CAT tool evaluation: Trados

Computer-aided translation (CAT) tools play a significant role in the work of

any translator looking to market themselves cost-effectively in this
technological age. For the most part, the main benefit of working with a CAT
tool is the increase in output and confidence accomplished through cutting
time spent in completing repetitive tasks or other actions not linked to
translation such as formatting, while simultaneously helping to increase intratextual uniformity by using the capabilities of the TM to ensure that terms are
translated in a consistent manner. Studies have suggested that translation
tasks can take up to 40% less time when using a CAT tool.
Nonetheless, the fact that mistranslations can easily be replicated is one
remarkable disadvantage and the time taken to make oneself acquainted with
the software enough to be able to quickly perform simple tasks dictates that
initial working speed is extremely low, although the benefits are quick to
follow.
SDL Trados Studio is a sentence-based tool and is considered the most
accessible and popular. It has features such as an integrated multi-lingual
spellchecker, increased file compatibility and the ease with which multiple
files, projects and deadlines can be managed provide very tangible aids to the
translators work and make the entire package more self-contained.
SDL Trados Studio contains a highly developed terminology management
components. It is equipped to handle the huge volumes of data that can
accompany large, complex translation projects. SDL Trados Studio has
features such as automatic conversion and substitution of dates, numbers and
measurements. SDL Trados supports over 70 different file types together with
formats and languages coupled with multilingual translation memory
databases which enable project managers to organise the most complex of
projects with minimal effort.
Trados Studio comes with these features:

a well-organized GUI

Retrofit: update the translation file (and memory) from a reviewed

target file

Auto-correct spelling or insert frequently used text easily

Personalized ribbon

Use AutoSuggest for every kind of match

Leverage from TMs with other language pairs

Create and manage bookmarks

Exclude locked segments from the analysis

Support for Microsoft Office 2016

Work with bilingual Excel files

SDL Trados Studio is delivered with several tools and applications. These are:
SDL Trados Studio
The main application providing a complete environment to edit or review
translations, manage translation projects, organize terminology, and connect
to machine translation.
SDL MultiTerm
A terminology management tool that is integrated with SDL Trados Studio for
adding, editing and managing terms.
SDL Language Cloud
Secure access to machine translation engines that can be accessed directly
from within SDL Trados Studio.
SDL OpenExchange
SDL Trados Studio includes several applications for the SDL OpenExchange an online marketplace which offers apps to help with a range of translation
processes, for example further file format support and task automation.
The translation memory format of Trados is SDLTM.
When creating a new (file-based) translation memory, SDL Trados Studio
creates a database file in which all translation units are stored. The translation
memory also stores structural and context information to link all the different
segments and their position in a document. This allows the tool to select the
most relevant translation memory segment.
The latest stable release is SDL Trados Studio 2015 Service Release 2
released in March 2016. SDL Trados Studio 2017 is expected to be released
by the end of 2016.