Dictionary bug?

DotComCTO

秀才
I finally purchased one of the bundle deals (Beginner's bundle - includes the NWP E-C dictionary), and then I added the Tuttle Learner's Dictionary. I also downloaded CCDICT and Adsotrans to round out the set. So, I think there's a bit of a bug in the app, but I'm not quite sure. Here's the scenario:

1. Let's say I enter the word "help" so I can search the dictionary.
2. If I just have the default dictionary, the Tuttle dictionary and the other free dictionaries, the app finds the word "help" and shows the appropriate translations (帮,帮助,帮忙,etc). I am also able to toggle the different dictionaries to see the word and other definitions.
3. Now, the "bug" is that if I have the NWP E-C dictionary installed, the ability to switch to different dictionaries goes away. I'm only able to see the NWP definitions.

So, is this a bug or intended functionality? I personally find it frustrating. As an intermediate level Chinese student, I like the richness of the Tuttle Learner's Dictionary - and also the Pleco default dictionary. Being stuck with just the NWP dictionary is pretty painful. The dictionary is fine, but being stuck in one dictionary is annoying.

By the way, the inverse search works fine. So, if I search a for Chinese character such as "帮", I get the definition in one dictionary, but there are no issues with switching between the various dictionaries. It's only when I search in English that I run into this issue.

Please advise.

Thanks!

--DotComCTO (嘉利)
 

mikelove

皇帝
Staff member
You can search those other dictionaries by tapping on the "Full" button in the search bar to do a full-text search. In general, dedicated E-C dictionaries do a better job of getting you correct translations for English words than E-C searches of C-E dictionaries do, so that's why we prioritize E-C dictionaries when they're installed.
 

DotComCTO

秀才
Hi Mike,

With all due respect, I completely get what you're saying, but couldn't you prioritize results without limiting results to a single E-C dictionary? When I do a full search - and thanks for pointing that out - things work just as I would expect. That said, the E-C search is still not prioritized to present the E-C dictionary first (in fact, it starts with the Pleco dictionary). Perhaps this could be a future enhancement? What do you think?

By the way, I think this product is fabulous! I love the feature set, and there are a tremendous number of options so users can tailor the environment to suit their personal tastes.

Great job!

--DotComCTO (嘉利)
 

mikelove

皇帝
Staff member
The E-C dictionary isn't prioritized once you switch into full-text because it's assumed that you've already looked at your E-C dictionaries before you do that search. But yes, we could add an option (maybe even by default, since this seems like something a lot of people might prefer) where in E-C searches at least, after you've switched through all of the installed E-C dictionaries it would try your search full-text in C-E dictionaries before going back to the first E-C one again.
 

DotComCTO

秀才
Thanks, Mike. I'm in agreement with your solution: create an option that prioritizes E-C searches to show the purchased/installed E-C dictionaries first, followed by the built-in and free C-E dictionaries. That would make the interface more consistent with the C-E searches, and also eliminate the need to execute two different searches (e.g., search within the E-C dictionary, and a second search using the "full" option).

Many thanks for listening and being so amazingly fast with responses! It's a pleasure coming to this forum knowing there's tremendous support for this product.

--DotComCTO (嘉利)
 
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