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How to sync Trados on two computers - Where are the files
Thread poster: huutsch
huutsch
huutsch
Local time: 09:18
German to English
+ ...
Nov 4, 2019

Hello everybody,
I have just installed Windows 10 on two identical computers and both have SDL Trados Studio 2019 with one license each.
What I like to do is to leave one computer at home (resident computer, RC), take the other one with me (travel computer, TC), work on a Trados job (e.g. on the train), come back home and synchronize this job with the RC.
Whenever I create new projects, I choose C:\Users\Michael\Büro\Kunden... as the memory location everywhere I can. That incl
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Hello everybody,
I have just installed Windows 10 on two identical computers and both have SDL Trados Studio 2019 with one license each.
What I like to do is to leave one computer at home (resident computer, RC), take the other one with me (travel computer, TC), work on a Trados job (e.g. on the train), come back home and synchronize this job with the RC.
Whenever I create new projects, I choose C:\Users\Michael\Büro\Kunden... as the memory location everywhere I can. That includes TMs and TBs. So that is easy to sync...
But, are there any other files in other locations that I also need to sync? If yes, where would they be?
Best,
Michael
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Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:18
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
I gave up on this Nov 4, 2019

huutsch wrote:
So that is easy to sync...

I also have two licenses, so I tried this for a while 3-4 years ago. I found it hard to keep track of the many changes on each side (templates, project database, TMs, TBs, project data, plug-ins), and I was always wary of allowing the laptop to overwrite the data on the main PC after I came back from a trip, even when using fairly sophisticated sync software.

In the end, when the desktop PC next needed replacing, I bought a Microsoft Surface instead, so I can put all of my applications and data (suitably backed up) in a small bag and walk out at any time. At home the Surface plugs into a dock that is in turn connected to a large monitor and external keyboard. Not having to worry about syncing data, not having to keep two PCs up-to-date, and not having to ensure that they both have the same apps and utilities, has made travel much, much easier.

I realise that this is not what you're asking, but I thought I'd give this perspective in case others are considering the same approach you have taken.

Good luck!
Dan


 
Stepan Konev
Stepan Konev  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 11:18
English to Russian
Why not use Dropbox? Nov 4, 2019

You can install Dropbox on both PC and laptop and get 2GB for free. Just keep your TMs there. You don't need to synchronize other files. Just check the 'Enabled' option for the TM saved on your Dropbox cloud disc. It takes time for Trados to locate the cloud TM at the beginning, but once Trados has located it, the process goes well then.
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adrienneiii
 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 09:18
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Michael Nov 5, 2019

huutsch wrote:
...come back home and synchronize this job with the RC.


Do you mean that you want to be able to continue working on the project?

But, are there any other files in other locations that I also need to sync? If yes, where would they be?


[I've never done any of this before, so the following is just theoretical. I also found some of what Mrs. Goldsmith wrote useful.]

1. You'd have to copy the project folders, obviously.

2. Apart from that, you'd have to copy all the files located here:
C:\Users\MyName\AppData\Roaming\SDL\SDL Trados Studio\15.0.0.0\

Among others, that folder (and subfolders) contains the user profile (an .SDLPROFILE file, sometimes with a name of your choosing) which contains a number of settings, and UserSettings.xml, which contains things like the pane layout.

You can also export and import your user profile, but I imagine it should be enough to just copy it from the folder mentioned above. I know of no way to export and import the user settings.

3. None of these two files or set of folders contain the project list -- I have been unable to figure out where Trados saves the project list. If I remove a project and add a different one, and then restore a previously saved version of the above files, the removed project does not return to the list nor is the recently added one removed from the list. So, for now, you'd have to add projects to the list manually (using e.g. File > Open > Open Project).

4. [I save all my active and recent projects in a folder on my desktop, and I have found that it is sufficient to copy a project's entire project folder, if you want to move it. I mean, I often zip up the project folders so that I can keep them in my client folders, but when a client comes with extra edit requests on an existing project, I can just unzip it and open the project again.]

5. If you keep the TMs inside the project folders, then the TM location is stored in the .SDLPROJ file as a relative path, but if you use a TM from another location (as I understand you are doing), then the TM path is absolute, i.e. it contains the user ID of your computer as part of the directory tree. This means (I imagine) that your syncing won't work if the Windows user ID on your laptop isn't "Michael" also. The alternative is to save your TMs etc in a location that does not contain your user ID, e.g. D:\TMs\ or C:\TMs\. (If you store it in C:\TMs\, don't forget about it when you reformat!).

Dan Lucas wrote:
I was always wary of allowing the laptop to overwrite the data on the main PC after I came back from a trip, even when using fairly sophisticated sync software.


This is a good point: one should consider making a backup copy of the files and folders mentioned above, just before replacing it with the stuff from the other computer.



[Edited at 2019-11-05 07:54 GMT]


 
Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:18
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
A good solution Nov 5, 2019

Stepan Konev wrote:
You can install Dropbox on both PC and laptop and get 2GB for free.

