Is it worth paying for Xbench 3.0 or should I use the free version?
Thread poster: Fredrik Pettersson
Fredrik Pettersson
Fredrik Pettersson  Identity Verified
Hong Kong
Local time: 21:19
Member (2009)
English to Swedish
+ ...
Apr 27, 2015

Is it worth paying for Xbench 3.0 or should I use the free version?

Most often I use MultiTerm Desktop and MultiTerm Convert to create my own MultiTerm glossaries that I use within SDL Trados Studio 2014. Now, the customer I will begin to work for long-term has given me a license for MemoQ Server and asked me to use Xbench 2.9 (the free version) for QA.

However, since I often have created my own MultiTerm glossaries I was planning to use also the Xbench plug-in for Stud
... See more
Is it worth paying for Xbench 3.0 or should I use the free version?

Most often I use MultiTerm Desktop and MultiTerm Convert to create my own MultiTerm glossaries that I use within SDL Trados Studio 2014. Now, the customer I will begin to work for long-term has given me a license for MemoQ Server and asked me to use Xbench 2.9 (the free version) for QA.

However, since I often have created my own MultiTerm glossaries I was planning to use also the Xbench plug-in for Studio 2014, and then export the unclean files from MemoQ Server and import into Studio 2014 to perform the QA there with Xbench plugin, using my MultiTerm glossaries.

Has anyone used Xbench 3.0 for a longer time and knows if it would be worth investing 99 EUR each year for a license? In my particular case, it seems the best option as I want to always be able to use the QA checks in Xbench with my MultiTerm glossaries.
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Eliseo Igarzabal
 
pep
pep
Local time: 21:19
English to Spanish
You can start a free Xbench 3.0 trial to figure it out Apr 27, 2015

Xbench 3.0 has a 30-day trial to check its features.

The trial is for 30 days of use (not 30 calendar days). This means that if your client sends you a job every couple weeks, your Xbench 3.0 free trial will last some 60 weeks (your mileage may vary). Hopefully by the end of the trial, you will be able to assess if it is worth it or if Xbench 2.9 is enough.

Xbench 3.0 can QA memoQ documents directly, you do not need to import them into Studio. Here's a video about
... See more
Xbench 3.0 has a 30-day trial to check its features.

The trial is for 30 days of use (not 30 calendar days). This means that if your client sends you a job every couple weeks, your Xbench 3.0 free trial will last some 60 weeks (your mileage may vary). Hopefully by the end of the trial, you will be able to assess if it is worth it or if Xbench 2.9 is enough.

Xbench 3.0 can QA memoQ documents directly, you do not need to import them into Studio. Here's a video about how to QA memoQ documents with Xbench 3.0: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECAPbKtCiJY
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Elena Feriani
 
Enrico C - ECLC
Enrico C - ECLC  Identity Verified
Taiwan
Local time: 04:19
English to Italian
+ ...
It's worth all the money but... Apr 27, 2015

Fredrik Pettersson wrote:

Is it worth paying for Xbench 3.0 or should I use the free version?

Most often I use MultiTerm Desktop and MultiTerm Convert to create my own MultiTerm glossaries that I use within SDL Trados Studio 2014. Now, the customer I will begin to work for long-term has given me a license for MemoQ Server and asked me to use Xbench 2.9 (the free version) for QA.

However, since I often have created my own MultiTerm glossaries I was planning to use also the Xbench plug-in for Studio 2014, and then export the unclean files from MemoQ Server and import into Studio 2014 to perform the QA there with Xbench plugin, using my MultiTerm glossaries.

Has anyone used Xbench 3.0 for a longer time and knows if it would be worth investing 99 EUR each year for a license? In my particular case, it seems the best option as I want to always be able to use the QA checks in Xbench with my MultiTerm glossaries.



....i don't share the yearly subscription model. So despite me being tempted to buy it i always skipped it. The software does its job. It even has a Studio add-on and works well. But it is not conceivable (in my personal view) to have to pay a subscription. What makes me say this? It's simple, the subscription model spreads and then you find yourself forced to pay yearly subscriptions for all of your software (it already happens for many platforms). For me that's not the way to go. I buy the software once...then i decide if i want the upgrades or not. A software that i buy now and expires next year if i don't pay doesn't suit me. The idea of Software as a service doesn't suit translators in particular, especially if you are a small company and want to make your small business cost efficient. I'd go for some solution that i pay once and i have it. Then upgrading is up to me.
That is the same reason why i never upgraded to Office 2013. The proper version was overly expensive for a refresh with no real innovation and the other was too expensive as a yearly subscription. I gave up.

I understand it may be different for others but that is how it is for me.

Hope it helps.

