What CAT tools do the agencies you work with want you to use? What is your budget? How technically minded are you? Which features will you really use? Your choice will depend on a number of factors. As a translator, you could go crazy trying to find the perfect CAT tool, but really there is no single perfect CAT tool. There is an incredible variety of CAT tools available on the market. Some are software-based and some operate entirely in the cloud.

Some provide access to online terminology databases or help the translator to better manage translation memories.

Some can work with different types of documents, such as Powerpoint presentations, without needing to convert the text to a different file format. Term bases are also an integral part of translation tools, giving translators the ability to develop their own bilingual glossaries in their subject areas.ĬAT tools can include a wide range of different features. CAT tools typically contain a translation memory, which stores previous source and target translations for easy reference while working. CAT tools are different than “machine translation” – they assist a human translator in doing their work more quickly and in managing their translation projects. The “CAT” in CAT tool stands for “Computer Aided Translation” or “ Computer Assisted Translation” but, as you might already know, it doesn’t mean that a computer is actually completing the translation for you.

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