Where are the OFFLINE dictionaries for desktop PCs (NOT mobile apps)?
Thread poster: Carlos Alvarez
Carlos Alvarez
Carlos Alvarez  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:29
Member (2005)
French to English
+ ...
Jun 21, 2017

Hello,
I'm looking to buy bilingual electronic dictionaries for use OFFLINE (i.e. you download them onto your hard drive) for a PC.
About ten years ago I bought a good Spanish-English dictionary, meeting the above criteria, published by Collins.
I've just done a few Google searches, and I haven't been able to find anything for use offline on a PC, from either Collins or Oxford.
Has Collins stopped selling offline dictionaries? I'm not interested in apps for mobile devices
... See more
Hello,
I'm looking to buy bilingual electronic dictionaries for use OFFLINE (i.e. you download them onto your hard drive) for a PC.
About ten years ago I bought a good Spanish-English dictionary, meeting the above criteria, published by Collins.
I've just done a few Google searches, and I haven't been able to find anything for use offline on a PC, from either Collins or Oxford.
Has Collins stopped selling offline dictionaries? I'm not interested in apps for mobile devices, I want to use a full-size, ergonomic keyboard.
Regards,

Carlos.
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Riccardo Schiaffino
Riccardo Schiaffino  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 15:29
Member (2003)
English to Italian
+ ...
There still are installable dictionaries Jun 21, 2017

There still are installable dictionaries, for example, see http: ultralingua.com (scroll down: there are options for iOS, Mac and Windows), but there is more, depending on the language or language pairs.

Also, you should consider:

1) Online dictionaries would still allow you to use a full keyboard, so long as you are connecte
... See more
There still are installable dictionaries, for example, see http: ultralingua.com (scroll down: there are options for iOS, Mac and Windows), but there is more, depending on the language or language pairs.

Also, you should consider:

1) Online dictionaries would still allow you to use a full keyboard, so long as you are connected to the Internet

2) Depending on the OS you use, apps also can work on a full-sized computer (e.g., if you use Windows 10, you can go to the Microsoft app store and see what dictionaries are offered there)

3) Finally, you might try to hunt down copies of dictionaries still on CD. I use several such (my oldest--but still good--electronic dictionary is so old that I have to run it using a DOS emulator)

My suggestion is that you check the websites of the publishers you are interested in, and contact them directly to see which dictionaries are available, and where to buy them -- sometimes traditional publishers farm out the electronic publishing to other companies (this is the case, for example, of several dictionaries published in Italy: their electronic counterparts are available through eLexico.com, no matter who the original publisher was).



[Edited at 2017-06-21 14:20 GMT]

[Edited at 2017-06-21 14:20 GMT]
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Carlos Alvarez
Carlos Alvarez  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:29
Member (2005)
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks Riccardo Jun 21, 2017

Thanks Riccardo,
I've never heard of Ultralingua, but that site looks like it might be promising. I was just surprised to find nothing on any Collins or Oxford sites, but I might get in touch with them, as you suggest, or I might dig up my old machine. Regarding your point 1), I was specifically looking for something I could use where there is no internet.

Carlos.


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 22:29
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Ultralingua Jun 21, 2017



1. The "free" download is a 10-day trial.

2. You can only do exact searches in the headwords. So, if you want to find an entry about "headwords", you have to type in "head" and not just "ead". And you can't search for any of the individual words that occur in the "headwords" entry.


 
zanzuli
zanzuli
Argentina
German to Spanish
+ ...
Stardict / Lingvo Format Jun 22, 2017

You can try googling for dictionaries in Stardict / Lingvo format. Most of Oxford dictionaries are "available", but there may be some legal issues about having them on your PC.

 


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Where are the OFFLINE dictionaries for desktop PCs (NOT mobile apps)?






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