Pages in topic:   < [1 2 3 4] >
Best CAT Tool for Mac?
Thread poster: Minna Helminen
Neil Coffey
Neil Coffey  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:24
French to English
+ ...
Mac OS integration with Java Apr 24, 2016

Dominique Pivard wrote:
A Java-based tool will never "inherit the great behaviors and appearances of OS X", no matter how highly you think of it!


Without wishing to stray too much from the scope of this forum, I just thought I'd mention that this is not 100% true: Apple do actually provide a Java integration library allowing developers to use some of the native features of Mac OS that they wouldn't otherwise be able to out of the box. See here: https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Java/Conceptual/Java14Development/07-NativePlatformIntegration/NativePlatformIntegration.html


 
Rodolfo Raya
Rodolfo Raya  Identity Verified
Local time: 09:24
English to Spanish
Java and Cocoa Apr 24, 2016

Java apps can use the Cocoa framework and get the real look & feel of Mac OS X. This is not a big deal and some CAT tools for Mac already do that.

Old CAT tools that use Swing to build the GUI will never look like real Mac apps. There are just a few still using Swing, which has been deprecated by Oracle and should not be used anymore.

Regards,
Rodolfo


 
Andre Borges
Andre Borges  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 08:24
Spanish to English
+ ...
What about Wordfast? Apr 24, 2016

Long time listener first time caller here.

I am considering making the same big purchase, and like the OP for me buying a whole new computer or installing Parallels is not very feasible from either a hardware or an economic perspective. Therefore, I need a Mac-compatible CAT tool.

I have used Wordfast Anywhere with some largish projects (40k words) and small ones, and I have also tried out Wordfast Classic and Wordfast Pro. I haven't tried the other Mac-compatible tool
... See more
Long time listener first time caller here.

I am considering making the same big purchase, and like the OP for me buying a whole new computer or installing Parallels is not very feasible from either a hardware or an economic perspective. Therefore, I need a Mac-compatible CAT tool.

I have used Wordfast Anywhere with some largish projects (40k words) and small ones, and I have also tried out Wordfast Classic and Wordfast Pro. I haven't tried the other Mac-compatible tools. How does WF compare to these? Which of the WF flavors is better than the others?

Thank you!
Andre
Collapse


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:24
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Lots of other forums Apr 24, 2016

Andre Borges wrote:

Long time listener first time caller here.

I am considering making the same big purchase, and like the OP for me buying a whole new computer or installing Parallels is not very feasible from either a hardware or an economic perspective. Therefore, I need a Mac-compatible CAT tool.

I have used Wordfast Anywhere with some largish projects (40k words) and small ones, and I have also tried out Wordfast Classic and Wordfast Pro. I haven't tried the other Mac-compatible tools. How does WF compare to these? Which of the WF flavors is better than the others?

Thank you!
Andre


I suggest you search all the forums. There are lots of discussions around this topic, most of them a lot more detailed than this one.

[Edited at 2016-04-24 19:32 GMT]


 
Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule
Post removed: This post was hidden by a moderator or staff member because it was not in line with site rule
mc1529
mc1529
United States
Cross-platform tool Jan 15, 2018

You should try using a cross-platform translation tool (one that runs via web browser). This way you don't need to worry about capacity on your Mac, and you can also use it on iPad and iPhone if you need to. Pairaphrase is cross-platform and has:

-Translation memory
-Batch file translation
-Automatic file formatting
-Text-to-speech output
-Real-time collaboration
-Security (helpful for translating
... See more
You should try using a cross-platform translation tool (one that runs via web browser). This way you don't need to worry about capacity on your Mac, and you can also use it on iPad and iPhone if you need to. Pairaphrase is cross-platform and has:

-Translation memory
-Batch file translation
-Automatic file formatting
-Text-to-speech output
-Real-time collaboration
-Security (helpful for translating confidential data)

I hope this helps. Desktop software can get pretty cumbersome.
Collapse


 
Hans Lenting
Hans Lenting
Netherlands
Member (2006)
German to Dutch
I'm not convinced Jan 16, 2018

Desktop software can get pretty cumbersome.


Luckily there is an excellent solution for Mac users who want to install a great CAT tool locally. With less potential security risks than any online solution (like yours).

Regarding your pricing:

Free for 2,500 words per month but $125/month for a more realistic 25,000 words.


I find your software quite expensive ...


