CEDICT formatted for Kingsoft Powerword 2007

[ABCinChina]

Hey Alan, glad to hear you have it working on Vista with no problems!

[Luobot]

I've been trying to install the trial verion of PowerWord2007 for a few days without any luck.

After downloading the installer (kingsoft_ciba_blin.exe, from http://cp.iciba.com/xiazai_ciba.shtml), the process goes like this:

I click on the installer, which brings up the first dialog box. Then I hit enter, which brings up the second dialog box. Then it just hangs there.

I've tried leaving the download location as indicated, and I've tried changing it to C:Program Files ...

but with the same results.

In case it matters, I'm running Windows XP Media Center Edition, with SP3.

If anyone has any idea what I'm doing wrong, please let me know.

[ABCinChina]

I found a link to the full 434MB download on the official Powerword website so you don't have to use the their download program. Just look for the words "金山词霸电信下载一" here.

Or you can just use this link that I've conveniently provided for you.

[Luobot]

So I was finally able to download the PowerWord file and install the program. The process seemed a bit of a marathon, but in the end, it was worthwhile. On the other hand, I had expected that getting the CEDICT user dictionary set up would be the most difficult part, but that turned out to be a relatively fast and smooth import.

Now that I’ve got it up and running, I have to say that I’m quite impressed with PowerWord 2007 as a popup translator. It almost seems unbelievable to finally have a tool that provides popup translations in every program that I use for studying, including Word, Excel, Notepad, Email, Adobe Acrobat Reader, and Firefox. In Firefox, it works across tabs without hesitation. The translation popups can be turned on and off globally with a hotkey and also by mouse. The definitions either popup under the cursor, or you can “pin” the popup definition anywhere on the screen, as if it were a sticky note. It will even retain that sticky note position as you switch applications, until you move it by simply dragging and dropping it elsewhere or unpinning it. The popup shows definitions from any combination of various dictionaries that you select, and you can compare the definitions they provide. After experimenting a bit, I decided that the CEDICT dictionary was all I needed.

One remaining problem that I have is that I can’t seem to change the font size in the popup translation to make the characters easier to read. There is a configuration setting for small or large fonts, but either setting gives me the same small font size. If anyone has any idea how to fix this, please let me know.

Items on my wish list for a future version of PowerWord are the following:

- highlight the characters that PowerWord is translating in the popup,

- allow the user to specify the exact font size that the user wants the popup translation to have,

- provide a configuration setting that the user can select to “Translate only Characters on the screen” (or in other words, “Never translate any English on the screen”).

Other than my problem with the font size, I would say this is a 5-star product. But a translation tool is only as good as the dictionary(s) behind it. What ultimately makes PowerWord a full 5-stars is the CEDICT dictionary definitions that ABCinChina has so generously provided. It obviously took some effort to format it or to write the formatting scripts. And I’d also like to, again, say thanks for helping me get PowerWord installed. In combination with the CEDICT dictionary, PowerWord has my vote as the best overall popup translator.

[ABCinChina]

Are your font sizes like the pictures below? These are pretty visible to me but maybe you think they're too small? (There's not too much difference between the two; the left is big font and the right is small font)

[Luobot]

(There's not too much difference between the two; the left is big font and the right is small font)

Oh, you're right. I guess I fail the eye test. Maybe future versions can provide greater control over the font size.

Now that my poor eyesight is a proven fact, I was thinking about making a minor global change to the user dictionary to put a space around the pinyin:

from [pīnyīn]

... to [ pīnyīn ]

Could you confirm that the steps are the following:

1 - Make the global change to the original import file.

2 - Delete the files UserDict.DIC & UserDict.IDX (after first saving them to some backup directory).

3 - Import the revised UserDict.txt as before.

Would this work? Thanks.

[ABCinChina]

Hello Luobot,

You are correct but I'll list the steps just in case someone else has the same idea:

1. Exit Powerword and delete the UserDict folder containing the two files mentioned above.

2. Open up UserDict.txt with Microsoft Word or another text editor and press "Ctrl + F".

3. Hit the replace tab, then replace "[" with "[ ". (without the quotes) Then replace "]" with " ]". This might take some time since it's a big text file.

4. After your done, save it as a text file and import it through Powerword's User dictionary.

Keep in mind that you can always export the main userdict file to a text file through Powerword's export function. Unfortunately, when you want to make changes to the CEDICT dictionary and its definitions, you have to follow the steps above and re-import the edited text file again.

Edit: Quick question. Are you using Firefox 3 or 2? Maybe it's my wishful thinking that they've adapted the newest version to support Firefox 3.

Edited November 8, 2008 at 12:51 AM by ABCinChina

[imron]

press "Ctrl + F".

3. Hit the replace tab,

Or just press Ctrl + H and save yourself seconds of hard work

[Luobot]

ACBinChina,

I was able to make the change without any problems. Thanks again. (I think the pinyin looks a little more "spacious" now.)

Are you using Firefox 3 or 2?

Yes, wishful thinking since this version of PowerWord doesn't support Firefox 3, as you mentioned earier. I'm using Firefox 2.0.0.17, and I'm in no rush to upgrade as long as 2.x is still being supported. I think I have until sometime around the end of the year.

[furuian]

First of all, thank you very much for all your work on this ABC!

I successfully imported the User Dictionary and it works well as you describe.

It would be great through, if the Pinyin would also show up when I look up the Chinese translation of an English word. When I translate from English to Chinese I often wanna look up a word and then type it myself which I need to know the Pinyin for.

Thanks for everybody's input on this.

furuian

[ABCinChina]

I'm not sure I 100% understand you but I think you're wanting to get pinyin when looking at Chinese definitions of English words? Can you do this simply by pointing out the Chinese words in question while using Powerword's lookup function which sort of acts like a browser in that you can go back or forth when scanning word definitions. Thus, just point out the words and there they are.

