| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Trados vs. Wordfast Thread poster: Violeta Leon Herrero
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Now, here comes the eternal question. I've been reading much about CAT tools, and I'm trying out Trados, although haven't got a license myself yet.
My question is, which one should I actually learn or buy (don't know yet if near or far future).
As I said, I know a bit what Trados does and how it would help in my future translations. So what I would like to know if there are any significant differences between Trados or Wordfast or their functions in essence work the same way.... See more Now, here comes the eternal question. I've been reading much about CAT tools, and I'm trying out Trados, although haven't got a license myself yet.
My question is, which one should I actually learn or buy (don't know yet if near or far future).
As I said, I know a bit what Trados does and how it would help in my future translations. So what I would like to know if there are any significant differences between Trados or Wordfast or their functions in essence work the same way.
This would weight the balance to Trados, as I think that this is the tool that most agencies ask for to translators.
I know there are thousends of threads on similar topics, but I would be very pleased to hear opinions of both Trados and Wordfast users.
[Edited at 2007-10-17 13:11] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Latin_Hellas (X)
United States
Local time: 13:47
Italian to English
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| Depends on user and purpose | Oct 17, 2007 |
My impression is that Wordfast is more efficient for the individual translator working one-on-one with individual customers, but Trados is more efficient for the agency managing large projects and relationships over time entailing, among other things, spreading the work out over several translators.
If you are an individual translator and you foresee working with such agencies, then investing in Trados is probably a good idea. If you start off with Trados and become used to i... See more My impression is that Wordfast is more efficient for the individual translator working one-on-one with individual customers, but Trados is more efficient for the agency managing large projects and relationships over time entailing, among other things, spreading the work out over several translators.
If you are an individual translator and you foresee working with such agencies, then investing in Trados is probably a good idea. If you start off with Trados and become used to it, so much the better.
Some have started off with Wordfast, which from the individual perspective is much more user-friendly, and in some cases use both, depending on the circumstances.
In any case, I am sure that there is a wide range of experiences and opinions.
Good luck!
[Edited at 2007-10-17 13:37] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Wordfast for me | Oct 17, 2007 |
Wordfast is very user friendly and much more economical.
I had Trados and found the manual incomprehensible so I was never able to use more than a few of its functions. Eventually the version of Trados I had became incompatible with Windows software and I would have had to spend close to a thousand dollars just to update it.
In contrast, wordfast is extremely easy to use and I love it's glossary feature (which I never discovered in Trados but suspect is Multi-term tha... See more Wordfast is very user friendly and much more economical.
I had Trados and found the manual incomprehensible so I was never able to use more than a few of its functions. Eventually the version of Trados I had became incompatible with Windows software and I would have had to spend close to a thousand dollars just to update it.
In contrast, wordfast is extremely easy to use and I love it's glossary feature (which I never discovered in Trados but suspect is Multi-term that you have buy separately).
As for using Trados with agencies, is it worth it? First you buy Trados (costs a fortune) and learn how to use it (yuck!) then the agency says they won't pay for any repeats! Where is the benefit of that? ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Why spend a fortune, if you can have the same for much much less ? | Oct 17, 2007 |
Hello all,
This eternal dilemma happened to me too : which Computer Assisted Translation tool is best ? How much am I willing to pay to get these useful aids ? How much time will I have to spend trying to get it working (because, yes, besides the tool itself, proper training sor SDL costs a fortune too !!!...) ?
After a while asking around and getting opinions, and after trying to use Trados (big mistake, trying to learn to use a complex CAT tool like Trados while under... See more Hello all,
This eternal dilemma happened to me too : which Computer Assisted Translation tool is best ? How much am I willing to pay to get these useful aids ? How much time will I have to spend trying to get it working (because, yes, besides the tool itself, proper training sor SDL costs a fortune too !!!...) ?
After a while asking around and getting opinions, and after trying to use Trados (big mistake, trying to learn to use a complex CAT tool like Trados while under deadline-pressure with a real work !!!! I lost plenty of valuable time, destroyed my document's formatting and had finally to restart from the beginning with the translation job...), I discovered MemoQ.
MemoQ, from Kilgray Translation Technologies (http://www.kilgray.com), does all the useful tasks a translator expects form a Translation Memory software, works with different document formats, and also produces Translation Memory files compatible with Trados, those some agencies expect you to send to them (to get their own TM bigger and richer, gaining "experience" from your unpaid hours spent doing terminology research...).
