| Pages in topic: [1 2 3 4 5 6 7] > | Is it possible to make only a basic use of Studio? Thread poster: Sandrine Ananie
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Hi,
I am starting to use Studio (though most of my work - creative stuff - does not require it). I have to say I am not a computer person at all; I can do what I consider to be very basic things on a computer, but that's about it. Happily, my husband works in IT and hopefully will be able to help me with those Trados bugs (which, fingers crossed, I haven't encountered yet).
My question is: I can translate a .doc file (all the files I receive being in this format) with S... See more Hi,
I am starting to use Studio (though most of my work - creative stuff - does not require it). I have to say I am not a computer person at all; I can do what I consider to be very basic things on a computer, but that's about it. Happily, my husband works in IT and hopefully will be able to help me with those Trados bugs (which, fingers crossed, I haven't encountered yet).
My question is: I can translate a .doc file (all the files I receive being in this format) with Studio and create and "feed" a TM, which I can reuse again and again. Basically, I must be using about 10% of all those shiny buttons! But at the moment this is what I need, and I'm happy. I have not installed the 2007 version. When I see all those "WinAlign", "TagEditor", "clean/unclean files" terms on this forum and on others, I feel like... wow, there are so many other things!
But does a translator have to master all those things? Is the (very) simple use of Studio that I am making enough? (I have to say that I use Trados because I want to, not because clients want me to - even though I mostly deal with creative stuff, I occasionaly have repetitive files and, yes, it does help me go faster).
Thanks for all your input,
Sandrine ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jerzy Czopik 
Germany
Local time: 18:35
Member (2003)
Polish to German
+ ...
| Studio can be used "just" for translation | Mar 16, 2010 |
If you work with single files, just "Open the document".
Create a new empty TM for the first time. Then with any next document assign this one.
Translate the file, use "Save target as" to produce a translated copy of the document.
If you do not change any default setting, all translated content will be in the TM.
To assure that, after you filled each cell with translation press the "Confirm" button (looks like a pencil with a hook on it) or press the corresponding shortcu... See more If you work with single files, just "Open the document".
Create a new empty TM for the first time. Then with any next document assign this one.
Translate the file, use "Save target as" to produce a translated copy of the document.
If you do not change any default setting, all translated content will be in the TM.
To assure that, after you filled each cell with translation press the "Confirm" button (looks like a pencil with a hook on it) or press the corresponding shortcut.
The only thing you should pay attention to, is NOT to open any document, which you already started to translate, again with the "Open document command".
Instead of this, go to Project view, make sure the document you wanna translate is highlighted in bold. If not, double click that one. Then go to Files view and double click the document. That's it.
If you wanna translate more than one document at once, try to create a project then. ▲ Collapse
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We in the team went to a course on SDL Trados Studio 2009 yesterday. We have used Trados products since 1996, and finally got tired of having to adapt our processes and wishes to the tool, of "serving the tool", and not the opposite.
In the case of 2009 (I get tired of writing the full name all the time; as I say many times: the name tells you lots about a product), I this it has big usability problems: it is not intuitive at all; experienced, savvy CAT and computer users have to sp... See more We in the team went to a course on SDL Trados Studio 2009 yesterday. We have used Trados products since 1996, and finally got tired of having to adapt our processes and wishes to the tool, of "serving the tool", and not the opposite.
In the case of 2009 (I get tired of writing the full name all the time; as I say many times: the name tells you lots about a product), I this it has big usability problems: it is not intuitive at all; experienced, savvy CAT and computer users have to spend hours trying to grasp the simplest things and clicking around wizards and toolbars; it consumes too much space in your screen with A) blank space like in the Multiterm and matches panes, pretty full of air, or B) buttons most translators won't use more than once a year. You have to make an effort to hide all the things you don't need, instead of showing the things you do need, it creates useless files all over the place, and you have to click too much to be able to simply translate.
If you decide to "work in a clutter-free environment" as SDL describes it, you press F11 but then if you need to see the terminology matches you have to drag your mouse over tabs so that they expand (they cover your text, which is no good really). To me, the tool should have a clutter-free environment from minute 1, but that should not mean that you don't have the information at hand without having to drag over tabs (which themselves are hard to see).
When you open a file, a project is automatically created that adds 2,8 MB of filter files. So even if your file only has 50 KB, you end up with almost 3 MB of space eaten away from your disk. Some people could argue that hard disks are very cheap today, but do you really need to have your computers stuffed with files that serve no purpose at all (ever used a DITA file?) and make both your computer and your backups run inefficiently? I don't think so.
My personal assessment of 2009 after seeing it in more detail and trying it for a full day is that SDL want to mesmerise users with a nice collection of colourful buttons, a bucket of wizards, a bucket of on-screen options only 2% of users will use, etc. etc., thus rendering the product quite cumbersome to use for translators. It might be a nice option for project managers addicted to toolbars and wizards, but what we translators need is efficiency. Even the most technically savvy translator needs usability and simple, efficient ways of doing things as there is a fierce market out there and we cannot keep "serving our tools". They must serve us.