Edit: You can also cut and paste the Chinese definitions into your translated file, but I'm sure you already knew this.

Edited November 15, 2008 at 02:31 AM by ABCinChina

[Kessha]

Hello!

I have a problem with Kingsoft. Since I have installed Firefox 3.0.4 the pop up dictionary doesn't work anymore. When I try to look up a word from a word document it works fine, but not when I try to translate chinese charakter from any homepage via firefox... can somebody please help me?

Thank you very much!

EDIT: Never mind I figured it out! Thanky anyway

Edited December 13, 2008 at 09:16 PM by Kessha

[furuian]

ABCinChina,

Sorry for the late follow-up. I was going through a painful exam period recently. I'll describe my problem more clearly:

I often use Powerword the following way: I type a chinese word myself e.g. "culture" whose Chinese equivalent I want to use in a text. Right after typing it I move the cursor across the word and get the Chinese translation e.g. 文化. In a sense I'm using Powerword like most Chinese people, translating from English to Chinese. However, in contrast to Chinese people the Hanzi are not enough for me, I also need the pinyin of the translation of the English word e.g. wen2hua4 (after all I need the pinyin if I want to type the word myself).

Therefore my question: Is there any way to get the pinyin displayed of a word that's translated from English to Chinese?

Thanks a lot for your help. I'm now using Powerword 2009, but solutions in any version are appreciated.

[ABCinChina]

Hello Furian, just point out 文化 with your cursor and it will pop-up the pinyin. Then click "explanation" and it will open Kingsoft where you can cut and paste the pinyin if desired. Be sure you have your "Cursor Translator" turned on and have enabled the User dictionary in the Lookup dictionaries. Other than this, I don't think there's any other way to do what you're asking...

EDIT: You can't directly get the pinyin when pointing out English words. You have to click on "explanation", then point out the words in question, then click "explanation" again.

Edited December 22, 2008 at 03:09 AM by ABCinChina

[furuian]

Thanks for your quick response, ABCinChina.

Directly getting the pinyin when pointing out English words is exactly what I mean. This is really really useful when writing texts in Chinese that require the use of unfamiliar vocab.

I looked a bit more into the technical aspects and I think this could be achieved via the User Dictionary too. In fact I have this working with Stardict using these converted CEDICT files: http://www.meharg.com/posts/cedict-for-wedict-on-the-iphone However, I like Powerword much better than Stardict and would prefer to use it instead.

Does anyone know which steps I'd need to undertake in order to import those three files english-pinyin.dict.dz, english-pinyin.idx and english-pinyin.ifo to the User Dictonary?

[remigio24]

Hello to everybody! I am new to this forum and happy I found it, because of the extremely interesting materials and pieces of advice that it has to offer. I have been using for years Wenlin and Powerword 5.5 to study and read Chinese texts. I have recently downloaded 2007 and 2009 Oxford editions (and in the 2007 I succeded in importing CEdict without problems), but in both cases I am unable to get an activation key because I cannot find the way to do it for 2007 (the pay link included in the software is broken) and for 2009 Aciba does not seem to accept Mastercard. I have read at the start of this thread that ABCinChina could be able to help in obtaining an activation key for 2007. Can I ask you to tell me how to proceed?

There is also a more general quetion on 2007 and 2009 I would like to put up: the use of the dictionaries. In 5.5, whenever I type in a character I get first of all very detailed information from a Chinese dictionary, with all the definitions and composed words. This does not come out in 2007 or 2009, although they say that in 2009, when you are online, you get all the features available for 30 days. Are these Chinese dictionaries non included anymore in Powerword, or it depends only from the fact that they are trial versions? If the latest versions would only include translation dictionaries, I would be much less interested in them.

Many thanks for your attention and for any assistance you could provide.

[pwaddy3]

hey ABCinChina!

didnt manage to find out how to fix the problem with powerword 2003 and your dictionary (the translation was displayed all on one line and not on separate lines).....i did what you suggested but the exported file was exactly in the same format as the one i downloaded from you

anyhoo, just wondered do you update the txt file with new translations and words? i think the cc-cedict dictionary gets updated (not sure how often tho) and wondered if you make use of this?

thanks!

[ABCinChina]

@remigio24:

They are not selling the 2007 version anymore and I've heard that 2009 will support text format userdict files in the future so you'll be able to import dictionaries. Try sending me an email or pm and I'll see what I can do about 2007. (You may have to contact an admin to unlock the pm/email function since you're new) I've not too familiar with 2009, but I think you have to be online to make use of their full dictionaries for the trial version. You may also want to check out this forum for more info on Powerword 2009.

@pwaddy3:

Did you try erasing the entire CEDICT file in 2003, then manually type in a custom word on separate lines? Then after you save the dictionary (of 1 word), export and take a look at the format. If it still comes out as the same format, then there's nothing else I can think of. You can also check out this forum and get help from Kingsoft.

I may update the CEDICT file but it takes a very long time to get everything formatted for Powerword 2007. It takes a couple days of work for me since I have to go through a lot of steps like converting the tone numbers to tone marks, separating the traditional from simplified, and combining duplicate entries. The version I uploaded was from October 2008, but I do plan to update the file maybe next year. (Though I'm not sure if I'll still be using Powerword 2007) I may switch to 2009 once they let us import our 2007 word lists. I might also switch to Lingoes once they come out with the Lingoes Dictionary Creator.

[remigio24]

Many thanks, ABCinChina. I have contacted an Admin and will be in touch per e-mail or pm as soon as they answer me.

[LittleBigelow]

ABC, thanks for the instructions. Everything worked smooth and importing only(?!) took 30 minutes. Glad I found this thread, huge improvement to PowerWord.