TrustRadius Insights for Trados Studio are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, third party data sources.
Business Problems Solved
SDL Trados Studio 2019 has been widely adopted by Fortune 500 clients around the world, offering significant improvements in efficiency and workflow. Users have reported that the software is particularly valuable for completing translations into various languages, with a specific focus on Spanish for the Domestic US market. However, it is important to note that some users have found the software to have a steep learning curve, which can make it challenging for new users to become proficient. Nonetheless, SDL Trados Studio 2017 is still preferred for tasks involving numerous repetitions, proofreading with Track changes on, and running quality assurance checks when necessary.
One of the key advantages of SDL Trados Studio is its capability to connect with a network of freelance translators and reviewers. The software facilitates collaboration by extracting sentence and paragraph text from source documents into a proprietary file structure, presented in a Source/Target 2-panels table. This feature enables seamless communication and efficient sharing of translation tasks among team members. While SDL Trados Studio is well-suited for small to medium-sized documents, it may not be ideal for handling large files as users have experienced frequent crashes during search operations or when committing a significant number of translations. Additionally, exporting large files to bilingual formats can be challenging.
Internally, SDL Trados Studio serves as an invaluable tool for streamlining translation and localization processes for existing clients. By improving consistency and overall text quality while reducing translation time and costs, the software helps organizations achieve their localization goals effectively. Many users appreciate the user-friendly interface and project management capabilities offered by Trados Studio, making it easier to manage projects and allocate resources efficiently. However, it should be noted that managing large projects or files with this software may present difficulties due to occasional bugs and system crashes.
While SDL Trados Studio has provided substantial benefits to many users, there are certain shortcomings that have been highlighted by the user community. Some users report frequent crashes while accepting segments in the latest version, leading to additional work and frustration. Terminology display issues and the inability to modify termbases are other areas of concern for users. In addition, compatibility issues with Windows 11 64-bit have been reported by some users. Another point of contention is the company's decision to no longer provide license resets for older versions of the software, which has disappointed some long-time users. Moreover, the lack of significant updates from the 2014 version to the new version has deterred prospective buyers from investing in the latest iteration.
Despite these limitations, SDL Trados Studio is still a go-to tool for various use cases. It is widely used for localization projects and handling different types of content for international end clients. The software is not limited to translation work alone; it is also utilized for editing and proofreading tasks. Moreover, SDL Trados Studio plays a crucial role in project management, allowing users to receive Trados project packages from other translation agencies and assign them to freelance translators. Additionally, the software aids in quality assurance processes and facilitates the delivery of projects to clients.
One of the notable benefits of SDL Trados Studio is its positive impact on productivity and efficiency within organizations and venture management teams. By streamlining translation and localization processes, businesses are able to meet tight deadlines while ensuring high-quality outputs. The software's ability to improve consistency in translated text greatly enhances the overall user experience for both translators and end clients. Furthermore, by reducing translation costs, SDL Trados Studio enables organizations to allocate resources strategically, ultimately leading to cost savings.
In summary, SDL Trados Studio 2019 has garnered popularity among Fortune 500 clients worldwide due to its ability to enhance margins and simplify workflows. Despite a steep learning curve for new users, the software offers valuable features such as facilitating collaboration with freelance translators, enabling seamless communication through a proprietary file structure, and improving consistency in translated text. While it may not be suitable for large files or projects, SDL Trados Studio proves highly effective in streamlining translation and localization processes, ultimately increasing productivity and efficiency in organizations.
I frequently use Trados Studio Freelance 2024 and all the past editions, as some of my clients work with this tool. Once you understand it, it will be easy to use and help me reach my daily goal of high quality. I am also a user of other tools but prefer Trados Studio.
Pros
TM for clients.
Termbase
Receiving and sending projects.
Cons
N/A
Likelihood to Recommend
I use it for special clients with special needs and find it easy to use. Auto-suggest, TM, and Termbase are easy to use for different clients within the same industry and still deliver jobs according to the client's guidelines.
I use Trados Studio for my at-home freelance translation projects.
Cons
Memory usage. Trados Studio exhibits random hang and abnormal termination. Very annoying since I bought a new laptop w/ suggested memory (32GB?) just for this. The problem didn't improve.
Likelihood to Recommend
Trados Studio is great for working on a file translation assignment that comes in as "overwrite."
I have used Trados on a daily basis for a long time as this is a requirement for most of my clients. In my opinion, it is pretty user-friendly and helps you manage your projects and resources. I believe it has wonderful features such as a spelling check, quality assurance and segment filters. On the downside, in my experience, it is not so good at managing large projects/files and there are frequent bugs and system crashes. The latest version is causing me a great deal of problems as it crashes each time I accept a segment, although I can work around this problem but this makes more work for me. Terminology is often not displayed and the system often does not like you to make changes to termbases. My operating system is Windows 11 64-bit and I believe that does cause more problems.
