Fora Reader v3   
dictionary reinvented   

Installation

Windows XP/Vista/7

  1. Download latest Fora Reader setup (fora_setup.exe).
  2. Make sure you have Java installed.
  3. Run fora_setup.exe and follow setup instructions.
  4. Note that if you are using Vista/7, you will need to run Fora Reader as Administrator.

Mac OS X

  1. Download latest Fora Reader package (ForaReader.dmg).
  2. Mount the disk image and copy ForaReader package to a desired location.

Linux

  1. Download archive for your architecture (fora-reader.tar.bz2 or fora-reader-64.tar.bz2, x86 or x86-64).
  2. Install XULRunner v1.9+. For instructions on how to install XULRunner please visit this page.
  3. Extract the archive to your hard drive.
  4. Go to the extracted directory and make fora.sh file executable with "chmod +x fora.sh" in a terminal.
  5. Run fora.sh with "./fora.sh" in a terminal.

Updating to a newer version

It's recommended to uninstall all previous versions of the application prior to a new installation.

Configuration directory

Fora stores all of it's configuration files (dictionary data, settings, bookmarks..) in a directory called "Configuration directory". You can create multiple configuration directories and easily switch between them. By default, the installation directory is used as the configuration directory.

User Manual

1. Introduction
Fora Reader is a featured multilingual dictionary and foreign reading tool integrated with a basic web browser. It supports various activation methods such as mouse hover, text selection and clipboard copy. Which one to use at a given instant is left to you as an option with easy access from bottom-right corner of the main window. An outstanding feature is integrated dictionary management.

2. General usage

2.1. Activating the tooltip
There are four different methods to activate the application. Each one is explained below.

2.1.1. Hover activation

The most comfortable method to activate the tooltip is mouse hover. In this method, all you need to do to translate a word is to hover (pausing the mouse pointer) over the word of interest. After a little time about one second, the translation of the word appears in a little tooltip. Since this method is designed for very rapid translations, moving mouse cursor hides the tooltip, hence making it ready for another word translation. By default, only a few dictionary (topmost ones) is included in translations. If you need to look at all translations, you can press F2 key to focus. The window activated with F2 key is a full-featured dictionary panel with navigation, cross-lookup etc. available.

2.1.2. Selection activation

In this method, you select the word with mouse. For selecting a single word, double-clicking is practical.

2.1.3. Clipboard activation

As an auxiliary activation method, the application can monitor the computer's clipboard for words. When you copy a new word from any other application (such as Adobe Reader), Fora will capture it and display it's translation.

2.2. Dictionary panel
Fora uses a unified view for dictionary translations. The panel has basically two parts:
I) Content area (for translations)
II) Sidebar (for navigation)

Content area is the area that the dictionaries that are supplying meaning is stacked and translations are displayed.

Sidebar is a toolbar that has (depending on context):
I) Navigation buttons - navigates between previous and next words
II) Pin tab button - pins current content as a browser tab for larger view or to resume reading
III) Attach buttons - attaches current content either to the right or to the bottom of the browser
IV) Wikipedia button - searches current word in Wikipedia (in a new tab)
V) Close button - closes view
VI) Dictionary indicators - colored buttons that scrolls content directly to the corresponding dictionary's translation (also visually highlights translations)

2.3. Split Panels
Split panels allow you truly integrate a dictionary panel with the browser. Depending on your flavor or screen size, you can attach a dictionary panel either to the right or to the bottom of the browser. When opened, the attached dictionary panel takes over the tooltip, that is, when you select or double-click a word, the translation is displayed in the dictionary rather than the tooltip.

2.4. Dictionary Manager
Dictionary manager gives you complete control over your dictionaries. You can easily add, remove, move, enable/disable dictionaries and create profiles for specific contexts.

I) Adding dictionaries
You can add supported dictionaries to your collection using add buttons. Currently supported dictionary formats are:
- XDXF (XML) (*.xdxf)
- DICTD database (*.index)
- StarDict (*.idx, *.idx.gz)
- Plain/tab separated (*.dic, *.txt)
You can also add multiple dictionaries at once or add archived dictionaries (*.zip, *.tar.bz, *.tar.bz2).

II) Removing dictionaries
You can remove a single dictionary using the remove button on it, or multiple dictionaries using remove button on the dictionary manager.
Removing a dictionary removes it from all profiles, thus, if you want to disable a dictionary for current profile only, uncheck the enable check box.

III) Enabling/disabling dictionaries
You can enable/disable a dictionary using the check box on it. Right-click to enable/disable all dictionaries in the current profile.

IV) Moving dictionaries
You can re-order your dictionaries according to it's importance for you. For instance, hover tooltips use only the upper-most dictionary that has a translation for the searched word.

V) Creating profiles
You can create profiles to re-use an arrangement you have made. To create a new profile, simply name it and start arranging dictionaries. Changing current profile is simple from main menu and does not require visiting the dictionary manager.

VI) Assigning colors to dictionaries
You can assign colors to your dictionaries for identifying it in translations. Right-click to randomize or reset colors of all dictionaries.

You can even drag and drop compressed (*.zip, *.tar.bz, ..) dictionaries that you have downloaded from the internet directly to the dictionary manager.

2.5. Stack
Stack is a handy feature for saving page links for later reading.
It keeps a list of links (the stack) into which you can easily push (move to the list) and pop (fetch from the list) page links.
As saving just links it resembles bookmarks but its more convenient for keeping track of a reading list on regular usage.

2.6. Search
Search menu provides easy access to your favorite searchable websites. To configure a new search engine, open add search dialog, enter name and it's URL. Use %s in the URL to mark place for the keyword.  For example: http://www.searchengine.com/search?keyword=%s .

2.7. Background mode
Background mode (Fora CS) is a supplementary mode that helps you translate words from other applications, such as Word, Acrobat Reader, etc. Copying a word to the clipboard activates a dictionary panel in the default tray area of your computer. 

3. Advanced Features

3.1. Cross-lookup
This feature allows you cross-lookup by annotating all translations with translations from the upper-most dictionaries. You can set maximum number of dictionaries to be included, since setting more dictionaries may slow down popping up.

4. Shortcuts

4.1. Browser shortcuts

  • Close tab: Double-click on tab
  • Prevent word lookup when selecting text: hold-down ALT key
  • Show custom page context menu: hold-down CTRL key

4.2. Tray shortcuts
Double-click on tray icon - reverts to the reader mode
Single-click on tray icon - shows/hides dictionary panel
Right-click on tray icon - shows tray mode menu

5. Configuration directory

Configuration directory is the folder where all your application settings, profiles, and dictionaries' data are stored. You can create separate configuration directories for different users and/or configurations. You can easily switch between configuration directories using File>Configuration>Switch Directory menu. Advantages of being able to create and switch between different configuration directories include backup/restore simplicity and ability to share configurations with friends.

6. Morphology engine (word stemmer)

Morphology engine tries to find stems in words in inflected forms. You can choose whether to reorder the results with respect to inflection depth using preferences dialog. Note that this feature is currently available only for English words.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here you can find some answers to frequently asked questions as well as tips to better utilize Fora reading tool.

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 confusion, especially for people unfamiliar with it. However, the name keeps focus on the intended function of the application.