Problem with switching on and off bold in Studio 2017.

Hi,

I am translating a text in which some segments only consist of 1 or 2 words in bold. However, the translation should consist of those same 1 or 2 words in bold followed by the translation between brackets NOT in bold. When I start typing, the translation is automatically bold, but for some strange reason I can't turn off bold for the part between brackets.

Example: source segment: Grenzwert. The translation should be: Grenzwert (Limietwaarde). However, I always get Grenzwert (Limietwaarde).

Thanks for your help.


Rudy

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  • and these ways of thinking removed the luxury of adding highlights quite quickly that we used to enjoy... It is not us translators who made trados a secondary software. It is your people who made the software a secondary one. Just because of habit, I still use the software I paid to be a comprehensive solution to my CAT tool needs. Analysis of a 500 page document takes more than 10 minutes while memoq does it in 50 seconds... Trados stagnates even while working on such big files. It could be otherwise. It could be dominating 70% of the industry. It is not, because someone somewhere within trados thinks it is good to be hypocrites in know-it-all arrogance unfortunately. Maybe instead of trying to answer equally fiercely 16th time, take this as a golden feedback... it might serve your company... 

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  • removed the luxury of adding highlights quite quickly that we used to enjoy.

    There are a couple of apps that you might find useful for this:

    https://appstore.sdl.com/language/app/wordlight/1026/

    https://appstore.sdl.com/language/app/wordbird/890/

    Analysis of a 500 page document takes more than 10 minutes while memoq does it in 50 seconds... Trados stagnates even while working on such big files.

    Yes, this can be a problem in Trados Studio.  The 2021 version has been significantly improved in this area, but certainly there are always areas where we can improve.

    Maybe instead of trying to answer equally fiercely 16th time, take this as a golden feedback... it might serve your company... 

    I didn't think I was being fierce and I'm the only SDL employee in this thread.

    Paul Filkin | RWS Group

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    Design your own training!

    You've done the courses and still need to go a little further, or still not clear? 
    Tell us what you need in our Community Solutions Hub

  • So, requiring apps instead of just doing it like we used to before, that is progress... I am a fervent purchaser of my softwares and I did not buy Trados 2019 for a reason. I hope your team will eventually understand. I hope to buy 2021 if the termbase failure will stop... I desperately need it and you don't provide it to me... I tried fixing for several times and now I even forgot what the problem was... I think i might try fixing it with your help when I have some time to think about it. Thank you :) 

    There are a couple of apps that you might find useful for this:
  • So, requiring apps instead of just doing it like we used to before, that is progress..

    Really?  Like you used to in Trados 2007 and earlier a decade ago.  When you used to work in Word?

    Paul Filkin | RWS Group

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    Design your own training!

    You've done the courses and still need to go a little further, or still not clear? 
    Tell us what you need in our Community Solutions Hub

  • no, in trados 2011 it was possible. After an update or something it got sacked I think. I remember using ctrl shift 5 or 9 or something like that for it.

  • It is not us translators who made trados a secondary software. It is your people who made the software a secondary one.

    Hi 

    I can't agree, SDL Trados Studio and MultiTerm are not secondary software. Users can end up making them less well-performing by not maintaining them properly, failing to keep them up-to-date and/or by not using them in the way in which they are designed to be used.

    Studio is neither a wordprocessing nor a desktop publishing tool Wink so it's not really logical to try to use it as one.

    As says, the majority of work these days comes in one of several XML-based formats (DOCX is XML-based, actually) and when the text is at that level, for example XML or XLF formats generated by automatic online Content Management System software, you have to use the precise tags that the original format requires or the software may fail to reimport translated content due to not recognising tags. 

    Then with the desktop publishing software, if you embolden something with basic tags that the end product will not understand even if it's a human-generated format (for example, InDesign, FrameMaker, QuarkXpress, Interleaf Quicksilver) you can cause reconversion failure for example, or the tags to end up in the final document as text which is also undesirable to the end customer - especially if they give you the sdlxliff files to translate and return without access to the end files. I'm presuming this is the case or you would be able to do your final formatting in Word if they give you Word files.

    I'm no expert but I've learned that a tool should be used in the way it is designed to be used, to achieve the best results. As says, if you want a BMW then buy a BMW, not a Merc.

    All the best,

    Ali (not an SDL employee)

  • no, in trados 2011 it was possible. After an update or something it got sacked I think. I remember using ctrl shift 5 or 9 or something like that for it.

    ok - you're not talking about real highlighting which is what's on offer with the plugins.  You just mean this:

    This has always been in the software and it's still there now.  You can find it here:

    When we moved from the old toolbar to the ribbon things got moved around and this was moved to here.  It's a poor solution to be honest as there is no keyboard equivalent and we never resolved this unfortunately.  But you can "fix" it with AutoHotkey.

