Greg | 9 December 2024

The audio project manager development team and the testers are excited to offer you this latest 3.3 release. This release includes some significant features: simplified and speedier switching between OFFLINE and ONLINE, internalization setup, publishing status, setting multiple steps complete or incomplete, adding an instructions tool step. Let me outline these features here.

Switching OFFLINE and ONLINE

In the past going online and offline involved a lot of steps and was quite cumbersome. Going online and offline is primarily something that’s done with the desktop application. The new version has a button on the title bar which shows the status of whether you’re online or offline and then when clicked will switch you between the online mode and the offline mode. When going offline, if there are files that are needed to work when you’re not connected to the Internet, the user will be given the opportunity to download these files. In the past when these files were downloaded the entire project was always downloaded. As the project grew this became quite a large download. With this new version just the files for the project that you’re currently working on can be downloaded. Also, if desired, just the files that you need for certain sections of that project will be downloaded. So the user is given the option and the control to decide how much information will be downloaded to work offline.

As before, when the user goes from offline to online, any work and files modified or created while offline will be imported. Demo

Internalization setup

A second exciting new feature makes it much easier to set up internalization resources. The first step in an oral Bible translation project is normally internalizing the section. This involves learning the section well enough to tell that part of the original content in your own words. In order to do that the user is often exposed to multiple versions of this section possibly from different translations. In the past this required finding these resources and then chopping them up into chunks to correspond to the sections and passages used in your project.

With this new release the Bible brain can be used to populate each passage and section with a resource specific to that passage and section. This requires using a resource from the Bible brain that has verse timing information. The Bible brain offers a Bible translation audio with timing files in a number of languages. Demo

The basic process involves choosing a source language and translation and then deciding whether you want resources for the passages or the sections or both and then deciding on what scope you would like these resources for (do you want them just for the current passage or, current section or do you want them for the entire chapter or the entire book). All these resources are created in the cloud which allows the user to go on with their work while they’re being created.

In addition to the Bible brain resources, the audio project manager now includes resources from SRV FIA model and other sources including images, instructions and audio files. (SRV FIA is used by some church based Bible translation projects.) The user can search for these resources by passage and have them automatically loaded and included in the current passage. Demo

Third feature allows the use of an AI tool chat tool called FaithBridge that has access to all of these resources and can be queried by asking questions in English. Demo

Publishing status

Previous versions of the audio project manager allowed publishing to a cell phone application called Akuo. This latest version also allows the publishing of either beta or public or unpublished. It also allows sharing resources with other audio project manager projects (if you have a project with shared status. Email Nathan Payne nathan_payne@sil.org to receive information and access). The publishing status is now more visible. We have a separate column on the sheet for the user to see where the passage is being published. Demo

Setting multiple steps complete / incomplete

Another feature users have requested is the ability to set many steps in the workflow to complete or incomplete. For example if the consultant has reviewed the work and decided that another version of the passage should be recorded with proposed changes, The workflow can be set back to the record step by clicking the previous step and then clicking the “last complete step button”. (Demo included in Switching ONLINE / OFFLINE above.)

Adding an instructions tool step

The last feature we’ll highlight is the ability to add instructions to the translation team into the workflow. The Discuss tool allows setting formatted instructions on the settings gear. The translation team will see these instructions when they come to the step using this Discuss tool in the workflow. Demo

Detailed user facing changes:

  • TT-6196 allow re-arranging workflow with hidden items (#1807)
  • TT-6180 no internalize share chapter numbers (#1802)
  • TT-6175 sort project names on invitation dialog (#1781)
  • TT-6174 disable export audio if current is not ready
  • TT-6171 button for switching online and offline with online status (#1785)
  • TT-6170 change hot key for skip ahead and back
  • TT-6159 cancelling download (#1793)
  • TT-6157 Only download current project (#1767)
  • TT-6156 Add noise removal (#1773)
  • TT-6149 Make the compass and playing/pausing behave (#1804)
  • TT-6138 don’t allow publish to akuo when no bible (#1761)
  • TT-6137 add shared icon to project card (#1762)
  • TT-6133 add a button to set only previous and current step complete (#1794)
  • TT-6121 publishing settings by project and user (#1752)
  • TT-6092 offline images, link and text (#1736)
  • TT-6064 add publishing destinations – Aquifer, OBT Helps, Internaliza… (#1713)
  • TT-6045 support Audacity 3.6.x (#1710)
  • TT-6038 internalization play back
  • TT-6037 handle minimal drag (#1734)
  • TT-6036 sorting back translations (#1748)
  • TT-6033 change to SIL Global
  • TT-6016 Spanish Bible book abbreviations (#1728)
  • TT-5994 no Paratext pull for notes with categories
  • TT-5777 sorted unique user list in import confirm (#1784)
  • TT-5634 filter badge (#1768)
  • TT-5572 download filter by section (#1757)
  • TT-5525 simplify new project
  • TT-5157 add Publish/Versions column (#1738)
  • TT-4967 add markdown text to discuss step (#1800)
  • TT-4887 show full term sort label
  • TT-4869 find Resources (#1707)
  • TT-4868 use timing files available on Bible brain to autmate resource creation (#1711)
  • TT-3997 don’t sort internalization resources by completed
  • TT-3164 when joining a team download the bible info (#1758)