Pros
Project management
Quality assurance
Handling different document formats
Cons
Unable to handle large files efficiently
64-bit version required
Improved terminology window and usage
Likelihood to Recommend
In my experience, Trados Studio can be used for almost all translation jobs in an editable format. You cannot use it with hard copies and PDF conversion sometimes poses problems.
I bought SDL Trados software several years ago, believing I would be able to use it forever. In August 2022 I received an email saying that "License resets no longer available" for my version of software, effectively meaning I am forced to buy a new version of their software if I move to a new computer or need to reinstall Windows for any reason.
There are few meaningful updates from the 2014 version to the new version, it's basically the same thing with a few tweaks, and a new version is nearly $1,000. Where does this leave translators who work part time or live in countries where rates are low?
Except for this unfair decision by SDL, I have no reason to buy their new version!I will never give SDL another dime as thankfully there are now other competing programs such as MemoQ and Trados no longer has a monopoly. It's a desperate and unethical financial move by a company that has always offered poor customer support and attempted to corner the market by brute force. Good riddance.
Pros
Satisfactory translation memory management.
Acceptable but not outstanding workflow.
Business oriented mechanisms.
Cons
Highly unethical corporate practices
Poor customer support
Overly priced product
Monopolistic business strategies
Likelihood to Recommend
Although now there are competitors, it held a monopoly on computer assisted translation packages for some years. If high prices and poor customer support are not an issue for you, by all means purchase it. Other translators can find better options elsewhere in 2022.
I have been using SDL Trados Studio for localization projects/assignments of various types of content such as Web site, games, user manuals, e-learning courses, marketing materials, etc. from a wide range of international end clients for many years. I use it mainly for translation work, but also for editing and proofreading.
Pros
Making use of Translation Memory data
Keeping consistency by using termbase
Creating new project easily using existing project setting
Cons
Preview feature
Accessing server-based TM often takes time.
When connecting to server-based TM, I need to enter credentials twice every time. The first attempt always fails.
Likelihood to Recommend
Since SDL Trados Studio is equipped with highly functional TM features, it is suitable for long-term projects which require periodical updates and revisions and also projects from the same end client which often have similar content with needs for term consistency. Some of our projects have been run using SDL Trados Studio for ten years or longer. I don't think SDL Trados Studio is suited for standalone projects of small size, but other than that, SDL Trados Studio usually provides us with many benefits from the use of TM and termbase, as we can make use of existing data we have accumulated.
We use SDL Trados Studio regularly for project management. It is not our main CAT tool but we receive Trados project packages regularly from other translation agencies and then we assign them to our freelancer translators. After that, we use it for our QA processes and deliver it to our clients in return package format.
Pros
Xbench plugin works great. You can run Xbench on the whole project with one click.
TM and TB management
It is one of the most common CAT tool thus it is easy for translator assignments.
Cons
It sometimes crashes, especially when doing spellcheck.
Tag placing is not very efficient.
The trouble with activating license. We had to get in touch with the support team many times to fix the issue.
Likelihood to Recommend
Having an SDL Trados Studio license is a must in my opinion whether you are a translator or a translation agency as it is one of the most common CAT tools out there. You will receive Trados project packages from time to time so it is good to handle these jobs in its own software so your client is at ease. We don't have the online server feature, so it is hard to track big and multilingual projects as you cannot see the progress.
VU
Verified User
Project Manager in Professional Services (1-10 employees)
We've been using SDL Trados Studio internally to streamline translation and localization process for our existing clients. It's a state-of-the-art platform that helps us harness the power of translation memories and many other tools to improve consistency and overall quality of our text while reducing the cost and the time needed for translation.
Pros
Improves translation efficiency.
Fairly easy to use.
It supports a lot of different formats and integrates well with other tools.
A lot of translation agencies prefer SDL Trados, so being able to work in it results in increased client demand.
Cons
Very expensive.
Lots of bugs that lead to constant updates and service packs.
Likelihood to Recommend
SDL Trados Studio is a perfect solution for medium-large size translation agencies that have high volumes of work from existing clients and are looking to improve their workflow and increase consistency and overall quality of translated materials. Unfortunately, their price makes it less of an obvious choice for solo freelancers which can benefit from other, free CAT-tools (like Smartcat, for example).
I use SDL Trados with a network of freelance translators and reviewers. The product performs a sentence/paragraph text extracting from source documents into a proprietary file structure and shows it in a Source / Target 2-panels table. It addresses small to medium documents well where high performance is not a need. It doesn't really do well on big documents. It crashes frequently while doing search operations or committing hundreds of translations. Exporting to a 2 bilingual file is also a pain for big files.
Pros
Extracting sentences from Word, PowerPoint, and PDF.
Updating the source document when the client sends an updated source file.
Comparing sentence by sentence old set of source/target translations made outside of SDL Trados.
Maintaining a user community base to broadcast knowledge and issues.
Having an aggressive product update frequency.
