Learn How to Use Fluency In Under One Hour E-Course

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Background to the birth of this E-Course

This course is for those of you who are using the CAT tool called Fluency. Since Fluency offers its own user manual under the Help menu, provides video tutorials and also offers direct customer support through their support email, you might be wondering why anyone would need this course. In fact, I had the exact same thought for a while, which is why it took me a long time to create this course.
 
Though most people can learn the basics of using Fluency with little difficulty, many do not discover Fluency’s particular advantages (or of those of other CAT tools in general). Also, there is more than one way of using and navigating through Fluency just like there’s always more than one route to hike a mountain, and using the program is more fun if you know the different ways you can use it.
 
Thus, I came up with this course to focus on what I think are the main strengths of the software and how I tend to use it. I also included a beginners’ guide for those who are new to using a CAT tool and a section dealing with a handful of commonly encountered issues based on the questions I receive from translators.
 
With my blog posts about CAT tools and the subtitled video tutorial as the basis, this course will help readers master Fluency faster and use it more effectively and with greater ease.

Why use Fluency?

Before I introduce this course, I want to briefly point out the reasons why I chose to use Fluency and what are its key advantages. But first, let me list out the general advantages of using any type of CAT tool. After all, Fluency is just one of countless CAT tools which are available, and it is constantly evolving just as the others are. However, I’ve already discussed this point in one of my blog posts, so I won’t repeat that here. (If you want to know the advantages of using a CAT tool, click HERE.)
 
On top of the basic advantages of using any kind of CAT tool, Fluency further offers the following benefits:
 
-The price is cheap

-You can easily change the layout however you want.

-You can integrate your web resources onto the user interface which greatly enhances work efficiency.

-You can freely add whatever web resources you want.
 
If you are currently using Fluency, you should be able to feel the above advantages while working. If you aren’t, it’s because you haven’t ventured out of your routine way of using Fluency like a hiker who only takes one chosen path. Since I’ve tried different pathways in Fluency, I will do my best to guide you through some useful tips. (I changed the sentence here a bit because literal translation would sound awkwrd)
 
The following is a summary of my thoughts on Fluency and other CAT tools in general.
 
1) First of all, this course is not meant to be a comprehensive guide for using Fluency or any other CAT tool. In fact, I dislike such things.
 
2) As with other tools, it’s not a good idea to expect any CAT tool to be capable of doing everything you want it to do. I much prefer that a CAT tool is effective at its core functions and is free of error in that regard. Once upon a time, there was a company that touted their tank refrigerator. It didn’t have many other add-ons, but its selling point was it was strong, and people didn’t have to worry about frequent malfunctions. Similarly, I like tank CAT tools. (Of course, it needs to be easy to use as well.)
 
3) I assume that once you start using Fluency, you will be using it for more than 90% of your translation work. That is a lot of usage and precisely the reason why I try to guide you to use the enter key and shortcuts as much as possible and avoid using the mouse, just like in the tutorial. It’s important to develop the habits which will put the least amount of stress and pressure on your wrist and fingers when you work.
 
4) Ever heard of “Less is more”? It’s much more effective to familiarize yourself with the core elements of Fluency and know how to use them well than trying to learn every function, many of which you will barely use. If you fill your entire house with things you “might one day use”, you will be surrounded by distracting clutter. This is why I choose to get rid of the functions I only occasionally need so I can use the most important functions even more effectively.
 
5) Lastly, the principles and preferences stated above are entirely mine, and I don’t mean to imply that Fluency developed their program with these ideas in mind. (I cut out the last sentence because I feel like it makes the whole paragraph more ambiguous)
 

 

Who will benefit from this course.

For first time Fluency users, this course will help you quickly get familiarized with the software.
 
-Even if you’ve been using Fluency for a while, if you’re stuck using it in a particular way and haven’t discovered how to get the most out of it, this course will teach you ways you can use the program more freely and effectively.
 

 

Estimated time needed to take this course: 1 Hour

(All the “Under One Hour” courses contain only the essential information necessary for your translation work. If you are interested in more detailed information, take a look at the supplementary reading highlighted in blue. Of course, if you only want the essentials, you can skip this part. It might take you a bit longer than an hour if you read all the blue parts and decide to study the supplementary appendix.

Course Table of Contents

This course contains the following five lessons and one supplementary appendix.

-Lesson 1: The Freedom to Use Two Computers

-Lesson 2: Your First Translation Done Under 10 Minutes (I know I changed this title from the one I used in the actual course, but now that I think about it, this one sounds better…..In the actual course, I used Translation Under Ten Minutes)

-Lesson 3: Increase Productivity With a Simple Screen Rearrangement

Lesson 4: A Big Question, A Simple Solution

Lesson 5: Functions Which Are Like Treasures If You Know Them And Useless If You Don’t

-Appendix: Using Fluency Shortcuts to Prevent Wrist and Finger Injury

Lessons

Lesson 2: Translation under ten minutes

Author: BryanComplexity: Standard

This lesson is for those who are relatively new to using Fluency or have just started. Imagine you’ve just started learning something. Perhaps you’ve started learning to sing, a foreign language or even martial arts at Shaolin Temple. (Not that I’ve ever tried learning martial arts at Shaolin Temple. I’ve only watched it in films. However, I […]

Lesson 3: Increase productivity with a simple screen rearrangement

Author: BryanComplexity: Standard

Fluency contains a lot more elements within its interface than the other CAT tools. In my opinion, this is one of the biggest advantages to using Fluency. You can take care of everything you need to while you’re working without leaving the current screen, and this really helps increase your concentration. Also important is the […]

Lesson 4: Big problems, simple solutions

Author: Bryan

It’s stressful trying to do something you’re not used to doing. Learning something new requires a lot of energy. Learning how to use a CAT tool is the same, and in the beginning, you may find it frustrating at times. You might think, ‘How in the world can people use this?’. Trust me. Be patient […]

Appendix: Using Fluency shortcuts to prevent wrist and finger injury

Author: BryanComplexity: Easy

You won’t need this appendix to use Fluency as it doesn’t relate to its functions. But as you’ll be using Fluency a lot in the future, if you rely on your mouse to do all the work, it will wreak havoc on your wrist and fingers and take a lot longer time. Translating requires a […]

Bryan
Bryan

브라이언은 의료분야에서 한영번역을 하는 번역가입니다. 캐나다 온타리오의 작은 시골 마을에서 아내와 둘이 삽니다. 여행과 독서와 음악과 커피를 좋아합니다.

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