Difficulty Level: Medium
A rather frequent problem that is occurring lately is this: you have upgraded to the latest and greatest SDL Trados Studio 2009, ready to use all its super-duper functionality with your newly arrived assignment and… wham! The customer informs you that they don’t work with SDL Trados Studio 2009. That is, if you’ve been prudent to inform them beforehand that you have this new version. If you informed them afterwards, or just delivered to them a bunch of .sdlproj, .sdlxliff and .sdltm files, then the surprise will be even bigger for you (likewise for the customer…).
Customer vs Latest CAT Tool = 1 – 0
You might be wondering (and quite naturally), why in the world hasn’t this customer upgraded to the latest and greatest piece of software out there. They surely can afford it, right? Well, it’s not that simple. Translation companies invest heavily on specific CAT tools, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and Workflow platforms and then do some magic voodoo stuff to connect all this software together. This way they can manage more efficiently (i.e. automate) the whole translation cycle of projects: assignments, PO issuing, payments etc. You will be surprised how many tasks run concurrently on a daily basis in any Translation company. Keeping track of all this information is vital, so any kind of automation is a necessity. And that’s why a lot of money goes into this integration process.
But when the customer created his own integrated Workflow platform, the chosen CAT tool was, undoubtedly, older than the latest SDL Trados offering. And, since all companies follow the motto “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, they won’t dare touch the CAT tool component of their glued-together platform. Add to the above the extra costs and precious time spent on training employees on using this platform… well, you get the idea.
Turning The Tide
Not all is lost, though. There are a few tricks that can be applied to overcome the customer’s shortcomings, and allow you to use your brand new SDL Trados Studio 2009.
Trick #1: Request TagEditor files (.ttx) & the TM in either Trados TMW or TMX format
SDL Trados Studio 2009 has maintained the compatibility with TagEditor files (.ttx), and also has the capability to export back into .ttx once you’ve completed the translation (Save As Target in the File menu item). Just make sure you request the TM in either the native SDL Trados 2007 (or prior version) format (.tmw along with the other four hidden files: .mdf, .mtf, .mwf, .iix) or in the universal TMX format.
When you complete your translation, be sure to export the files back into .ttx files and the TM in TMX format (SDL Trados Studio 2009 only supports exporting a TM in TMX format).
To be 100% sure everything will work OK on the customer’s side, I’d suggest doing this test: open the .ttx file in SDL Trados Studio 2009 and translate the first couple of segments. Save and then export into .ttx. Send this generated TagEditor file to the client requesting them to confirm that it opens without issues on their side. This is very handy, especially when dealing with a big project, to avoid any technical issues later on.
Note: SDL Trados Studio 2009 doesn’t support, neither creates, unclean DOC/RTF files as is the norm with SDL Trados 2007 and prior versions. Please keep this in mind. Any such unclean file must be converted into a TagEditor .ttx file for processing in SDL Trados Studio 2009.
Trick #2: Create your own TagEditor files (.ttx) & suitable TM from the source files (requires SDL Trados 2007 or prior also installed)
This trick applies only to translators who also have the previous SDL Trados 2007 version (or prior) installed. SDL Trados Studio 2009 allows the simultaneous existence of previous Trados & SDLX versions for better backword compatibility.
Note: Let me clarify the obvious here. I assume that the reason you’ll get into all this trouble is because you’d like to work in SDL Trados Studio 2009 and take advantage of its super-duper features, and be able to deliver to the customer unclean files that they can process (i.e. .ttx). Otherwise, you could simply work in your comfy old SDL Trados 2007 or prior version, since it’s already installed.
Make sure you have the customer’s approval to create your own TagEditor files from the source files and inform them that they will be receiving clean (if required), unclean (.ttx) files and a TM (either in native Trados .tmw or Trados TXT export format). Then just proceed creating the .ttx files, for example by opening them in TagEditor and saving etc. Once you end up with all the required .ttx files, fire up your SDL Trados Studio 2009 and start working.
When you complete your translation, export the translated files back to .ttx and the TM in TMX format. It’s good practice to open randomly a few of these exported .ttx files in TagEditor just to make sure they open correctly. Regarding the exported TM (which is in TMX format), if the customer is OK with it in this format then you’re set to go. Otherwise, import it into a blank Trados 2007 (or prior) TM and send to the customer the five TM files (.tmw, .mdf, .mtf, .mwf, .iix), or a Trados TXT export.
TagEditor DTD Settings File (.ini) & SDL Trados Studio 2009
A question that arises frequently by translators using SDL Trados Studio 2009 is this: The customer has provided TagEditor files along with a DTD Settings file (.ini). How will I use this .ini file in SDL Trados Studio 2009 along with the .ttx file?
This is a valid question, and most of us know how important it is to actually use that .ini file when translating such .ttx files. That .ini file defines what is a tag and, thus, what is translatable in a .ttx, so it’s critical. The good news is that you don’t have to do anything with that .ini file in SDL Trados Studio 2009. The .ttx file should have it “embedded” in it when you open the .ttx file in SDL Trados Studio 2009. If you have SDL Trados 2007 or prior installed too, open the .ttx file and make sure it’s using that .ini file. If it is, then you’re set. If it doesn’t, TagEditor will request it by opening a dialog box to locate it. Do that, then Save the .ttx file. You’re good to go now.
When you complete your translation in SDL Trados Studio 2009 and export your .ttx file, open it in TagEditor again. You should see that it’s still using the proper .ini file.