Translation software

SYSTRAN 4 Server Products FAQ

  1. Trouble Shooting

  2. Application Packs (User Tools and Expert Tools)

  3. Enterprise Server and Online Translation Tools Installation

  4. Translation


1. Trouble Shooting

SYSTRAN Enterprise 4.0 offers state-of-the-art Machine Translation (MT) functionality in an environment accessible to all company personnel. If an error occurs, please check the following points:

1.1. Application Packs installation errors

  1. Both SYSTRAN User Tools and SYSTRAN Expert Tools MSI files have to be downloaded from SYSTRAN Enterprise Server. After downloading the client applications from the Web-based administration interface, installation must be performed by the Administrator and Installation for everyone must be selected.
  2. On NTFS, users using SYSTRAN products must have write permissions for the SYSTRAN directory, and read permissions for the Microsoft Office Startup directories.
  3. "SYSTRAN Enterprise MSI" files require "MSI 2.0" to be installed on the server; Available here.
  4. "SYSTRAN Enterprise MSI" files require "MSXML 3.0" to be installed on the server; available here.
  5. Check the "TMP" and "TEMP" environment variables ("my Computer->Properties->advanced->Environment variables"). If any of them contains a dot ('.') character, replace both with "C:\Temp" or any existing temporary directory.

1.2. Enterprise Server installation errors

  1. IIS and ".NET framework" must be installed. IIS must be installed first.
  2. If SYSTRAN "Enterprise Server" is installed on a computer with insufficient memory, the "MemoryLimit" parameter in the "Web.config " file should be set to a value allowing every Language Pair to load; allow 50 Mb each. (See FAQ below).
  3. Check Administrator's Guide for "SYSTRAN Enterprise 4.0" for more details on the requirements.

1.3. Application errors

  1. Invalid Input: input document is empty or not in valid format.
  2. Maximum Size Exceeded: incoming request exceeds the maximum size set by the "SYSTRAN Enterprise" Administrator.

    Images are stripped by the SYSTRAN plugins, so the size of the original document might be greater than that of the file that actually gets translated.
  3. Server busy: incoming request could not be completed due to server overload. Retry later.
  4. Server Not Available: General network access problem.
    With "Internet Explorer", check access to http://www.systransoft.com/ or http://www.google.com/.
    Check the "Network settings" in the "Control Panel" or "IE" Options for LAN connection and proxy settings. If the connection is ok, validate that you can access the SYSTRAN Enterprise Server homepage URL: http://[Enterprise_SERVER_IP] /systran/sws.aspx

1.4. The Web based translation page should appear.

  1. Conversion time-out: An error occurred during internal conversion of a document on the ENTERPRISE server. The document cannot be directly translated using the Web-based interface. Try using either "UserTools" or convert your document to RTF before translating.

2. Application Packs (User Tools and Expert Tools)

2.1. Installation

2.1.1. Install from the server's "Download" page http://[Enterprise_SERVER_IP]//systran/sws.aspx?t=Download

Otherwise, please modify the following registry entry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SYSTRAN\4.0\precl\SERVER_CGI_URLValue should be : "http://[Enterprise_SERVER_IP]/systran/sws.aspx"

2.1.2. Uninstall the Application Packs before upgrading.

The "Application Packs" have to be uninstalled before installing any upgrade. Uninstall "User Tools" before installing "Expert Tools". Delete remaining files in "C:\Program Files\SYSTRAN\4_0\Enterprise" Client directory. Reinstall new products and linguistic resources by downloading them from "SYSTRAN Enterprise server".

Known Bug(s) : 637,1433

2.1.3. After the replacement of UserTools, ExpertTools or linguistic resources on the server, older versions are still downloaded.

Either proxy or browser is caching files. First delete all temporary files on Internet Explorer. Click on "ToolsMen"u then choose "Internet Options->General->Delete Files". Check "Delete all offline content box" and click OK. If it does not fix the problem, ask your Network Administrator to check the proxy.

2.1.4. Users may not use the Application Packs, but the Administrator may.

After downloading client applications on web administration interface, installation must be performed by Administrator user, selecting Installation for everyone. On NTFS, users using SYSTRAN products must have write permissions on SYSTRAN directory, and read permissions on Microsoft Office Startup directories.

Known Bug(s) : 430

2.1.5. User Tools are not working on NTFS Partition.

Only "Power Users and Administrators" can install "UserTools". "UserTools" installer needs to write in install directory which "Administrator" is the owner after installation. Users using SYSTRAN products must have write permission on the SYSTRAN directory, and read permissions on Microsoft Office Startup directories.