Enrico


Reiko Arakawa
 
Angela Malik
Angela Malik  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:19
German to English
+ ...
If you want an alternative... Apr 27, 2015

...I use Verifika, which I find to have a more user-friendly interface and have more language-specific configuration options (but I have not looked at X-Bench in years, so this might be an outdated opinion)

http://e-verifika.com/


 
Fredrik Pettersson
Fredrik Pettersson  Identity Verified
Hong Kong
Local time: 21:19
Member (2009)
English to Swedish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Xbench 2.9: not Unicode so national characters are not displayed? Apr 27, 2015

I received a Xbench report now from my customer (who uses version 2.9), and it's full of question marks where there should have been the national characters å, ä and ö (for Swedish). It really is annoying and makes it much harder to do the editing, especially in longer sentences. Wouldn't this issue be non-existent in version 3.0 because it uses Unicode? That alone would definitely make it worth paying for version 3.0. Oh, and I have 30 days of use, didn't think of that, thought it was 30 cal... See more
I received a Xbench report now from my customer (who uses version 2.9), and it's full of question marks where there should have been the national characters å, ä and ö (for Swedish). It really is annoying and makes it much harder to do the editing, especially in longer sentences. Wouldn't this issue be non-existent in version 3.0 because it uses Unicode? That alone would definitely make it worth paying for version 3.0. Oh, and I have 30 days of use, didn't think of that, thought it was 30 calendar days. So I'll have plenty of time to try it out.Collapse


 
Erwin van Wouw
Erwin van Wouw  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 21:19
English to Dutch
Verifika looks promising Sep 28, 2015

As I am to renew my Xbench subscription I am definitely going to check out this tool. Thank you, Angela.

Angela Rimmer wrote:

...I use Verifika, which I find to have a more user-friendly interface and have more language-specific configuration options

http://e-verifika.com/


 
Michael Beijer
Michael Beijer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:19
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
Is QA in memoQ and Studio that bad? Sep 28, 2015

I actually own a licence for Xbench, but never use it for QA-ing. I occasionally use it to delete duplicates in very large collections of TMXs. That's about it.

Shouldn’t all this QA stuff be possible in your CAT tool? I've never felt the need to use anything beyond the QA routines built into CafeTran. Is QA in memoQ and Studio that bad?

For info on CafeTran's QA functi
... See more
I actually own a licence for Xbench, but never use it for QA-ing. I occasionally use it to delete duplicates in very large collections of TMXs. That's about it.

Shouldn’t all this QA stuff be possible in your CAT tool? I've never felt the need to use anything beyond the QA routines built into CafeTran. Is QA in memoQ and Studio that bad?

For info on CafeTran's QA functionality, see: http://cafetranhelp.com/performing-qa-checks

PS: if any of you can point out something that is lacking in CafeTran's QA arsenal, I'm sure Igor will add it for us (if it's useful).


[Edited at 2015-09-28 23:39 GMT]

[Edited at 2015-09-28 23:39 GMT]

[Edited at 2015-09-28 23:40 GMT]
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Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 21:19
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Will it help *you*? Sep 29, 2015

Fredrik Pettersson wrote:
I received a Xbench report now from my customer (who uses version 2.9), and it's full of question marks where there should have been the national characters å, ä and ö (for Swedish).


If the client uses 2.9 and sends you the report, then I would assume that you having 3.0 will probably not fix the client's generated report. At best, I assume, having 3.0 will allow you to re-create the report, without those question marks.


 
Travis Shearer
Travis Shearer
France
Spanish to English
+ ...
Agree! Feb 18, 2018

Enrico C - ECLC wrote:

....i don't share the yearly subscription model. So despite me being tempted to buy it i always skipped it. The software does its job. It even has a Studio add-on and works well. But it is not conceivable (in my personal view) to have to pay a subscription. What makes me say this? It's simple, the subscription model spreads and then you find yourself forced to pay yearly subscriptions for all of your software (it already happens for many platforms). For me that's not the way to go. I buy the software once...then i decide if i want the upgrades or not. A software that i buy now and expires next year if i don't pay doesn't suit me. The idea of Software as a service doesn't suit translators in particular, especially if you are a small company and want to make your small business cost efficient. I'd go for some solution that i pay once and i have it. Then upgrading is up to me.
That is the same reason why i never upgraded to Office 2013. The proper version was overly expensive for a refresh with no real innovation and the other was too expensive as a yearly subscription. I gave up.

I understand it may be different for others but that is how it is for me.

Hope it helps.

Enrico


Totally agree about the subscription model...and it's becoming increasingly common. Way back in the days of Windows 95, Antivirus companies began that trend; now it's extending to all kinds of software...

My problem is that some of the agencies I work with require me to use Xbench and penalise me if I don't...


 
Angel Llacuna
Angel Llacuna  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 21:19
English to Spanish
alternatives to memoQ May 18, 2020

any other free alternatives to memoQ for QA checking ?
I tried to install CheckMate, but my antivirus deletes the checkmate.exe file


 
DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
False positive? May 18, 2020

If you know how to use MemoQ properly and it's not enough for your needs, then
Did you check the file via other antiviruses or virustotal?
Just to make sure.

Sometimes the source could be compromised (infected), sometimes it's enough to inform the one or the other vendor to resolve the issue once and for (almost) good.


Though for unknown and isolated applications I'd recommend using Virtual machines or SandBoxIE.


 


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Is it worth paying for Xbench 3.0 or should I use the free version?







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