Best alternatives to SDL Trados Studio.
Thread poster: Stanislav Semerikov
Stanislav Semerikov
Stanislav Semerikov
Russian to English
+ ...
May 21, 2015

Greetings everyone,


I have a question regarding the most common translation tools:

What is the best, preferably free, software for translators who don't work with Trados 2014?

It is also important, but not 100% necessary, that I am able to open Trados file extensions in that program too.

If no such freeware exists, then payware is fine too.


Thank you for your time and attention.


 
Dominique Pivard
Dominique Pivard  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:19
Finnish to French
Main free tools May 21, 2015

Surpr1Ze wrote:
What is the best, preferably free, software for translators who don't work with Trados 2014?

There are not that many free tools, so why don't you give them a try and make your own mind? Tools that come to mind are: Memsource, OmegaT, Wordfast Anywhere.
Surpr1Ze wrote:
It is also important, but not 100% necessary, that I am able to open Trados file extensions in that program too.


Define "open". I can open an SDLXLIFF file in Notepad. I can open an SDLPPX in 7-Zip.
As to "Trados extensions", there are lots of them: TTX, MTW, SDLXLIFF, SDLTM, SDLTB, SDLPPX, SDLRPX. Which ones do you want to "open"?


 
Stanislav Semerikov
Stanislav Semerikov
Russian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Trados extensions May 22, 2015

Dominique Pivard wrote:
Define "open". I can open an SDLXLIFF file in Notepad. I can open an SDLPPX in 7-Zip.
As to "Trados extensions", there are lots of them: TTX, MTW, SDLXLIFF, SDLTM, SDLTB, SDLPPX, SDLRPX. Which ones do you want to "open"?


By 'open' I mean being able to work with those file extensions in another program.

Is there a program (free or not, doesn't matter) that can open and work with all those extensions?

'Work with' means that I can see the contents of a file like I will see them in the Trados SDL and that I will be able to change them too.


 
Sian Cooper
Sian Cooper  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 10:19
French to English
+ ...
In memoriam
Freeware is unlikely to cope May 22, 2015

Hi Surpr1Ze. CAT tools are complex things and good ones do cost money. MemoQ is probably the one that manages Trados file compatibility best. A cheap product with direct developer contact for support is CaféTrans. Some folk love it. I took one look at the UI and ran away, but I'm not a patient person! I don't know about its file type compatibility capacities, but you can contact them and ask.

I doubt you'll find anything that supports ALL those Trados file types, but the important
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Hi Surpr1Ze. CAT tools are complex things and good ones do cost money. MemoQ is probably the one that manages Trados file compatibility best. A cheap product with direct developer contact for support is CaféTrans. Some folk love it. I took one look at the UI and ran away, but I'm not a patient person! I don't know about its file type compatibility capacities, but you can contact them and ask.

I doubt you'll find anything that supports ALL those Trados file types, but the important ones are the tmx (TM extract) and sdlxliff (the bilingual file); possibly ttx (I think that is the old 2007 bilingual file format, but I may be wrong, I never worked with pre-Studio Trados apps.). Also packages, not sure what their extension is. MemoQ is completely compatible with tmx, sdlxliff and I'm 99% certain it can open Trados packages, but I havn't gone to check.
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Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 10:19
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
Trados packages are zipped May 22, 2015

It doesn't always work for me, but I only ever try it when I have problems opening packages in Trados, which is rare. An exceptionally long file name and path can cause trouble...

Normally, if you save the package, then change the .sdlppx to .zip, you should be able to open it.

Whether you can work with the contents depends on what they are - there may be a whole setup with termbase and TMs.

There is a free trial period with Trados Studio - several function
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It doesn't always work for me, but I only ever try it when I have problems opening packages in Trados, which is rare. An exceptionally long file name and path can cause trouble...

Normally, if you save the package, then change the .sdlppx to .zip, you should be able to open it.

Whether you can work with the contents depends on what they are - there may be a whole setup with termbase and TMs.

There is a free trial period with Trados Studio - several functions are disabled, but you can open packages and work with the basics until you get the hang of them - and with luck have earned enough to buy the full version.

I don't think there is any serious alternative except possibly MemoQ for those who prefer it. It does depend to some extent on what you want to do. I positively like the advanced features in Trados Studio, and use a lot of them. Others prefer the 'lean and mean' CATs because they never use half the functions anyway.

Best of luck!
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TalTranslations
TalTranslations
United Kingdom
English to Hebrew
Studio not more expensive than other CATs May 22, 2015

Hi Surpr1Ze,

OmegaT is a nice user-friendly Free CAT tool that can handle sdlxliff files. You need to install a special plug-in first.
I have used it for many years.

But now started with Studio, because 'time is money', and in the time you would spend converting files, installing plug-ins etc. , you can just translate and earn money.

Compared to MemoQ and the other CATs mentioned Trados it's Less expensive, especially in the long run.
Even if yo
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Hi Surpr1Ze,

OmegaT is a nice user-friendly Free CAT tool that can handle sdlxliff files. You need to install a special plug-in first.
I have used it for many years.

