Hi jasmine uryas 

Trados 2017 is not supported since the beginning of 2021. Please see gateway.rws.com/csm Windows 11 has been launched in October 2021. We do not test unsupported versions on newer operating systems. If you have the possibility of switching to Windows 10, that should work with Trados 2017.

Yes, it is true that you cannot upgrade. The upgrade path has been closed in 2022. So you would have to buy a new license or switch to a subscription model. For more details please check out https://www.trados.com/pricing/freelance-translators/ These are full prices, but if it's not urgent, you can check out this link from time to time, as we frequently run promotions.

Kind regards,

 jasmine uryas 

jasmine uryas said:

Trados Customer Support pretends that I buy a new licence for a new edition of Trados

I'm not sure I understand this part, but if 2017 will not run on W11 then you will need to upgrade if you wish to continue using Trados.  The upgrade path is determined by our product teams and the support teams will be restricted technically by the supported upgrade paths.  2017 is pretty old now as we have moved through 5 major versions since that release, so it's not surprising that there isn't an upgrade path anymore.  Certainly there will have been plenty of deals on the table over that period, so it's unfortunate if you missed them all and didn't know about them as the software evolved.

jasmine uryas said:

Since I made a huge investment for my perpetual license, is there someone who can help me to find a solution?

Hopefully you also managed to get some value from your investment over the 9-years you had it?  If you are a working translator I'd hope that the ROI over this period with only a one time purchase cost, more than compensated for your decision to buy Trados at the time.  You could have purchased support as well for a small amount annually, and then you'd always have the latest version of the software made available to you at no additional cost at all.

I don't know how much you make use of Trados, or the features available to you, but you might be interested in "Trados Go" which is a new product released last week.  Maybe that is interesting for you if you don't want to buy a full licence for the Freelance Edition of Trados?

https://www.trados.com/product/go/

It's a browser only tool, available with a subscription you can start and stop whenever you wish, so might be suitable if you are not translating heavy workloads 5-days a week, and using sophisticated features and plugins to maximise your productivity.  Maybe that could be a solution of interest?  I know nearly 40% of translators we surveyed wanted a solution like this so perhaps it's worth a look and would cost less, especially if you don't need the heavier solution... and because it's browser based you're pretty safe when it comes to upgrades and operating systems.

 Paul 

Paul said:

Certainly there will have been plenty of deals on the table over that period, so it's unfortunate if you missed them all and didn't know about them as the software evolved.

Not sure about the "evolution" of Trados... In all these years it hasn't still been able to offer the same service for Mac users, I mean, what are we even talking about? Moreover, if a freelance translator (so someone that usually works on a single project per time, without a team, etc) buys a perpetual licence, it shouldn't be supposed to pay to "upgrade" the service every tot years. The product is SOOOOOOOO expensive because it's supposed to be PERPETUAL. However, that is a very misleading affirmation from the company, as this isn't the case (a laptop cannot last forever and when you buy a new one you cannot go back in time!). 

Paul said:

Hopefully you also managed to get some value from your investment over the 9-years you had it?

Luckily only a very limited part of my workload needs to be done on Trados (I say luckily because I find working on a Windows machine very time consuming). So, I'm unsure if the investment has been really remunerative... I initially based my decision on the PERPETUAL licence, which, however, was a false claim. 

Paul said:

I don't know how much you make use of Trados, or the features available to you, but you might be interested in "Trados Go" which is a new product released last week.  Maybe that is interesting for you if you don't want to buy a full licence for the Freelance Edition of Trados?

The support team told me you cannot handle packages with this version. I receive return packages from agencies most of the time, so this solution would be basically useless. There are other softwares out there browser based much more competitive in terms of price and performances. Plus, probably they don't try to mislead the public with misleading claims.

Thanks Elisa, I'll see what I can do to switch to Windows 10.

jasmine uryas 

The version you purchased nearly a decade ago, maybe cost you around 50 euros a year unless you purchased at full list price, which most users do not, seems like a pretty good deal for a business purchase.  There is also nothing misleading at all about the information you have received.  Perhaps your understanding of what perpetual means is less than accurate?

In the context of a software licence, perpetual means that you have the right to use the software indefinitely, with no time limit, regardless of whether the vendor continues to sell, support, or update it.

What this means in practice: 

• You own the right to use that version of the software forever.
• You do not need to pay ongoing fees (e.g. a subscription) to keep using it.

However, a perpetual licence does not guarantee support or updates.

If the software is no longer supported:

• You can still install and use it as long as it runs on your system.
• You won't receive bug fixes, security updates, or technical support.
• It may eventually stop working if your operating system or hardware evolves beyond what the software supports.
• If activation requires online validation (common in modern perpetual licences), the software may become unusable if the vendor shuts down the activation server.

A perpetual licence gives you usage rights indefinitely, but not a guarantee that the software will remain usable, secure, or compatible as time goes on, especially if the vendor withdraws support.  Your version was end of lifed some time ago as Elisa already pointed out.

jasmine uryas said:

The support team told me you cannot handle packages with this version.

That is indeed a drawback, which may change in the future.  But for now this would make it unsuitable for your needs... I agree.

So, good luck and I hope you find what you're looking for.

Hi Elisa Maxim 

I managed to switch to Windows 10, as per your suggestion. However, I'm still receiving the error message "Activation failed. The request was aborted: could not create SSL/TLS secure channel." Can you please help let me know what is this about?

Kind Regards,

Jasmine Uryas

jasmine uryas We will be pleased to help you with this problem so have logged a support case on your behalf. We do prioritise customers who have a support contract so please keep in mind it could take up to 48 hours, especially over a weekend, but rest assured we will contact you as soon as we can. You will be contacted at the email address used for this Community. Support Case Id : CS0012299.