Description

Product Description (Full)

Monitor and control your OpenAI API costs from Trados Studio with precision and confidence

Trados AI Monitor is a smart Windows utility that intercepts and tracks every OpenAI API call made by Trados Studio. See real-time costs, verify billing accuracy, and gain complete visibility into your AI translation expenses – all without changing how you use Trados.

The Problem It Solves

If you use AI-powered translation in Trados Studio, you face these challenges:

• No visibility into what each translation actually costs
• Surprise billing when your OpenAI usage spikes
• Unable to verify if you’re being charged correctly
• No way to track which projects consume the most tokens
• Difficulty justifying AI costs to clients or management

Trados AI Monitor eliminates these blind spots completely.

How It Works

Automatic Interception

1. Install Trados AI Monitor and start the built-in proxy
2. The app captures every OpenAI API call from Trados Studio
3. Real-time tracking shows tokens used and costs calculated
4. All data stored in local SQLite database for complete history
5. Reconcile against your actual OpenAI billing to verify accuracy

Built-In Proxy Technology

No external tools required. The app runs a lightweight HTTP proxy (Titanium Web Proxy) that sits between Trados and OpenAI, capturing every request and response automatically.

Key Features

• Real-Time Cost Tracking – See costs accumulate as you translate
• Billing Reconciliation – Verify accuracy against your actual OpenAI account
• Automatic Pricing Updates – Stay current with OpenAI’s latest pricing
• Complete Call History – Review every API call with full token details
• Cost by Model – Track spending across GPT-4, GPT-3.5, and other models
• Project-Level Analytics – Understand which work costs most
• Secure API Integration – Safely store your OpenAI API key with Windows DPAPI encryption
• System Tray Mode – Runs quietly in the background while you work
• Multi-Language Support – Full interface in 12 languages including English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese
• Modern Dashboard – Beautiful, high-DPI interface with clear statistics
• Activity Logging – Export detailed reports for accounting or client billing

Main Window:

Settings Window:

Explanation:

Who Benefits Most

Translation Agencies managing multiple translators can track AI costs per project and client with precision.

Freelance Translators using AI assistance can accurately calculate project costs and justify pricing to clients.

Project Managers can monitor team AI usage and identify cost optimisation opportunities.

Anyone using Trados Studio with OpenAI will gain confidence and control over their AI translation expenses.

Why Choose Trados AI Monitor?

• Complete Visibility – Know exactly what every translation costs before billing arrives
• Verify Accuracy – Reconcile tracked usage against OpenAI billing to catch discrepancies
• Stay Current – Automatic pricing updates ensure calculations match OpenAI’s latest rates
• Independent Operation – No dependencies on Fiddler or other external tools
• Peace of Mind – Secure encryption of your API key, stored locally only
• Professional Reporting – Export detailed cost reports for clients or accounting

Technical Details

• Compatible with Trados Studio 2024 (any version using OpenAI API)
• Windows 10/11 with .NET 8.0 (included in installer)
• Built-in Titanium Web Proxy for traffic interception
• SQLite database for persistent storage
• Secure licensing with Ed25519 cryptographic validation
• Full accessibility with screen reader support and keyboard navigation

System Requirements

• Windows 10 or later
• .NET Framework

Installation

After purchasing, you’ll receive a download link for a ZIP file containing TradosAIMonitorSetup.exe.

1. Extract the ZIP file to a folder on your computer
2. Run TradosAIMonitorSetup.exe

Windows Security Notice: When running the installer, Windows SmartScreen may display a protection warning. This is normal for new software that hasn’t yet established download history with Microsoft. Simply click “More info” and then “Run anyway” to proceed with installation. Read more on this topic here: Windows Security Warning Explained

Quick Start Guidance

When Trados Studio starts up, it checks Windows to see if a proxy is configured. If there’s no proxy, it remembers “no proxy” and uses that setting for the entire time it’s running.