 
Laura Brown
Laura Brown  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 08:24
Member (2016)
Chinese to English
+ ...
Mac user - proponent of online tools Feb 11, 2018

I also wanted to add another update to this post - I'm a Mac user, and I've lately been using SmartCAT, which I love (although I'm sure there are others available). It's compatible with SDL files, MemoQ files, and it even has very affordable add-on OCR packages (and otherwise, it's free to use!). In terms of security risks, it is as secure as any file that is sent via Gmail. So if I'm only using a dedicated company server, then I stick to desktop software, but otherwise online tools like this ha... See more
I also wanted to add another update to this post - I'm a Mac user, and I've lately been using SmartCAT, which I love (although I'm sure there are others available). It's compatible with SDL files, MemoQ files, and it even has very affordable add-on OCR packages (and otherwise, it's free to use!). In terms of security risks, it is as secure as any file that is sent via Gmail. So if I'm only using a dedicated company server, then I stick to desktop software, but otherwise online tools like this have been a real game-changer for me.Collapse


 
Nelly Keavney
Nelly Keavney  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:24
Member (2017)
Bulgarian to English
+ ...
My personal choice of a CAT tool on a MAC Feb 11, 2018

Dear all,

I decided to share my personal story on this subject.

I am a Mac user and would never go back to using Windows. Up until last summer, I wasn't using any CAT tools and we all know that CAT tools are a must if you are a professional translator.

2 years ago, during an SDL Trados seminar I met a translator who had Mac and was running Parallels and Trados Studio without any issues. There was no need to divide the Mac and Windows in Bootcamp. This sound
... See more
Dear all,

I decided to share my personal story on this subject.

I am a Mac user and would never go back to using Windows. Up until last summer, I wasn't using any CAT tools and we all know that CAT tools are a must if you are a professional translator.

2 years ago, during an SDL Trados seminar I met a translator who had Mac and was running Parallels and Trados Studio without any issues. There was no need to divide the Mac and Windows in Bootcamp. This sounded promising.

However, I still wasn't convinced that this was a good idea. It all looked a bit surreal - virtual machines during Windows...1 year ago, during a different SDL seminar I met again the same translator and asked her if she had any issues with Mac when running Parallels or Trados Studio. She never had any major issues ("sometimes Parallels was a bit slow" was the only drawback).

Last summer, after extensively reading various materials I decided to purchase SDL licence and asked the customer service guys, what they would recommend me if I am using MAc. The guy advised that Parallels works perfectly fine with the latest Mac.

And here I am 9 months later, using Trados Studio through Parallels. I constantly switch between the 2 screens (Parallels and Mac). In fact you can work with "picture in picture" where the 2 screen overlap. Just amazing.

The only issue I encounter sometimes is that the Trados is a bit slow especially if I have worked continuously for 7-8 hours. But have in mind that I do take breaks and just leave the Mac's display to power off. For me an occasionally slow Parallels is not a problem.

I have heard people saying that running virtual machines (like Parallels and Vm ware) damages the Mac, but I don't understand how an application can damage the powerful OS that Mac has. To top it all up, I had to re-install my Mac OS after accidentally pulling the plug during an update. After the OS re-installation, I didn't lose a single bit of information and all my Mac desktop icons were where I left them, including the icon to access my Parallels.

I will give you some food for thought. The Mac OS is so much better that it can run Windows without major problems (both through a virtual machine and through Bootcamp). No Windows machine will be able to run Mac OS, or at least I haven't heard about it.

Personally, I love having the best of both worlds. Having Mac and being able to use my Trados SDL.

P.S. I did spend about 10 days trying to learn the different features for Parallels and which ones where the best solutions to suit my needs.

Many thanks,

Nelly
Collapse


Stephanie Busch
Tom in London
 
Sofia Gutkin
Sofia Gutkin  Identity Verified
Australia
Local time: 23:24
Member (2012)
Russian to English
+ ...
Only using the free CAT tools so far Mar 22, 2018

Nelly Keavney wrote:

Last summer, after extensively reading various materials I decided to purchase SDL licence and asked the customer service guys, what they would recommend me if I am using MAc. The guy advised that Parallels works perfectly fine with the latest Mac.

And here I am 9 months later, using Trados Studio through Parallels. I constantly switch between the 2 screens (Parallels and Mac). In fact you can work with "picture in picture" where the 2 screen overlap. Just amazing.