I sincerely encourage you to download and evaluate other options. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I agree 200% with Tomás | Mar 16, 2010 |
Tomás, can I use your opinion here to send a mad message to SDL?
I bought Studio last week and I'm totally speechless. I got so mad that I'm still trying to find the right words to write to them stating my dislike about this tool.
I thought I was buying something improved and more robust, but what I saw is a complete and total waste of time, "my" time. The "migration manual" from the 2007 to 2009 version has "only" 297 pages. I simply don't know where do I start!
... See more Tomás, can I use your opinion here to send a mad message to SDL?
I bought Studio last week and I'm totally speechless. I got so mad that I'm still trying to find the right words to write to them stating my dislike about this tool.
I thought I was buying something improved and more robust, but what I saw is a complete and total waste of time, "my" time. The "migration manual" from the 2007 to 2009 version has "only" 297 pages. I simply don't know where do I start!
The so-called clutter-free environment is NOT clutter-free. Clutter-free in my humble opinion is our familiar Trados, that I know for so long (more than 12 years).
What I feared most is happening. I knew that SDL, when they bought Trados, would soon discontinue Trados and would make us "swallow" that terrible SDLX interface.
So I second Tomás in this: why should we have to serve the tools and not the contrary? They think that placing nice buttons and buttonbars will make us happy when what we need is just the contrary. What I need is a "sit and start working" interface, that's all. People from SDLX, we DO NOT have time to learn a new manual of about 297 pages. I know you're trying to make money with training - this is where you make money, I know - but we need the contrary! We need efficiency and we need simple tools. We have other things in mind. Machines still don't do the translation, so we still have to think about it!
Heloisa ▲ Collapse
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| Making us deliberately inefficient? | Mar 16, 2010 |
Heloísa Helena Benetton Costa wrote:
People from SDLX, we DO NOT have time to learn a new manual of about 297 pages. I know you're trying to make money with training - this is where you make money, I know - but we need the contrary! We need efficiency and we need simple tools. We have other things in mind. Machines still don't do the translation, so we still have to think about it!
Reading your words I wonder whether some CAT tool manufacturers are intentionally making their tools cumbersome so that we translators are less efficient and cannot compete with machine translation.
| | | | merinber (X)
Germany
Local time: 18:35
German to English
| You answered your own question | Mar 16, 2010 |
If you are happy with what you have been doing so far, that's great; there is no reason at all to know more about those "shiny buttons." I still would suggest that you try the automated translation option. It will give you a rough translation of every segment as you go, which may enhance your creativity by presenting you with terms and constructions you otherwise might not have though of, regardless of their syntactical accuracy.
| | | | | Install it all... but don't feel forced to learn it all... | Mar 16, 2010 |
Sandrine Ananie wrote:
Basically, I must be using about 10% of all those shiny buttons! But at the moment this is what I need, and I'm happy. I have not installed the 2007 version. When I see all those "WinAlign", "TagEditor", "clean/unclean files" terms on this forum and on others, I feel like... wow, there are so many other things!
Generally. I think it's a bad idea to install this kind of product partially.
E.g. T2009 still needs T2007 for some operations.
As some T2007 setup routines are "suspect", you may have problems if you need to install and use it afterwards, when necessary.
But does a translator have to master all those things? Is the (very) simple use of Studio that I am making enough?
I suppose the 80/20 rule rulez 
I.e. 80% of the translators use only 20% of the software functions and it's rather normal.
Some of them use even less and they still do their job correctly, so don't worry
The problem with T2009 is it displays by default a lot of icons, menu items etc. you'll never use, especially when you're a beginner, so you may be lost.
Personally, I love the minimialist DVX-like interfaces (no advocacy, just a personal preference).
Cheers
GG
[Edited at 2010-03-16 16:06 GMT]
| | | | Jerzy Czopik
Germany
Local time: 18:35
Member (2003)
Polish to German
+ ...
| The training you attended must have been awful, Tomás | Mar 16, 2010 |
Simply because Studio is a very easy to use product.
Why? Because as in Word you can reduce to the most necessary things.
And like in Word there are dozens of function most of us will never use. But as far I did not hear so many complaints about Word...
Honetsly, I am not biased and I use not only Studio. But I happen to be a trainer for that.
And I am certain would I show you wht the most important functions are, which things should be setup at the beginning and so on, y... See more Simply because Studio is a very easy to use product.
Why? Because as in Word you can reduce to the most necessary things.
And like in Word there are dozens of function most of us will never use. But as far I did not hear so many complaints about Word...
Honetsly, I am not biased and I use not only Studio. But I happen to be a trainer for that.
