In this release the core set of SDL Trados applications has been enhanced to include many new features. These improvements are described in more detail in the Getting Started Guide and online help systems.

SDL Trados 7.1 can be used with a softkey license instead of a hardware dongle. For more details on how the softkey license mechanism works and how to obtain and install softkey licenses, see the Copy Protection section in these release notes, the Getting Started Guide and the information provided in the SDL Customer Center.

• The new languages supported with SDL Trados 7.0 can now also be used as source languages.

• It is now possible to work with comments in TagEditor 7.1. Users can create new and edit existing comments in TRADOStag documents.

• TagEditor features a new QA Checker plug-in for checking translated documents according to a variety of formal criteria such as untranslated segments, inconsistent translations etc.

• xml:lang attributes in XML documents can now be mapped automatically to the target language of the current translation memory.

• Translator's Workbench can now fully import TMX files generated by SDLX, including meta-data such as text and attribute fields.

• The new TRADOStag-based filter for Word documents has been improved and now also supports RTF-based online help documents. Moreover, its overall performance has been improved and a number of issues have been addressed.

• This release includes a new filter for InDesign CS2 documents based on InDesign's exchange format INX. This new filter addresses all problems documented in the Known Issues section and is therefore highly recommended as the most robust solution for InDesign documents.

• This release includes a new filter for Java Properties documents.

• This release supports generic delimited text files. For this feature to work, SDLX 2005 SP1 or later must be installed on the computer running SDL Trados 7.1.

• TagEditor supports editing and previewing files in the SDL translation document format ITD. For this feature to work, SDLX 2005 SP1 or later must be installed on the computer running SDL Trados 7.1.

• For more information on all new features in SDL Trados 7.1 please see the What's New section in the documentation and on-line help for SDL Trados 7.1.

• Information for upgrade users:

  • Users of SDL Trados 7.1: SDL Trados 7.1 replaces version 7.0 and does not support side-by-side installation. The installation program for SDL Trados 7.1 will therefore prompt you to un-install version 7.0 before you can install version 7.1. To avoid this, remove version 7.0 from your computer using the Add/Remove Software application in Windows Control Panel prior to running the installation program for version 7.1.
  • Users of version 6.x or earlier: For more information about upgrading to SDL Trados 7.1 from previous versions of SDL Trados software, see the What's New section in the Getting Started Guide.

• Information on backward compatibility: As a result of supporting new languages such as Hindi and as part of its support lifecycle policy, SDL Trados 7.x no longer supports older generations of operating system and Office platforms, as follows:

  • Windows NT, Windows Millennium Edition, and Windows 98SE are no longer supported. Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP Home, Windows XP Professional, and Windows 2003 Server continue to be supported.
  • Office 97 is no longer supported. Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP and Office 2003 (Word, PowerPoint and Excel) continue to be supported.
  • Translation memories created in version 7.x cannot be opened in earlier versions of Translator's Workbench (such as 6.5 and earlier). This is due to the support for new languages but also to being able to store Unicode content in any language in translation memory metadata fields such as text and attribute fields.
  • By default, export files are now encoded in Unicode (UTF-8) in order to support the new languages and other Unicode content in translation memories. These export files can only be imported into version 7.x translation memories and cannot be exchanged with users of older versions. A backward-compatible export format is still available for use with older versions; however this file format does not support any of the new Unicode-releated enhancements.
  • Translation memories created in 6.5 and earlier can be opened by and used in version 7.x of Translator's Workbench. In order to benefit from the new Unicode-related feature enhancements, it is necessary to export the 6.5 or earlier translation memories in version 6.x or earlier and then import them into newly created version 7.x translation memories.

• SDL Trados 7.1 is compatible with the following SDL MultiTerm versions: MultiTerm 7, MultiTerm iX (version 6.x) and MultiTerm 5.5. To avail of the new terminology features such as active terminology recognition across several terminology databases and quick term entry from Translator's Workbench and TagEditor, you must use MultiTerm 7.x Desktop. SDL International recommends installing MultiTerm 7.x Desktop before installing SDL Trados 7.1.

• Translator's Workbench 7.1 should only be used with SDL Trados TM Server 7.1 as a translation client. Issues may occur when working with TM Server 6.5 or TM Server 7.0. Likewise, Translator's Workbench 6.5 cannot open any server-based translation memories created with TM Server 7.x, since these translation memories make use of the new Unicode enhancements. Therefore, SDL International recommends avoiding mixed setups of previous and current versions of TM Server and SDL Trados 7.1.

