SDLX or Trados ...?
Thread poster: Florence Stubbs
Florence Stubbs
Florence Stubbs
France
Local time: 03:18
English to French
Apr 24, 2005

Hi everybody,
I'm about to buy a cat tool but don't really know which one to go for... SDLX, or Trados. The first one is cheaper and I was told much easier to use than Trados, but I'm not sure this is enough to make up my mind! Any advice would be more than welcome to help me make a choice. Thanks!


 
Stefan Keller
Stefan Keller  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 03:18
English to German
Just try... Apr 24, 2005

Hello,

I hope this won't end up in yet another "philosophical" discussion...

Trados surely is used by more agencies and translators than SDLX at the moment. However, compatibility between both tools has been improving, so there's no real justification for jobs à la "Trados required" any more.

The good thing about SDLX in your current situation is that SDL offers a fully functional 30 day trial version without any limitation (which Trados doesn't). Just gi
... See more
Hello,

I hope this won't end up in yet another "philosophical" discussion...

Trados surely is used by more agencies and translators than SDLX at the moment. However, compatibility between both tools has been improving, so there's no real justification for jobs à la "Trados required" any more.

The good thing about SDLX in your current situation is that SDL offers a fully functional 30 day trial version without any limitation (which Trados doesn't). Just give it a try, then make up your mind.

*Personally*(!), I like SDLX much more, for various reasons

Good luck,
Stefan
Collapse


 
Jerzy Czopik
Jerzy Czopik  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 03:18
Member (2003)
Polish to German
+ ...
Give it a try Apr 24, 2005

Beside Trados and SDLX you could also try DejaVu, which is beeing considered the best one by many. There is also Wordfast and Transit. Each of them has its advantages.

What you should be aware of: the sworn compatibility betweend Trados and SDLX is given only for the Translation Memory exchange via TMX files.
But if a customer will have an uncleaned file, translated with Trados, so you cannot deliver a file, translated with SDLX. They are NOT compatible.

The best
... See more
Beside Trados and SDLX you could also try DejaVu, which is beeing considered the best one by many. There is also Wordfast and Transit. Each of them has its advantages.

What you should be aware of: the sworn compatibility betweend Trados and SDLX is given only for the Translation Memory exchange via TMX files.
But if a customer will have an uncleaned file, translated with Trados, so you cannot deliver a file, translated with SDLX. They are NOT compatible.

The best tool is allways this one, which you personaly can operate best and your customer accept. So it does not help me to have Trados, when my customer want´s Transit.

Regards
Jerzy
Collapse


 
Henry Dotterer
Henry Dotterer
Local time: 22:18
SITE FOUNDER
TRADOS sale starts tomorrow Apr 24, 2005

If it helps at all, a sale starts tomorrow on TRADOS. Version 7.0 will be released.

 
Stefan Keller
Stefan Keller  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 03:18
English to German
Sorry, but yes! Apr 24, 2005

Jerzy Czopik wrote:
What you should be aware of: the sworn compatibility betweend Trados and SDLX is given only for the Translation Memory exchange via TMX files.
But if a customer will have an uncleaned file, translated with Trados, so you cannot deliver a file, translated with SDLX. They are NOT compatible.
Regards
Jerzy


They are, provided both "parties" involved (the Trados-end and the SDLX-end) stick with a slightly changed workflow. I won't go into details here, but you can produce a perfectly translated Trados file with SDLX, if the client properly prepares their files.

It's not my intention to defend SDLX here, I just don't want the decision in favour of (or against) one tool to be based on incorrect information.

Regards,
Stefan


 
00000000 (X)
00000000 (X)
English to French
+ ...
SDLX and Trados Apr 25, 2005

One advantage with Trados is all those problems you get to read about. With SDLX you only get the very occasional request on how to use a feature but other than that, it's utterly boring. SDLX just does what it's supposed to do -- flawlessly. No sense of community united by opaque error numbers and unexpected crashes.

Esther


 
Myron Netchypor
Myron Netchypor  Identity Verified
Ukraine
Local time: 04:18
Member (2003)
English to Ukrainian
+ ...

MODERATOR
Agree with Jerzy Apr 25, 2005

Very often we have to use those Cat tools, our customer require. For example I work for a long time for an agency that uses only Star Transit. As to the Trados - this program is not so complicated as it is told often about. You can learn allmost all necessary and useful functions in just half an hour, especially if you have software tutor. So it is up to you to decide as to what CAT choose

[Edited at 2005-04-25 07:19]


 
Tekkie (X)
Tekkie (X)
English to German
+ ...
I have both - and prefer SDLX Apr 25, 2005

I have used TRADOS for many years, in various flavors from version 3 to 6.5.5. However, I prefer SDLX which is - at least in my opinion - far superior to TRADOS.

However, it's a good idea to have TRADOS, too, be it just for presegmenting files to be subsequently translated using SDLX, for clients who request uncleaned Word/TRADOS files.


 
ENGSOL
ENGSOL
German to English
+ ...
SDLX support forum May 1, 2005

Esther Pfeffer wrote:

...With SDLX you only get the very occasional request on how to use a feature but other than that, it's utterly boring. SDLX just does what it's supposed to do -- flawlessly.



Esther, is that why there is no SDLX support forum here on ProZ.com?




No sense of community united by opaque error numbers and unexpected crashes.



You see, I find that rather a pity...
(been on the Yahoo group for years - but that's different)

Thomas
(unashamed SDLX enthusiast)



[Edited at 2005-05-01 19:54]


 
robin ren
robin ren
China
Local time: 10:18
English to Chinese
SDLX or Trados Jun 9, 2005

SDLX 2004:

(Compatibility problem with East Asian languages, useless format paint information)

1. Segmentation problem
It cannot segment Chinese text properly under Chinese (Simplified Chinese) operating system;

2. TermBase problem
TermBase can give hints only for English, but not for Chinese or Japanese, or other double-byte languages.

3. Format Paint problem
There is too much useless format information, especially for doubl
... See more
SDLX 2004:

(Compatibility problem with East Asian languages, useless format paint information)

1. Segmentation problem
It cannot segment Chinese text properly under Chinese (Simplified Chinese) operating system;

2. TermBase problem
TermBase can give hints only for English, but not for Chinese or Japanese, or other double-byte languages.

3. Format Paint problem
There is too much useless format information, especially for double-byte Chinese characters. Even the numbers, like 1, 2, 3, have different format from double-byte Chinese characters.

So, If you are dealing with French, German, English or the like, SDLX may be a good choice, but Chinese, Japanese or other East Asian Lanauges, you'd better wait until they solve the above three problem.

Trados:
It requires much memory to run the program and it is slow.
It costs too much.
Collapse


 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:


You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

SDLX or Trados ...?







CafeTran Espresso
You've never met a CAT tool this clever!

Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer. Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools. Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free

Buy now! »
Wordfast Pro
Translation Memory Software for Any Platform

Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users! Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value

Buy now! »