This Tool Box Journal contains a report on Windows 10 from the perspective of a translator, a general friend of languages, and an average power user (whatever that means). This means I won't bore you with the many details you can find all over the web about privacy issues or how long the update to Windows 10 will be free and for whom; instead, we'll cover possible reasons to upgrade (and possible reasons not to upgrade) and what makes it a better tool for a language worker (or not).

Other non-translation-related and rather obsolete tools such as FrameMaker (version 10), EmEditor (version 5), SnagIt (version 10), and PaintShop (version 7) also worked seamlessly. And so did all my little and typically no-longer-even-supported-anymore utilities to paste unformatted text (PureText), to beep when I accidentally hit the Insert key (Insert ToggleKey), to change file names (Rname-it), or to convert exotic measurements (Convert).

The only program that unfortunately does not work is Microsoft's Keyboard Layout Creator,which allowed me to make subtle changes to my German keyboard (such as switching the y and the z or adding German quotes). For that I had to download the (also ancient) Keyboard Layout Manager, which really is anything but user-friendly but (sort of) works.

(Oh, and my antique Acrobat 8 doesn't run on Windows 10 -- but it also didn't work on Windows 8. That program is essentially the only reason why I still have a Windows 7 computer in my network....)

To install another language, open the Control Panel (accessible through WinKey+X), select the Language option and then select Add a Language. You'll be presented with all the many available languages from which you can select one. The mere selection of a language at first will mean only that you have the language-specific keyboards available. (By the way, it has become a little easier to switch between different language keyboards by pressing the WinKey+Space combination.)

If you want to have all of the Windows user interface displayed in that language (provided that option is available), you will need to double-click on the language (or select Options) and select it as the primary language. Once the necessary language packs are downloaded, you'll be prompted to log on again (no restart necessary!) and everything will be in the language of your choice.

Windows also has massively updated its available language keyboards to natively support 53 scripts for keyboard input in over 500 languages. Here is a foretaste of the variety:

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That's all good, but this is not the only place where you can access settings. Pressing WinKey+X or right-clicking the Windows button in the lower left-hand corner of the desktop gives you access to the "Power Menu," which also allows you to access the familiar Control Panel with access to the computer's settings. A little confusing? Um, yes.

And it gets worse: Some settings are available only on the WinKey+I Settings app (such as the Windows Update settings or which icons to display in the Notification area to the right of the taskbar), whereas other settings are accessible only in the Control Panel (like: lots). And then many features are available in both, but in different ways. Typically they are more touch-friendly in the Settings app and more to the point and powerful through the Control Panel.

How to know what to do? The best way is to press the WinKey and start typing what you're looking for. The setting that you are trying to change will quickly be displayed in the Start menu for you to click on. (If you use the voice-enabled "Cortana" with whom which you can converse in Chinese, English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish -- and which I disabled -- you can also ask her it where to find it, I guess.) 

How can I manage my translation projects with greater simplicity and elegance?

In this webinar, you will learn tips and information on settings and options for project management that you may not have taken advantage of yet.

For project managers with previous knowledge of Transit September 29, 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. (UTC+2) To register, simply send an e-mail to transit@star-group.net

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What's really nifty about the Task View is something else, though. If you open the Task View to the whole screen by pressing WinKey+Tab (or clicking the rather unecessary Task View button on the Windows taskbar), you'll see a "New desktop" link in the lower right-hand corner. If you click on that (or you could also press WinKey+Ctrl+D without actually opening the Task View), it creates an additional desktop (aka "virtual" desktop, but since everything is virtual on the computer it's a bit of a misnomer). It might seem a little startling at first because it looks like all your applications are suddenly closed, but in reality (another one of those dubious terms) your old desktop with open applications is still open and you can easily get back to it via the Task View or with the keyboard shortcuts WinKey+Ctrl+LeftArrow or WinKey+Ctrl+RightArrow.

The "virtual" desktop is a concept that is very familiar to users of Mac and Linux computers but was unknown to most Windows users before Windows 10. Essentially, it's a way to organize your work into different areas and not make the current desktop too crowded.

For instance, you could have one desktop with some authoring tools, one with a music player (sound is transferred from any desktop, even if it's not the active one) and email (so you don't get constantly interrupted), and a third desktop with an open project in a translation environment tool that you've presently paused work on.

If you close any of the desktops (WinKey+Ctrl+F4) without closing the application(s) on it, the open applications are automatically transferred to Desktop 1.

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