SDL Trados Studio 2009 enables organizations to effectively manage all aspects of translation projects. SDL Trados Studio 2009 incorporates project management and computer-aided translation (CAT) tools for use by project managers, translators, editors, proofreaders and other language professionals. These are presented in easy-to-use views which you can arrange to look and work the way that you prefer. For more information on SDL Trados Studio 2009, refer to the online help and user guides.

SDL Trados Studio 2009 is used with a softkey license based on an activation code. For more details on how the softkey license mechanism works and how to obtain and install softkey licenses, see the Licensing chapter in the SDL Trados Studio 2009 Installation Guide and the information provided in the SDL Support Center at http://support.sdl.com. Important: the Freelance version of SDL Trados Studio 2009 cannot run on a domain-based network. This behavior is by design. If you wish to run SDL Trados Studio 2009 on a domain-based network, you need to work with the Professional version.

• Information for upgrade users:

  • SDL Trados Studio 2009 supports side-by-side installation with SDL Trados 2007. Refer to the upgrade information further down for more information.
  • Users of Trados version 7.x/6.x/SDLX 2005 or earlier: For more information about upgrading to SDL Trados Studio 2009 from previous versions of SDL Trados software, see the information in the SDL Trados Studio 2009 Installation Guide.

• SDL Trados Studio 2009 uses a new translation memory format (.sdltm), a new bilingual file format (.sdlxliff) as well as new project and package formats (.sdlproj, .sdlppx and .sdlrpx). For extensive information on backward compatibility, how to upgrade your TMs to the new format and how to work with the legacy SDL Trados bilingual file formats TTX and ITD, refer to the SDL Trados Studio 2009 Migration Guide included with SDL Trados Studio 2009.

• SDL Trados Studio 2009 is compatible with SDL MultiTerm 2009 only. MultiTerm 2007 (version 7.5) and previous 7.x releases, MultiTerm iX (version 6.x) and MultiTerm 5.5 cannot be used with SDL Trados Studio 2009.

• SDL Trados Studio 2009 is only compatible with SDL TM Server 2009. Previous versions of TM Server such as TM Server 2007, TM Server 2006 or TM Server 7.1 are no longer supported. At the time of writing these release notes, TM Server 2009 was not yet available. Information on release dates will be communicated to the user base as soon as possible.

• SDL Trados Studio 2009 does not currently support the legacy package formats created by SDL Trados Synergy, SDL TeamWorks and TMS. However, the TTX and ITD formats created by these systems are supported for translation in SDL Trados Studio 2009.

• During the transition period where SDL Trados Studio 2009 still uses some components from SDL Trados 2007 as outlined below, you would typically have SDL Trados Studio 2009 and SDL Trados 2007 installed on the same computer. For this reason, SDL makes both products available to you when shipping SDL Trados Studio 2009. SDL recommends the following:

  • Trados users: Install SDL Trados Studio 2009 on the same computer as SDL Trados 2007. Each version is installed to a separate folder since the default installation location for each version of the software is different.
  • SDL Trados Studio 2009 uses components of SDL Trados 2007 for the following tasks:
  • upgrading translation memories from SDL Trados 2007
  • aligning documents using SDL Trados WinAlign (Version 2007) or SDL Align
  • converting TTX and ITD files back to their native format from within SDL Trados Studio 2009
  • previewing TTX and ITD files within SDL Trados Studio 2009
  • and converting QuarkXPress (CopyFlow 7), QuickSilver, OpenOffice and SGML files
  • 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 of legacy releases of SDL Trados (such as SDL Trados 2007 and SDL Trados 2006), 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 8.x (2007) of the software, go to the Start menu on your computer and point to the program folder for SDL Trados 2007. In the program folder, select Register SDL Trados 2007 to execute the batch file for the version 8.x software. Once the register batch file has executed successfully, the software is ready for use.

• SDL Trados Studio 2009 uses a new bilingual XLIFF 1.2-compliant file format (.sdlxliff). This format is only supported by SDL Trados Studio 2009. Legacy SDL Trados versions (2007 and earlier) cannot be used to process these files. All file format filters provided with SDL Trados Studio 2009 use the new SDLXLIFF format.

