VocabCatcher

Help and support

Answers to common questions, and a direct line if something does not work.

Getting started

  1. Add VocabCatcher from the Chrome Web Store, then pin it from the puzzle icon in the toolbar.
  2. Open a YouTube video that has captions and turn captions on. The VocabCatcher captions appear with a translation line.
  3. Click any word in the captions, or double-click a word on any web page.
  4. Press Save in the bubble. Open the VocabCatcher icon to see your words and review the ones that are due.

Common questions

The captions do not appear on a YouTube video.

The video needs captions, either written by the creator or auto-generated. Turn captions on with the CC button. If you installed VocabCatcher while the page was open, reload the page once.

Why is some selected text not translated?

VocabCatcher translates language only. File paths, code, dates, links, numbers and lines written mostly in Arabic are skipped on purpose. Select a word or a sentence of real words and the bubble opens.

Can I stop the video from pausing when I click a word?

Yes. Open the VocabCatcher icon, go to Settings and turn off Pause video while learning. Selecting text with the mouse never pauses the video.

How do reviews work?

Each review has four grades. Again brings the word back in 10 minutes; Hard, Good and Easy push it further out, based on that word’s own history. Each button shows when the word will return.

How do I use my words on another computer?

Open Settings, then Google sync, and choose Sign in with Google on each computer. Your list stays private to your account.

Does it work on Prime Video?

Yes. Turn subtitles on in the Prime Video player. You can switch the feature in Settings under Prime Video captions.

How do I delete my data?

Delete words from the list, or remove the extension to clear everything on your computer. To erase your synced list from the cloud, email us from the address you signed in with.

Which languages can it translate into?

Arabic, French, Spanish, German, Urdu and Russian. Choose one in Settings under Translation language.

How do I watch my own videos in Media?

Log in, open Media and choose a video from your device, then its English subtitles (.srt or .vtt). The video plays on your device and is never uploaded. The Arabic line is translated automatically, or you can add your own translation file. MP4 (H.264) and WebM play in every browser; MKV plays in Chrome when its codecs are supported.

Keys: Space play, J/L 10 seconds, A/D previous/next line, R repeat the line, [ and ] to fix subtitle timing, < and > for speed.

Still stuck?

Email waleed1667@gmail.com with what you were doing, the page or video, and the version shown at the bottom of the VocabCatcher window. We read every message.