Trados is user-friendly? Err . . . not exactly!

For years now I’ve used Trados, reputedly the “industry standard” computer aid for translation. It is a great help, no doubt, particularly in terms of improved consistency through functions such as the “concordance”. And, like any such tool, it saves a lot of money for those who manage things like parts catalogues, or when an existing, translated text is to be issued in a new version with just a few changes.

But why did I choose, and why do I still use, Trados, when there are several other systems out there with good reputations? One reason only: it is the industry standard. Only that. Otherwise the price, along with what is politely known as the “aggressive upgrade policy” (i.e. pay a lot more again or find yourself out on a limb with no support) would have put me off long ago.

And as for usability – forget it! Most of the features of the version I use now remain a mystery to me, as they would take days and days to understand and come to terms with. The manuals are obscure, the functions unclearly named; in fact after more than a year I still haven’t managed to persuade the new equivalents to functions – functions that I used to find helpful – to work.

But we must hand it to the producers, SDL. Cleverly they have turned their own failing into a money-spinner. Because their software is so counter-intuitive, they offer (expensive) training courses, at the end of which we can dig into our bank-balances and be “certified” as competent to use the damned thing! So 1/10 for usability, but 10/10 for chutzpah!

I really should follow my own prompting here and look into a more reasonable alternative.