• During the upgrade period, you may want to have different versions of the SDL Trados translation solution co-exist on your computer. In this situation, SDL International recommends the following:

  • In general, you can install SDL Trados 7.1 on the same computer as previous versions (version 6.5 or earlier), provided that each version is installed to a separate folder. The default installation location for each version of the software is different. It is not possible to run SDL Trados 7.1 and SDL Trados 7.0 on the same computer.
  • Do not use different versions of the software at the same time. For example, close Translator's Workbench 6.5 before registering and opening Translator's Workbench 7.1.
  • Do not run different versions of the same component at the same time. If you are using several tools at once, do not work with mixed versions of the software. For example, if you are translating files in TagEditor, use TagEditor 7.1 with Translator's Workbench 7.1. Do not use TagEditor 7.1 with Translator's Workbench 6.5 and vice versa.
  • We recommend that you use the same version of the software to translate files from start to finish. Migrating files from an earlier to a later version of the software when the project has already started may result in data inconsistencies.
  • When alternating between two different versions, you must register the software you are about to use by executing a special self-registration batch file. The batch file for each version is accessed from the Start menu on your computer. To register version 7.1 of the software, go to the Start menu on your computer and point to the program folder for SDL Trados 7.1. In the program folder, select Register to execute the batch file for the version 7.1 software. Once the register batch file has executed successfully, the software is ready for use.

• SDL International recommends to continue using Trados 6.5 when working on projects generated by SDL TeamWorks 2.0.1 and GXT 6.4. However, using SDL Trados 7 on the client side is also supported when working on TRADOStag-based files (TTX) generated by TeamWorks 2.0.1 or GXT 6.4, except RC, Windows 32 Binary, Microsoft Word, InDesign INX and Java Properties documents following the new TRADOStag workflow in version 7.x.

• SDL Trados 7.1 is required when working with projects generated by SDL TeamWorks 2006 and GXT 6.5.

• For more information about upgrading to SDL Trados 7.1 from previous versions of SDL Trados software, see the Upgrade Information section in the appropriate Getting Started Guide.

• The minimum specification to run SDL Trados 7.1 is a PC with a 512 MHz Pentium III or higher compatible processor and a minimum of 128 MB RAM. SDL International recommends at least 256 MB RAM.

• A mouse or similar pointing device is required.

• A minimum of 130 MB of hard disk space should be available.

• SDL Trados 7.1 requires Microsoft Word 2000 or later for processing Microsoft Word or RTF-based files. SDL Trados 7.1 also ships with a new file format filter for processing Microsoft Word .doc files. This filter allows you to process Microsoft Word .doc documents as TRADOStag XML (TTX) documents in Translator's Workbench, TagEditor and WinAlign as an alternative to the traditional RTF-based workflow and to be able to use Context TM for Microsoft Word .doc documents. For this to work correctly, the following applies:

  • Documents must have been saved in Microsoft Word 2000 or later.
  • TTX files created by the new Word file format filter can only be processed by SDL Trados 7.x; Trados 6.5 or earlier does not support the processing of these TTX files.
  • It is no longer necessary to have Microsoft Word installed for processing .doc files as TRADOStag files. An installation of Microsoft Word is only required if you wish to use the preview feature in TagEditor.
• For more information on both the RTF and TTX-based workflow, refer to the File Formats Reference Guide included with SDL Trados 7.1.

• SDL Trados 7.1 ships with a file format filter for processing Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel files as TRADOStag documents directly in Translator's Workbench, TagEditor and WinAlign. This feature has been present since Trados 6.5. For this to work correctly, SDL Trados 7.1 requires Microsoft Excel 2000 and PowerPoint 2000 (or later) for processing Microsoft Excel or PowerPoint documents. TTX files created by the file format filter can only be processed by version 6.5 or later of SDL Trados; Trados 6.0 and earlier cannot be used. T-Window for Excel and T-Window for PowerPoint are no longer included in this release.

