Thank you for the comments.

Evzen Polenka I wouldn't consider powershell scripts as a standalone application because they require a certain level of IT knowledge and for sure they are not seen as a viable solution by the casual translator, project manager or reviewer.

What we are trying to obtain with plugins is simplicity for the casual user, so your comparison with Unix doesn't make to much sense. Unix is a great operating system but not for consumers. One key objective around extension and customisation is to provide them in the most simplest and easiest form possible. I would rather compare the plugin ideas with Apple Store or Google Play which for sure are a huge success of this concept.

I'm not saying standalone app's are bad, actually we've just released the SDL Analyse as a standalone app, but what I'm trying to say is that you can definitely get a better experience for the casual user if you add your features closer to what they do normally rather than force them to move to other applications and make them do a constant switch between them which leads to losing their focus and context which causes lots of human errors.

Regarding .NET dll hell I'm not saying is not a real concern when you develop an application but this is not the main reason you should make a plugin, however our plumbing around plugin creation make things simpler for the developer.

Having an app that depends only on the OS means that SDL should talk with Microsoft and include the features in Windows? Otherwise I can't really see how you can rely just on the OS. Registering Trados Studio assemblies in Windows GAC is not a good option because it's adding other limitations and problems.

Jesse Good That's on our to development satisfaction list but it's not a top priority. Can you please give me a few reasons why you need to create a standalone application and not create a plugin?

Thank you for the comments.

Evzen Polenka I wouldn't consider powershell scripts as a standalone application because they require a certain level of IT knowledge and for sure they are not seen as a viable solution by the casual translator, project manager or reviewer.

What we are trying to obtain with plugins is simplicity for the casual user, so your comparison with Unix doesn't make to much sense. Unix is a great operating system but not for consumers. One key objective around extension and customisation is to provide them in the most simplest and easiest form possible. I would rather compare the plugin ideas with Apple Store or Google Play which for sure are a huge success of this concept.

I'm not saying standalone app's are bad, actually we've just released the SDL Analyse as a standalone app, but what I'm trying to say is that you can definitely get a better experience for the casual user if you add your features closer to what they do normally rather than force them to move to other applications and make them do a constant switch between them which leads to losing their focus and context which causes lots of human errors.

Regarding .NET dll hell I'm not saying is not a real concern when you develop an application but this is not the main reason you should make a plugin, however our plumbing around plugin creation make things simpler for the developer.

Having an app that depends only on the OS means that SDL should talk with Microsoft and include the features in Windows? Otherwise I can't really see how you can rely just on the OS. Registering Trados Studio assemblies in Windows GAC is not a good option because it's adding other limitations and problems.

Jesse Good That's on our to development satisfaction list but it's not a top priority. Can you please give me a few reasons why you need to create a standalone application and not create a plugin?