We’ve picked some of the most important things for you to know about Paratext and included them in this article. Read below for helpful info, tips, and tricks!
Paratext is for Everyone
There are currently 9801 active Paratext users, coming from 390 organizations.
The Paratext Registry now contains projects in a total of 3,160 languages.
We are working hard to remove barriers to using Paratext. In the soon to be released Paratext 9.2, the Greek and Hebrew texts have been made available to ALL users. That means that anybody can install Paratext and gain access to 277 open access resources and the original language texts. You can now offer Paratext to Bible students and seminaries to help with their research and learning!
We also encourage anyone who wishes to translate Scripture into a minority language to apply for the Translator Tier of Paratext, provided they commit to translating in a way that is clear and accurate. The Translator Tier gives access to over 1,690 resource texts!
Beginner’s Boot Camp
The Paratext training team is running an online “Boot Camp” for beginning Paratext users.
29 Nov – 3 Dec (Mon – Fri)
9am – 12pm EST / 1pm to 4pm UTC
The Paratext Boot Camp will be an introduction to the basics of using Paratext 9.2 for Bible translation. This will include:
- Understanding the menus in Paratext.
- Organizing the Paratext desktop with projects, resources, and tools.
- An introduction to the various tools available in Paratext.
- How to keyboard special characters.
- How to share a project with others.
- How to communicate using notes.
- How to use a project plan.
Registration is required as attendance is limited.
Find how to register here: Paratext Beginner’s Boot Camp.
Enhanced Resources
Enhanced Resources are texts with key biblical terms that have been linked to the underlying source languages and dictionaries. We are expecting them to become a game changer in how people draft Scripture. They can be used instead of a model text, and provide better meaning equivalents between the original and local/receptor languages. You can read Doug Higby’s conference paper on the topic here.
Training Videos
Now you can find the training videos in multiple languages all in one easy-to-remember place!
https://paratext.org/videos
English ✦ français ✦ español ✦ português ✦ 简体中文 ✦ 繁體中文 ✦ русский язык ✦ Bahasa Indonesia
Help Email
Stuck with a Paratext problem?! Contact the Paratext Support experts via email!
This should be on your speed dial!
Paratext 9.2 is coming!
Paratext News Articles
We publish regular news articles with helpful tips and tricks for using Paratext. If you were subscribed to the news emails, this is where you might have first learned about things like Multiple Text Collection Windows, and Shared Layouts, for example:
Find all previous articles on the News page of the Paratext site. To sign up to receive articles as they are published, go to your registry account settings and check the Paratext News box.
While you’re there you can also select Help Improve Paratext to receive very occasional surveys that will help the developers improve Paratext.
Updates to Paratext Live
When working as a team on a text, whether during drafting, review, or during a checking session, it has been possible to turn on Paratext Live, which works similar to Google Docs. You can see the cursor and actions of the other participants in the text in real time. The Paratext team has upgraded the server to use the Advanced Message Queuing Protocol – (AMQP), which should resolve performance issues for those who have tried it in the past.
To use the new Paratext Live, all users must be on Paratext 9.2, so we realize that it may be some time before you get to try it out in a real life situation.
Forum for Paratext Supporters
The Paratext Supporter site is for people like you who are providing support to Paratext users. If you or someone you are helping is experiencing an unexplained issue or has an advanced question about Paratext, this is the place to get fast answers. Many advanced users read and respond to requests for help or information posted here. You can participate on the web or by email. For more information: Support Forum
Automatic Basic Checks with a Project Plan!
Imagine having the peace of mind to know that Paratext is constantly looking out for the quality of your text in the background. This is one of the advantages that comes with using a Project Plan. You no longer need to remember to periodically select and run the Basic Checks tool from the project menu. Instead, the project plan continually runs the checks automatically at the appropriate stage, gently letting you know of any problems in the text according to how you set it up. This is a major reason to start using a plan, among others.
