| Pages in topic: [1 2 3] > | Opinions on popular CAT tools Thread poster: Steve Simpson
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Hi everyone
After a break from translation of several years to pursue other opportunities, I have now taken semi-retirement, and returning to freelance translation.
I'm looking now to acquire CAT software.
Years ago I used SDL Trados. I'm finding that some translation agencies require memoQ while other SDL Trados.
I've looked at the various presentations of their respective manufacturers, as well as trying demos, and I'm leaning towards SDL Tr... See more Hi everyone
After a break from translation of several years to pursue other opportunities, I have now taken semi-retirement, and returning to freelance translation.
I'm looking now to acquire CAT software.
Years ago I used SDL Trados. I'm finding that some translation agencies require memoQ while other SDL Trados.
I've looked at the various presentations of their respective manufacturers, as well as trying demos, and I'm leaning towards SDL Trados Studio 2021 Freelance - I prefer to UI experience, but memoQ is still a contender.
I'd appreciate your opinions on how members find these software tools.
Do you have any opinions of SDL Trados versus memoQ in e.g. usage, UI, support, community.
Many thanks
[Edited at 2021-05-15 15:49 GMT]
[Edited at 2021-05-15 15:50 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:51
Member (2008)
Italian to English
An agency recently asked me to learn Memosource and use it. I politely refused, and they gave me the job anyway. I use CafeTran. But anyway, any CAT tool would have been almost useless for this particular translation.
[Edited at 2021-05-15 15:36 GMT]
| | | | Tomasz Sienicki 
Denmark
Local time: 00:51
Member (2007)
Danish to Polish
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| memoQ can process several CAT file and package formats | May 15, 2021 |
memoQ can open, process and export SDL Studio files (sdlxliff) and packages (sdlppx).
memoQ can also process Memsource mxliff files and Transit ppf packages.
It works very well.
| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 18:51
German to English
| Translators feel about their software ... | May 15, 2021 |
... the same way they do about their religion, political party or favorite beer. It's the best, except when it doesn't work.
Until a few years ago, I used three CAT tools, DVX (formerly Déjà Vu), Trados (now Trados Studio) and MemoQ, purchased in that order. I found DVX the easiest to use, with outstanding customer service (got replies to queries even on the weekend). Most agencies in the early part of this century specified use of Trados, so I purchased that program as a special-... See more ... the same way they do about their religion, political party or favorite beer. It's the best, except when it doesn't work.
Until a few years ago, I used three CAT tools, DVX (formerly Déjà Vu), Trados (now Trados Studio) and MemoQ, purchased in that order. I found DVX the easiest to use, with outstanding customer service (got replies to queries even on the weekend). Most agencies in the early part of this century specified use of Trados, so I purchased that program as a special-price upgrade from SDLX (which I never used, but obtained very inexpensively). Trados has a very powerful terminology management system, which is great for multinationals, but overkill for translators.
Unfortunately after the founder of Déjà Vu made the Great Translation, development of the software slowed down, and the product fell by the wayside. The developers of memoQ realized a great opportunity and developed a product that is now fully competitive with Trados Studio. It's sold on a subscription basis – if you want support and updates, you have to renew your license annually, but once you have a license, you can continue to use the non-updated program indefinitely. Unlike Trados, support is free as long as your license is current, whereas with Trados Studio, you need to buy an annual support contract after a certain period post-purchase.
You'll find fans of all CAT tools here. For some, the initial investment cost is an important consideration. Trados is initially expensive, but upgrades are often relatively inexpensive. MemoQ is initially less expensive, but annual updates (about 1/4 the cost of an initial purchase) need to be purchased in order to maintain support. Others are much less expensive. Some companies offer limited free trials. ▲ Collapse
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Darren Aguis
Australia
Local time: 08:51
Chinese to English
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| Check with your clients | May 16, 2021 |
Without getting into nuts and bolts of the software itself, I would strongly recommend you look to see which software your clients and the agencies you work with use themselves.
If it appears one CAT tool is dominant, well then that's the one you'd be best to go with (obvious of course).
I've found agencies in different parts of the world have preferences, European agencies seem to use MemoQ more.
If you are going to import files such as Word docs into the ... See more Without getting into nuts and bolts of the software itself, I would strongly recommend you look to see which software your clients and the agencies you work with use themselves.
If it appears one CAT tool is dominant, well then that's the one you'd be best to go with (obvious of course).
