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Using Trados on dropbox on different computers

Jane Božinovski

Hi,

I have Dropbox on both my desktop and laptop. I just installed Studio 2021 on both, and it seemed logical to move my translation memory and termbase to the dropbox folder, because I'll be able to sync them when working on different computers (*and also get that awesome backup just in case). However, since the path to Dropbox is inevitably different between the two computers, every time I switch computers I have to 'find' the files in their respective folders, which is not very practical. I tried to move my Dropbox to the root of C:, but it doesn't allow me (probably due to permissions). Does anyone have a similar problem? Any workarounds?

Just as a side note, the project files are not giving me any headache, Trados seems to find them automatically despite being in different paths on both pcs.

Thanks a lot!
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    Generally the key to moving projects between computers is to always ensure you have the same paths in both machines.  Otherwise you will have course have these problems since the project on one machine is looking in a different location for these resources than the other.

    I'd also note that you should be careful working like this because as your resources grow you risk corrupting the files.  This is because the larger the resource the longer it takes to save to dropbox. Every time you save a single segment the entire TM or Termbase will be backed up.  So you could fine yourself changing things that have not completed backing up and I'm often suspicious of this practice as being responsible for problems we see from time to time.  This isn't a problem with Studio either, it's because you are working with files that are simply not designed to be used in this way.  The speed of your internet connection can also be responsible for issues around this as well.

    Given you have 2021 it might be worth investigating the use of cloud based Translation Memories / Terminology as well.  You could use your local resources in these projects so you have backups in both places and then regularly back up your local resources to dropbox at the end of each day so you don't run the risk of corrupting while working.

    Paul Filkin | RWS Group

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  • 0 in reply to Paul

    Hi Paul,

    well, even without Dropbox the paths would be different on the two pcs, right? As for internet speed, I've got 90-100 mbits DL/UL so it shouldn't be an issue. But I'll keep this in mind anyway, thanks for the heads up!

    Cloud based memories/terminology sound tempting, but would I always need an internet connection to use them, or are local copies made and then uploaded (similarly to Dropbox)? 

    Thanks again for replying so fast! By the way, translating in Word now feels like using a typewriter :)

    Cheers,

    Jane
Reply Children
  • 0 in reply to Jane Božinovski

    Jane Božinovski said:
    well, even without Dropbox the paths would be different on the two pcs, right?

    If you haven't ensured it, then yes.  But there is no reason why they can't be the same.

    Jane Božinovski said:
    As for internet speed, I've got 90-100 mbits DL/UL so it shouldn't be an issue.

    In theory... but even that may not be enough as your resources grow in size.  File-based resources don't work by backing up on a transactional basis and that's your problem.  But as long as you're aware of the risks you can of course do whatever you like.

    Jane Božinovski said:
    Cloud based memories/terminology sound tempting, but would I always need an internet connection to use them, or are local copies made and then uploaded (similarly to Dropbox)? 

    Not the same as dropbox at all.  With cloud based resources you are only saving the transaction every time, not the whole resource, and you are not working on a local resource that gets backed up into the cloud..  However, that is the issue you'd have to work around which you could do by doing this:

    1. create cloud projects
    2. open in Studio
    3. add your local resources as well
    4. work by updating local and cloud resources together
    5. at the end of each day back up your local resources to your dropbox account

    Not particularly elegant, but it does allow you to back up your work as you go and never lose anything, and maintain a regular local backup for use when you don't have an internet connection.

    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

  • 0 in reply to Paul

    As simple as that: no Internet speed is enough to keep file based TMs and especially TBs on OneDrive & Co. This will always slow you down, significantly. Left that alone, there will be synchronization issues, if the connection fails for a second during work.

    I would never recommend putting working files to the cloud. The better way is using cloud to backup files, but not for work.

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  • 0 in reply to Jerzy Czopik

    Hi Jerzy,

    the files are local, they're just being backed up to the cloud automatically. I'm not working on the cloud per se.

    Paul, as I'm still beginning, I'll give the cloud thing a whirl and see how it goes.

    Thank you both!

    Jane
  • 0 in reply to Paul

    Hi Paul,

    after a couple of months and a few hundred pages done in Trados, I'd like to come back to the Dropbox issue. I finally conceded and copied all project, TMs and termbases locally, and I'm backing up everything to Dropbox on regular basis (after a few crashes as the files increased in size, as you warned me).

    This is what I find confusing: when I use a specialized subtitling program or MS Word, whenever Dropbox intervenes I just get an error 'unable to save file'. I wait for a couple of seconds and then it works. Can't the same be done with Trados? It would be a shame I lose any of my work due do hardware failure despite having Dropbox. Copying all these files manually really looks clumsy, and otherwise I'm blown away by the functionality of Trados.

    Can this be resolved in a future update? A penny for your thoughts!

    Thanks!
  • 0 in reply to Jane Božinovski

    Jane Božinovski said:
    Can this be resolved in a future update? A penny for your thought

    I'd say no... although you could suggest this here:

    http://ideas.sdl.com

    The reason I say no is because of this.

    • translators do not want to wait at all
    • as resources become larger or you have multiple resources on your project the time to wait will become excessive

    What you have requested could be done of course.  But it really makes little sense for the reasons above and because you are working with resources that have not been designed to work in this way.  We have Trados Live which will support all the things you want and your work will be saved in the cloud as you work.  Trados Live is a work in progress and gets regular updates as more and more features/functionality is added.  I doubt the development team will spend time trying to solve this problem from Dropbox, GoogleDrive, OneDrive etc. when they have a better solution in place already.

    Why don't you do something like this perhaps:

    1. use AutoHotkey
    2. create a small script to close Studio with a keyboard shortcut
    3. write in the script a backup of all your resources used in your projects so it takes place when you close Studio down

    Then you don't have to think about it.

    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

  • 0 in reply to Paul

    Hi Paul,

    I'll migrate to Trados Live, then, it makes little sense to complicate matters by writing scripts. It's just overwhelming as I'm a new user of Trados in general, so it will take me some time, but after watching the Trados Live overview video, I see no point in bothering with Dropbox anymore. Thanks very much for your help!