memoQ 2014 R2 has just been released. I’ve been playing with the new version for a few weeks, and yesterday I updated my Studio and memoQ side-by-side blog post to add the latest features in Studio 2014 SP2 and memoQ 2014 R2. But I ran out of room there, so here’s a post to share what strikes me about the new memoQ version.

The Ribbon

I knew I’d like this before I’d even installed the new version, because I’m a great ribbon fan. If you’re a new user, it’s an intuitive way to find your way around the program, and if you’re an advanced user, you can simply minimise the ribbon and gain more space. (Use Ctrl+F1 to toggle the ribbon on and off).

I like the way the ribbon has been implemented in memoQ. Rather than following the Microsoft layout, Kilgray has reflected the translation workflow, so ribbon tabs are labelled project / documents / preparation / translation / review.  That’s a neat idea.

To read more about ribbon philosophy, check out Shai Nave’s interview with Mónika Antunovics, memoQ architect.

Translation Memory Editor

This was already pretty good. Before, you could scroll right through the TM and set up filters very easily, but now you can

• flag entries to be edited/deleted.
• edit an unlimited number of entries at a time.
• get rid of all tags in selected entries.
• see metadata immediately in each entry, and edit it in selected entries.

* Note to SDL: Please could we have all these features in the next release of Studio?

Segmentation and Abbreviations

Segmentation rules are easier to edit than before. If you find a recurring abbreviation that is breaking up your segmented text, simply add the abbreviation and re-segment the file. This is very fast.

If you’ve already edited the segmentation rule in a previous memoQ version you won’t be able to use this feature. The workaround is to create a new rule.

TM and TB sharing

You can now share translation memories and termbases with up to 3 other users if you create them on Language Terminal (or upload a TM of up to 50000 entries). Great! In the future, this is going to be expanded to give shared access to TMs through other tools. Even better!

However, this feature comes with a big caveat: Kilgray has said upfront that it will use your resources for linguistic research, using real-life TMs to improve memoQ. I think this is a show stopper for most translators. Personally, I don’t have any TMs that I can share in this way.

Zen and “Do not press this button”

On a lighter note, memoQ has finally grown up and left its adolescent pranks behind. The Zen has been buried deep in R2 (I won’t even explain where you can still find it) and the “Do Not Press This Button” has died along with that unwieldy, long tool bar. Good riddance!

To learn more about memoQ 2014 R2, read Kevin Lossner’s first impressions, watch Dominique Pivard’s video or check out Kilgray’s 50-page PDF on the Ribbon, which is almost a memoQ manual in its own right.