When I started writing this blog the first article I wrote was about the SDL OpenExchange (now RWS AppStore). I thought I’d start this year off by sharing my favorite applications … my favourite FREE applications. We had a fair few of these over the course of the year but I’ll pick out six that I think are well worth a look. In no particular order (well… alphabetical order) these six are:
- Glossary Converter
- Package Reader
- SDLTmReverseLangs
- SDLXLIFF Compare
- SDLXLIFF to Legacy Converter
- Terminjector
I haven’t written about all of these applications but I’ve probably mentioned them here and there, so this article provides a quick summary of what each one does, shows you where to get it and links to a few places where you can learn more about them.
Contents
Glossary Converter
This was a latecomer in 2012 and is already the third most downloaded application of all time. In a nutshell this application makes it possible for you to create a MultiTerm termbase from a spreadsheet (or a TBX) just by dragging and dropping the file… and then it works the other way too (MultiTerm termbase to spreadsheet). You can read more on this here:
You can download the application from this link on the OpenExchange.
Package Reader
If you work with Studio packages then this application is indispensable. It provides a way to see what’s in the package (files, termbases, translation memories, analysis reports) and also get a preview of the translatable files themselves… all without opening Studio at all. Works for packages and return packages. You can find a little more info on this application here:
You can download the application from this link on the OpenExchange.
SDLTmReverseLangs
Reversing a TM in Studio requires an export to TMX and then import back into an empty TM created in the other direction… or another workaround. This application makes it easy, you just drag and drop your sdltm into the application window, press a button and the TM is reversed for you as a copy. Simple and very useful.
Costas Nadalis has written several useful applications for the OpenExchange and I think we’ll see more really exciting things from him in 2013.
You can download this application from this link on the OpenExchange.
SDLXLIFF Compare
One of my favourite applications altogether and I expect to see more development extending the usefulness of this great tool in 2013. The current version allows you to take two sdlxliff files (Studio bilingual files) and compare them so you can see the changes that were made during translation or review. You can also take a complete project (bilingual or multilingual) and compare it with a different version so all the changes are displayed in one simple to read report. You can find a little more info on this application here:
I like this one so much I can’t believe I haven’t written about it yet… so you can be sure I will do once the new version is ready to go..! You can download this application from this link on the OpenExchange.
SDLXLIFF to Legacy Converter
This hardly needs an introduction because I think anyone who uses Studio and also has clients still using Bilingual Word or TTX files already has it. This application can convert an sdlxliff to a Bilingual doc/docx, TTX or TMX (can also be reversed) and then best thing is that once the Bilingual doc/docx or TTX has been translated in whatever tool requires this format you can import the files back in to update the sdlxliff. Excellent tool. You can find a little more about this application here:
- SDL Trados Studio 2011 – SDLXLIFF To Legacy Converter
- Translation Tutorials Blog
- The ATA53 Studio presentation in San Diego…
Another useful application for this tool is being able to create files that only contain part of the original sdlxliff. There could be many reasons for wanting to do this but here’s a good example:
You can download this application from this link on the OpenExchange.
Terminjector
I’m still finding uses for this extremely clever little plugin to Studio that act as as a wrapper to your translation memory. The basic idea is that you can set up patterns using regular expressions, or create your alternative glossary lists, that can inject terms, words, phrases, dates, numbers etc. directly into your translation memory results. This is particularly useful for handling placeables that are not recognised by Studio or for creating variables that are based on a regular expression rather than a list of the actual variables themselves. Confused? It probably makes sense to take a look, or read some of these articles that give an example of how this tool can be used… really very useful once you get your head around it:
- The Studio Terminator… err Terminjector
- Working with placeables that are not automatically recognised
- First cap placeables… ProZ thread
You can download this application from this link on the OpenExchange.
Of course we saw many other really useful applications and I’d recommend you take some time to browse through the applications available to see whether there is one there that might just save you huge amounts of effort based on your particular processes.
That’s it… maybe you can drop a comment and tell me which applications you found the most useful, or even what improvements you’d like to see in the existing applications. In the meantime I’m really looking forward to some of the exciting developments we can expect in 2013 from the developers of these applications themselves..!