Known Bug(s) :438, 439, 440, 441, 442

2.1.6. User Tools uninstall ends up with the following error message

SYSTRAN Enterprise Client User Tools": There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. Repair the installation then remove it

known Bug(s) : 1433

2.1.7. Installation cannot be launched after download

"Windows installer 2.0" or higher is needed to install SYSTRAN products. It is available here. Installation process requires MSXML 3.0 to be installed. It is available here.

2.1.8. Various problems with Office XP

Check if you find a file 40premi.dot in the folder C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Startup. If yes, SYSTRAN has detected your Office version as Office 97, due to a wrong Office key in the registry. To fix this problem, edit the registry:

Editing the registry improperly can cause damage to the operating system. It is recommended that the registry be backed up prior to making any modifications.
  • Close all SYSTRAN and Office applications.
  • If SYSTRAN server is running, which is the blue 'S' in the lower right corner of your desktop, then right-click its icon and select 'Quit'.
  • Click on Start->Run
  • Type regedit
  • Open the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\
  • Rename the key BinDirPath to BinDirPathOld. (To our experience that will do no harm to Office's operation.)
  • Then uninstall SYSTRAN and install it again.

2.1.9. A virus alert is displayed on Microsoft Office 97

SYSTRAN Plugins for Microsoft Office 97 are defined in a Macro file. To trust SYSTRAN plugins :

  1. Open the corresponding Office Application
  2. Click on Menu->Macro->Security
  3. Click on Security Level tab
  4. Select Low
  5. Click on Trusted Sources tab
  6. Check Trust all installed add-ins and templates
  7. Click on OK button

2.1.10. No electronic manual is available.

Manuals of SYSTRAN products are under the "DOC" folder located in the SYSTRAN Product program group:

  1. Click on Start->Programs
  2. Select "SYSTRAN Enterprise 4.0"
  3. Click on Doc

2.1.11. To disable SYSTRAN Toolbar in Microsoft Office 97

  1. Open the relevant Office Application
  2. Click on Menu->Macro->Security
  3. Click on Security Level tab
  4. Select Medium
  5. Click on Trusted Sources tab
  6. Uncheck Trust all installed add-ins and templates
  7. Click on OK button

2.1.12. To disable SYSTRAN Toolbar in Microsoft Office 2000/XP

  1. Go to the SYSTRAN folder C:\Program Files\Systran\4_0
  2. Open the SYSTRAN product folder (either Personal, Standard or Premium)
  3. Rename the proper .dll file to .dis (either ExcelAddIn.dll , IEPlugIn.dll , OutlookAddIn.dll , PowerPointAddIn.dll , or WordAddIn.dll ).

2.2 Software

2.2.1. On Windows NT/2000/XP Pro, Users may not use any SYSTRAN application, but the Administrator may.

Administrator user, selecting Installation for everyone, must perform installation. On NTFS, users using SYSTRAN products must have write permissions on SYSTRAN directory, and read permissions on Microsoft Office Startup directories.

2.2.2. On NTFS (Windows NT/2000/XP Pro), Office 97 Plugins are not working with Guest Account.

As Guest account has almost no rights, this account cannot use the plugin. A local user has to be created. It must have write permissions on SYSTRAN directory, and read permissions on Microsoft Office Startup directories.

2.2.3. Internet Explorer 6.0 translates pages into blank pages.

A fix for this problem is available through our support page.

2.2.4. SYSTRAN products does not work with Eudora, Outlook Express, Lotus Notes, etc

The only supported mail client is Outlook as part of Microsoft Office suite. However, SYSTRAN Clipboard Taskbar may be used to translate text from any application. Please consult the user's guide on how to use it.

2.2.5. Translation ends up with error message

Run-time error '429' ActiveX component can't create object.

MSXML 3.0 or later is required, which is included in Internet Explorer 5.0 (one of our requirements). To fix this bug, a recent version of Internet Explorer or MSXML must be installed. Download latest version here

2.2.6. All SYSTRAN applications end up with the following error message:

"run time error '711' Invalid class string looking for object with"

A critical SYSTRAN component has been unregistered:

  1. Close all MS Office applications, all SYSTRAN application and Internet Explorer.
  2. Click on the Start->Run.
  3. In the OPEN box, type cmd on Windows NT/2000/XP or command on Windows 98
  4. Click on OK button. DOS prompt open.
  5. Type cd "\program files\systran\4_0\" (including the double quotes)
  6. Type cd SYSTRAN_PRODUCT. SYSTRAN_PRODUCT should be Personal, Standard or Premium, depending on the installed version.
  7. Type regsvr32 SystranTBar.ocx and hit Enter.
  8. Type systranserver /regserver and hit Enter.
  9. Type exit and hit Enter.

