| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Do you use a CAT tool? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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| | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 17:03
Spanish to English
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Wordfast Classic. And unfortunately, my best client this morning informed me that they are now using Open Office as standard for their texts, so I won't be able to use it any more, unless it has suddenly miraculously become compatible...
| | | | Mary Worby 
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:03
German to English
+ ...
And almost invariably I am asked by my customers to do so. I've used Trados for about 12 years, but this year have been provided with 3 new systems (plus another which is just at the potential job stage). In the fields that I work in, I struggle to concieve how anyone could be successful without a CAT tool. But clearly many people are.
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And I do not intend to.
Gudrun
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José Gralike (X)
Netherlands
Local time: 17:03
German to Dutch
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| Yes, MetaTexis! | Sep 15, 2011 |
And I love it.
But I am still struggling with the idea some prospects have: I invested in a CAT tool, so they may pay less. Which means I should pay twice... (This is another discussion, I guess).
And Neilmac: you can still use Wordfast with a very simple workaround, I think. Download OO yourself (it is free and very user friendly), open the OO document and save it as a Word document. Use that for your translation. After translating, open the Word doc in OO again and save it ... See more And I love it.
But I am still struggling with the idea some prospects have: I invested in a CAT tool, so they may pay less. Which means I should pay twice... (This is another discussion, I guess).
And Neilmac: you can still use Wordfast with a very simple workaround, I think. Download OO yourself (it is free and very user friendly), open the OO document and save it as a Word document. Use that for your translation. After translating, open the Word doc in OO again and save it as OO. This trick should only take you a moment, and you can keep your client.
I hope this will work for you. I tried OO only a few weeks ago because I had a Word problem, and it worked great. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Steven Capsuto
United States
Local time: 11:03
Member (2004)
Spanish to English
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| Yes, several | Sep 15, 2011 |
My preferred tool these days is memoQ, though I also still support Trados 2007 and SDLX 2007. I recently downloaded the free, freelance version of Across and will experiment with that if I can find some time, since one of my main agency clients has started using it.
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 17:03
Member (2009)
English to German
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| Actually...other | Sep 15, 2011 |
I don't use a CAT tool at present, but intend to get WordFastPro in the near future.
Not because someone requires it, but to make work to flow faster for myself.
| | | | | Yes, MetaTexis | Sep 15, 2011 |
I've started to use MetaTexis recently and I tried OmegaT. Now I'm sorry I haven't started earlier.
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Alison Sabedoria (X)
United Kingdom
French to English
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| Not usually, but... | Sep 15, 2011 |
For most of what I do, CAT offers few advantages. Even for a recent 70,000 word project, Word's indexing system and "search and replace" function proved not only adequate, but surprisingly efficient.
However, I am about to embark on a project involving over 3,000 product presentations which involve a lot of repetitions with small variations, and for which I need absolute consistency. CAT is the obvious choice in this case, especially as the files might well need to be modified over ... See more For most of what I do, CAT offers few advantages. Even for a recent 70,000 word project, Word's indexing system and "search and replace" function proved not only adequate, but surprisingly efficient.
However, I am about to embark on a project involving over 3,000 product presentations which involve a lot of repetitions with small variations, and for which I need absolute consistency. CAT is the obvious choice in this case, especially as the files might well need to be modified over the coming months, so I intend making the most of what it can do for me. This week I have been busy getting back up to speed and re-familiarising myself with the useful shortcuts - really quite a novelty!
But as for different tarifs based on percentage matches and all the petty penny-pinching that goes with it.... ▲ Collapse
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I think I've read similar question at this same forum some time ago.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 17:03
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Preaching to the unconverted | Sep 15, 2011 |
José Gralike wrote:
And Neilmac: you can still use Wordfast with a very simple workaround, I think. Download OO yourself (it is free and very user friendly), open the OO document and save it as a Word document. Use that for your translation.