• Interoperability with SDL Trados 2007: SDL Trados Studio 2009 is supported when working on TradosTag-based files (TTX) and ITD files generated by SDL Trados 2007 and SDLX 2007.

• Interoperability with SDL TeamWorks 2008: You can continue using SDL Trados 2007 when working on SDL TeamWorks 2008 packages. However, SDL Trados Studio 2009 is also supported when working on TradosTag-based files (TTX) generated by SDL TeamWorks 2008.

• Interoperability with SDL TMS: You can continue using SDL Trados 2007 when working on SDL TMS packages. However, SDL Trados Studio 2009 is also supported when working on ITD documents generated by SDL TMS.

• For more information about upgrading to SDL Trados Studio 2009 from previous versions of SDL Trados software, see the SDL Trados Studio 2009 Migration Guide as well as the Upgrade and Compatibility Information section in the SDL Trados Studio 2009 Installation Guide.

• The minimum specification to run SDL Trados Studio 2009 is a PC with a Pentium IV or higher compatible processor and 1 GB RAM. SDL recommends a recent Pentium using Core Duo technology and 2 GB RAM.

• A mouse or similar pointing device is required.

• A minimum of 500 MB of hard disk space should be available.

• SDL Trados 2007: SDL Trados Studio 2009 uses components from SDL Trados 2007 for some key tasks as outlined above under "Notices and Recommendations". For optimum performance, SDL recommends that you install both SDL Trados Studio 2009 and SDL Trados 2007 Suite (Build 863) on the same machine.

• Microsoft Office 2007: SDL Trados Studio 2009 fully supports all Microsoft Office 2007 file formats. An installation of Microsoft Office 2007 is only required if you want to use the preview features in SDL Trados Studio 2009.

• Microsoft Word 2000-2003: SDL Trados Studio 2009 ships with a file format filter for processing Microsoft Word .doc files directly (without falling back on Word for file format conversion). This filter allows you to process Microsoft Word .doc documents as SDLXLIFF documents in SDL Trados Studio 2009. For this to work correctly, the following applies:

  • Documents must have been saved in Microsoft Word 2000, Word 2002 (XP), Word 2003 or Word 2007 (using .doc as the file format in Word 2007).
  • SDLXLIFF files created by the Microsoft Word file format filter can only be processed by SDL Trados Studio 2009. SDL Trados 2007 and earlier do not support the processing of SDLXLIFF files.
  • It is not necessary to have Microsoft Word installed for processing .doc files as SDLXLIFF files. An installation of Microsoft Word is only required if you want to use the preview features in SDL Trados Studio 2009.
  • For more information, refer to the Working with File Types section in the online help included with SDL Trados Studio 2009.

• Microsoft PowerPoint XP (2002) and 2003: SDL Trados Studio 2009 ships with a file format filter for processing Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 (XP)-2003 files directly (without falling back on PowerPoint for file format conversion). This filter allows you to process Microsoft PowerPoint presentations as SDLXLIFF documents in SDL Trados Studio 2009. For this to work correctly, the following applies:

  • Documents must have been saved in Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 (XP) or 2003.
  • SDLXLIFF files created by the PowerPoint file format filter can only be processed by SDL Trados Studio 2009; SDL Trados 2007 and earlier do not support the processing of SDLXLIFF files.
  • It is not necessary to have Microsoft PowerPoint installed for processing .ppt files. An installation of Microsoft PowerPoint is only required if you want to use the preview features in SDL Trados Studio 2009.
  • For more information, refer to the Working with File Types section in the online help included with SDL Trados Studio 2009.

• Microsoft Excel 2000-2003: SDL Trados Studio 2009 ships with a file format filter for processing Microsoft Excel files as SDLXLIFF documents in SDL Trados Studio 2009. For this to work, SDL Trados Studio 2009 requires Microsoft Excel 2000-2003 to be installed. SDLXLIFF files created by the file format filter can only be processed by SDL Trados Studio 2009; SDL Trados 2007 and earlier cannot be used.

