XTRF offers integration with client versions of Trados Studio, a popular CAT tool.

Before the integration can be enabled, you need to provide a server (it may be a dedicated server, VPS, or a cloud VM) with Windows, where the Trados Professional license is installed. 

The integration requires the connector agent (provided by XTRF) to be installed on the server where Trados Studio is installed. This can be done by your IT team or by our support. 

If you prefer that we set it up, we will need the following:

1. Access to the server where the Trados Studio you would like to link XTRF to is installed. We can connect via Teamviewer or RDP - let us know which would be more convenient.

2. The agent uses port 8081 by default, so it's mandatory to open this port on any firewall. The server where Trados is installed must also accept incoming connections from the server where XTRF is installed.

3. To install the Agent, we will need an account with admin-level rights. Trados Studio must be already installed, and a standalone desktop (not floating) license must be provided by your team.

4. The integration creates default folders for Trados projects and resources. Typically these are located in C:\Projects and C:\Resources
   Mapped network drives are supported in some cases (may depend on a particular setup) but are not recommended. Dropbox and other cloud locations are not supported.

5. It is recommended to have at least one dedicated license for the integration and a separate one to work with; this will prevent you from performance issues.

If you want to perform the installation yourself, you can find a general description of the necessary setup in the Trados Studio integration setup article.

Once the Agent is installed, we will connect XTRF to it and create the necessary workflows.

Compatibility

XTRF Software

Both XTRF SaaS and on-premises installation may be used.

The Trados integration works as all the other CAT-tool integrations. There is no need to manually manage file-based resources in XTRF (TMs, dictionaries) as this functionality is completely moved to the server where Trados Studio is installed.

Legal Notice

XTRF will oblige its clients to possess the number of licenses of any software integrated with XTRF in the amount and versions conforming to the technology partner licensing rules.

The current XTRF Platform - Trados Studio integration simplifies the overall integration architecture.

Open

Trados Studio

An instance of Trados Studio is installed on a client's dedicated machine. The machine may be installed at the client's location or be hosted virtually everywhere as long as it is accessible via HTTPS. The client needs to provide all the required licenses, including MS Windows and (multiple) Trados Studio licenses. Only one Trados Studio copy is installed on the machine, and it requires only one Trados Studio license to run. To benefit from concurrent processing, the client is obligated to buy multiple licenses. The number of concurrent Trados processes is limited by the number of licenses owned by the client.

Trados provides API for:

• project creation

• translation package creation

• translation package import

• project finalization (TM updates, files conversion back to original formats)

According to the API documentation, there is a possibility to run multiple concurrent processes using API.

See also: Trados API documentation.

XTRF Agent for Trados Studio

XTRF Agent for Trados Studio is a proxy exposing functionality for remote users via WebServices. The exposed functionality includes:

• TM management - create/update/delete/list TMs stored on a local file system.

• Dictionary management- create/update/delete/list Dictionaries stored on a local file system.

• Project source/target files upload and download.

• Trados project creation - using Trados API, the Agent creates a Studio project (including source files, TMs, Dictionaries, etc.).

• Trados project details access - using Trados API, the Agent enables access to some Studio project data (e.g., cat analysis).

• Trados translator package preparation - using Trados API, the Agent prepares packages for translators.

• Trados translator package import - using Trados API, the Agent imports translated packages to the original project.

• Trados project finalization - using Trados API, the Agent generates translated documents in the original formats and updates resources (TMs, dictionaries).

Internal Agent implementation uses a request queue. All Trados API calls are enqueued and executed as a separate process that uses Trados API. The number of concurrent processes is limited by the number of licenses declared as owned by the Client. The number of licenses allocated by the Client is set up in XTRF Agent configuration - XTRF has no technical means to validate this declaration.

All Agent functionality is exposed via an encrypted HTTPS connection and secured with a login and a password.

Backup policy

All TMs and dictionaries are stored on the machine hosting XTRF Agent and Trados Studio. There must be a backup/archiving policy set up and implemented for this host and the extremely valuable resources it contains.

The integration works with Trados Studio versions 2021 and 2019. Your Trados version needs to include access to SDK.