• SDL Trados 7.1 ships with new file format filter plug-ins for processing Windows software resources (.rc/.dlg files), Windows 32 binary software files (.exe, .dll, .ocx), InDesign INX documents and Java Properties files as TRADOStag documents directly in Translator's Workbench, TagEditor and WinAlign. The Java Runtime Engine (JRE1.4.2_08) is required to translate these file types using TagEditor. You can download the JRE from http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/download.html if you do not already have it on your machine. TTX files created by these file format filters can only be processed by version 7.x or later of SDL Trados; Trados 6.5 and earlier cannot be used. The previous solutions for these file formats, T-Window for Executables and T-Window for Resources, are still included in this release to finish existing projects. They are not accessible from the Start menu, only from the TT subfolder of SDL Trados 7 (C:\Program Files\Trados\T7\TT or \T7_FL\TT by default). You can double-click on the executable files TWR.EXE and TWX.EXE in Windows Explorer to launch them. Note that the new filter plug-ins use different tagging mechanisms than the previous T-Window applications. This might affect leveraging from translation memories built up with the T-Windows. For details on this, refer to the File Formats Reference Guide.

• To use some of the online help systems, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher is required.

• SDL Trados 7.1 requires Microsoft .NET Framework version 1.1 SP1. If the .NET Framework is not installed on your machine, version 1.1 SP1 is automatically deployed by all setup programs. This might take a while to complete. In some cases, a reboot might be required before .NET Framework installation is complete.

• SDL Trados 7.1 runs under Windows 2000 and Windows XP. Earlier operating system generations such as Windows NT and Windows 98 are no longer supported.

• SDL International recommends that you remove support for any non-Western languages you do not work with from the Microsoft Office Language Settings and that you only use the languages that you translate into and from in Microsoft Word. For more information, see the Microsoft Word online help system.

• Your display settings should be set to at least 256 colours (in Start > Settings > Control Panel > Display > Settings).

• In general, language support in SDL Trados 7.1 corresponds to the language support installed on your system. For more information about specific support for bi-directional, Asian/DBCS (Double Byte Character Set) and complex script languages in SDL Trados 7.1 and MultiTerm 7.x, see the relevant online help.

• This release ships with fully localized user interfaces in English, German, French, Spanish, and Japanese. Some components of the online help system are available in English only. The Translator's Workbench User Guide is available in English, German (version 7.0), French (version 7.0), and Japanese (version 7.0). Updated localized on-line help and other localized documentation items will follow soon and will be made available for download from the SDL Customer Center and/or in updated installers. In the meantime, the localized documentation of earlier versions is included in SDL Trados 7.1 for your convenience.

• SDL International recommends using TagEditor 7.x for all file formats when translating into the new supported languages in SDL Trados 7.1, such as Hindi, Telugu and Gujarati. This includes Microsoft Word documents which should be translated using the new TRADOStag-based Microsoft Word file format filter rather than using Microsoft Word as a front-end.

• For optimum alignment exports into translation memories for the new supported languages, SDL International recommends using the TMX 1.4 export feature rather than TXT-based exports. Also, SDL International recommends to use Arial Unicode MS as a font for the new languages and switch to user-defined segment formatting in case of text display issues in WinAlign.

• For optimum performance of the new TRADOStag-based file format filter for Microsoft Word .doc documents and for tips and tricks, SDL International highly recommends reading the corresponding chapters in the File Formats Reference Guide. The following are known issues in the filter:

  • Many conversion issues with Microsoft Word files containing complex tables, text boxes, pictures etc., can be addressed by cleaning up the underlying document structures before conversion. This is achieved as follows: copy the entire document contents into the Clipboard (Ctrl+A to select the entire document, Ctrl+C to copy its contents). Then create a new document (Ctrl+N), paste the document contents into the new document (Ctrl+V) and save it (Ctrl+S). You might have to reapply document templates or styles after doing this. These actions refresh the document structures and will help in most cases to troubleshoot conversion issues.
  • For optimum results for font mapping of Western to Asian and complex scripts fonts, refer to the information in the File Formats Reference Guide.
  • Manual page or section breaks inside paragraphs are not supported. For optimum conversion results, SDL International recommends to put a paragraph mark in front of the manual break.

• When using the traditional RTF-based workflow for Microsoft Word documents, character corruption can occur when translating into or from non-Western languages such as Greek, Russian etc. In most cases, these issues can be addressed by installing support for Asian languages on your system both at Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office level.