• SDL Trados Studio 2009 ships with file format filters for processing Adobe InDesign CS2-CS4, Java Properties and StarOffice/OpenOffice documents as SDLXLIFF documents in SDL Trados Studio 2009. The Java Runtime Engine (JRE1.6.0_13) is required to translate these file types using SDL Trados Studio 2009. JRE is included with SDL Trados Studio 2009 for your convenience. SDLXLIFF files created by these file format filters can only be processed by SDL Trados Studio 2009. SDL Trados 2007 (8.x) and earlier cannot be used.

• SDL Trados Studio 2009 ships with a number of new file format filters for processing XML documents (including DITA and DocBook), Adobe FrameMaker 8.0/9.0 and Adobe PDF documents. SDLXLIFF files created by these file format filters can only be processed by SDL Trados Studio 2009. SDL Trados 2007 (8.x) and earlier cannot be used.

• To use some of the online Help systems, Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher is required.

• SDL Trados Studio 2009 requires Microsoft .NET Framework version 3.5 SP1. If Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 is not installed on your machine, it is automatically deployed by all setup programs. This might take a while to download and complete. In some cases, a reboot might be required before .NET Framework installation is complete.

• SDL Trados Studio 2009 runs with Windows Vista 32-bit and Windows XP. You use 64-bit versions of Windows Vista at your own risk. Earlier operating system generations such as Windows 2000, Windows NT and Windows 98 are not supported.

• Your display settings should be set to at least 1024x768 pixels and 256 colors.

• In general, language support in SDL Trados Studio 2009 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 Studio 2009, see the relevant online help. If you use the Freelance version of SDL Trados Studio 2009, be sure to select at least one Western language (such as English, French or German) as one of the five languages you want to work with to ensure correct operation of SDL Trados Studio 2009 after installation.

• For the latest information on known issues, we recommend that you visit our knowledgebase available at http://support.sdl.com.

• The following file types currently still need to be converted to TradosTag (TTX) in SDL Trados 2007 before translating them in SDL Trados Studio 2009:

  • Quark 7.x (using the third-party application CopyFlow). For more information on CopyFlow, see http://www.napsys.com.
  • QuickSilver 3.0 files (using S-Tagger for Interleaf/Quicksilver)
  • SGML files (using TagEditor or Translator's Workbench)

• If you wish to run alignments of legacy translated documents, you need to use SDL Trados WinAlign or SDL Align in SDL Trados 2007. After the alignment, we recommend that you first import the alignment results into SDL Trados Translator's Workench or SDLX and then use the Upgrade Translation Memories Wizard in SDL Trados Studio 2009 to upgrade the memories for use with SDL Trados Studio 2009. For more information, see the SDL Trados Studio 2009 Migration Guide.

• Using the SDL Automated Translation Server (ATS) in project pre-processing using the Pre-Translate Files task may cause timeout issues on the ATS server. SDL recommends that you use ATS in interactive translation only.

• For optimum performance in real-time preview, SDL recommends that you use Microsoft Word 2007. Microsoft Word 2003 is also supported, however certain issues may occur when using this version. These issues and potential workarounds are described in more detail in our knowledgebase available at http://support.sdl.com.

• When you add custom columns to any of the views using the Customize command on the View context menu of SDL Trados Studio 2009, these columns may get added to the right-hand rather than the left-hand side of the Gantt chart. If this happens, you can drag and drop such columns back to the left-hand side of the Gantt chart.

• This release ships with fully localized user interfaces in English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese. All user guides and online help systems are available in English only. Localization of the documentation is planned for a future service pack release.

• For optimum alignment exports using SDL Trados WinAlign in SDL Trados 2007 into translation memories for some of the more recently supported languages such as Hindi, SDL recommends using the TMX 1.4 export feature rather than TXT-based exports. Also, SDL recommends using Arial Unicode MS as a font for the new languages and switching to user-defined segment formatting in case of text display issues in WinAlign.

• The preview of OpenOffice documents does not work with documents where the file names contain extended characters, such as French or German special characters. To work around this issue, rename the files so that they do not contain any extended characters.

• When attempting to run the Freelance version of SDL Trados Studio 2009 on a domain-based network, a message appears stating that it is not possible to run the Freelance version on such a network. This behavior is by design and does not occur on workgroup-based networks or on stand-alone computers.