But now started with Studio, because 'time is money', and in the time you would spend converting files, installing plug-ins etc. , you can just translate and earn money.

Compared to MemoQ and the other CATs mentioned Trados it's Less expensive, especially in the long run.
Even if you find a good offer for MemoQ, you have to pay about 130 a year for upgrades.
And for Studio it's about 99 every 2 years.

I see that you are from Russia. If you contact a Local Reseller of Trados in Russia or Eastern Europe, you can get a very good deal. Less expensive than the other CATs.
And it saves you the time and hassle.

But if you want free, I would recommend OmegaT.

Good luck
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Dominique Pivard
Dominique Pivard  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:19
Finnish to French
Apples and oranges May 22, 2015

TalTranslations wrote:
Compared to MemoQ and the other CATs mentioned Trados it's Less expensive, especially in the long run.
Even if you find a good offer for MemoQ, you have to pay about 130 a year for upgrades.
And for Studio it's about 99 every 2 years.

First of all, this is based on the assumption Studio has two-year upgrade cycles. This has been the case so far (2009, 2011, 2014), but it looks like SDL is switching to the same yearly cycle as memoQ: Studio 2014 last year, Studio 2015 this year, Studio 2016 next year etc. OK, it's only an assumption at this stage, just like yours.

Secondly, Studio upgrades cost 99 euros only if you're ready for some bargain-hunting: 99 euros was a one-off deal available through ProZ (no longer), the "early bird" deal available from SDL is 145 euros and the "normal" upgrade fee is 245 euros. The good thing with the memoQ annual maintenance fee is that it is totally predictable: it's 20% of the list price (620 euros), ie. 124 euros (not 130 euros), no need to hunt for any special bargains and no need to feel cheated if you missed a good deal.

Thirdly, the memoQ annual maintenance fee includes both upgrades and technical support, whereas the 99/145/245 euros (your pick) for Studio only includes upgrades, no technical support. If you want an annual maintenance fee for Studio that includes both upgrades and support, you must purchase a PSMA agreement, which starts at 200+ euros per year. In all fairness, the memoQ annual maintenance fee includes "only" four hours worth of support, whereas the PSMA from SDL includes "unlimited" support (though I have no idea how Kilgray manages to quantify support hours consumed by each user, and whether any user has actually be refused support because they have exceeded their four hours).

Fourthly, when you buy a new memoQ license, support and upgrades are covered during the first year, which is not the case with Studio.


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 10:19
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Free tools that can handle SDLXLIFF files May 23, 2015

Dominique Pivard wrote:
Surpr1Ze wrote:
What is the best, preferably free, software for translators who don't work with Trados 2014? It is also important, but not 100% necessary, that I am able to open Trados file extensions in that program too.

There are not that many free tools, so why don't you give them a try and make your own mind? Tools that come to mind are: Memsource, OmegaT, Wordfast Anywhere.


OmegaT can edit SDLXLIFF files if you install the Okapi plugin (it works fine for 99% of SDLXLIFF files).

Memsource says that it can edit SDLXLIFF files (but they add a disclaimer: at your own risk). Wordfast Anywhere can't edit SDLXLIFF files, but you can download a demo copy of Wordfast Pro and convert the SDLXLIFF files to and from TXML and upload those to Wordfast Anywhere (same disclaimers apply, I would imagine). Both Memsource and Wordfast Anywhere are online tools with file size limitations.

As Dominique mentioned, Trados package files are essentially zip files, so you can unzip them and then translate the SDLXLIFF or XLF files in the "target language" folder, but you can't create so-called "return packages" unless you have Trados itself, so make sure your client is happy to receive just the translated SDLXLIFF files. Simply zipping up the translated files and changing its file extension won't turn it into a "return package".



[Edited at 2015-05-23 18:18 GMT]


 
Dominique Pivard
Dominique Pivard  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:19
Finnish to French
No need for Wordfast Pro for SDLXLIFF May 23, 2015

Samuel Murray wrote:
Wordfast Anywhere can't edit SDLXLIFF files, but you can download a demo copy of Wordfast Pro and convert the SDLXLIFF files to and from TXML and upload those to Wordfast Anywhere (same disclaimers apply, I would imagine).

No need to use Wordfast Pro for the SDLXLIFF<->TXML conversion, Wordfast Anywhere can do it all by itself:



I just uploaded SamplePhotoPrinter.doc.sdlxliff (one of the sample files included with Studio) and it worked just fine.