If you typically use Studio where you have a good internet connection, this seems to work. The problem I found was that if you worked somewhere without the internet for a while - which is often the case for me when travelling - you had to be sure that you synced before doing anything on your desktop PC, but that was not a major issue.

I used a similar approach at first, before I switched to syncing between two PCs. I hit some disadvantage and stopped using that method, and I can't remember what it was.

Regards,
Dan


Stepan Konev
 
jackiekiefer
jackiekiefer
German to English
+ ...
Interesting Nov 5, 2019

Dan Lucas wrote:

In the end, when the desktop PC next needed replacing, I bought a Microsoft Surface instead, so I can put all of my applications and data (suitably backed up) in a small bag and walk out at any time. At home the Surface plugs into a dock that is in turn connected to a large monitor and external keyboard.


Hi Dan. This sounds like a good soluition. Can you tell me whether the dock, keyboard and monitor have been designed specifically for use with Microsoft Surface laptops? Thanks.


Michele Fauble
 
Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:18
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Dock is specific to the Surface Nov 5, 2019

jackiekiefer wrote:
Hi Dan. This sounds like a good soluition. Can you tell me whether the dock, keyboard and monitor have been designed specifically for use with Microsoft Surface laptops

I am using the Microsoft Surface Dock, designed for the Surface. This is expensive (like most powered docks) but has worked really well for me. It attaches using the magnetic Surface connector on the side of the Surface itself, so it's easy to connect and disconnect, easier than a normal connector. I think it's this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/o/ASIN/B01BOVBQ4C

The external keyboard and monitor can be almost anything you wish, but note that the Dock uses Mini DisplayPorts so you will need an appropriate cable for your monitor. I also have a USB hub and an Ethernet cable plugged into my dock. I strongly advise you to get a Type Cover keyboard as well.

The only downsides to the Surface that I have found are that it's not really upgradeable (though you can add an SD card), it's not a cheap option, and it's not a games machine, though it can be used for some games.

The advantages are that it's super-portable, very well-designed, can be used as a tablet on the sofa, and is fast enough for any work task I have set it so far.

Dan


 
Michele Fauble
Michele Fauble  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 01:18
Member (2006)
Norwegian to English
+ ...
Thank you Nov 5, 2019

Dan Lucas wrote:

jackiekiefer wrote:
Hi Dan. This sounds like a good soluition. Can you tell me whether the dock, keyboard and monitor have been designed specifically for use with Microsoft Surface laptops

I am using the Microsoft Surface Dock, designed for the Surface. This is expensive (like most powered docks) but has worked really well for me. It attaches using the magnetic Surface connector on the side of the Surface itself, so it's easy to connect and disconnect, easier than a normal connector. I think it's this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/o/ASIN/B01BOVBQ4C

The external keyboard and monitor can be almost anything you wish, but note that the Dock uses Mini DisplayPorts so you will need an appropriate cable for your monitor. I also have a USB hub and an Ethernet cable plugged into my dock. I strongly advise you to get a Type Cover keyboard as well.

The only downsides to the Surface that I have found are that it's not really upgradeable (though you can add an SD card), it's not a cheap option, and it's not a games machine, though it can be used for some games.

The advantages are that it's super-portable, very well-designed, can be used as a tablet on the sofa, and is fast enough for any work task I have set it so far.

Dan


Very helpful information. I will soon be needing a new computer and will be looking into this setup.

Suggestions for specs?



[Edited at 2019-11-05 17:23 GMT]


 
Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:18
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Try to future-proof Nov 5, 2019

Michele Fauble wrote:
Suggestions for specs?

I think you want something fast (mine has an i7 6650U) and with a decent amount of storage. This Surface Pro 4 has a 256GB SSD, and I wish it were a bit larger, though the SD Card expansion slot helps. The equivalent Surface Pro 7 (i7, 16GB memory, 256GB SSD), which is the latest generation, costs £1,449. Dropping down to an i5 only saves you £50. Then you have the dock, and a Type Cover. All in all, about £1,700 I reckon. I bought all mine on Amazon UK, as they have good customer support.

The price is one reason I'm still using my Surface Pro 4. A Surface Pro 7 would be faster and have much better battery life, but my Pro 4 works fine, and upgrading would be a luxury! Maybe I'll think about it in 2021 when the Surface Pro 8 comes out, if my Pro 4 makes it that far. Four years would be a pretty good run for a heavily used PC.

I should point out that there are many cheaper, more robust or more upgradable notebooks than the Surface. For example, you can get a Dell XPS 13.3" notebook with an i7, 16GB of memory and a much larger 512GB SSD for £1,530.

Personally, I specifically wanted a small and very handy Windows device from which I could remove the keyboard (so that I could use my own external keyboard), and that didn't leave me with many options. But I've been happy with the Surface so far. If it broke tomorrow, I'd probably buy another.

