AI-generated tutorial
Thread poster: CafeTran Trainer
CafeTran Trainer
CafeTran Trainer
Netherlands
Member (2006)
German to Dutch
+ ...
Mar 8

The tutorial has been written to tutorial.md. Here's what it contains:

- ~1,700 lines / ~12,000 words across 24 sections
- Sources: CafeTran Freshdesk knowledge base (60+ articles) + Jean
Dimitriadis's GitHub wiki (Preferences, Menus, TM Options, File Formats,
Project Templates, Customiza
... See more
The tutorial has been written to tutorial.md. Here's what it contains:

- ~1,700 lines / ~12,000 words across 24 sections
- Sources: CafeTran Freshdesk knowledge base (60+ articles) + Jean
Dimitriadis's GitHub wiki (Preferences, Menus, TM Options, File Formats,
Project Templates, Customization)

Sections covered:
1. Introduction & key characteristics
2. Installation (Windows/macOS/Linux, spell dictionaries, licensing)
3. Dashboard — all elements, project type workflows, resources panel
4. Creating/opening projects — all dialog tabs in detail
5. Main interface — grid, editors, Matchboard colour coding, tabbed panel
6. Full menus reference (Project, Edit, View, Action, Memory, Resources,
Filter, Task, QA)
7–10. Translation memories, TM options, glossaries, Total Recall
11–12. Machine translation (all services + API setup) and auto-assembling
13–14. Search/filtering and QA checks
15–16. File formats — native types and all external CAT project formats
(Trados, memoQ, Wordfast, Déjà Vu) with segment status mapping tables
7. Preferences — comprehensive reference for all panes
18–19. Project templates and interface customisation
20–23. Voice translation, team translation, tasks/automation, alignment
8. Tips and workflows — first-time setup, recommended workflow, tag handling,
keyboard shortcuts

Download at:
https://cafetran.freshdesk.com/support/discussions/topics/6000071596
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CafeTran Trainer
CafeTran Trainer
Netherlands
Member (2006)
German to Dutch
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Markdown readers Mar 8

The tutorial is in Markdown format. There are many good MD readers, e.g. Free reader for Mac: https://macdown.uranusjr.com/

 
Epameinondas Soufleros
Epameinondas Soufleros  Identity Verified
Greece
Local time: 08:10
English to Greek
+ ...
A proper manual? Mar 8

Will there ever be a proper manual? Written by the person who made the application? Or is it too much to ask? It's not that Cafetran is particularly intuitive.

Tom in London
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:10
Italian to English
Figuring it out Mar 8

Epameinondas Soufleros wrote:

Will there ever be a proper manual? Written by the person who made the application? Or is it too much to ask? It's not that Cafetran is particularly intuitive.


It took me a long time to figure out how to use CafeTran- the only tuturials I found were YouTube videos spoken in such bad English that I was unable to watch them, so by trial and error I worked out the basics and I was able to use it.

Thank goodness I have now given up on translation. That manual looks unwieldy and unusable! I'm going to delete CafeTran soon.

[Edited at 2026-03-08 12:47 GMT]


Epameinondas Soufleros
 
Epameinondas Soufleros
Epameinondas Soufleros  Identity Verified
Greece
Local time: 08:10
English to Greek
+ ...
I always read the manual Mar 8

I am the type of user who always reads the manual. Proper customer documentation is a major concern for me.

memoQ was my main tool before they abandoned it and I knew it inside out, thanks to its stellar documentation. Wordfast is also commendable for its detailed documentation and the ever useful Wiki, although the software is still lacking in many respects. OmegaT, excellent as well: I would have given up if it did not have this well-written manual.

Cafetran is inco
... See more
I am the type of user who always reads the manual. Proper customer documentation is a major concern for me.

memoQ was my main tool before they abandoned it and I knew it inside out, thanks to its stellar documentation. Wordfast is also commendable for its detailed documentation and the ever useful Wiki, although the software is still lacking in many respects. OmegaT, excellent as well: I would have given up if it did not have this well-written manual.

Cafetran is incomprehensible and cryptic. Even the AI manual is hidden behind a registration page. Well, I’ll not invite myself to this party if it's for a select group of insiders.

[Edited at 2026-03-08 14:28 GMT]
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Michael Beijer
Michael Beijer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:10
Member
Dutch
+ ...
Christ, why are you guys so negative? Mar 8

There's no need to get pissy about this. Hans was just trying to help.

For what it's worth, I stuck a copy of it here: https://beijerterm.com/archives/cafetran/AI-generated_CafeTran_tutorial.md

PS: Personally, I never read manuals. These days, it's faster to ask ChatGPT or Claude, or Google it.

negative-nelly

All joking aside, however, I do see the value of good documentation. I am currently struggling with the problem myself while writing the help files for my new tool, Supervertaler, which currently lives at https://supervertaler.gitbook.io/help. Writing a help system (and especially keeping it up-to-date!) is one hell of a job.

Btw, Hans is not paid by CafeTran (which is basically just Igor, by the way). He's just a happy user, trying to help fellow users.

[Edited at 2026-03-09 01:06 GMT]

[Edited at 2026-03-09 14:28 GMT]


Lieven Malaise
ibz
 
CafeTran Trainer
CafeTran Trainer
Netherlands
Member (2006)
German to Dutch
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Delete this Mar 9

No extended HTML possible.

[Edited at 2026-03-09 11:53 GMT]


 


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AI-generated tutorial






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