Firstly, Nelly, I admire you for going ahead and installing Parallels. I briefly considered it and got too nervous since I'm not all the computer-savvy.

I've been using SmartCAT for several years with no issues, but I do wonder about security.
I've also used MemSource Editor in the past as I had a regular client who always used it.
It's also possible to get online access to MemoQ for a particular project if an agency gives you access.

I've just recently installed CafeTran because I kept hearing all these good things about it, but I haven't had a chance to use it yet. Still, I think it's quite disappointing that none of the "big" CAT tools can run on a Mac.


 
Hans Lenting
Hans Lenting
Netherlands
Member (2006)
German to Dutch
Why the biggest? Mar 22, 2018

Sofia Gutkin wrote:

Still, I think it's quite disappointing that none of the "big" CAT tools can run on a Mac.


What would be the advantage of working with memoQ or Studio on a Mac?


Andrea Louise Prado de Oliveira
 
Epameinondas Soufleros
Epameinondas Soufleros  Identity Verified
Greece
Local time: 14:24
Member (2008)
English to Greek
+ ...
memoQ on Mac Mar 22, 2018

The only big CAT tool that can come to Mac in the foreseeable future is memoQ. memoQ has been a .NET application since version 1, in contrast to DéjàVu and Trados, both of which have lots of legacy code, which has never been refactored and modernized, just sitting there as a so-called “big ball of mud”.

If Kilgray have the resources, they can fork their current project and build a version (or, perhaps, an edition, i.e. a variant) of memoQ based on .NET Core, which is th
... See more
The only big CAT tool that can come to Mac in the foreseeable future is memoQ. memoQ has been a .NET application since version 1, in contrast to DéjàVu and Trados, both of which have lots of legacy code, which has never been refactored and modernized, just sitting there as a so-called “big ball of mud”.

If Kilgray have the resources, they can fork their current project and build a version (or, perhaps, an edition, i.e. a variant) of memoQ based on .NET Core, which is the current, modern, cross-platform framework by Microsoft. The biggest hurdle, as I see it, is to find replacements for the Windows Forms components that they have been relying on, like the component that makes the translation grid, which is a crucial part of the application.

Let's see how this goes.

[Edited at 2018-03-22 11:44 GMT]
Collapse


 
Shouguang Cao
Shouguang Cao  Identity Verified
China
Local time: 20:24
English to Chinese
+ ...
Mac is geeky Oct 6, 2018

Michael Beijer wrote:

… but there is often a price to pay for hiding everything away and making it more Mac-like: users no longer know what they are doing on a technical level. I suppose this is fine in certain areas, but in others it can lead to problems. Mind you, I'm not saying that Linux (the ‘opposite’ side of this spectrum) is the way to go either, or that software should be wilfully geeky, just that a slick, minimalistic UI isn't necessarily the be-all and end-all of UI design, at least when it comes to CAT tools.

In an ideal world, a CAT tool would have several modes: one newbie / Mac-user-friendly (oh dear: ‘Mac-user-friendly’? ‘Mac-user friendly’? ‘Mac user-friendly’?) mode, and one geek mode perhaps.

Michael


Mac is actually quite geeky. I believe more programmers use Mac than Windows, perhaps even including those who work for Microsoft.


 
Paul Berthelot
Paul Berthelot  Identity Verified
Local time: 13:24
Member (2004)
English to French
+ ...
On mac definitely cafetran Jul 5, 2020

Not having tried memoq on mac yet, i can only speak of 1-cafetran e 2-wordfast pro.
The first is easy to use but too easy to change (internal views you close or open)
The second doesn't change (so less personable)
Connections with sites as linguee or proz do work better in the first
License could be lifetime for the first and max 3 years for the second
When wordfast license is no more active ... you've got the trial version.
Lifetime license of the first is c
... See more
Not having tried memoq on mac yet, i can only speak of 1-cafetran e 2-wordfast pro.
The first is easy to use but too easy to change (internal views you close or open)
The second doesn't change (so less personable)
Connections with sites as linguee or proz do work better in the first
License could be lifetime for the first and max 3 years for the second
When wordfast license is no more active ... you've got the trial version.
Lifetime license of the first is cheaper than 3years of the second.
I work on macos high sierra.
Best regards
Paul B
Collapse


Tom in London
 
Pages in topic:   < [1 2 3 4] >


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:


You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Best CAT Tool for Mac?







TM-Town
Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business

Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.

More info »
Trados Business Manager Lite
Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio

Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.

More info »