So, why spend a fortune if you can get the same result with much less hassle and at a fraction of the price ?
Definitely ! I would recommend to get MemoQ instead of anything else.
And as a plus : you can try at no cost their latest software version for 90 days, and their older version FOREVER ! Can you believe it ?
It really looks like we are stepping towards a new era, where CAT tools become free Open Source software, and the vendors get their money only from providing value added services with these products.
I hope this helps,
Best regards,
Martin ▲ Collapse
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Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 13:47
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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| Advantages... | Oct 17, 2007 |
lila82 wrote:
This would weight the balance to Trados, as I think that this is the tool that most agencies ask for to translators.
This is both the advantage and the disadvantage of having Trados.
If you have Trados, you can bid (sorry, quote) on jobs that require Trados. But if you have Trados, clients will expect you to be familiar with all the features of Trados. And believe me, Trados has many features.
Wordfast has relatively few features that a client might be interested in, excepting perhaps the TM, in rare cases the glossary and in rarer cases the blacklist. So the choice of using many or few of Wordfast's features lies with the translator -- the choice of using many of few of Trados' features often lies with the client...
[Edited at 2007-10-17 16:33]
| | | | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 13:47
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Ramon Somoza wrote:
Try also OmegaT.
I disagree. OmegaT is free and it is a wonderful CAT tool, but... OmegaT is nothing like either Trados or Wordfast.
Both Wordfast and Trados can handle MS Office files, which OmegaT can't (unless you client is using MS Office 2007). Both Wordfast and Trados can handle tagged text, which OmegaT can't (unless you're a wizz at OmegaT's powerful segmentation rules). Even the user interface of OmegaT is completely unlike that of Wordfast or Trados.
| | | | Uldis Liepkalns
Latvia
Local time: 14:47
Member (2003)
English to Latvian
+ ...
Samuel Murray wrote:
Both Wordfast and Trados can handle MS Office files, which OmegaT can't (unless you client is using MS Office 2007). Both Wordfast and Trados can handle tagged text, which OmegaT can't (unless you're a wizz at OmegaT's powerful segmentation rules). Even the user interface of OmegaT is completely unlike that of Wordfast or Trados.
Hi Samuel,
first I confess I myself don't know head or tail about Omega T, however, many of our translators use it and deliver translated files and TMX, moreover, never one of them has complained he cannot process the file we send him with this tool, nor that it is too difficult for him/her to do that.
And yes, sure, it is their free choice to use Omega T, and they have chosen it.
Uldis
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 13:47
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| I disagree on a few points | Oct 17, 2007 |
Martin Bruckmann wrote:
MemoQ ... also produces Translation Memory files compatible with Trados, those some agencies expect you to send to them...
I have never had a Trados client expect me to send them the TM. What the Trados client wants, is not the TM, but the bilingual file (be it an uncleaned file or a TTX file).
Besides, MemoQ doesn't look anything like Trados or Wordfast. If you're a Deja Vu or an Idiom user, you'll find MemoQ's user interface very familiar, but it doesn't look at all like Wordfast or Trados.
It really looks like we are stepping towards a new era, where CAT tools become free Open Source software...
MemoQ is not open source. But yes, their version 2.0 is postcardware (the latest version is 2.1).
| | | | | Other choices | Oct 17, 2007 |
lila82 wrote:
I've been reading much about CAT tools...My question is, which one should I actually learn or buy...differences between Trados or Wordfast.
CAT tools do not just mean Trados or Wordfast. There are other choices such as Déjà Vu, which is very widely used by freelancers, or MemoQ which is an excellent newer tool. Both provide "Trados" compatibility.
Before going any further with Trados, have a look at the number of proz message threads like "Trados + slow", Trados + crash", "Trados + error", "Trados + hangs"
BR,
David
| | | | Marc P (X)
Local time: 13:47
German to English
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Samuel Murray wrote:
Even the user interface of OmegaT is completely unlike that of Wordfast or Trados.
Besides, MemoQ doesn't look anything like Trados or Wordfast.
Can you explain your logic, Samuel? Why does a CAT tool have to "look like Trados"? (Which in any case, as I understand it, has several different user interfaces.)
