Fora Reader
Fora Reader is a desktop reading application with an integrated basic browser dedicated to reading documents in a foreign language. Main features are rapid word translations within the browser and complete dictionary management.
Features
- Multiple activation methods
- Hover
- Selection
- Clipboard
- Browser extension
- Split views (browser/dictionary)
- Cross-lookup between dictionaries
- Navigation between results
- Unified dictionary management for all types of dictionaries
- Add
- Remove/delete
- Enable/disable
- Reorder
- Assign color
- Show information
- Recommend
- Multiple dictionary arrangements using profiles (grouping)
- Multiple dictionary formats support
- StarDict
- XDXF
- DSL
- DICTD
- Plain/TSV
- DICT protocol
- Tabbed interface
- Multi-panel views
- Browser extension (for Google Chrome)
Downloads
Windows |
Mac OS X |
Linux |
|
| System Requirements |
Java | Java | Sun-Java XULRunner 1.9 or newer |
| Download | Fora Reader for XP/Vista/7 | Fora Reader for Mac OS X |
Fora Reader for Linux-x86 Fora Reader for Linux-x86-64 |
| Notes | Vista/7 users will need to run as administrator | Fora Reader for Mac OS X is no longer supported due to possible incompatibility issues with libraries. | Fora Reader for Linux is no longer supported due to possible incompatibility issues with libraries. |
It is recommended to use the latest version (v5.1.0, updated August 16, 2011) for latest enhancements and bug fixes.
Screenshots
You can view screenshots here.
Known Limitations
The following limitations exist for linguistic capabilities
- Morphology engine (word stemmer) is currently available only for English words
The following limitations exist for basic browsing capabilities:
- Occasionally, hover activation method does not work properly on some pages, and a reload of the page fixes the problem. In worst case, selection activation is recommended
- Framed pages (those created with obsolete <frame> tag) are not supported
Links
Below are some repositories that contain dictionaries you can use with
Fora Reader.
After downloading, drag and drop downloaded files to the dictionary manager and
rearrange as you wish.
XDXF dictionaries download
http://xdxf.revdanica.com/down/
FreeDict dictionaries download
http://www.freedict.org/en/flags-dict-tgz.html
StarDict dictionaries download
http://sourceforge.net/projects/stardict/files
Miscellaneous dictionary download links
http://goldendict.org/dictionaries.php
FAQ
Q: Why Fora starts up slower relative to
other dictionaries?
A: A typical configuration of Fora contains several dictionaries and
each dictionary takes up some time (proportional to it's word count)
to initialize.
Thus, startup time rises proportionally to the count of and
corresponding word counts of loaded dictionaries.
Q: Why doesn't Fora perform well on some
pages?
A: Fora uses JavaScript to capture words. Since every page might have it's own JavaScript,
occasionally this can interfere with Fora. You can save the page as
a plain-html file, thus stripping interfering JavaScript code, and open it in Fora.
Q: How can I read arbitrary documents in
Fora?
A: Convert the document to an HTML or Text document. Most applications
support saving documents as HTML or Text files.
After saving an HTML (or at worst Text) copy of the document, open
it in Fora.
Q: How can I read MS Office documents?
A: To read Office documents in Fora,
open the document in corresponding application and select "Save As..".
Save a copy as an HTML file and open it in Fora.
Q: How can I read PDF documents?
A:
Though it's possible to convert PDF documents to HTML, this is
not a straightforward method for daily use.
It's recommended to use Fora in tray mode for these types of
documents.
Q: How can I read
CHM and other types documents?
A: CHM files are actually compressed HTML files, which is supported
natively by Fora. You will need a converter application (similar to
compression programs that extract files from archives) that takes
CHM files and write output to separate HTML files. Various tools
exist for this purpose.
Q: What are good practices for getting
best of the Dictionary Manager?
A:
Even though you can add/remove a dictionary anytime you like, it's
recommended to use profiling feature of the dictionary manager. Firstly, find all
the dictionaries you will ever need, and add all of them to your
collection, regardless of how often you might use it. Profiling
allows you enable/disable and/or reorder your dictionaries. In
addition, creating a profile simply puts a link to added
dictionaries and does not duplicate dictionary data. Create profiles
for specific contexts (for example technical, computer related etc), as much as you like. Since you can switch profiles right
from the main menu bar, perhaps you won't need the dictionary manager anymore!
Q: Why can't I delete the profile named
"Default"?
A: This profile is reserved for users who don't prefer using profiling
feature. If you don't want to organize your dictionaries using
separate profiles, default is the only profile you will use.
Q: How can I write my own dictionaries(glossaries)?
A: Simply open a text editor an start writing articles line-by-line.
Separate columns with tab character, writing keyword at the
beginning
of the line (first column).
For example:
word1 def1_1 def1_2
word2 def2_1 def2_2 def2_3
...
Q: What is "Fora
Plain Reader"?
A: "Fora Plain Reader" is the former name of Fora Reader. The
application has been renamed since the word "plain" causes a lot
of confusion, especially for people unfamiliar with it. However, the
name keeps focus on the intended function of the application.
Contact
For feedback, problems, comments, feature requests please feel free to send email to:
support <at> ng-comp <dot> com