CAT tools, Trados, Word...
Thread poster: Hannah Haynes
Hannah Haynes
Hannah Haynes
Colombia
Local time: 11:35
Spanish to English
Jan 18, 2017

There seem to be soooo many options for translation tools to use, and each job posted requires you to use a different one. Which tools are you familiar with? Which ones do you find most useful? What are the pros and cons of the ones you use? Most practical from a price standpoint?

Most of my clients have been individuals who contact me directly for smallish jobs, so I've never had to use anything other than Word. I'm lost!


 
Tony M
Tony M
France
Local time: 17:35
Member
French to English
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
Try a search Jan 18, 2017

Hannah, this self-same issue has been discussed countless times before in the fora; might I respectfully suggest you could start by doing a search and thoroughly examining the existing answers, which would give you as a novice a great deal of useful background to work from. You might then be able to ask questions more directly targeted at your own specific case.

 
Hannah Haynes
Hannah Haynes
Colombia
Local time: 11:35
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
Good idea Jan 18, 2017

Tony M wrote:

Hannah, this self-same issue has been discussed countless times before in the fora; might I respectfully suggest you could start by doing a search and thoroughly examining the existing answers, which would give you as a novice a great deal of useful background to work from. You might then be able to ask questions more directly targeted at your own specific case.



Thank you, Tony. I'll do that .


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 17:35
Spanish to English
+ ...
WF Classic for me Jan 18, 2017

I've been using Wordfast Classic for a few years now and it does everything I want or need it to. You can get a free demo versión to try it out, and it's much cheaper than Trados and much easier to learn to use initially.

I strongly dislike everything about Trados - the price, the complexity, the lockstep upgrades....

The only other CAT tool I've used was Déjà Vu, and I didn't like it much, although it was easy enough to use.


 
Octavio Armendariz
Octavio Armendariz  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:35
French to English
+ ...
WordFast Pro Jan 19, 2017

I like WordFast Pro 3.4,7, but I use Trados Studio 2017, only because my biggest client requires it. Like Neilmac, I found WordFast very easy to use initially and I was very happy with it. And also like Neilmac, I find Trados too expensive and complicated. I haven't tried out WordFast Pro 4, but a free trial version is available. If you have a big client that prefers a specific CAT tool, I would buy that one for purely business reasons, not ease of use.

 
Octavio Armendariz
Octavio Armendariz  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:35
French to English
+ ...
Cafe Tran - an even cheaper option Jan 19, 2017

An even cheaper option is to sign up for the Proz.com Plus membership which includes a license for Cafe Tran Espresso, another CAT tool. I have not tried this one, but from a price standpoint this one beats them all if I am not mistaken.

 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 17:35
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
Trados Studio, and I think it is worth every cent! Jan 19, 2017

I started using Trados many moons ago when it was far simpler and more like Wordfast Classic. I am really glad I do not have to learn to use it now, but I am also glad I did.

Most of my clients use it, and for the ones that don't, I still find it an advantage to use Trados for my own reasons. It is not a simple 'plug and play' tool; it takes time to learn to use the features. On the other hand, I use the glossary feature and the Concordance all the time, and have become comfortable
... See more
I started using Trados many moons ago when it was far simpler and more like Wordfast Classic. I am really glad I do not have to learn to use it now, but I am also glad I did.

Most of my clients use it, and for the ones that don't, I still find it an advantage to use Trados for my own reasons. It is not a simple 'plug and play' tool; it takes time to learn to use the features. On the other hand, I use the glossary feature and the Concordance all the time, and have become comfortable with it.

It is a good way of keeping track of terminology, coping with my poor typing skills, dealing with formatting most of the time, and a whole lot of other things that Word is not designed to do.

The same can be said, more or less, of most CATs. They do pay for themselves when you use them consistently, so the important thing is to find one you are comfortable with and keep to it. Sit down with two or three free trial versions and get an idea of what suits you.

What many beginners hate about CATs is the way you have to keep thinking about how the CAT works, which distracts you from translating. That is why I suggest finding one and sticking to it. With practice you operate the CAT as effortlessly as typing in Word, and then you can concentrate on translating again!

If you only use the CAT occasionally, or keep using a different one, you spend more time and energy on thinking about the CAT instead of translating... They are all more or less compatible, and you can learn to convert output from your favourite CAT to the client's if necessary.

No one here has mentioned MemoQ, which is also popular - definitely worth looking into, as it has a lot of features like Trados, if you want the advanced features. It is not cheap, but I find that Trados Studio pays for itself all the same. The same applies to MemoQ if you use it a lot. Some find it more intuitive than Trados.

A CAT is an investment in time as well as money and needs practice. But then the tools of any serious profession call for skill and practice. Don't expect to be up and running after a couple of hours! (You won't be, if you have never used a CAT. ) Check the webinars and get a colleague or a professional instructor to help you through the initial stages, so that you understand what you are aiming at. Paying for help may seem expensive, but you will soon find it is money well spent.

Good luck!
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CAT tools, Trados, Word...






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