CAT within Word
Thread poster: jknight
jknight
jknight  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:39
German to English
Aug 1, 2014

I was happy with the 2007 iteration of Trados because it let me work in Word. I've not upgraded since - because every Trados since then has forced users out of the Word environment and into a purely segmented world interface. This is just no good for the kind of translation I do - discursive marketing/PR texts, reports, speeches and the like. I need to be able to merge and split sentences and rewrite English paragraphs all round the original German to make it flow right. Also I want to be confid... See more
I was happy with the 2007 iteration of Trados because it let me work in Word. I've not upgraded since - because every Trados since then has forced users out of the Word environment and into a purely segmented world interface. This is just no good for the kind of translation I do - discursive marketing/PR texts, reports, speeches and the like. I need to be able to merge and split sentences and rewrite English paragraphs all round the original German to make it flow right. Also I want to be confident that the doc looks right at the end - and during the translation for that matter - without having to generate previews all the time.
I switched to Wordfast recently as an experiment (because Trados messed up my TM). It's great. But then I bought a new laptop and was asked to do some work for a long-established customer involving xliff files. So I've been experimenting with Trados 14.
It's not pretty - I'm missing all the shortcuts and mobility of Word, and I'm hating the fact that I'm being forced back into segment-by-segment mode.
I've got a TM of 400,000 + TUs built up over 20 years and I want to use it for every project, because the leverage works across all my clients. I work on my own so I don't need any of the workflow stuff.
So.... any advice from people who know these things better than me?

I want to stick with translating from within Word
I'm worried that as operating systems evolve, Trados 07 might fall off the cliff
I'm concerned that Wordfast might also be moving away from a Word environment (if my understanding pro and anytime is correct)
I'm pretty sure that for whatever reason Trados are never going to offer the Word environment as an option again (crazy)
I'm concerned that if I use one CAT for Word stuff and something else for xliff I'll compromise the leverage I get from a single TM

Are there any tools out there that work within Word and offer xliff support?
If I stick with Wordfast (or Trados 07), what is the simplest xliff tool out there that allows me to use my TM?

A lot of issues and questions I realise, but I'm having a bit of a breakdown here!
Collapse


 
Elizabeth Joy Pitt de Morales
Elizabeth Joy Pitt de Morales  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:39
Member (2007)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Wordfast Pro Aug 1, 2014

AFAIK, both Wordfast Anywhere and Wordfast Pro supports the xliff format. They are both pretty easy to adapt to if you are already familiar with Wordfast Classic and Trados.

 
esperantisto
esperantisto  Identity Verified
Local time: 17:39
Member (2006)
English to Russian
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
OmegaT Aug 1, 2014

jknight wrote:
what is the simplest xliff tool out there that allows me to use my TM?


Two questions in one actually. The simplest is, probably, OmegaT. But you need to export your TM(s) to TMX.


 
Matthew Olson
Matthew Olson
Japan
Local time: 23:39
Japanese to English
I recommend Felix Aug 2, 2014

I really like this small CAT tool called Felix. It works more or less completely in Word (with separate small windows for match and glossary results). The way it works is very simple, but a little different from Trados, as well as OmegaT. You can try it for free in perpetuity for memories up to 500 entries (and you can make as many memories as you like), so there's no real reason not to.
... See more
I really like this small CAT tool called Felix. It works more or less completely in Word (with separate small windows for match and glossary results). The way it works is very simple, but a little different from Trados, as well as OmegaT. You can try it for free in perpetuity for memories up to 500 entries (and you can make as many memories as you like), so there's no real reason not to.

Check it out at: http://felix-cat.com/

Edit: It does have a XLIFF translator, but it's only in beta. It can be found here: http://felix-cat.com/tools/xliff-translator/

[2014-08-02 14:07 GMTに編集されました]
Collapse


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 15:39
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Translating XLIFF files in MS Word Aug 3, 2014

jknight wrote:
But then I bought a new laptop and was asked to do some work for a long-established customer involving xliff files. ... I want to stick with translating from within Word.


I'm afraid there is no way to translate XLIFF files directly in MS Word. You can use another CAT tool to export the XLIFF file to a format that MS Word can handle, and then import your translation back in using that CAT tool, but then you can't change sentence order within paragraphs unless you use "paragraph segmentation" in that other CAT tool.

You can use the bicolumn MS Word export/import feature of Wordfast Pro, Trados 2014 and MemoQ (they all call it something else).


 
Dominique Pivard
Dominique Pivard  Identity Verified
Local time: 16:39
Finnish to French
Déjà Vu, CafeTran Aug 3, 2014

Samuel Murray wrote:
You can use the bicolumn MS Word export/import feature of Wordfast Pro, Trados 2014 and MemoQ (they all call it something else).

You can add Déjà Vu (the first tool that introduced such a feature) and CafeTran to the list.


 
Wolfgang Jörissen
Wolfgang Jörissen  Identity Verified
Belize
Dutch to German
+ ...
MetaTexis Aug 3, 2014

... is still unmentioned, as the only genuine Word-based CAT tool that is unlikely to be replaced by a non-Word-based solution. Don't know about xliff capabilities, but a bit of conversion knowledge (see above) will get you there.

 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:


You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

CAT within Word







Trados Studio 2022 Freelance
The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.

Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

More info »
Protemos translation business management system
Create your account in minutes, and start working! 3-month trial for agencies, and free for freelancers!

The system lets you keep client/vendor database, with contacts and rates, manage projects and assign jobs to vendors, issue invoices, track payments, store and manage project files, generate business reports on turnover profit per client/manager etc.

More info »