• SDL Trados 7.1 includes the Bookmark Handler template for troubleshooting issues with hidden bookmarks and cross-references when using the traditional RTF-based workflow for Microsoft Word documents. The Bookmark Handler is an unsupported add-on to SDL Trados 7.1 that is provided as is and that you use at your own risk. Issues with bookmarks and cross-references do not occur when using the new TRADOStag-based file format filter for Microsoft Word.

• In some rare instances, the Translate to Fuzzy command does not work when you activate the Auto-Concordance feature and decide not to move the cursor into the Concordance dialog box after the search. If you encounter this issue, click once in any window in Translator's Workbench and then return to your editing environment. Translate to Fuzzy should now work as expected.

• It is not possible to change the names of open files in TagEditor using the new Properties dialog box available from the File menu. If you wish to rename documents, SDL International recommends to use the Save As commands in TagEditor, or to rename the files in Windows Explorer.

• To create a translation memory using TM Manager, make sure the languages this translation memory will use are installed on the middleware machine. Use Settings > Control Panel > Regional Options to install language support on the middleware machine. If you try to create a translation memory in a language that is not installed on the middleware, an error occurs.

• All known issues with InDesign files as documented below can be avoided by using the new INX-based filter for InDesign CS2. For more information on this new filter, refer to the File Formats Reference Guide. If you are still working with a previous InDesign version and use the Story Collector for InDesign 2.0 or InDesign CS 1.0, please note the following issues and workarounds:

  • Before exporting InDesign 2.0 and InDesign CS 1.0 documents using Story Collector for InDesign, make sure you delete the table of contents, index and any internal hyperlinks. Otherwise a large number of hyperlink elements are produced during the export of the InDesign file, leading to InDesign crashes or instability during re-import. Recreate the table of contents, index and internal hyperlinks after the files have been re-imported. Adobe has confirmed that these document elements cause problems in InDesign 2.0 and CS.
  • In some InDesign 2.0 and CS documents, stories may be assigned to the wrong text boxes when re-importing the document. Currently, there is no workaround or solution for this issue other than using the new INX-based filter.
  • All soft returns in InDesign 2.0 documents are replaced with hard returns after re-importing the translated stories into InDesign 2.0. This problem has been fixed in the Story Collector for InDesign CS.
  • When using the Story Collector for InDesign, extended characters may not display correctly in the Story Order dialog box. To make extended characters display correctly, you must install the Arial Unicode MS font using the Fonts Control Panel item in Windows. The Arial Unicode MS font ships with Microsoft Office as the Office Tools > International Support > Universal Font feature.

SDL Trados 7.1 is copy protected. It can use two forms of copy protection, either 1) a softkey license file (the default) or 2) a hardware device known as a dongle or security key.

In option 1), the license information is stored in a license file that is used to monitor use of the applications and impose any necessary license restrictions. The license file is typically stored on the local workstation or on the SDL Trados FLEXlm License Server. If the license file cannot be found locally or on the license server, SDL Trados 7.1 and its applications run in demo mode (see below).

When you purchase SDL Trados 7.1 you receive a login ID, a password, and the address (URL) for the SDL SDL Customer Center web site. To obtain a license file, browse to the URL you received in the email, enter your login ID and password, and follow the directions to download your license file. See the SDL Customer Center Help for more information. During installation of SDL Trados 7.1, the installation program asks you to browse to the downloaded license file or specify a license server. If you do not specify the license location during installation, you can use the License Manager feature in Translator's Workbench and other core applications to do so at a later stage. For more detailed information on how to apply the license file, see the Getting Started Guide. Note: The license file is hardware specific and the license only works for one specific computer.

If you use option 2), you need to insert the dongle into the parallel or USB port on your computer. Any devices normally connected to the parallel port can be plugged into the back of the dongle. Functionality of the parallel port should not be affected. Dongles for other software packages can be used at the same time as the SDL Trados dongle without interference.

When it is launched and during run-time, SDL Trados checks that a valid softkey license file is specified or that a dongle is attached to your computer. If no valid license file is found or the dongle is not attached, SDL Trados 7.1 runs in demo mode (see below). For more information about demo mode, refer to the Getting Started Guide.

If you are upgrading to this version of SDL Trados from an earlier version of Trados software, you will not be able to use your existing license with this version of the software. Contact Customer Support for more information.

Demo Mode