If you use SDL Trados Studio, you may have already upgraded to Studio 2014, or you may be thinking about upgrading. I purchased the upgrade a few months ago, and here are some thoughts on it:
- I use only the basic features in Studio (create projects, use TMs and glossaries, use the concordance and filters), but in general I like Studio 2014. I don’t use SDL Language Cloud or any MT or QA plugins, or any of the project management features, so I can’t really comment on those. But for the features I use, the upgrade to 2014 was fairly painless, and the ribbon-style interface is easy to use.
- My biggest mental block with Studio is still the darned dynamic menus. Multiple times, I’ve been beating my head against the desk, trying to figure out why the “Add files” menu item was greyed-out or impossible to find, only to remember that you have to be in the source language view for that option to show. I know that this is a deliberate decision by SDL, but I’m still getting used to it.
- Blessedly, the Java applet associated with MultiTerm is being eliminated in SP2, which SDL plans to release in about a week. This will be great; the Java applet is slow and aggravating (and I have a slow computer, so it’s really, really slow) which creates a disincentive to add terms on the fly.
- I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if you’re switching to Studio from a simpler tool, or if you’re learning a TM tool for the first time and starting with Studio, do not try to learn to use it on your own. Think of it like learning Photoshop or InDesign; it’s not something that you just install and learn how to use in a couple of hours. Either hire a trainer (Tuomas Kostiainen offers remote training on your own computer; several of my students have used him and raved about it) or buy the manual (see below) and go through it step by step.
I’ll reserve a special mention for Mats Linder’s Trados Studio Manual. It’s truly awesome. Disclosure: Mats provided me with a free review copy of the manual when he released it. You can purchase the manual for US $49 from Mats’ website or for the same price from the SDL OpenExchange website. It’s no wonder that this manual has *all* five-star reviews on the SDL site and has been downloaded almost 1,800 times. Whether you’re wondering where you type the translation (as I wondered when I first opened the software), or how to write regular expressions for use in Studio, this manual literally has it all.
Readers, other thoughts on Studio 2014?