Ramon simply suggested that the original poster (who said nothing about a tool having to "look like Trados") try OmegaT. Why do you disagree with the original poster trying OmegaT?
Or MemoQ, for that matter. For the record, I have no objection to anyone trying any tool - on the contrary, I would encourage people to try as many as they can, time permitting.
Marc
| | | | Uldis Liepkalns
Latvia
Local time: 14:47
Member (2003)
English to Latvian
+ ...
| I do not translate much myself lately | Oct 17, 2007 |
however, being the Agency owner I have to be able at least to be able to open the file (and do a little more) in most of CAT applications.
I cannot honestly agree with bad evaluation of Trados- since version 7 there are much more fewer bugs (e.g., encoding issues resolved), yes, segmentation bugs remain, but they can be dealt with (I mean, if even if they happen, they do not cause global problems, with little proficiency you can correct all of these).
About MemoQ- yes, ... See more however, being the Agency owner I have to be able at least to be able to open the file (and do a little more) in most of CAT applications.
I cannot honestly agree with bad evaluation of Trados- since version 7 there are much more fewer bugs (e.g., encoding issues resolved), yes, segmentation bugs remain, but they can be dealt with (I mean, if even if they happen, they do not cause global problems, with little proficiency you can correct all of these).
About MemoQ- yes, I've heard only the best about that, some of our translators use that, I saw demo presentation at Budapest Conference and liked it very much (all things in one window (TM and correct TM entries at once, kinda Multiterm, use of multiple TMs at once, no language count limitations, networking possibilities (in the Corporate edition). Shame on me, I haven't yet got around to use it myself...
Uldis
David Turner wrote: Before going any further with Trados, have a look at the number of proz message threads like "Trados + slow", Trados + crash", "Trados + error", "Trados + hangs" ▲ Collapse
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Mulyadi Subali
Indonesia
Local time: 18:47
Member
English to Indonesian
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lila82 wrote:
So what I would like to know if there are any significant differences between Trados or Wordfast or their functions in essence work the same way.
i think the op is asking the difference between trados and wordfast. not other cat tool.
as i don't use wordfast, i cannot compare both of them.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 13:47
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| The OP asked about Trados vs Wordfast | Oct 18, 2007 |
Marc P wrote:
Can you explain your logic, Samuel? Why does a CAT tool have to "look like Trados"?
The OP asked about the difference between Trados and Wordfast. If anyone mentioned any other CAT tool, one would imagine that there should be some sort of similarity between that CAT tool and the two CAT tools that this thread is all about, wouldn't you say?
The fact that the OP asked about Trados and Wordfast does not in any way imply that he thinks that Trados and Wordfast are the only CAT tools out there -- in fact, nothing in his first post indicates such a thought.
ProZ.com is full of me-too type of threads in which the OP asked a specific question about a specific CAT tool, and users reply with "XYZ is my favourite CAT tool", even if that CAT tool is irrelevant to the OP's specific question. Such responses are useless in my opinion, not to mention bad manners.
| | | | | hhmm... maybe the balance has changed now... Worfast? | Oct 18, 2007 |
First i want to thank you for the good receiving of my post.
And yes, i do have heard (and read) about other CAT tools, but i guess i have to decide myself (I can't learn them all, have no time) and i narrowed down to these two. As I said I did my first steps in Trados, so it is for me important the similarity (not that i won't try any other suggestions you've made, but first when at least i'm good at one, so I can compare them myself).
Many things you said are really interes... See more First i want to thank you for the good receiving of my post.
And yes, i do have heard (and read) about other CAT tools, but i guess i have to decide myself (I can't learn them all, have no time) and i narrowed down to these two. As I said I did my first steps in Trados, so it is for me important the similarity (not that i won't try any other suggestions you've made, but first when at least i'm good at one, so I can compare them myself).
Many things you said are really interesting.
So Wordfast has fewer features. In order to learn and manage this tool soon this would be an important point, as i lack of time (like everybody else). And surely it would be easier to learn Trados later.
Also is me who decides which features to use, and not the client. Also interesting.
Money matter. An other interesting issue.
But now two other question arise:
1) is wordfast compatible with Trados? in case my client works with Trados.
2) does Wordfast have a similar tool like Winalign? as i said i don't yet use any, so this would be a way to reuse all my work. ▲ Collapse
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