Software Requirements & Installation

Java

Linux:

Many Linux distributions come with some sort of Java offering by default. Unfortunately, many of these default installations will not have a version with good enough Java Swing support to run OmegaT+ properly. Notably, most Ubuntu distributions and its derivatives (Kubuntu, Xubuntu, etc.) will not work unless you specifically install a Sun JRE/JDK. Other distributions are similar in this respect.

Sun Microsystems Java, fully supported with versions for Linux (32/64 bit). No problem obtaining a JRE or JDK from them, but their standard version is not considered a truly FOSS implementation.

OpenJDK, the fully (almost) free and GPL version of Java, by Sun Microsystems, with proper Swing support. Many Linux distibutions are starting to include it in their package offerings (e.g., Fedora, Mandriva, RedHat, Ubuntu, etc.).

Blackdown Java, based on the Sun version, is also available, but compatibility is questionable at this point in time.

There is also the open source GCJ (GNU Compiler for Java) and Classpath implementations. These will not work with OmegaT+ due to lack of sufficient Swing graphical user interface implementation.

Other vendors also provide Linux versions, again compatibility is questionable. If you do try a JRE/JDK from another source other than Sun, please provide feedback to this project about any success or problems with it so that future users may benefit.

Unix: Availability for Unix and other Unix-like operating systems varies.

Solaris, OpenSolaris, and derivatives: fully supported by versions from Sun, since they are the creators of that operating system, as well as Java.

IBM AIX: supported version from IBM, the AIX creators.

BSD (FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, etc.): unknown for most at present. If anybody knows, please contact the project so that the relevant information can be added. There is a FreeBSD port of Sun Java (version 1.5/1.6 ?). Licensing was properly granted some time ago. Please report if their version works.

GCJ (GNU Compiler for Java): This will not work with OmegaT+ due to a lack of a sufficient Swing graphical user interface implementation at present (note: this is the default in some Linux distributions, e.g., Ubuntu, and another JRE will have to be installed to use OmegaT+).

Others: unknown at present. Again, if anybody knows, please contact the project so that the relevant information can be added.

Apple Macintosh:

Mac OS X: this comes with a JRE installed by default. There is no need to install one, but a particular version may have to be upgraded depending on the version of OS X used. Please check the documentation that came with your computer or visit the Apple website for further information about upgrading Java. The current default Java version is 1.5 for Tiger (10.4.x), and for Leopard (10.5) and Snow Leopard (10.6) it is version 1.6. There is no 1.5 for Panther (10.3.x) and below.

Other Macintosh: these versions will not work, since there is little to no possibility of Java 1.5+ becoming availble for them. If you do happen to get one to work, by some miracle, please let us know and the information can be entered into this section for the benefit of other users.

Windows:

Windows 2000, 2003 Server, XP, Vista, Windows 7: full support from Sun Microsystem, with both JRE and JDK available. Other vendors may also supply JRE or JDK, compatibility varies.

Windows 98, ME: installation of current Java versions will result in a warning message that the system is not supported. Java may still work in spite of this, but just take note that erroneous operations may result in some circumstances. If you do encounter errors using older Windows versions consider switching to Linux which will run faster on the same hardware and can be obtained for free (emulators can also be used (VirtualBox, qemu) to run Windows inside Linux). If you are stuck using a version of Windows this old do yourself a favor and move to Linux (Mandriva, Mint, Ubuntu, etc.). Please provide feedback to this project about any success with different implementations for the benefit of future users.

Pre-Windows 98, including Windows 95, Windows for Workgroups, Windows 3.x, etc.: not supported. The reason for this is a lack of JRE for versions prior to Windows 98 that have the required functionality for proper operation.

Windows NT: not supported. Proper functionality is not available.

Others: It is not currently known if OmegaT+ can run on other operating systems, with suitable JRE. It might very well run on some other systems. Please contact the project to report any success running on other systems and the information can be included here to help future users.

Java Providers (JRE/JDK)

Java Installation

Please follow the installation instructions that come with the JRE or JDK given by the particular vendor. It is also a good idea to test out your Java installation to ensure that it works before installing OmegaT+. Most implementations come with several utility applications that can be run and the main java programs can easily be started from a command line in a console or shell to verify proper operation. Again, check the documentation that comes with the java implementation for more details about testing and verifying proper installation.

Mac OS X users: Java is already installed, but upgrade to a newer stable 1.5+ series version is necessary if you don’t have it already (or if your system can at all be upgraded to it). Go to the Apple website to get more details about upgrading Java (you will need to upgrade the operating system if it is too old and your hardware meets the requirements for a newer version of OS X).

OmegaT+ Installation

The following sections contain information about installation for the package formats available. Note that not all packages can be opened or installed on all platforms and that some of the previously available package formats have been dropped (e.g., .zip, .tar.gz, and .tar.bz2), as well as a few new ones becoming available (i.e., .dmg, .rpm). At least one of the package types given will open on all the popular platforms or with freely available tools.

Linux/Unix

7-Zip(.7z): on Linux and Unix systems, just decompress the archive contents into a directory of your choice. Set your path variable to include the installation path in order to easily start OmegaT+ from any directory when using a shell. Depending upon the window system manager in use, you should also be able to create a desktop icon, desktop menu item, or task bar icon to quickly launch the program. Check your specific window manager’s documentation on how to do this.

A 7-Zip application is now included in a number of distributions by default (e.g., Mandriva). Try to open the package with your favorite archiver application (e.g., it works in KDE's Ark under Mandriva), if it does not work then you will need to install the 7-Zip port (P7ZIP) package, if your distribution has one, or install by getting the application directly from the project--this may require compilation:

Other Software

Some or all of the following software is needed to use OmegaT+ effectively.

Segmentation

When translating and working with translation memory formats it may be necessary to alter the level at which the original and translated text is broken up into pieces or text units. These pieces are referred to as the segments and the act of breaking up the text is known as segmentation. Once segmented, with appropriate software it is possible to change the segmentation so that the translation memory document can be used in other situations with other software.

Bitext

Bitext is text from mutually translated text that is aligned into related segments. The bitext may be processed further so that it is ready for use in other programs.

Office Suite

To use OmegaT+ with documents in certain file formats a compatible office suite is necessary. This will be needed to either read/write or to convert from other formats. At present, OmegaT+ is only capable of reading and writing OpenOffice.org(OOo) or OpenDocument(ODF) office suite documents, with preliminary support for OOXML (the XML version of MS Office formats). These include wordprocessor, spreadsheet, presentation, and so forth. OmegaT+ does not natively support regular Microsoft Office documents, but they can be converted to OOo or ODF given conversion software or an office suite that can handled them. This is usually what is done and in practice it does not cause many problems.

Note: in future versions of MS Office (2009), OpenDocument will be 100% supported. Thus, clients using MS Office will be able to send/receive documents for translation by exporting/importing to/from ODF first. Translators will be able to use OpenOffice.org with full confidence that there will be no chance of loss of formatting, layout, or data (we hope!).

Here are a few applications that can be used to a greater or lesser extent:

Text Editor

If you are translating from plain text files, any text editor set to the appropriate encoding can be used.

Some examples: Emacs, vim, kate, wordpad, kwrite, kedit, and so on.

Web Browser

Working on localization of a website? Then you will need a web browser, like you don't use one already. You can also use the browser to read the OmegaT+ documentation that comes with the installation.

Legal

Disclaimer

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License