2.2.7. Some menus are missing or displayed with question mark '???' .

Unfortunately, there is a problem with localization on the selected language.

WARNING: Editing the registry improperly can cause damage to the operating system. It is recommended that the registry be backed up prior to making any modifications.

To fix this problem, edit the registry:

  1. Close all SYSTRAN applications
  2. Right-click the "SYSTRAN server icon", which is the blue 'S' in the lower right corner of your desktop, then select 'Quit'

  3. Click on Start->Run
  4. Type regedit
  5. "Open the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SYSTRAN\4.0\PREMI/"
  6. Change "GUI_LANG" value to "EN" (be sure to make the letters upper-case).

2.2.8. Translated documents in non-European character set are not displayed correctly.

Target language support needs to be set up on the computer. The exact method will depend on the version of Windows.

For Windows XP/2000/NT:

  1. Click on Start->Settings->Control Panel->Regional Options
  2. Under General Tab, select the needed language.
  3. Hit Apply button. Insert Windows CD if required.

For Windows 98: A third-party font driver, such as those offered by Unionway, Twinbridge, or NJStar is needed.

2.2.9. No Macintosh version is available

SYSTRAN products do not yet exist in a version for Apple computers A date for its release has not been set. Please keep an eye on our website for news.

2.2.10. After installing the product, SYSTRAN Toolbar is not displayed in Internet Explorer

Please open Internet Explorer and follow these steps:

  • Click on "View->Toolbars"
  • Check the "SYSTRAN 4.0" item.

2.2.11. All SYSTRAN applications are working except STPM, which hangs up during translation.

Check "TMP" and "TEMP" environment variables (my "Computer->Properties->advanced->Environment variables"). If any of them contains a dot (.) character, replace both variables with any existing temporary directory (e.g. "C:\Temp or C:\Windows\Temp").

2.2.12. Translation is not working on all Application Packs.

Download linguistic resources from the Enterprise server download page (http://[Enterprise_SERVER_IP]/systran/sws.aspx?t=Download). Put them in the client's Dicts directory (C:\Program Files\SYSTRAN\4_0\Enterprise Client\Dicts). Internet Explorer may rename .slg files into .slg.zip. Check these files and, if necessary, rename them to .slg files.

Known Bug(s) : 603

2.2.13. All SYSTRAN applications end up with the following error message: SystranToolBar : Error1072896659 (Method 'mmmm' of object 'oooo' failed) in line xxx procedure InitOptions of Module Options

At startup the system reads an option.xml file in the root directory (by default 'C:\Program Files\SYSTRAN\4.0\Enterprise\'). If this file is corrupted, the system hangs up with this error. Delete this file. It will be regenerated automatically.

2.2.14. With some languages, Outlook translations end up with the following error message: SystranServer.exe: the following program has performed an illegal action and will be shut down.

If .Net Framework v1.1 is installed, edit Web.config file in c:\inetpub\wwwroot\SYSTRAN directory and add the following line between system.web tags:

<pages validateRequest="false" />

known Bugs: 1363

2.2.15. SYSTRAN Toolbar does not appear in any Office application.

Check menu "View->Toolbar" and select "SYSTRAN" item. If it is still not working, edit the corresponding LoadBehavior key:

Excel "LoadBehavior" key is:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Excel\Addins\Systran40PREMI.ExcelPlugin]
"LoadBehavior"=dword:00000003

Word "LoadBehavior" key is:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Word\Addins\Systran40PREMI.WordPlugin]
"LoadBehavior"=dword:00000003

PowerPoint "LoadBehavior" key is:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Powerpoint\Addins\Systran40PREMI.PowerPointPlugin]
"LoadBehavior"=dword:00000003

Outlook "LoadBehavior" key is:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins\Systran40PREMI.OutlookPlugin]
"LoadBehavior"=dword:00000003

In any case, if an Office application fails to load the toolbar, it will force the value to 2. So if the value remains the same after editing the Registry, it is an installation problem. Uninstall User Tools and Expert Tools. Manually delete remaining files in this SYSTRAN directory: C:\Program Files\SYSTRAN\4_0\Enterprise Client. Then reinstall client applications.

2.2.16. Not all language pairs are available on User Tools or Expert Tools.

Check with SYSTRAN Enterprise administrator: he may have not activated some language pairs.

