Table of Contents
Transifex provides translators with a space to work on content without needing to worry about handling files. The Editor is accessible from any web browser, and multiple people can translate the same file in parallel.
Getting to the Editor
Here's how you can get to the Editor:
From the Dashboard, click on Editor.
Select the desired project hosted at your organization (you can see all active projects listed there).
Select the desired resource - If you'd like to translate all of your resources at once, click on All resources.
Choose which language you want to translate content in the language dropdown. Depending on your role, you might only see the languages you've been given permission to work on.
Note If you're translating a Live instead of a file-based project, you can still follow the same steps to access the editor. If you want to switch to the Live editor, you need to click on the desired project first and then "Transifex Live" at the right corner of the project's overview page. You can read more about translating with Transifex Live here. |
Searching and filtering for strings
After selecting a resource to translate, you'll see a complete list of translatable phrases (strings) in the resource on the left side. Above the list is a set of tabs – All, Untranslated, and Unreviewed – along with a search box.
These are helpful when you want to find a specific string or subset of strings to work on. For example, click the Untranslated tab if you only want to see the untranslated strings.
For more filtering options, you can use:
The search box
Click in the search box
above the strings list, or use the Alt+s shortcut to see the list of the available filters. Find the one you want by either scrolling through the filters' list or typing the filter's name in the search input.
Click on a filter to use it. Depending on what filter you select, you may need to make a selection or enter a search term. You can combine multiple filters to narrow your strings list down even more. For example, you can find all unreviewed strings tagged with "account" See all available filters.
The available grouped filters below the search input
Grouped filters help you get an overview of the filters that Transifex supports.
Groups can be hidden if you do not want to use them for a while. To hide or reveal these groups click on the "Filters" option on the left side of the magnifier icon:
Click on a grouped filter and select the one you want to manipulate.
Once the desired filter is selected, depending on its type, you will need to either make a selection or provide a search term.
The search box will properly be updated, allowing you to see the filters you have already applied.
Translating strings
After finding the strings you want to work on, it's finally time to translate!
Here's how to translate strings in Transifex:
From the strings list on the left, click on the string you want to translate. Your selected string will appear on the right-hand side in the source string area.
Type your translation into the translation area below the source string area.
Save your translation text for the string you are working on or save all drafts you may have created while working on several strings.
The Editor has a set of tools and shortcuts that can help you when translating a string.
Appendix
In this section, you will find all the details of Web Editor actions and functionality. The available actions are grouped based on the area you can access.
Overview button
Clicking the Overview toggle button, you can see all the strings and their translations for the selected resource. This mode can be used for quick previewing of default strings and translations.
Concordance button - TM search
This is a switch to enable and use Concordance search on the project's Translation Memory. See Using Translation Memory and Concordance Search for more.
Editor settings
You will see all the available options to change your editor settings by clicking the gear icon. All the available options are:
Link to your Editor preferences.
Option to display strings in another language, then the source to help you translate similar languages.
Link to display all the keyboard shortcuts you can use in the Web Editor
Clicking Editor preferences, you have options for:
Raw mode of the Web Editor, affecting the whole editor.
Display spaces in both source and translation string's area when translating.
Increase the font size.
Enable dark mode in the editor.
Use placeholder shortcuts when translating into French.
If your project has video subtitles and a video is available, there is an additional option to enable the video preview. See Translating Video Subtitles for more.
Show character counter for the translation.
Show difference with previous. If enabled, this option shows, by default, differences between translation/source versions and TM suggestions.
Show full strings in the string list.
Any changes you make in the editor preferences are applied instantly.
String list area
On the left of the string, there's a localization status icon for the selected target language. The colour code is the same as in the resource files dashboard:
A Grey dot indicates an untranslated string.
A Green dot indicates a translated string.
A Blue check indicates a reviewed string
A Purple double check indicates a proofread string (if the proofreading feature is enabled).
Additionally,
If a string has tags or is mapped to a screenshot, additional icons will be displayed next to the source strings.
If a translation is saved, but a warning message occurs, you will see an exclamation mark in the place of the status icon.
If errors occur while trying to save a translation, then you will see an x icon in place of the status icon.
Selecting all strings
To select all strings to perform certain actions (to see the word count of all strings, find and replace, machine translate):
Choose *All resources to have all resource files open at once:
Mass-select the strings (check the box next to the search area):
Available filters
There are several filters available in the Editor. Here's what each one means:
Group "Text"
Filters related to string text, containing:
Text – Search for source strings containing a specific word or phrase
Text doesn't contain - Search for text not contained in the source string
Translation text – Search for translation strings containing a specific word or phrase
Translation text doesn't contain - Search for text not contained in the translation string
Group "Status"
Filters related to localization status of a string:
Translated – Search for strings based on whether it's translated or untranslated
Reviewed – Search for strings based on whether it's reviewed or unreviewed
Proofread – Search for strings based on whether it's proofread or not
Group "Tag"
Tag – Search for strings with a specific tag or multiple tags. In the case of multiple tags, the editor returns results with OR logic
Doesn't contain tag - Search for strings without any tags assigned.
