CAT-Tools/STAR Transit

History

Transit is the integrated computer assisted translation environment developed by the STAR Group. Its beginnings date back to the year 1986. In 1991, Transit 1.0 (a 32 bit DOS version) is one of the first translator-dedicated workstations to appear. It already featured the modules that most of today's CAT tools have incorporated: A proprietary translation editor with separate but synchronized windows for source and target language and tag protection, a translation memory engine, a terminology management component and project management features. Transit 2.0, the first version for MS Windows appeared in 1994. Further features were added, network compatibility, enhanced usability and stability and more source file filters. In 1996, with version 2.6, the fuzzy match engine was introduced. The last 16 bit Windows version was the 2.7. The previous version, Transit XV, was launched in 2001.

The current version of Transit, 'Transit NXT', has been on the market since 2008. It is the second most popular CAT tool in many countries in Europe but less well known outside Europe. A key difference between Transit and most other CAT tools is that it does not generate one database full of disjointed reference segments but retains the documents in its own format from which translations are created. Thus, it is always possible in Transit to call up the exact context of a reference segment "hit". Because it does not use databases for its reference segments, it is possible to switch the direction of translation "live" at any time without having to export an existing translation memory (TM) and reimport it in the oppositre direction. Thus, the source and target languages are always at the same level of revision. A further key feature of Transit is the integrated dictionary window. Unlike some CAT tolls, this is not a feature that is relegated to the bottom of the priorities list but is a core feature, offering quick and easy term entry and the option of displaying graphics to illustrate terms as one works on a translation.

A number of CAT tools of the latest generation, including Transit, offer a formatted PDF or HTML view of the source text so a translator can see instantly whether a segment is body text, a heading, table header etc.