The FreeDict dictionary that I did set up some years ago

[Gert]

A few years ago I spent quite some time to set up the FreeDict dictionaries for DictionaryForMIDs. However by now DfM advanced a lot and it would be nice to set up these dictionaries for the latest version of DictionaryForMIDs.

Jeff may have some time to add these FreeDict dictionaries to his dictionary archive and to set them up for the latest version of DictionaryForMIDs. However I realize that this may be quite some effort, so I just want to describe here what I have ... and maybe there will be more volunteers who like to help ?


1. Some background information

The FreeDict dictionaries are found at http://www.freedict.org/. An overview of their dictionaries is provided at http://freedict.org/en/list.html.

When I was setting up their dictionaries, then I was using their files in the DICT format, together with the DfM application DictdToDictionaryForMIDs, see http://dictionarymid.sourceforge.net/DictdToDictionaryForMIDs.html. DictdToDictionaryForMIDs produces the normal CSV files from the DICT files. The DICT files have .dz and .index as extension.

I do need to mention that generating the CSV files from the DICT files was sometimes troublesome, because the DICT files had subtle differences in the format.

Well, somehow I managed to generate the CSV files, actually I gave them the extension .txt.


2. The content of my FreeDict archive

I uploaded my FreeDict archive here: http://www.kugihan.de//dict/download/dictionaries/freedict/FreeDict_dictionaries.zip

There is the directory 'inputfiles' which contains several subdirectories, one for each freedict dictionary. Within the subdirectories there are the .txt files along with the files DictionaryForMIDs.properties. Usually also the dict-files (extension .dz and .index) are in these subdirectories.

Not for all subdirectories I made the effort to set up the dictionary; for example for cro-eng and several others, there is no generated  .txt file.


3. How to generate the files for DictionaryForMIDs

Well, run DictionaryGeneration on the .txt file with the corresponding DictionaryForMIDs.properties that is in the same directory. See for example eng-deu.

And here is the problem: the current DictionaryGeneration is more strict than the old one was. DictionaryGeneration now reports empty fields in the inputdictionaryfile and exits (I added this feature to DictionaryGeneration because I was receiving error reports that resulted from missing translations in the inputdictionaryfile). I found that his happens for eng-ara.

To solve this problem, one would have to load the .txt file in Excel or similar and remove all lines that contain empty fields.


4. Any more challenges ?

Sure

The FreeDict dictionaries are unidirectional, means for example English to German. Of course a user will like to have also German to English in one dictionary.

Please do read the instructions at http://dictionarymid.sourceforge.net/newdictMultiple.html for generating a combined dictionary such as English to German plus German to English.

Well I mentioned above, it requires some effort ... 


5. Where is support needed ?

Just let me know.

If it helps, then I can upload the files that I generated some years ago. However, because these are very old, most of the generated dictionaries will not run on the current version of DictionaryForMIDs.


Greetings,
Gert