Cons
The user interface includes elements that are basic, medium, and high complexity, which does not help the novices and it is an obstacle to Veterans. For example, Concordance Search, Fragments Matches, TQA should not be opened by default.
SDL Trados is a transactional-driven system. Transactions are everywhere, irrespective of its functionality. SDL Trados is not a process-oriented system, and in my humble opinion, it should be. They should be asking questions like: What are the Mega processes the system cover? What are the Macro Processes for each Mega Process? And so on and so forth for Process and then Procedures / Steps. For example, one Mega process could be Translate; another could be OCR.
The concept of batch tasks is a decades-old one. It assumes that the user knows what task to be selected from a bunch of tasks listed on this menu, and know which task makes sense for the step he/she is doing at one moment. Batch Tasks should be imploded, and its titles relocated and categorized within the existing Processes. A short-term action to minimize a bit this confusion would be to use dividers and re-sort the menu items by type of process and if whether it is endogenous or exogenous to the current process. That would help the end-user to focus on the main task. For example: Update Main Translation Memory is an endogenous task to the Files area.
The editor template with the 2 horizontal panels approach is good, and it provides many useful tools to help a manual translation, such as Terminology Base, Phrasal Translation memories, etc. However, all those tools are not available when performing an external translation and importing it back to the Editor panel. It does not flag inconsistencies against the Translation Memories or Terminology Base.
The product is good for low to medium volume. However, for big documents, it crashes frequently. Things like committing more than 30 sentences at the same time it takes a lot of time and CPU usage. Doing a search for the next Not Translated sentence, takes forever, I mean, more than 3 hours in a big document.
Fortunately, the support and training provided by BabelDGT, an SDL dealer located in Mexico City is fantastic. One-to-One Training and chat support are superb. Thanks to them my productivity is much better now.
Likelihood to Recommend
Well suited for manual translation. There are many tools in SDL Trados Studio that help a lot when you are typing in the target language. These tools include Translation Memory, Multiterm Base, Spelling, and Reviewing tool similar to Word Review. It also allows external reviewers to do their job in a table on a Word document. When importing the revised words, Trados is able to gather the review and make it visible for final acceptance.
I am using Trados Studio 2017 when I receive a translation which apparently has a great number of repetitions. I also use it when I receive proofreading which needs to be reviewed using Trados, and can correct any errors with Track changes on, to spot any grammar issues and run QA when necessary.
Pros
The TM use helps a lot to identify repeated words and fuzzy matches.
Trados and MemoQ files are compatible, so if a client sends a file to be worked in MemoQ I can mostly translate it in Trados too.
I can edit and correct any errors the same way I do in Microsoft word: I can use track changes, find and replace, among other things.
Cons
I would like it to be faster. When I create a new project, even if it is short, it takes a couple of minutes until I can start using the file.
I would like it to support more than 5 languages as, for example, I work with 7 different language pairs.
It does not always accept the files after they were converted with OCR. It would be great if I could use Trados for those files as well.
Likelihood to Recommend
I can translate most of my documents using Trados, it just does not work with many files after converting them with the OCR feature, mainly if the non-editable pdf, after being converted, has a lot of tables. It would be great if I could use those files as well.
Inline is a small LSP that uses SDL Trados Studio 2019 to complete translations into a wide variety of languages for Fortune 500 clients worldwide. The vast majority of the usage is in Spanish for the Domestic US market. The software has dramatically increased our margins, simplified our workflows, and resulted in savings for our clients. The software is powerful and full-featured, although there is a steep learning curve that makes it difficult for new users to get up to speed.
Pros
The software has an extensive suite of file types that it supports, making working with most client requests relatively painless.
The translation workspace is easy to use, although it is very intimidating to new users. Once people get used to and understand what's available, they make great use of its features.
The translation memories and management tools allow for efficient use of the translation resources available, and the filters, sorting, and prioritization routines make it easy to pick the correct content from a variety of sources.
Cons
The software is incredibly complex and perhaps could benefit from a basic vs. enhanced view, where novice users get one view, while experienced users get the full experience and all of the options.
The error messages provided don't mean anything and don't explain what to do. Searching online is usually required to figure out what should be done to eliminate the issue. Why not tell people directly what is wrong?
The alignment tool was recently updated in 2019 SR1, but it is buggy. I had a hard time aligning files that were easily handled in the prior version of the software. In general, the update is a great improvement in functionality, but it kept giving meaningless error messages that lead nowhere in online searches. I finally found information that the errors were just a bug and to ignore them. While that worked, bugs made it hard to complete the task without crashes.
Likelihood to Recommend
SDL Trados Studio is extremely well suited for expert CAT tool users. More novice users will have trouble getting up to speed. I have an office full of employees that constantly ask questions on how to do specific tasks, mainly because the task sequence is not obvious and is only uncovered by rote repetition of the same things. If you learn and apply the same techniques repeatedly, it becomes easier, but it seems the software was designed by software people, sometimes with little thought to the end users who have to figure it out. I don't know that professional training should be so necessary.