And I am certain would I show you wht the most important functions are, which things should be setup at the beginning and so on, you wouldn't bother a second a file is been treated as a project... ▲ Collapse
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| Are you sure? | Mar 16, 2010 |
Jerzy Czopik wrote:
Honetsly, I am not biased and I use not only Studio.
Oh Jerzy!
| | | | | Training does not make the product a good one | Mar 16, 2010 |
Jerzy Czopik wrote:
The training you attended must have been awful, Tomás
Simply because Studio is a very easy to use product.
To me, a good product is one that you can begin using immediately and that gives you reasonably good results from minute 1, and which, when you get training, can give you a lot more.
I am all for training, but no training in the world can make Studio a good product in my opinion. To me, if a user is happy about the usability of Studio after training, it means that trainers managed to bend the learner's mind to fit the tool, and not the opposite.
| | | | Jerzy Czopik
Germany
Local time: 18:35
Member (2003)
Polish to German
+ ...
After Transit Satellite, Transit XV, SDLX and Trados 2007 I do think I know what I'm talking about.
I have posted several ideas regarding Studio, which do deal with IMHO necessary corrections or revamping of the user interface, to make the product more user friendly.
But stll, compared to T2007 or SDLX or Transit, Studio is better.
The way of working in MemoQ is - for what I can tell from a short test - not different from Studio at all.
And if we speak about software - Wo... See more After Transit Satellite, Transit XV, SDLX and Trados 2007 I do think I know what I'm talking about.
I have posted several ideas regarding Studio, which do deal with IMHO necessary corrections or revamping of the user interface, to make the product more user friendly.
But stll, compared to T2007 or SDLX or Transit, Studio is better.
The way of working in MemoQ is - for what I can tell from a short test - not different from Studio at all.
And if we speak about software - Word is not the best tool for editing, but is widely used. I would say, the rule for Word is 90/10, to paraphrase Grzegorz, where 90% of all users use 10% of all features. Similar with OpenOffice. But somehow no one cares there... ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jerzy Czopik
Germany
Local time: 18:35
Member (2003)
Polish to German
+ ...
| Either self learning or training | Mar 16, 2010 |
Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote: Jerzy Czopik wrote:
The training you attended must have been awful, Tomás
Simply because Studio is a very easy to use product. To me, a good product is one that you can begin using immediately and that gives you reasonably good results from minute 1, and which, when you get training, can give you a lot more. I am all for training, but no training in the world can make Studio a good product in my opinion. To me, if a user is happy about the usability of Studio after training, it means that trainers managed to bend the learner's mind to fit the tool, and not the opposite.
Once again, think about Word. Are you able to use it out of the box? Just install, sit there and produce a nicely looking document with pictures inside?
Most probably you will simply produce a document quite fast, meeting your needs.
And exactly the same can be achieved with Studiio: open the document, assign the TM, translate, produce final version and you're done. Cut. Finito.
But, TBH, comparing any CAT tool to ordinary software is not a good idea. These products are much complex in their nature by the core of what they are expected to do. If you really expect a CAT to be so easy to use, then how will you explain all the TM, termbase and so on concepts to beginners? How a beginner should know, what a fuzzy match is? And then what to do with a fuzzy match? Before you do not understand the concept of CAT you will not get used to how to use them.
I do not make people fit to what Studio needs, but I do make them understand, how Studio works. Similar to driving license - you get it and then you start to learn driving. But someone had to show you, what's all about.
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| your opinion, my opinion | Mar 16, 2010 |
Jerzy Czopik wrote:
But stll, compared to T2007 or SDLX or Transit, Studio is better.
How do you know?
I only have "second-hand" experience with Trados 2009 (isn't it interesting, by the way, I have not had any real need to install 2009 for the whole time I have owned it?), but do you have any with Transit NXT? IMHO any Transit (XV or NXT) is better than any Trados (2007 or 2009).
No flameware intended, but the statement of yours I cite above sort of provoked me.
Antonin
| | | | | We know how to use a car | Mar 16, 2010 |
Jerzy Czopik wrote:
Similar to driving license - you get it and then you start to learn driving. But someone had to show you, what's all about.
The problem with this reasoning Jerzy is that more and more translators who have plenty of experience with Trados and other tools complain about the weak usability in Studio. They/we all know how to drive, know how to use one or more CAT tools.
If we dislike Studio it is not because we are inexperienced, are not computer savvy enough or are plain dumb: it is just because Studio was not made for our needs, but for the needs of lots of people who are not translators. Unfortunately, it feels like a PM tool with, incidentally, has a grid where eventually translators can do some work.
| | | | Jerzy Czopik
Germany
Local time: 18:35
Member (2003)
Polish to German
+ ...
| Of course always IMHO | Mar 16, 2010 |
And I do not compare to Transit NXT.
Just Transit XV - and Transit is not a tool of my choice, because it ist not logical to me. IMHO again, please
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