CAT Tools,  Studio Tips,  Useful tools

You only need a key!

01Why is the SDL OpenExchange (now RWS AppStore) called the OpenExchange?

If you weren’t familiar with SDL and the OpenExchange initiative then perhaps the name suggests it could be a platform of some kind that supports an open exchange of information or tools to help manage the open exchange of data or processes that are not supported out of the box in the core products. Maybe you might also think that the word Open could refer to some kind of open source facility?

Well, it would be incorrect to state that this is open source because it’s not a free license, but if this is what you thought then you were on the right lines.

If you thought any of the following then you’d be wrong!

  • The SDL OpenExchange (now RWS AppStore) is not available to anyone in competition to SDL… like Atril, or MemSource for example.
  • The SDL OpenExchange (now RWS AppStore) is not free and SDL will charge a fortune to make this available to you.

Why do people sometimes think this facility is restricted in these ways? This is a good question, and I can only hazard a guess. But I think it’s probably for two reasons. First, it’s simply because some people like to perpetuate the idea that SDL are closed and not open to everyone… particularly when the reality is that I think SDL are the only commercial provider in this space that provide as extensive a facility as this for free! It’s very likely that if you choose any other commercial technology as your primary platform you are locked in and will either have to pay for access to a less extensive API or ask the vendor to add features before you can get them.

The Studio Technology Platform is a lot more than a tool for translating files and managing your translation and terminology databases. It also provides an SDK (Software Development Kit) and an API (Application Programming Interface) that is freely available to anyone with a full license of the Freelance or Professional versions of SDL Trados Studio. What you can do with this is what’s referred to as the SDL OpenExchange (now RWS AppStore). It is exactly the opposite of being locked in!

The second reason would be because in the olden days of TTX and ITD, TMW and MDB—formats created by Trados and SDL—it was sometimes voiced that these proprietary formats locked you in. If you were locked in, I think it was the result of circumstance rather than any deliberate attempt on the part of Trados or SDL. Today things are different. The modern tools developed by SDL are XML-based, making it easier for interoperability and customisation.

If you want to read more about what can be done with this platform, then perhaps these articles will be interesting for you:

You can also explore more articles here:

These tools are available through the SDL OpenExchange (now RWS AppStore) “App Store”: SDL OpenExchange “App Store”. Many companies and users also create integrations and tools using the SDK and API for their own benefit—without paying SDL extra.

So, why might a competitor still complain? We might be “Open”, but you still need a key. That key is a valid use case. These facilities are provided free of charge to benefit SDL users. They weren’t intended for competitors to enhance their own platforms without offering any value to SDL users.

Some valid use cases include:

  • Create a filetype to support a new proprietary format
  • Create a plugin for connecting to a different TM system
  • Integrate a third-party QA tool into Studio
  • Add a custom view for additional processes like file analysis or terminology checks
  • Integrate an MT engine

In short: development using the SDK and API should benefit SDL Trados users. Most competitors who applied had valid use cases and were approved. Of over 800 developers, only four were ever rejected.

02

I think calling it the SDL OpenExchange is entirely appropriate — and everyone gets a key, if their intentions are right.

6 Comments

  • Riccardo Schiaffino (@RSchiaffino)

    Hi Paul,

    You say in your post “We also have some vendors who have not been given the key… well one at least!”: I suppose that is Kilgray (I base my supposition on what Jost wrote in his most recent toolkit: “Not surprisingly, Kilgray is very eager to bring SDL on board and, also not surprisingly, SDL has so far not permitted Kilgray access to its application programming interface through OpenExchange. “).

    Could you tell us if that is so, and why SDL has decided not to provide a key to Kilgray? As a user of both Studio and MemoQ, anything that permitted me a better interaction between the two programs would be a plus.

    Riccardo

    • paulfilkin

      Riccardo, this is not something I can discuss at all other than to repeat what I have already stated. The OpenExchange, the SDL OpenExchange, has been provided to provide benefits for users of SDL Technology. So if another vendor wishes to create something to benefit their users then they could provide a similar facility. So far I see no evidence of this and can’t relate to your comment at all. If other vendors did open up this way then you would be able to get what you want. MemSource for example do have a public API and it was straightforward for a developer to provide something that benefits both groups of users. Others who don’t have an open API have used their inside knowledge to provide something that Studio can use. But to expect SDL to provide tools so that you can provide a benefit for someone else not using SDL technology doesn’t make any sense to me… unless we were an open source provider. We are not.

  • Jesse Good

    Thanks for the article. I had one request concerning API documentation.
    Is there any chance of being able to view the documentation offline or without having to login?
    This is one thing I have found to be troublesome.

    • paulfilkin

      Hi Jesse. The documentation is very comprehensive, it’s updated regularly so we can ensure users always have the latest stuff to work to, and it is only made available online to approved developers. I don’t think having it online is the troublesome part though, it’s the having to login part which is currently one or three steps more than seems necessary. I’d like to see this being improved too, but I don’t think we’ll see an offline version of the documentation being made available.

  • Hannu Jaatinen

    Hi Paul,

    I tried to find the MemSource CloudTM plugin from OpenExchange, but couldn’t find it. Is it still available for Studio 2014?

    Hannu

Leave a Reply