Duden Dictionaries

The developer keeps on improving this great product, however, as new updates roll out some bugs and inconveniences become evident that should be resolved. So, here are some of them in the order of their priority/inconvenience: 1. Since the last update the "universal" dictionary fails to list words with multiple meanings in the search list. For example, such words as „ein“ or „Gewicht“ that have multiple meanings cannot be found by just typing in „e-i-n“/„g-e-w-i-c-h-t“ in the search field, however, when one switches to „full text search“ and types in those letters the corresponding dictionary entries can be accessed. So, basically the words with preceding indexes 1, 2, 3 etc. (standing for multiple meanings) have disappeared from the search list in normal search mode. However, as playing with other options shows, those articles have not been removed from the dictionary base. Only „universal“ dictionary seems to be plagued with this issue, since in „Stilwörterbuch“ words with multiple meanings and preceding numerical indexes (i.e. 1, 2, etc.) are gathered and shown in one entry. Before, words with multiple meanings were shown separately in the search list of „universal“ dictionary (i.e. there were as many entries for „ein“ as there were index numbers for each aggregated meaning group). Please, fix it! It is really annoying. 2. The problem with long entries. This has been the problem of the product ever since I first started using it. If an entry is longer than there is place for its text on a display that one has to scroll down to read it all through, the spot to which one has scrolled will be lost after accessing notification, control center, switching between menu tabs within an app or switching between apps in multitasking mode. The screen just blimps and within a split of a second a user ends up at the top of the selected entry again. It is really inconvenient if some entries are too long and if user is multitasking (e.g. reading something and looking up words or collocations in an app). Interestingly, in flashcards mode, the point where scrolling ceases is saved by an app. Please bring this functionality to normal browsing mode within an entry! 3. This one regards „full text search“ functionality. In my option, this option is still underdeveloped and raw and needs more work. All entries in dictionaries (e.g. Universal and Stilwörterbuch) are shortened to the first letter of a word and a full stop following it and regarded as such by the built-in search engine. So, for example, if one were looking for a saying „Hand und Fuß haben“ without knowing whether it is listed in the entry „Hand“ or „Fuß“ (very unlikely in „haben“), one would not be able to find it by just typing it into the full text search field, because in the „Hand“ entry the word was shortened to „H.“ and only skimming through a couple of entries or searching first for „Hand haben“ and then „Fuß haben“ would lead one to the desired explanation. I understand it is the way of making the entries shorter and cutting down on some kilo- or even a couple of megabytes in a dictionary database, but probably the approach employed in „Herkunftswörterbuch“ would be more advantageous, where it is possible to switch between shortened and full names of some words often used in a dictionary, while indexing full names of words for search purposes irrespective of the way how the entry word is displayed (i.e. in its full or short form). If it is to remain the way it is, then this „full text search“ functionality is limited at best, if not even confusing in some cases. 4. My last critique regarding the app would be location of a button for quiz card removal next to the button for sound play (in quiz cards learning mode). Sometimes it possible, solely by mistake, to press not the sound button for playing the word’s pronunciation, but the quiz card removal button… I do my learning usually when I am on my way in public transport, so it is not a rare occasion when something like that happens. Probably the easiest way to resolve this problem would be not eliminating the quiz card removal button or relocating it, but rather adding confirmation for the quiz card removal (in the settings, just as is the case for adding quiz cards or marking favorites), so that removal by oversight does not happen any more. It is expected that one does not delete really many cards per learning session, so it would be less annoying to confirm each time rather than be once frustrated by deleting a needed word with learning statistics… Developers of similar products (e.g. Langenscheidt) have just rearranged the layout of flashcards learning mode to move these buttons from each other. Probably this solution will also come to your product.