Smart projects cannot currently be synchronized with Trados.

New projects in Trados Studio can be created based on a Classic quote in XTRF or directly from a Classic project in XTRF.

Trados can be useful for quotes created in XTRF, as it can provide the CAT Receivables for the quoted work. Also, while the quote is created in XTRF, a related project is prepared in Trados Studio. The integration works the following way:

1. At first, you need to create a new quote in the XTRF Platform. While creating a Quote, remember to create CAT Receivables using Trados Studio by clicking Add CAT Receivable Using External System. For the benefits of a future project, select your Trados workflow as the quote's workflow.

   1. Once the quote is created, a related project will be created in Trados Studio by XTRF.

   2. Trados will assign the project a new ID, which will be transferred to XTRF as a quote number;

   3. Source, Translation Memory and Dictionary will be assigned to the project;

   4. XTRF will send the files to Trados Studio requesting the CAT Analysis;

   5. Trados will convert the files to their default format (.sdlxliff), perform the analysis of the files, and export the results to XTRF.

   6. The results of the CAT analysis will be displayed in XTRF.

2. If the Client accepts the quote, click Convert into Project - a new project will appear on the project list. Follow the instructions below.

3. If the Client rejects the quote, the project in Trados Studio will be closed.

No matter if you have created the project in XTRF from scratch or based on an existing quote, XTRF can be used to manage the whole project, even the parts which are processed in Trados Studio. The integration works the following way:

1. If a new project is created from scratch, the Trados workflow must be selected, and CAT Receivables should be created using Trados Studio by clicking Add CAT Receivable Using External System - see How to Create a Project for instructions.

2. Once the project is created, a related project will be created in Trados Studio by XTRF.

3. Trados Studio will assign the project a new ID, which will be transferred to XTRF.

4. Source, Translation Memory and Dictionary will be assigned to the project.

5. XTRF will send the files to Trados Studio requesting the CAT Analysis.

6. Trados Studio will convert the files to their default format (.sdlxliff), perform the analysis of the files, and export the results to XTRF.

7. The results of the CAT analysis will be displayed in XTRF.

8. Once the project is updated with the CAT analysis results and the vendors are chosen, XTRF will request from Trados Studio the packages with files that will be delivered to vendor(s).

9. Once the packages (with the files converted to sdlxliff format) are created on the Trados Server, they will be downloaded by XTRF.

10. XTRF will request CAT analysis of the packages to create payables for the vendor(s).

11. Trados will perform the analysis and pass the results to XTRF.

12. XTRF will create payables for the vendor(s) and notify them about the availability of the files.

13. Vendors will work on the files, and once they finish, they will upload the translated packages back to XTRF.

14. XTRF will upload the translated packages to Trados Studio.

15. Trados will integrate the packages, convert the sdlxliff files back to the client's format and update the Trados Studio Translation Memory.

16. XTRF will download the converted files.

17. When the translated files are available for the client in XTRF, the project will be finished and closed in both Trados Studio and XTRF.

If you create a project based on a quote that was created using Trados Studio integration, the project in Trados Studio is already available, and the files are initially analyzed - no duplicated action will be made.

If your project contains not only translation but any other task, these tasks will be performed normally before the project is closed in both systems.

If the "Create CAT Receivable" and/or "Create CAT Payables" options are turned on during the project creation, a CAT analysis file will be downloaded from Trados Studio and stored in the 'Log File' folder.

In case there are different payables (vendors will work on different sets of files), there will be more than one CAT analysis file.

The analysis will be created in XML format with the filename trados_metrics.xml. If more files are created, they will be named: trados_metrics (1).xml, trados_metrics (2).xml , etc.

For the list of supported file types, see the Trados documentation.

To make reference files and log files available for the vendors, place them in a separate bundle, and do NOT assign that bundle to the External Project Preparation, Prepare Packages, and External Project Finalization actions. The bundle should only be assigned (as read-only) to the jobs performed by the vendors. 

For more information, see the Reference Files assignment in Trados Studio integration article.

For the list of supported languages, see the Trados documentation.

To learn more about Trados Studio, see the Trados Studio 2021 documentation.