All about user dictionaries

Quick links:

• User and system dictionaries
• Types of user dictionaries: LUD and LSD
• Adding a user dictionary to the application
• Creating an LUD dictionary
• Updating and editing a LUD dictionary in ABBYY Lingvo
• Creating an LSD dictionary
• Saving dictionaries upon removing, reinstalling, or updating ABBYY Lingvo
• Moving user dictionaries to another computer
• Saving user dictionaries upon reinstalling the operating system

User and system dictionaries

System dictionaries are dictionaries supplied with ABBYY Lingvo.
System dictionary files can have the extensions *.ldp, *.lsd or *.lod (access file to an online dictionary).

User dictionaries are dictionaries created by you or other ABBYY Lingvo users.
User dictionary files can have the extension *.lud or *.lsd.

Types of user dictionaries: LUD and LSD

LUD dictionaries  are simple dictionaries containing words and their translations.
LUD are easy to create, update, and edit while you work with ABBYY Lingvo.
An LUD dictionary file has the extension *.lud.

LSD dictionaries can contain all types of formatting and layout you see in ABBYY Lingvo system dictionaries (cross references, bold and italic font, usage examples, comments, etc.).
LSD dictionaries are created using DSL Compiler.
Unlike LUD dictionaries, a created LSD dictionary cannot be updated or edited.
An LSD dictionary file has the extension *.lsd.

Adding a user dictionary to the application

If you already have a user dictionary file, double-click the file to add it.
When you add user dictionaries of older ABBYY Lingvo versions, they will be converted automatically to work with ABBYY Lingvo x3.

A collection of free user dictionaries is available at http://www.LingvoDA.ru/, where you can download them.

Advice. To add several user dictionaries at once, highlight their files and drag and drop them onto the ABBYY Lingvo bookshelf.

Advice. You can also add a dictionary by clicking Tools→Add Dictionary from File….
You will have to specify the path to the dictionary file.

Creating an LUD dictionary

1. Click the button in the main window of ABBYY Lingvo. The dialog box Create/Edit Entry will open.
2. In the Dictionary dropdown list choose the command <Create…>.
3. In the New Dictionary dialog box specify the dictionary name, translation direction, and your comments for the dictionary. Click OK.

Updating and editing an LUD dictionary in ABBYY Lingvo

1. Click the button in the main window of ABBYY Lingvo. The dialog box Create/Edit Entry will open.
2. Choose the required dictionary in the Dictionary dropdown list.

• To create a card, enter the card heading in the entry field and click the button.
  
  In the window that opens enter the target text and click the Save button.
  
• To edit a card, choose the required card in the list and click the button.
  In the window that opens enter the target text and make the necessary changes, and then click the Save button.
• To remove a card, choose the required card in the list and click the button.

Creating an LSD dictionary

1. In a text editor (such as Microsoft® Word or Notepad) create the dictionary file using the commands of the DSL language.
2. Save the file as a *.txt document with ANSI or Unicode encoding.
3. Change the file extension to *.dsl.
4. Compile the resulting file using DSL Compiler.
   More: first dictionary in the DSL language

Where is the dictionary file located?

To view the path to the dictionary file:

1. Right-click the icon of this dictionary on the bookshelf.
2. Choose About Dictionary in the menu that opens. The About Dictionary dialog box will appear.
3. The path to the dictionary file will be shown at the bottom of the box. You can highlight and copy this path.

Note. When you create an LUD dictionary, its file is placed in a special folder. To view the path to the folder with LUD dictionaries, click Tools→Language and Dictionary Settings…→My dictionaries. The path to the folder will be displayed at the bottom of the box. You can specify a different folder for storing LUD dictionaries, in which case the created dictionary files will be stored in the new folder.

How several users can update a single LUD dictionary

For several users to work simultaneously with an LUD dictionary, each user must connect the dictionary to ABBYY Lingvo at their workstation.
Adding a user dictionary to the application

Note. Several users can work simultaneously with the sale LSD dictionary, but it is impossible to update or edit an LSD dictionary.

Saving dictionaries upon removing, reinstalling, or updating ABBYY Lingvo

When you remove ABBYY Lingvo, user dictionary files are not removed.

When you reinstall ABBYY Lingvo, the user dictionaries will be automatically added to the application.

When you upgrade to a newer version of ABBYY Lingvo (after removing a previous version), user dictionaries will be converted to work with the new ABBYY Lingvo version and added to the application.

Moving user dictionaries to another computer

Copy dictionary files to another computer and connect them to ABBYY Lingvo installed on that computer.
Adding a user dictionary to the application

Saving user dictionaries upon reinstalling the operating system

Before you reinstall your operating system, copy user dictionary files onto a removable disk.
After reinstalling the system, copy dictionary files back to the computer and connect them to ABBYY Lingvo.
Adding a user dictionary to the application

http://www.LingvoDA.ru/ — site of the Lingvo Dictionary Association with a collection of free user dictionaries.

All about user dictionaries