Dan
PS apologies to the original poster for hijacking the topic


 
Michele Fauble
Michele Fauble  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 01:18
Member (2006)
Norwegian to English
+ ...
Thanks again Nov 5, 2019

Dan Lucas wrote:

[
Dan
PS apologies to the original poster for hijacking the topic


And I second the apology.


 
Rossana Triaca
Rossana Triaca  Identity Verified
Uruguay
Local time: 05:18
English to Spanish
Syncing the TMs or Remote Desktop Nov 6, 2019

Unless you want to shell out for expensive software, syncing the TMs/TDBs with Dropbox/GDrive/Onedrive/etc. in the same absolute path on both computers is the fastest way to go. There are some downsides -- e.g., when you come home and "resolve" the project with the updated TM, unless you tinker with it, your own work will be marked as a CM (this may or may not affect you, depending on how you work).

If you are working remotely somewhere with a decent Internet connection, you can als
... See more
Unless you want to shell out for expensive software, syncing the TMs/TDBs with Dropbox/GDrive/Onedrive/etc. in the same absolute path on both computers is the fastest way to go. There are some downsides -- e.g., when you come home and "resolve" the project with the updated TM, unless you tinker with it, your own work will be marked as a CM (this may or may not affect you, depending on how you work).

If you are working remotely somewhere with a decent Internet connection, you can also remote desktop to your PC and save on one license (provided you can leave your PC on in your house all the time and outages are not a common occurrence). A tad less eco-friendly perhaps, and depending on your PC specs and Internet speed it may be slower, but it's easy to set up and I much rather spend on good hardware for my base PC and gladly risk taking out an empty USD 200 Chromebook on the road -- you won't hurt that much if the remote-desktoping device gets lost or stolen (unlike, say, carrying around a much heavier top-of-the-line laptop). Again, this assumes you have a reasonable Internet connection (but with a good mobile phone plan that you can use as a hotspot, this is not so hard to come by nowadays, though depending on your region it may or may not be expensive).
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Tuan Dzung
 
Emma Page
Emma Page
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:18
French to English
+ ...
Another vote for Chromebook/remote desktop Nov 6, 2019

Rossana Triaca wrote:

If you are working remotely somewhere with a decent Internet connection, you can also remote desktop to your PC and save on one license (provided you can leave your PC on in your house all the time and outages are not a common occurrence). A tad less eco-friendly perhaps, and depending on your PC specs and Internet speed it may be slower, but it's easy to set up and I much rather spend on good hardware for my base PC and gladly risk taking out an empty USD 200 Chromebook on the road -- you won't hurt that much if the remote-desktoping device gets lost or stolen (unlike, say, carrying around a much heavier top-of-the-line laptop). Again, this assumes you have a reasonable Internet connection (but with a good mobile phone plan that you can use as a hotspot, this is not so hard to come by nowadays, though depending on your region it may or may not be expensive).


This is what I did for a long time. Trados has enough annoying quirks without the added challenge of trying to convince it to sync work between two machines. The trick is that if you want computers to be both good and portable, you'll pay through the nose. In the UK at least, I can get a decent desktop computer, a decent chrome book and a year's worth of mobile data for less than the Surface set-up quoted above, and I'm only using one Trados license. Plus there's no syncing to worry about, and all my data is safe at home if my chromebook is damaged or stolen. But to each their own!


Dan Lucas
 
Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:18
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Careful now Nov 6, 2019

Emma Page wrote:
Plus there's no syncing to worry about, and all my data is safe at home if my chromebook is damaged or stolen.

As someone whose house burned down in their absence, I would respectfully suggest that home is not always safe, but I do take your point.

Dan


 
Rossana Triaca
Rossana Triaca  Identity Verified
Uruguay
Local time: 05:18
English to Spanish
Insurance Nov 6, 2019

As someone whose house burned down in their absence, I would respectfully suggest that home is not always safe, but I do take your point.


I feel your pain -- at least in my (backwards, third-world) country, my home-owner insurance (fire, flood, theft, etc.) covers my work PC entirely as long as I remember to notify them of each purchase with its corresponding invoice, and I don't get charged extra for this (up to a certain overall sum for the entire house contents), so I can pretty much go wild with my home rig. Laptop insurance however? Forget it! It does exist, but it's through the roof expensive for obvious reasons.

So I do feel safer putting my money on multiple monitors, SSD disks and general processing power in a base PC (that also backs up content to a Cloud service to guard against any hardware failures). Of course, if I lived in Tokyo where you can safely forget a bag on a bench, I would probably choose something better than a Chromebook just for a wider screen and a more comfy keyboard -- as it is, I do like how remote-desktoping is seamless when I just want to work a couple of hours in my garden close to a toddler's splash damage zone without worries and any preparations


 
NeoAtlas
NeoAtlas
Spain
Local time: 09:18
English to Spanish
+ ...
Project list Nov 7, 2019

Samuel Murray wrote:
3. None of these two files or set of folders contain the project list.

The project list is kept in this XML file:
C:\Users\[userName]\Documents\Studio 2019\Projects\projects.xml


 
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