Access
- Access & Compatibility
- Cost
- Internet
- Skills Required
Flexibility
- Script Support
- Language Support
- Customizability
- Multi-User Support
Data & Compatibility
- Software Compatibility
- Import
- Export
Access
1. Access & Compatibility
The Toolbox software can be downloaded from the SIL website. The application is available for Windows systems only. For non-Windows systems, such as macOS and Linux, Toolbox can be run using a Windows emulator.
2. Cost
Toolbox is free software. However, SIL International encourage donations to their organization.
3. Internet
Toolbox requires internet access to download the software. Internet access is also required to submit questions to SIL International about the tool. Once it is downloaded, no internet access is required to use Toolbox.
4. Skills Required
According to the developers’ website, this software was designed to be easy to learn for beginners. It does not require advanced computer skills and any skills that are required are taught in the manual. Toolbox allows users to choose simple formats and programs to begin setting up a project.
If a user has advanced computer skills, they can use the advanced features of Toolbox.
Flexibility
5. Script Support
Toolbox is Unicode compliant. The preferred encoding is Unicode, but the software can also handle non-standardized fonts in most legacy encoding systems (scripts such as ASCII or EBCDIC).
6. Language Support
Toolbox can manage monolingual and bilingual dictionaries.
Multilingual dictionaries can be created by downloading an additional Toolbox file that allows users to access markings and a specific formatting template. There is a guide on how to use a Multi-Dictionary Formatter (MDF) to create a multilingual dictionary on the Toolbox website.
7. Customizability
Toolbox offers simple design flexibility within the web dictionary, such as the ability to change font style and colour within entries.
Interlinearlized text can also be customized by selecting appropriate markers, as well as changing the layout of text, morpheme breaks, gloss, and parts of speech.
The Toolbox text-oriented Database Management System (DBMS) offers customized sorting, multiple views of the same database, browse view to show data in a table form, and filtering options to display subsets of a database.
8. Multi-User Support
Toolbox does not have built-in support for multiple users, such as edit tracking, syncing, or file comparison.
Users can save or export files from Toolbox which can be shared with other users (via email, Dropbox, USB drives, etc.), who can then make edits to the file in Toolbox on their own computers.
Toolbox has built-in safety for users who are using the same network. When Toolbox opens a file, it is write-protected. If another user on the same network tries to open the file, it will open as read-only, and no edits can be made.
Data & Compatibility
9. Software Compatibility
Toolbox does not easily accept imports from other applications, nor does it accept many import file types.
This software can be used in combination with Microsoft Visual Studios. Users have employed the Python programming language in combination with Toolbox, but no explicit guides for how to do this exist. No other tools are recorded as being compatible with the software.
10. Import
Toolbox does not easily support import data from elsewhere. Toolbox is able to import some TXT files, but predominantly requires data to be typed or pasted directly into the software.
11. Export
The final product of a Toolbox database can be made into a print dictionary by exporting via a RFT file to a Word document. After that, the exported data can be edited or printed as a DOCx file. Users can also copy-paste data directly from Toolbox to Microsoft Word, but formatting may need to be recovered.
Data can be posted online by exporting a complete dictionary to an XML file which can be opened with Microsoft Visual Studio, a program that can be used to create websites and mobile apps. In addition, smaller portions of data organized in Toolbox can be exported as a PRJ file to Microsoft Visual Studio.