 
Chunyi Chen
Chunyi Chen
United States
Local time: 02:19
English to Chinese
Kilgray did implement the four-hour support policy May 23, 2015

Hi Dominique,

During my first year of owning MemoQ, I was not aware of Kilgray's four hour support policy, so I threw every basic question (like "how do I import/export a file") to Kilgray Support and was very happy with their patient and quick responses.
After a few weeks, I received an email from Kilgray Support informing me that I have used all of my support hours, and I could continue to get support by paying the hourly fee (I remember back then it was around $75).
S
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Hi Dominique,

During my first year of owning MemoQ, I was not aware of Kilgray's four hour support policy, so I threw every basic question (like "how do I import/export a file") to Kilgray Support and was very happy with their patient and quick responses.
After a few weeks, I received an email from Kilgray Support informing me that I have used all of my support hours, and I could continue to get support by paying the hourly fee (I remember back then it was around $75).
So I think they do enforce this policy on customers who abuse their support system:)


Chunyi


Dominique Pivard wrote:

In all fairness, the memoQ annual maintenance fee includes "only" four hours worth of support, whereas the PSMA from SDL includes "unlimited" support (though I have no idea how Kilgray manages to quantify support hours consumed by each user, and whether any user has actually be refused support because they have exceeded their four hours).

Fourthly, when you buy a new memoQ license, support and upgrades are covered during the first year, which is not the case with Studio.
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gilivan
gilivan
Mexico
Local time: 03:19
English to Spanish
+ ...
Wordfast Anywhere does work fine with sdlxliff's Sep 9, 2016

Dominique Pivard wrote:

Samuel Murray wrote:
Wordfast Anywhere can't edit SDLXLIFF files, but you can download a demo copy of Wordfast Pro and convert the SDLXLIFF files to and from TXML and upload those to Wordfast Anywhere (same disclaimers apply, I would imagine).

No need to use Wordfast Pro for the SDLXLIFFTXML conversion, Wordfast Anywhere can do it all by itself:



I just uploaded SamplePhotoPrinter.doc.sdlxliff (one of the sample files included with Studio) and it worked just fine.


Thank you for your post, my friend! Wordfast Anywhere does work fine with sdlxliff's. Today I tried a "will-only-open-with-studio" file from a potential employer and it worked fine. I was able to create and extract the TM and download the translated document without any problems. Everything looked nice and clean, by the way.

I wonder if someone has further experience working with sdlxliff's on Wordfast (or Wordfast Anywhere) or OmegaT?

Please let us know...

Gilberto


 
Inez Ulrich
Inez Ulrich  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:19
Member (2016)
English to German
+ ...
What if Trados is obligatory (which it is for the majority of jobs)? Sep 22, 2016

Hi,

I can't apply for most of the jobs posted here because I don't have Trados. What could I do then? Is it enough to learn how to handle Trados and hope that the client offers access to his?

Thanks!


 
John Fossey
John Fossey  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 05:19
Member (2008)
French to English
+ ...
Other optoins Sep 22, 2016

applecherrypie wrote:

Hi,

I can't apply for most of the jobs posted here because I don't have Trados. What could I do then? Is it enough to learn how to handle Trados and hope that the client offers access to his?

Thanks!


Use another program that is compatible with Trados files and explain that you are able to work with Trados files. This won't work if you have to connect to their SDL server of course, but that doesn't come up very often.

The last time I had a situation where a client insisted on Trados was about 5 years ago. Most agency clients these days are quite aware that there are other options.


 
mc1529
mc1529
United States
Alternative to SDL Trados Sep 11, 2019

You can manually change any sdlxliff file's extension to .xliff by manually renaming the file. That will change it into an .xliff file that you can use in an SDL Trados alternative solution.

Just rename the file extension in the file name (type .xliff instead). Your computer might not show the extension to you in the first place (if this is the case, you need to change your computer's settings, depending on what you have them on--a quick "how to" Google search should do the trick.<
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You can manually change any sdlxliff file's extension to .xliff by manually renaming the file. That will change it into an .xliff file that you can use in an SDL Trados alternative solution.

Just rename the file extension in the file name (type .xliff instead). Your computer might not show the extension to you in the first place (if this is the case, you need to change your computer's settings, depending on what you have them on--a quick "how to" Google search should do the trick.

It will be worth the second it takes to do it, if there's any reason you're unhappy with Trados. Trados Alternatives are known to offer less of a learning curve and roadblocks, with just as much power and flexibility behind the application--if not more.

This article might help you understand what qualities you might seek out in an alternative and then offers a recommendation: https://www.pairaphrase.com/sdl-trados-alternative/

I hope you find this helpful!
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Hans Lenting
Hans Lenting
Netherlands
Member (2006)
German to Dutch
A lot of work has been done Sep 12, 2019

Sian Cooper wrote:

A cheap product with direct developer contact for support is CaféTrans. Some folk love it. I took one look at the UI and ran away, but I'm not a patient person! I don't know about its file type compatibility capacities, but you can contact them and ask.


CafeTran already offered excellent compatibility with Studio projects and now opens its memories and termbases too.

Since 2015 a lot of work has been done to make CafeTran more intuitive and more mainstream (e.g. a better Dashboard, Project Templates, a Studio-like view, a memoQ-like Matchboard etc.).

On the other hand it still offers unique and useful features (like instantaneous and case-adaptive replacement of text in huge projects and memories in one run), while keeping a small footprint at a low price.

MT integration is superb: you can query the leading engines simultaneously and grab peaces of their suggestions by simply dragging over them with your mouse.

When you’re really in for an alternative, you might even consider to run CafeTran on Linux or Mac. Integration is perfect.


 


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