Working with Trados Studio Packages (.sdlppx)

If you are sent one of these supported packages to work with then the process is simple.  First, you open the package up using “Open Package” which you can find in several locations in Studio.  First of all it’s in the “Home View”:



Once you have done this all the packages behave pretty much the same way… Studio extracts the contents and takes you into the Open Package dialogue like this (this one came from SDL TMS):



I can click on “Finish” here and I’m directed to a window where I decide where to put the Project.  I’d recommend placing this into the default folder you use for all your Projects and then you’ll always know where they are… and you won’t have to remember to change the location every time you get a new package.  

You should then see this:



Now your Project is created and added to the Projects list.  To see the files for translation you make sure the Project is active in the Projects View… so this means it should be bold.  If it isn’t then right click it and set it as the active project:

Now all you do is select the Files View and the files in there will be the ones that were included in the Package and are part of the active project (double clicking a project in the Projects View will make it active and take you to the Files View at the same time):

You may have been given these files for Review, or for Sign-Off as part of a controlled workflow, so in this case you can open the files in the appropriate mode by right-clicking on them and selecting the way you would like to work:

ou can create the return package in a number of places… first of all from the Files View where you can select all, a few, or just one file for inclusion in the package.  In this screenshot I have selected the two files that are 100% complete so I can send a partial delivery:

This allows the Project Manager to update the main project whilst I complete work on the rest of the files.  I can still create more return packages later.  I can also create the return package from the Project menu in all of the views and this will base the return package on all the files within the Project:

If you didn’t want all the files in the Return Package you can still deselect them at this stage:

You then follow the wizard clicking on next to specify the location for the Project Return Package and finally you are presented with the opportunity to open the target folder or send the package by email. So you choose the appropriate step to locate the package and return it to the Project Manager in the manner requested.

This is not a problem… the correct extension will be added when the package is created.  So in this example if I look in the folder containing the return package I can see this:

It’s also worth noting that as long as Studio is installed then the Type column above will also help to identify the type of package. If you add a .zip to the end of the filename and unzip the package you will find there are only the translated sdlxliff files in the return package. So if you find a TMX, settings files and a filetypes folder then this is the original WorldServer Package.  If you find xlf files instead of sdlxliff then it’s just an old version of WorldServer.

On a final note… if you are handling Studio Packages you’ll find an excellent application on the OpenExchange called the Package Reader. This allows you to right-click on a Package and see what’s in there without having to open the package in Studio… in fact it shows you much more and is well worth taking a look.

"Translators are the shadow heroes of literature, the often forgotten instruments that make it possible for different cultures to talk to one another, who have enabled us to understand that we all, from every part of the world, live in one world.” Paul Auster