I did have open Office, and this is the solution I attempted the other day, however the result was that the fonts that had been used in Open Office came up slightly smaller than in Word, so in the end the client had to re-format the whole document once I'd converted it from PDF to ODT to Word, translated ¡t using Wordfast and delivered to them. They didn't mind too much, as I delivered it 2 days ahead of schedule so they had ample time to tweak it. I'm just worried that in future jobs I might have to do them more slowly, without the help of WF, which I've become used to. For the moment, the client says I can continue as before and we can look for a solution that suits us both.
Also, I had to uninstall the Open Office which came pre-installed in my new laptop, because every time I tried to open a Word document the Open Office sprang into action (unsummoned by me, which I always hate) and tried to get me to register it. I have always removed Outlook from all my PCs too, as I find it irritatingly obtrusive and not at all useful. I am fully aware that OO is free and easy to install and use, etc but I simply don't like it and would prefer to keep on working with my industry standard tools if possible.
My CAT tool of choice, Wordfast, is not at all compatible with Open Office AFAIK. I do understand all the reasons and pros and cons of open source versus Microsoft or branded SW, but I do feel some resentment at being obliged to suffer yet another learning curve (pax Windows 7!!) after years of working with the industry standard (Microsoft) at some expense, despite any feelings of animosity towards Mr Gates I might share with the techno crew.
| | | | Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 09:03
English to Spanish
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In memoriam
There are no CATS for me today, tomorrow or ever, and I am successful without them.
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Alex Lago
Spain
Local time: 17:03
English to Spanish
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| Wow 24% don't, I find that amazing | Sep 15, 2011 |
I was amazed to see that 24% out of 1122 votes said they did not use CAT tools, it never fails to amaze me how some translators seem to equate CAT tool to CAT rates or how often I hear "I never translate the same text, I don't need a CAT tool", or how many translators think CAT tools are one of the "evils" that plague the translation industry .
The advantages of a CAT tool go so far beyond "translating the same text" that I find it amazing that not all translators have incorporated ... See more I was amazed to see that 24% out of 1122 votes said they did not use CAT tools, it never fails to amaze me how some translators seem to equate CAT tool to CAT rates or how often I hear "I never translate the same text, I don't need a CAT tool", or how many translators think CAT tools are one of the "evils" that plague the translation industry .
The advantages of a CAT tool go so far beyond "translating the same text" that I find it amazing that not all translators have incorporated them into their work flows. And just because you use a CAT tool does not in any way mean you have to offer any discounts on your rates.
Just the gains you get in work flow and productivity should be enough to convince people but this always seems to be one of those really contentious issues. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Rolf Kern
Switzerland
Local time: 17:03
English to German
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In memoriam
I will never use a CAT tool because translation is a too serious and difficult thing to depend on any such tool. I am a successful professional translator without language education and I have the impression that these language schools teach that such tools are a "must". This is far besides the practical situation, independent of the fact that many clients go for them.
| | | | | Language schools and CAT tools | Sep 15, 2011 |
Rolf Kern wrote:
I will never use a CAT tool because translation is a too serious and difficult thing to depend on any such tool. I am a successful professional translator without language education and I have the impression that these language schools teach that such tools are a "must".
Usually they teach languages in language schools and I myself found out about CAT tools via proz.com forums, even though I have translation education (the old style, I would say). The market is the one who says CAT tools are a "must", not the schools!
I use both Trados Studio and SDLX. I am also a little bit shocked to see that many translators don't use CAT tools.
Nobody would expect from any accountant to stop using accounting software that make bookkeeping and calculation tasks more productive, consistent and organized. Using a CAT tool doesn't mean you don't take your translation job seriously. It just means that the translator cares enough about his work and wants to store all the translated lines in translation memories and in glossaries, for future reference. The way you refer to CAT tools makes me think that you mix up the functions of a translation machine with those of a CAT tool, like many other translators do.
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