latest files of a project?)
  • Have the exact Paratext Registration Names of all the people you wish to add to the project. If you do not know the exact Paratext Registration Name of a team member you can ask them to start Paratext and select Registration Information… from the Tools menu to find their Paratext Registration Name.
  • Be able to confirm that you have received training on setting up Send/Receive.


If you can confirm the above prerequisites, continue as follows:

  • Click in the window of the project, to make it the active window.
  • From the Project menu, select Users, Roles and Permissions….
  • Click to confirm the 4 statements of prerequisites (as mentioned above).
  • For each person you wish to share the project with, click Add User…, enter their Paratext Registration Name, and click OK.
  • For each person, click Change Role… against their name, and select their role on the project:
    • Observer - will receive the updates but can't make any changes. Can create project notes for their own use that won't get sent to the team.
    • Consultant/Reviewer/Archivist/Typesetter - receives, but can't modify publishable text. Can add project notes and update interlinearized text and Biblical Terms renderings
    • Translator - Receives all updates and can modify the text assigned to him or her.
    • Administrator - has full authority and assigns the above roles to users.


You must assign books to each Translator so that they are able to edit the text. This can be done at this stage or later.

  • Click OK to close the Users, Roles and Permissions dialog.
  • A reminder appears telling you that you must now do a Send/Receive; click OK.

For the users who have been assigned to the above roles, when they do a send and receive they will now see this project in the list. If they selected, the project will be downloaded to their computer with all the correct configuration for them to begin using it.

Exercise (29 min)

We will be working with the King James Latin Version which consists of the four Gospels from the King James version transformed into pig Latin. No disrespect is intended–this is an easy way for us as a group to see how project sharing works with a “foreign language” text that we can actually decipher.

Note: We will be using the Restore Project command to get a copy of the PLKJV onto your computers for this exercise.  However, for any active shared project the use of this Restore Project command is very dangerous and should be avoided. A shared project should always restore lost data via Send and Receive or from Project History.
  1. Divide yourselves into working groups of 4 or 5 people, or per table.
  2. Choose one person in the group to be the project administrator, two people to be translators, and the rest will be consultants.
  3. Get in position to watch the administrator's computer screen

Instructions for the project administrator

  1. Download the King James Latin backup file: 

    but do not unzip it.
  2. From the Paratext file menu choose Restore Project… | From file
  3. Select the zip file you downloaded and choose Open

After restoring, the project window should open and you should see the text

Setting up project sharing

The administrator selects Users, Roles, and Permissions from the Project menuAfter getting past the initial warning screen, the administrator will add each member in the group as either a translator or a consultant. The two translators must be assigned books, one gets Matthew and Mark, the other gets Luke and John. Because consultants can't change text, they are not assigned specific books.

Warning! Each user's Paratext registration name must be entered exactly the way it appears on their computer under Tools | Registration Information

Once all of the roles have been assigned, the administrator clicks OK, and does a send and receive to a thumb drive.The thumb drive is passed to each person in the group

  • Insert the drive and wait for Windows to recognize it.
Note: If you don't wait before opening Send and Receive, Paratext won't see the drive. You will have to cancel and reopen Send and Receive.
  • Choose Send/Receive Projects on the File menu
  • Select USB Drive
  • Choose the King James Latin translation and perform a send and receive.

Now you have access to the text, and depending on your role, you can modify the text or create comments.

Practice

Have the translators make some changes to the text, then do a send and receive back to the USB drive. The others can also do a send and receive and verify that they receive the changes.