I've found agencies in different parts of the world have preferences, European agencies seem to use MemoQ more.
If you are going to import files such as Word docs into the tool itself, it will mostly come down to preferences. The other posts make valid comments, but I find them to be more similar than different at the end of the day. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 00:51
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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Steve Simpson wrote:
I'm finding that some translation agencies require memoQ while others SDL Trados.
In my experience, most agencies with MemoQ jobs can export files for you in the Trados format, and vice versa, and they don't mind doing so.
However, several of my clients use MemoQ's server system, which means that since I do have MemoQ I can deal with their projects faster than I would otherwise have been able to. Trados can't connect to MemoQ servers. Trados apparently also has a server system from which one can checkout projects, but I have only encountered it once or twice, and it is far less user-friendly than MemoQ's.
MemoQ is not as intuitive as Trados, so you must spend time learning how to use it (which is not a problem, but worth mentioning anyway).
I find MemoQ's bilingual review export feature far more reliable than Trados'. In fact, Trados' bilingual review export works less than half of the time for me (what this means is that Trados unexpectedly doesn't import files shortly before a deadline, and you have to scramble and ask for extensions from the client while you figure out how to hack it or find alternative ways of importing the text). MemoQ has only failed to import such files once or twice (which was still annoying, of course).
| | | | | memoQ server projects | May 17, 2021 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
In my experience, most agencies with MemoQ jobs can export files for you in the Trados format, and vice versa, and they don't mind doing so.
However, several of my clients use MemoQ's server system,
In my experience, clients that rely on mQ servers, refuse to export to XLIFF or Studio projects. It’s all about the comfort of the PMs.
| | | | Adieu
Ukrainian to English
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| Regarding MemoQ server projects | May 19, 2021 |
You can use the server's license instead of your own.
Pick up the free 1 month demo to learn how to use it a bit and then you can just use your client's license.
Of course, AFAIK that leaves you with no translation memories of your own whatsoever. But as I understand it, if the client requires you to use MemoQ and work on a project on their server, it uses their translation memory anyway.
[Edited at 2021-05-19 08:17 GMT]
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I find memoQ far more intuitive than Trados (I own and work with both).
If you are sent a Trados package, you can import it to memoQ, do the translation, and export a Trados package to send back to the client. Trados doesn't offer the same feature, and as someone else mentioned, asking a client to export a Trados package for you from their memoQ for your own convenience is not always going to be looked on kindly.
With memoQ, though, I can easily handle both types of pac... See more I find memoQ far more intuitive than Trados (I own and work with both).
If you are sent a Trados package, you can import it to memoQ, do the translation, and export a Trados package to send back to the client. Trados doesn't offer the same feature, and as someone else mentioned, asking a client to export a Trados package for you from their memoQ for your own convenience is not always going to be looked on kindly.
With memoQ, though, I can easily handle both types of packages on my own. ▲ Collapse
| | | | AnnaSCHTR
United States
Local time: 17:51
English to Czech
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| We might se esome changes | May 19, 2021 |
As Trados was recently acquired by a major LSP it might become a bit less popular among translation agencies due to being perceived as a product belonging to a competitor. So it's possible we'll see more demand for memoQ. I will download a demo version and re-learn it as soon as I have some time in my hands.
| | | | Stepan Konev
Russian Federation
Local time: 01:51
English to Russian
| SDL is (was?) one of the world's largest language service providers too with their SDL Workzone | May 19, 2021 |
Anna Schuster wrote:
As Trados was recently acquired by a major LSP it might become a bit less popular among translation agencies due to being perceived as a product belonging to a competitor. SDL acted as an LSP by rendering translation services too. It even had a branch office in Russia (SDL Russia), a company that had (and has I suppose) nothing to do with software development but was focused on linguistic services. I don't think the recent deal changes it that much in terms of software popularity.
| | | | | Try the free demo versions | May 19, 2021 |
I have used Trados for at least 20 years, and although I have tried other CATs, I keep coming back to it.
I had trouble with the old Workbench version, and tried other CATs with varying success - I used Wordfast Classic for a while as a backup, and seriously considered MemoQ.
Trados Studio has - up to now at least - improved with every version, but it is getting to a point where even enthusiasts probably can't wish for much more, and I am glad it did not have all the f... See more I have used Trados for at least 20 years, and although I have tried other CATs, I keep coming back to it.
I had trouble with the old Workbench version, and tried other CATs with varying success - I used Wordfast Classic for a while as a backup, and seriously considered MemoQ.
