Book review: SDL Trados Studio – A Practical Guide by Andy Walker

 

Lucky enough to get the copy of the book literally 2 days after it became available on Amazon, I can now warmly recommend it to all (new) users of SDL Trados Studio.

Something for beginners…

The book is one of very few guides to SDL Trados Studio 2014 and aims to explain the most important features of the software. Although intended mainly for new users, the book can also be useful for those more advanced, as it gives an in-depth overview of the functionalities and includes many practical tips. The content is divided into 8 chapters on topics such as “Getting Started with SDL Trados Studio”, “Working with Translation Memories”, “Formatting and Tags” or “Editing and Quality Assurance”, followed by appendices on how to work with files from earlier versions of Trados and how to manage translation memories. Numerous screenshots, warnings, tips, tricks and the use of plain language make the learning experience easy and effective. To be able to understand the instructions better and train new skills, the readers can also use downloadable sample files created specifically for some of the chapters.

…and something for more experienced

Advanced users may find many helpful tips especially in the chapter on terminology management and in the appendix on TM management, but it’s worth looking through the previous chapters too, in search for handy tricks related to other features. For example, you can find a thorough description on how to create an AutoSuggest dictionary, how to configure Analyze Files settings or how to use the reports for billing. On the personal note though, I think that the experienced users would benefit more from the book if it included more advanced tips, for example on the topic of regular expressions or file type options.

SDL Trados Studio – A Practical Guide and another book of the same series: not a very unique layout.

                                            SDL Trados Studio – A Practical Guide and another
                                                             book of the same series: not a very unique design.

All in all, the book is a must-read if you’re starting your adventure with SDL Trados Studio 2014 or if you want to expand your skills and fill in any gaps in your knowledge.

 

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Dorota helps digital brands infuse their content with a local touch. She is a localization consultant, translator specialized in IT, prompt engineer, and a book author. Dorota teaches online courses on localization, writes for her blog and a Medium publication. She also runs a Small Biz AI, a Substack newsletter for freelancers and small business owners ready to discover handy AI tools.

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