Reading Files From PC
Thread poster: Martin_Bragalon
Martin_Bragalon
Martin_Bragalon
Japan
Local time: 00:39
Japanese to English
+ ...
Apr 3, 2017

Hi fellow translators,

I am new to CAT tools. I only have some experience with online CAT tools like SMART CAT.

A new client has asked me to use Trados and are sending me files in .sdlxliff format.

I cannot download them at all to my understanding unless I have translation tool like Omega T.

At the moment, I cannot afford to invest in Trados or I would prefer not to. I am trying to get out some credit card debt from last year and I would si
... See more
Hi fellow translators,

I am new to CAT tools. I only have some experience with online CAT tools like SMART CAT.

A new client has asked me to use Trados and are sending me files in .sdlxliff format.

I cannot download them at all to my understanding unless I have translation tool like Omega T.

At the moment, I cannot afford to invest in Trados or I would prefer not to. I am trying to get out some credit card debt from last year and I would simply not be able to afford to pay out for the current Trados studio. Secondly, this new client pays bi-monthly. Although the salary for this job is quite decent I think (around 3K to 5K USD), I still have to wait until June before being able to pay off this purchase if I were to get Trados. And with this being a completely new client, I am already taking on enough of a risk to just do the job without also taking on the financial risk in case they do not pay in the end (been burned in the past...how I got into some debt in the first place).

Thus I opted for Omega T. I went through the tutorials and the manual and downloaded it. I also got Apache OpenOffice to help me convert files to .odt.

So far, Omega T cannot read anything I have in my files. I cannot read .pdf, .doc, .docx, .sdlxliff, nor .odt....


Assuming I should continue on with Omega T, how do I make it so I can start this project and open up docs..?


Thank you for your help. I would really appreciate any answer here or else I am afraid I may have to just buy Trados and hope to God these people pull through with payment.
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Susan Welsh
Susan Welsh  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:39
Russian to English
+ ...
sdlxlliff Apr 4, 2017

See http://www.omegat.org/en/howtos/compatibility.html

You have to download the Okapi plugin and check SDLXLIFF in Options > File Filters.

As far as OmegaT not being able to read anything in your files (pdf, doc,
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See http://www.omegat.org/en/howtos/compatibility.html

You have to download the Okapi plugin and check SDLXLIFF in Options > File Filters.

As far as OmegaT not being able to read anything in your files (pdf, doc, etc.), see Chapter 7 of the manual, file:///C:/Program%20Files/OmegaT_4.1.1/docs/en/chapter.file.filters.html

You will not be able to send them back their translation in an SDL Project format, only as a bilingual SDLXLIFF file. And you will have to proofread your work on the screen (you can't print out SDLXLIFF unless you have SDL Studio).

Relax, you sound desperate. Get a purchase order from your client, or partial pre-payment if it is a large job and you are worried about getting paid. Look on the Proz.com BlueBoard for their payment record (you have to be a Proz member to do that).


[Edited at 2017-04-04 12:11 GMT]

[Edited at 2017-04-04 12:13 GMT]
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Susan Welsh
Susan Welsh  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:39
Russian to English
+ ...
on second thought... Apr 4, 2017

My advice to you is not to accept the job.

SDL Studio (formerly "Trados") is difficult to learn, a real pain in the neck. You have not yet taken care to actually learn how to use OmegaT, which is not difficult, but there's still a learning curve. You say you "went through" the tutorials and the manual, but that verbal phrase covers a multitude of sins. If you actually follwed the instructions in the tutorial for CAT beginners and/or read the manual carefully and/or watched some of
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My advice to you is not to accept the job.

SDL Studio (formerly "Trados") is difficult to learn, a real pain in the neck. You have not yet taken care to actually learn how to use OmegaT, which is not difficult, but there's still a learning curve. You say you "went through" the tutorials and the manual, but that verbal phrase covers a multitude of sins. If you actually follwed the instructions in the tutorial for CAT beginners and/or read the manual carefully and/or watched some of the videos, you would not have asked the questions you did (expecting it to open a .doc file, for example).
And if you try to process SDL files in OmegaT, you are going to need some additional expertise. If your client requires you to use "Trados," then probably that's what they want you to do: i.e., they will send you an SDL Project and want it returned that way.

You can check the OmegaT Yahoo group for more information, since this topic has been addressed many times. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/OmegaT/conversations/messages
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Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 16:39
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Martin Apr 4, 2017

Martin_Bragalon wrote:
A new client [is] sending me files in .sdlxliff format.


1. You have to install the Okapi filters plugin:
https://bintray.com/okapi/Distribution/OmegaT_Plugin
okapiFiltersForOmegaT-1.3-m32-dist.zip

To install the plugin, unzip the download and copy the JAR file to OmegaT's "plugins" folder, e.g. C:\Program Files (x86)\OmegaT\plugins\ .

2. Then you have to disable OmegaT's native XLIFF filter. In OmegaT, go to Options > File Filters, and make sure that the filter named "XLIFF" is unchecked and that the filter named "XLIFF files (Okapi)" is checked.

I also got Apache OpenOffice to help me convert files to .odt.


Do not convert SDLXLIFF files to anything else.

ODT is a document format (like MS Word). SDLXLIFF is a bilingual XML format.

3. There is no guarantee that OmegaT will be able to translate the SDXLIFF files or that the client will be able to open the SDLXLIFF files that you had translated, and I know of no way to test it without installing Trados itself. That said, the Okapi filters are pretty good at handling XLIFF files.


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 16:39
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Susan Apr 4, 2017

Susan Welsh wrote:
You will not be able to send them back their translation in an SDL Project format, only as a bilingual SDLXLIFF file.


But the same would apply even if he did have Trados itself. If a client sends you an SDLXLIFF file (not a forward package) then you can only send back an SDLXLIFF file (not a return package).

And you will have to proofread your work on the screen (you can't print out SDLXLIFF unless you have SDL Studio).


I was not aware that one could print out an SDLXLIFF file with Trados itself. I had a quick look but could not find that function. Can you tell me where to find the print function in Trados (I have 2015)?

Susan Welsh wrote:
SDL Studio (formerly "Trados") is difficult to learn, a real pain in the neck.


I have a paid license for Trados, but I don't really do anything with it except to pre-process files and to check if files have been converted correctly.

If your client requires you to use "Trados," then probably that's what they want you to do: i.e., they will send you an SDL Project and want it returned that way.


Some clients do sent forward packages and expect return packages, but most of my Trados clients send me SDLXLIFF files.


 
Susan Welsh
Susan Welsh  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:39
Russian to English
+ ...
Hi Samuel Apr 4, 2017

Martin, go by what Samuel says. He knows much more about all this than I do.

Samuel, what I guess I meant by proofreading SDLXLIFF in Studio was that you can "Save Target As" - save as a .doc file (or whatever), and then print it out and proofread it. There's no way to do that in OmegaT.// edit: There's also "Export for External Review," which gives you an "uncleaned" file for proofreading.

I bought Studio 2014 a couple of years ago and use it very little -- only when a
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Martin, go by what Samuel says. He knows much more about all this than I do.

Samuel, what I guess I meant by proofreading SDLXLIFF in Studio was that you can "Save Target As" - save as a .doc file (or whatever), and then print it out and proofread it. There's no way to do that in OmegaT.// edit: There's also "Export for External Review," which gives you an "uncleaned" file for proofreading.

I bought Studio 2014 a couple of years ago and use it very little -- only when a client requires it and I need the work. I think I have barely covered the original cost of the software.
Nobody ever sent me SDLXLIFF files, only Packages.



[Edited at 2017-04-05 13:48 GMT]
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