Trados Studio has - up to now at least - improved with every version, but it is getting to a point where even enthusiasts probably can't wish for much more, and I am glad it did not have all the features when I started that it has now.
The terminology database - Multiterm - and the Autosuggest feature are what I am hooked on. I am a poor typist, but I can insert strings, checked and spelt correctly, which save typing. AutoText is good for individual jobs, as the text can be removed quickly and easily again, while Multiterm is good for terminology that will come up again later. (It is easy to add new terms, but a little more complicated to edit or remove them).
I have used the alignment feature over the years - adding the source and target of an already translated text or template to the TM. I should do it more, but don't always get round to it...
I wondered whether I would have stayed with MemoQ if I had found it earlier, but my clients have preferred Studio, and I have reached a point where I use Trados Studio or no CAT at all, and the client can take it or leave it!
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Try out the free demo versions, and really give yourself time to get used to one or two. If a CAT has enough features to be worth its salt in the long run, there will be a learning curve, and I hated them all at the beginning. You can't learn to use them instinctively in a couple of hours, but you can probably get the feel of the basics.
Check whether you can tailor the options and short-cuts to the way you work. That makes an enormous difference.
What I really hate are the client-specific online CATs. They are often clunky and slow to work with, even with a fast connection. One of my clients can set Studio up so that it works with a very large TM or several translators on the same project, but in my experience working online is often a pain.
If the online CATs do not allow you to link up your own TM and database, you are thrown back to the beginner stage every time, and cannot reap the real benefits your accumulated experience properly!
Consult clients, and try out the CATs they prefer, but settle for one or two that you really like yourself - you are going to spend a lot of time working with it/them, and if it is a permanent hassle, it will distract you and the quality of your work will suffer.
Best of luck! ▲ Collapse
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Stepan Konev
Russian Federation
Local time: 01:51
English to Russian
| Just a minor remark on Multiterm | May 19, 2021 |
Christine Andersen wrote:
Multiterm is good for terminology that will come up again later. (It is easy to add new terms, but a little more complicated to edit or remove them). You don’t actually need Multiterm to add, edit or remove terms in Studio. I don’t have it installed on my computer and still don’t feel any need for that. All my termbases work fine without it.
| | | | AnnaSCHTR
United States
Local time: 17:51
English to Czech
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| I hope you are right | May 19, 2021 |
Stepan Konev wrote: Anna Schuster wrote:
As Trados was recently acquired by a major LSP it might become a bit less popular among translation agencies due to being perceived as a product belonging to a competitor. SDL acted as an LSP by rendering translation services too. It even had a branch office in Russia (SDL Russia), a company that had (and has I suppose) nothing to do with software development but was focused on linguistic services. I don't think the recent deal changes it that much in terms of software popularity.
Yes, I know. But the new owner seems to aspire to become the largest LSP, so it is a bit different. I hope you are right because I don't like memoQ buying scheme, and I'm not a great fan of working on a server. We'll see.
My point was that by buying and learning a CAT tool we are making a long-term investment, and what is "popular" now might not be so popular in a near future. Popularity is probably secondary to how comfortable we are with the tool and how well it meets the requirements of our major projects.
| | | | | It comes in the pack, so why not use it? | May 20, 2021 |
Stepan Konev wrote: Christine Andersen wrote:
Multiterm is good for terminology that will come up again later. (It is easy to add new terms, but a little more complicated to edit or remove them). You don’t actually need Multiterm to add, edit or remove terms in Studio. I don’t have it installed on my computer and still don’t feel any need for that. All my termbases work fine without it.
It is true that you do not need Multiterm, but it comes in the pack when you buy Trados Studio, and I find it useful.
Multiterm works a little differently from the central Studio program. I have a database for each language pair and a collection of subject databases, which I add to and update partly 'on the fly' as SDL says, when I find a term as I am translating, and partly to add sets or clusters of related terms that are likely to come up later.
It is a separate glossary or dictionary, not the same as the TM with the concordance function.
There is also a free glossary converter app, which makes working with basic termbases easy. The later versions can handle a bit more than just bilingual glossaries, e.g. if you want to include multiple languages, or add notes on context etc. etc.
Multiterm is not the first thing a beginner needs, but I find it well worth the effort to set it up, and it is one of my personal reasons for staying with Trados. If you know that you handle your terminology differently, then feel free to drop it or use a different CAT!
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