2.2.17. Characters are not well displayed in Office or STPM.

Appropriate Windows Fonts should be installed for the target languages (e.g.: "Arial Greek" for Greek translation). Or, language support needs to be added for the particular target language (i.e.: Chinese, Japanese, etc). This is done on the user's machine from the Control Panel/Regional Options.

2.2.18. Outlook format is not preserved by translation.

Select HTML in format menu.

2.2.19. Do Not Translate text or Not Found Words in STPM result windows are not displayed as in source windows.

Destination text uses the destination language character set. If it is not possible to keep the character set from source, transliteration form is used.

3. Enterprise Server and Online Translation Tools Installation

3.1. Installation

3.1.1. Installation is broken because the user entered the wrong activation key.

To troubleshoot this problem:

  • Make sure the activation key is correct.
  • If the key is incorrect, ask for an activation key.
  • Put the correct activation key on the System Configuration page accessible on your server from http://[SERVER IP]/Systran/sws.aspx?t=admlogin .
  • Kill "aspnet_wp.exe" process on the server. "aspnet_wp.exe" will automatically restart.
  • Submit a support request if the problem persists.

3.1.2. Where can .NET Framework be found?

Microsoft .NET Framework Redistributable Package (20Mb) is available here.

3.1.3. This page is displayed when accessing Enterprise server: <%@ Page Inherits="SWS" aspcompat=true %>

This bug indicates that ASP.NET is not working on the server. Check if:

  1. "ASP.NET Framework" is installed. (Download available here)
  2. IIS has been installed before "ASP.NET Framework". If not uninstall "IIS" and "ASP.NET Framework" and then reinstall "IISM" and "ASP.NET Framework".
  3. If your server is obtaining authentication information from a Domain Controller, you need to follow Microsoft instructions to create a local ASPNET account on your machine

3.1.4. Identification Key is 'No LP'.

Check if:

  1. Supported languages dlls (for example: enfr.dll , fren.dll , frde.dll ) must be present in C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\Systran\Dicts directory. If not, use to download linguistic resources from SYSTRAN Download center.
  2. Windows ASP.NET User, ASPNET, has all access to all files and subfolder in C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\SYSTRAN directory.

3.2. Software

3.2.1. Translation ends up with Server Unavailable error message.

Check that:

  1. ASP.NET user, ASPNET, has all permission on all files and directories under SYSTRAN directory.
  2. Activation key is correct and still valid (see 3.1.1).
  3. The translation engines (.dll) and dictionaries (.esd, .tab and .cnb files) are present in Dicts directory. If not, download them again from the SYSTRAN Download Center.

3.2.2. Web based file translation hangs up. There is no activity on server-side. After some translations, server is not available anymore.

All graphical and text converters have to be installed on server side. Use same Office version as client-side computer. If you have different Office products on your network, take the higher version. Then do:

  1. Click on "Start->Parameters->Add/Remove Programs"
  2. Click on Microsoft Office Item in list.
  3. Select Change button.
  4. Select "Add/Remove Features"

  5. Click on "Converters and Filters" node and select "Run All from my computer".
  6. Click on Update button

Known Bug(s) : 603Known Bug(s) : 1158

3.2.3. Large document translation ends up with Server Unavailable error message.

Edit machine.config file in the following directory: \WINNT\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v1.0.3705\CONFIG Change two attributes of processModel tag in this XML. Here is the tag to look for:

<processModel
enable="true"
timeout="Infinite"
idleTimeout="Infinite"
shutdownTimeout="0:00:05"
requestLimit="Infinite"
requestQueueLimit="5000"
restartQueueLimit="10"
memoryLimit="400"
webGarden="false"
cpuMask="0xffffffff"
userName="machine"
password="AutoGenerate"
logLevel="Errors"
clientConnectedCheck="0:00:05"
comAuthenticationLevel="Connect"
comImpersonationLevel="Impersonate"
responseDeadlockInterval="00:20:00"
maxWorkerThreads="20"
maxIoThreads="20">

v1.0.3705 directory may change depending on ASP.NET Framework version

The two attributes in red may cause a timeout. Here is their description:

  • memoryLimit="[number]" Represents percentage of physical memory a process is allowed to use before process is recycled
  • responseDeadlockInterval="[Infinite | HH:MM:SS]" For deadlock detection, timeout for responses when there are executing requests.

Setting "MemoryLimit" to 200 allows Enterprise Server to allocate 512 MB RAM on a server with 256 MB RAM. Otherwise "ASP.NET Framework" will automatically restart "ASP.NET" process when it reaches the "Memory Limit". This of course stops all translations. Default valueis 60. Maximum value is 500.