The problem:

1. You open Trados Studio (no proxy running yet)
2. Trados checks: “Is there a proxy?” → No
3. Trados remembers: “Use direct connection”
4. You start your monitoring application
5. Monitoring sets up the proxy
6. Trados is still using its remembered “direct connection” and ignores the proxy

The solution:

Start Trados AI Monitor FIRST, then open Trados Studio. That way when Trados checks for a proxy at startup, it finds yours and uses it.

If Trados is already running:

Close Trados completely (check Task Manager to make sure), then reopen it. This forces Trados to check for the proxy again and discover your monitoring application.

This is standard behaviour for many applications – they check proxy settings once at startup rather than continuously checking for changes. I can’t be sure exactly how Trados Studio is working here, but in testing this is the sequence that consistently works so I think my assumptions are correct.

About the UAC prompt:

When you start monitoring, Windows will ask “Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?” This is required because Trados uses WinHTTP proxy settings (not just Internet Settings), and configuring WinHTTP requires administrator privileges. The prompt appears once when you start monitoring – click “Yes” to allow the proxy to be configured properly. Without this, Trados won’t use the proxy and calls won’t be captured.

Support

Full documentation and support available at multifarious.filkin.com/support for all licensed users.

Troubleshooting/Diagnostics

Trados AI Monitor creates files for operation and diagnostics. Understanding these files can help you troubleshoot issues or provide information to support.

Log Files

Location: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\TradosAIMonitor\logs\

Quick Access: Press Win + R, type %AppData%\TradosAIMonitor\logs\, press Enter

Files:

• TradosAIMonitor-YYYY-MM-DD.log – Daily log file with all application activity
• archive\ folder – Previous days’ logs (kept for 7 days, then automatically deleted)

What They Contain:

• Application startup and shutdown
• Proxy operations (start, stop, errors)
• API calls captured from Trados Studio
• Error messages with details
• License validation
• Database operations

When to Check:

• Application won’t start
• API calls aren’t being captured
• Proxy configuration problems
• Unexpected errors or crashes

How to View: Open the most recent .log file with Notepad. Search for ERROR or WARN to find problems quickly.

For Support: If you need help, attach the most recent log file when contacting support.

Proxy Snapshot File

Location: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Temp\

Quick Access: Press Win + R, type %TEMP%, press Enter

Filename: TradosProxy_Snapshot_[sessionId].json

What It Does:

• Captures your original proxy settings before monitoring starts
• Ensures your proxy configuration is restored when monitoring stops
• Used to recover proxy settings if the application crashes
• Protects corporate proxy configurations

When It’s Created:

• When you start the application
• Deleted automatically when you close the application normally

What It Contains:

• Whether proxy was enabled
• Proxy server address
• Bypass list for local addresses
• PAC file URL (if used)
• WinHTTP proxy settings

Why It Matters: Without this file, the application couldn’t restore your original internet settings after monitoring. The Watchdog uses this file to restore your proxy if the application crashes.

Heartbeat File

Location: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Temp\

Filename: TradosProxy_Heartbeat_[sessionId].txt

What It Does:

• Proves the application is still running
• Updated every 2 seconds with current timestamp
• Monitored by Watchdog.exe to detect crashes

How It Works:

1. Application writes current time to this file every 2 seconds
2. Watchdog checks if the timestamp is getting updated
3. If updates stop for 8+ seconds → Watchdog assumes crash
4. Watchdog restores your proxy settings automatically
5. Watchdog cleans up and exits

When It’s Created:

• When you start the application
• Deleted automatically when you close the application normally

Why It Matters: This file is your safety net. If the application crashes or freezes, Watchdog detects it and restores your internet connection automatically.

Session ID

Both temporary files include a unique session ID (e.g., 7697c7a6) that:

• Links the snapshot and heartbeat files together
• Prevents conflicts if you run multiple instances
• Changes each time you start the application

Automatic Cleanup

Normal Shutdown:

• Both temporary files are automatically deleted
• Log files remain for 7 days

After Crash:

• Watchdog uses the snapshot file to restore your proxy
• Watchdog deletes both temporary files after restoration
• Log files capture what went wrong

Need Help?

If you experience issues:

1. Check the most recent log file in %AppData%\TradosAIMonitor\logs\
2. Look for ERROR or WARN messages
3. Contact support with the log file attached