Download instructions

1. To download Wordfast, go to the Download section at www.wordfast.net. We also recommend downloading the manual (preferably in English). See the Image 1 below, which shows what the Download section at www.wordfast.net looks like.

   To start the download in the Download section, click the relevant link in the "product" column. If you are using Windows, you can also right-click the link and choose Save target as... (or a similar command in the context menu), see Image 2.

   Your browser (or a download manager, if you have one) should prompt you to save the file you want to download. Save the downloaded files anywhere on your computer, for example in My documents.

2. Note that the files you download are archived and compressed (zipped). Their file extension is .zip. Zipping is a common software method to compress files. It makes files easier and safer to transfer over the Internet.

   To use the downloaded files, you will need to extract (unzip) them. A clear explanation of unzipping is here (third-party commercial page). A more technical description of the zip format is found in Wikipedia.

   Some operating systems have an inbuilt capacity to unzip files (for example, Windows XP or Mac OSX). On other systems, you need to have an unzipping (or zipping/unzipping) software installed, see the comparison of file archivers in Wikipedia. Some of these programmes are free.

   On a Windows system, right-click one of the files: does the context menu have an option to "extract"? If so, choose this option and follow the instructions you will see. If the context menu does not have any option to "extract", you will probably need to install a zipping/unzipping software.

3. When the files are extracted (unzipped), you will be able to:
   • Open the manual (wordfast.doc) in MS Word and read it. The manual is a MS Word document.
   • Double-click WfReadMe text file and read short installation instructions. Make sure you follow these instructions! They will help you install Wordfast successfully. (If you don't adjust settings in MS Word as these instructions require, Wordfast may be disabled or blocked by run-time error 6068.)
   • Install Wordfast (by double-clicking wordfast.dot).

Trouble-shooting

• I cannot download files from www.wordfast.net
  Can you download zip files from other sites? If not, make sure your software, security settings, and user rights on the computer allow you to download files (zip files, in particular). Is so, try again in a few minutes. If the second attempt is not successful again, kindly contact Wordfast.

• I cannot extract the zip file I downloaded because it appears corrupted.
  Internet file transfers are not perfect. This can sometimes happen (but not very often). Re-download the file and see if it's OK. If it's not, make sure your browser or download manager is not using a cached copy of the file.

• The file I download is older than mentioned on the website
  Make sure your browser or download manager is not using a cached copy of the file. Clear the cache or use an alternative browser or download manager.

• The file I download is newer than mentioned on the website
  This can occasionally happen when an updated version of a file is published and the information on the website is not updated immediately.

• After unzipping, the files are called just "wordfast" and I cannot see any file extension (doc or dot)
  Some Windows systems hide "file extensions of known types", so this is normal. You can typically customise this in Tools > Folder Options > View tab in Windows Explorer: make sure "Hide icons of known file types" (or something along these lines) is unchecked. Anyway, the Wordfast manual (the DOC document) is a typical Word document, shown with the standard icon. Wordfast (the DOT template, i.e. the programme) is usually shown with a very similar icon that has a yellow strip at the top.

Images

• Image 1 - Download section at www.wordfast.net: Where to download Wordfast (green arrow) and its user manual in English (red arrow)
  Note: The layout of the table may change. The screenshot was taken on 20 July 2010. Dates and version designations are regularly updated on the site, as Wordfast develops.

  
  
  

• Image 2 - Context menu, which shows in most Windows browsers after you right-click. This screenshot shows the context menu in Opera.