Setting "responseDeadlockInterval" to '00:20:00' automatically restarts "ASP.NET" process if it seems stuck for 20 Minutes (or translating big files for more than 20 Minutes). Previous value was only 3 minutes. If this value is set to 'Infinite', there will be no checks. Keep in mind that translation rate is 5kB/s on a 500MHz computer.

Edit "web.config file in C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\Systran\ ". Add the following XML between "system.web" tags :

<httpRuntime
executionTimeout="10200"
maxRequestLength="40960"
useFullyQualifiedRedirectUrl="false"
minFreeThreads="8"
minLocalRequestFreeThreads="4"
appRequestQueueLimit="200"/>

3.2.4. Translation ends up with error message: Run-time error '429' ActiveX component can't create object.

Installation uses "MS XML parser" to modify options.xml. "MSXML 2.0" or later is required, which is included in "IE 5.0" (one of our requirements). To fix this bug, a recent version of "IE" or "MSXML" must be installed (also available separately on Microsoft's site)

3.2.5. Web based file translation is broken. Word documents produce the conversion time-out error message.

All graphical and text converters have to be installed on the server side. Use same Office version as client-side computer. If you have different Office products on network, take the higher version.

  1. Click on Start->Parameters->Add/Remove Programs
  2. Click on Microsoft Office Item in list.
  3. Select Change button.
  4. Select Add/Remove Features
  5. Click on Converters and Filters node and select Run All from my computer.
  6. Click on Update button

Known Bug(s) : 1158

3.2.6. Some specific Web Pages are not translated at all by Enterprise URL translation

Framesets content is not translated by ENTERPRISE URL translation. Internet Explorer plugin may translate this page correctly. The next version of SYSTRAN Enterprise will handle Framesets

Known Bug(s) : 494

3.2.7. How to change SYSTRAN Web page name?

SYSTRAN Templates are the only ones usable as file names are hard coded. (For example: to call the text sequence translation form, the application calls: [Install_dir]\templates\[localization_lang]\Text.html

3.2.8. How to add ASP code in SYSTRAN templates provided with SYSTRAN Enterprise 4.0?

Template cannot include server code (for example ASP code).

3.2.9. On the Download Client Application page, client files or linguistic resources are not visible.

Check if these files are present on the server.

  • Under the root directory: (by default "c:\inetpub\wwwroot\systran")
    • "SYSTRAN-Enterprise_ExpertTools_4_0.msi" (case sensitive)
    • "SYSTRAN-Enterprise_UserTools_4_0.msi" (case sensitive)
  • Under the Dicts directory: (by default c:\inetpub\wwwroot\systran\Dicts ) .slg files corresponding to avaible languages (EN.slg , FR.slg , DE.slg , etc)

ASP.NET User, ASPNET, must have full access to these directories. .msi files should not be read-only.

Known Bug(s) :517

4. Translation

4.1. Text in non European character set that is copied from SYSTRAN or an Office application to another application, is replaced by question marks (?).

If the text displays properly in source application, then the destination application does not support the non-European encoding. Check with the manufacturer to see if patches are available to support specific languages.

4.2. Reverse translation produces an unreadable result.

With each translation a certain degree of inaccuracy is involved. Therefore, translating a slightly inaccurate result back into source language yields an even more inaccurate result. So, it is not possible to evaluate accuracy by performing a back and forth translation.

4.3. Translation accuracy needs to be improved

The accuracy of the translation varies according to the input. Here are some tips to help obtain better translations:

  • The input text has to be grammatically correct.
  • Use complete, grammatical sentences.
  • Punctuation is important; clauses will translate best if separated by commas.
  • Try to use simple, declarative sentences.
  • Avoid ambiguity (examples: 'the moving car' or 'moving the car', rather than 'moving car'; 'the brake light and the tail lights' rather than 'the brake and tail lights').
  • Avoid abbreviations and colloquialisms (example: a word like 'snakes' in the sentence 'The road snakes around' will not translate properly if the word 'snakes' is not used as a verb in the target language).

Also, SYSTRAN Standard 4.0 and SYSTRAN Premium 4.0 include the SYSTRAN Dictionary Manager, which allows creation of user dictionaries to supplement or over-ride the main dictionaries. Using this feature can make substantial improvements to the translation.

4.4. No spell and grammar checkers are included.

SYSTRAN products do not include spell and grammar checking tools.

4.5. Some Proper Nouns are translated into destination language.

Usually proper nouns are not coded in default dictionaries. With SYSTRAN Standard 4.0 or SYSTRAN Premium 4.0, they may be added as DNT with Systran Dictionary Manager. SYSTRAN Personal 4.0 does not have a Dictionary Manager.