    However, the plugins I gave you are a far superior solution, especially the Wordlight plugin (in my opinion) as it's well integrated with the Advanced Display Filter and offers you a variety of colours to choose from as you go.  It's also available for all filetypes and not just Microsoft Word.

    So a good example of where using apps, that are a 5 second job to install in 2021, is definitely beneficial and are a real part of the overall solution you pay for.  Not a workaround at all, rather a way to keep the application lighter since not everyone wants these features.  There are hundreds of app.... most things you probably won't need at all, but they are things many users do want and often help integrate with their own internal systems.

    I think you're probably quite limited in your use of the software and can see how this influences your views... all perfectly understandable.  But I don't think it's as bad as all that :-)

    Paul Filkin | RWS Group

    ________________________
    Design your own training!

    You've done the courses and still need to go a little further, or still not clear? 
    Tell us what you need in our Community Solutions Hub

  • I used to be "all in" in Trados in 2012 until 2018, then I was fed up with things, I purchased MemoQ. When 2017 was available, I purchased (before, I was working in an office) and then I saw many things not working nicely in 2017 (I have a TM of 3 GB with 12 years of content accumulated) (Also your termbase is so slow and gives errors unexpectedly...) So I moved things to MemoQ but I still like using Trados because of habits of many years I guess. So, I stopped digging for answers. But now I intend to change things. I used to train people in trados, the tips and tricks, all that in 2013... Now I don't think trados appreciates having clients to be honest. I will probably buy 2021 and if things dont work in it properly, I will be a headache for you guys. Lets end the conversation here. Thank you for your helps. 

  • I think all companies appreciate customers. However, there are limits to this appreciation and no company will change a major product just because one customer does not like some particular function in it.

    This said, I admit, that there are things working better in memoQ, but when I take the whole package into consideration, there is no other tool on the market giving you as much freedom as Studio does. And in general it works quite nicely. I have two TMs (A->B and B->A), containing all my stuff since 2003, so even longer than you. I use Studio since 2009 and have been using Trados before since 2001. I also use Transit, memoQ and (when forced to do so, and really only as an huge exception) Across. I also used to translate with Memsource or MateCat. None of this programs can offer you what Studio does: working in the way YOU decide. All other tools have a way to work, developed by the vendor. So you either stick to it or leave. For many people this seems to be easier, because they can do things only the one correct way. Studio does not have one correct way for everything, it has ways of doing things. However, in your very case, it does not allow you to do a simple thing and unbold text, while other software would allow you to do. Given the situation, you have two solutions: use a workaround in Studio (really not hard to implement for you being a programmer) or use another software for such projects. I doubt SDL would implement unbolding just because you want it. For the majority of cases any extra formatting added to the file may destroy it or will at least mean extra work for someone dealing with the file after you. Both is not really acceptable. If you would need to process files with extra formatting, added by translators by pressing just "Bold" instead of copying the formatting from the source, you would be quite p...d off, as this forces you to do the same stupid work several times for each language in the project. And this just because Studio allows the user to ADD formatting.

    I fully agree with Paul: the WYSIWYG view is a misunderstanding and has no advantages at all, but leads people to keep lazy and not to try to understand, how things work.

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  • if things dont work in it properly, I will be a headache for you guys

    We're always here to answer any questions and provide as much help as possible, both those of us who work for SDL and those of us who have used the products for so long that we know how to make it do precisely what we want and want to help other people to enjoy using the product as much as we do!

    Primordial to this is that users should keep their software up-to-date (very important nowadays with Studio and MultiTerm, they each MUST be the correct version for the other) AND properly maintained. 

  • using apps, that are a 5 second job to install in 2021, is definitely beneficial and are a real part of the overall solution you pay for.  Not a workaround at all, rather a way to keep the application lighter since not everyone wants these features.  There are hundreds of app

    Absolutely, , the apps are not workarounds, they are plug-ins made by or approved by SDL, specifically for Studio. They're a USEFUL toolbox of supplementary tools that would make the core product too cumbersome to be practical if they were all incorporated. There is no need to add everything to the core product because individuals need only what is useful to them specifically.

    As says there are hundreds of apps! This isn't because Studio doesn't already do what it should, it is because YOU can choose what YOU WANT it to do in addition to the core functionality. I think that is brilliant! You can customise it to work the best way for you. That is what the AppStore is for.

    Go take a look Wink

    All the best,

    Ali Slight smile