Is TRADOS worth the investment Thread poster: Ian Wood
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Ian Wood 
Japan
Local time: 05:33
Japanese to English
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y investment I mean both money and time. I am presently playing around with the demo and it looks as though it would take a while to completely master. On the other hand, it has the potential of saving a lot of time for work from repeat clients.
I just wanted to hear what people have to say about this program and whether they are satisfied with their investment. Oh.. and I also tried dejavu, but it jammed up my pc something shocking (not a hardware/ config problem) so I thin... See more y investment I mean both money and time. I am presently playing around with the demo and it looks as though it would take a while to completely master. On the other hand, it has the potential of saving a lot of time for work from repeat clients.
I just wanted to hear what people have to say about this program and whether they are satisfied with their investment. Oh.. and I also tried dejavu, but it jammed up my pc something shocking (not a hardware/ config problem) so I think I\'ll steer clear of it.
Also... what is the best way to learn trados. Do I have to fork out more precious cash for a course to become literate in it?
Thanks in advance for any input. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Joe_uk
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:33
English to Italian
| you can start working with it (almost) straight away | Jun 1, 2002 |
Being a software that works with Word, you can start working with it almost at once.
You only have to:
- create a memory in the Trados Translator\'s Workbench window
- learn the meaning of the few buttons tat appear in Word (the one mostly used are the buttons witha red bracket)
Of course there\'s much more to it than what I have just said: being able to create translations memory with previously translated documents, working on documents of dif... See more Being a software that works with Word, you can start working with it almost at once.
You only have to:
- create a memory in the Trados Translator\'s Workbench window
- learn the meaning of the few buttons tat appear in Word (the one mostly used are the buttons witha red bracket)
Of course there\'s much more to it than what I have just said: being able to create translations memory with previously translated documents, working on documents of different formats etc.
Advantages:
- Many manuals can have 10 to... 90% of previously translated text. With Trados you don\'t have to spot the new text yourself by reading the whole manual. And previous translations are applied automatically.
- You create translations memories that serve as easily searchable archives of your translating efforts: this helps to keep consistency
I did not attend a course on Trados, I don\'t think most people do. However some courses are available. However I think that if you take a bit of time to understand how it works you will realize you don\'t really need it.
I considere Trados a very stable and powerful program. I bought it after using IBM Translation Manager which, in my opinion, is a great software if you are keen on having severe headaches from time to time. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ralf Lemster
Germany
Local time: 22:33
English to German
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| Couldn't work without it | Jun 1, 2002 |
I have been using Trados for more than seven years now, and yes: every single bit of the investment has paid off (hope their salespeople don\'t read this... ). That said, there are free tools around, some of which can create database exports that are compatible to Trados. Check out the \"Comparison shopping\" forum for a few interesting threads.
As far as training goes, if you have a chance to go for a training session, do: this is a professional tool that you will use to ma... See more I have been using Trados for more than seven years now, and yes: every single bit of the investment has paid off (hope their salespeople don\'t read this... ). That said, there are free tools around, some of which can create database exports that are compatible to Trados. Check out the \"Comparison shopping\" forum for a few interesting threads.
As far as training goes, if you have a chance to go for a training session, do: this is a professional tool that you will use to make a living. Learning it properly is a must.
HTH - Ralf ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ian Wood
Japan
Local time: 05:33
Japanese to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Thank you for your comments | Jun 1, 2002 |
Thanks for the input guys. I think I will probably make the plunge eventually, but as I have no experience whatsoever with CAT, I think I will play around with the demo and perhaps wordfast (which seems to have a similar interface) until I get comfortable.
If only I could find a generous client ready to foot the bill 
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Jerzy Czopik
Germany
Local time: 22:33
Member (2003)
Polish to German
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| I fully agree with Ralf | Jun 4, 2002 |
Working without TRADOS is wasting time.
TRRADOS is making special offers now, so go for it.
Kind regards
Jerzy
| | | | Yazmin Osoyo
Mexico
Local time: 14:33
English to Spanish
+ ...
| Has anybody ever complained about not receiving PRINTED documentation for TRADOS | Jun 14, 2002 |
I am the proud owner of a Trados 5.5 Freelance version, but I have not even started working with it!! why? I did not get printed documentation on how to use the software, only a manual that assumes that I already know how to use the software!! Doesn\'t anyone care about this? They send all documentation of the CD in PDF format, but the manuals are over 300 pages long!
I already complained and requested the printed manuals, and Trados people promised to send them via DHL over 20 days ag... See more I am the proud owner of a Trados 5.5 Freelance version, but I have not even started working with it!! why? I did not get printed documentation on how to use the software, only a manual that assumes that I already know how to use the software!! Doesn\'t anyone care about this? They send all documentation of the CD in PDF format, but the manuals are over 300 pages long!
I already complained and requested the printed manuals, and Trados people promised to send them via DHL over 20 days ago? is this bad service or what? ▲ Collapse
| | | | | training courses | Jun 14, 2002 |
Of course you will never receive some kind of printed documentation... The company organises training courses (quite expensive), and you are supposed to attend at least at one of them to learn, unless you have some friends helping you.
I think Trados is really worth the investment. Once you master it, you can start dreaming about some more free weekends
| | | | Ralf Lemster
Germany
Local time: 22:33
English to German
+ ...
| Printed documentation vs. training courses | Jun 17, 2002 |
An alternative point of view: tons of printed documentation are simply produced for the waste paper bin - I guess it makes a lot of sense (both economically and ecologically) not to send a big book to everyone. If you need something in print, you can use the PDF file, but don\'t print out the whole book - the sections where the initial steps are described will do nicely. (To give you an example, as a beginner you won\'t need the technical reference describing Quark XPress tags...)
... See more An alternative point of view: tons of printed documentation are simply produced for the waste paper bin - I guess it makes a lot of sense (both economically and ecologically) not to send a big book to everyone. If you need something in print, you can use the PDF file, but don\'t print out the whole book - the sections where the initial steps are described will do nicely. (To give you an example, as a beginner you won\'t need the technical reference describing Quark XPress tags...)
As far as Trados courses are concerned, I find them both adequately priced (looking at what you get for your money) and useful. ▲ Collapse
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