Group "Users"
Translator – Search for strings that were translated by a specific collaborator. After selecting the "Translator" filter, a list of suggestions will be available. If the user you are looking for is not part of that list, then you can search by his/her username if you know it
Reviewer - Search for strings that were reviewed by a specific collaborator. After selecting the "Reviewer" filter, a list of suggestions will be available. If the user you are looking for is not part of that list, then you can search by his/her username if you know it.
Group "Date"
Filters related to localization dates and string's history:
Translated before – Search for strings that were translated before a specific date
Translated after – Search for strings that were translated after a specific date
Reviewed Before - View strings that are reviewed before a specific date
Reviewed After - View strings that are reviewed after a specific date
Source Updated Before – Search for strings that were updated before a specific date
Source Updated After – Search for strings that were updated after a specific date.
Group "Label"
Filters that can be switched on or off, containing:
Issue – Search for strings based on whether it has an open issue
Translation Checks - Strings with errors, warnings, both or none from translation checks
Pluralized – Search for strings based on whether they have a pluralised version
Screenshot - Search for strings with or without screenshots
Group "More"
All remaining filters that do not belong in any of the above groups:
Comment – Search for strings containing a specific word or phrase in the comment
Context - Search for strings by a specific context
Developer Notes - Search for strings with developer notes
Instructions - Search for strings with instructions
Key – Search for text in a string's key
Key doesn't contain - Search for text not contained in a string's key
Occurrence - Search for strings by a specific occurrence, meaning in what file and what line a specific string is found in
Origin – Search for strings based on the translation source, e.g. Translation Memory, Machine Translation, or a vendor you ordered from
Repeated strings - View only repeated strings
User suggestions - View only strings with user suggestions
Syntax help, using the search filters input
Text, Translation text and Key filters offer additional options for searching by Whole-word search. This can be achieved by enclosing your terms in double quotes (for example, "Contact Transifex"). Doing a whole-word search will match strings as defined within double quotes.
When typing your filters using the generic filter's input, you have to include each filter's value in single quotes as it is indicated in the suggestions list:
Having single quotes as value delimiters, especially for text filters, means you should escape single quotes when you want to use them as part of a value. e.g. searching for the text "this isn't something to look for", you'll have to type it with a single quote like "this isn\'t something to look for".
Below you can find some examples of how to search text that contains single quote characters and make sure that you will get the correct results:
Click on the search box, and type the text you want to search for without selecting the text filter:
After hitting Enter, the expected results will be returned.
Use the grouped filter Text>Text and provide your input as follows:
The result of the above two examples will look like this:
As you can see, when single quotes are part of your input, we automatically escape them on purpose since the whole input is already enclosed by default in single quote characters to allow you to search based on the text you provide.
Tip To filter for any string that has a comment, regardless of what the comment says, use the Comment filter and then type "*". |
Manipulating filters
Disabling filters
To disable an already applied filter, you need to either remove it from the search box and then hit Enter:
or click on the corresponding grouped filter, find the one you want to remove and simply click on it as follows:
Editing filters
To edit the value of an already applied filter, you need to either edit it directly in the search box and then hit Enter or click on the corresponding grouped filter, find the one you want to edit and use the pencil icon to apply the changes.
Translation Area
This is the main area that you use to translate strings. This contains the source string area and translation string area.
Shortcut buttons
Beneath the source string area is the actions toolbar, there are some helpful shortcut buttons:
Copy source string
- Copy the source string into the translation box (you'll still need to hit Save). This is useful if you're translating between two similar languages, such as English (United States) and English (United Kingdom).
Machine translate
- Use machine translation to translate the string. You'll need to have Machine Translation set up first.
Revert translation
- Reverts any changes that you have made to the translation. If the string was untranslated, it clears your translation; otherwise, it reverts to the last saved translation.
Add special character
- Insert special characters into the translation string area.
Search for identical strings across projects
- Search strings will automatically search for all the strings that include any words in the source text across projects.
In the actions toolbar, you will also see the plural toggle buttons for strings with plural forms.
Note Source and target languages don't always share the same number of plural forms! So there will be cases where the plural toggle buttons will not match one to one. |
Warnings and error messages on translations
Transifex automatically checks every translation you save for certain errors. Those translation checks are set by administrators to ensure that the translations will maintain vital information and the format needed so that the application correctly displays the target language (like variables, code parts, numbers, character limit etc.). If you are an administrator, see Setting Translation Checks for more.
If you get an error or warning message when trying to save a translation, please fix the issue specified in the message and save the translation again.
Handling HTML tags and variables
As you translate, you might come across strings containing blue or green oval-shaped placeholders. These are placeholders for HTML tags or variables. For more on how to handle these, please see Translating HTML Content.
Translating pluralized strings
Some file formats have pluralized strings. You will see the various plural forms that need to be translated (the number of the plural forms depends on the selected language) in the action toolbar in your translation area.
You will need to translate all the plural forms and then will be able to save the translation; if any of the available plural forms are missing, the "Save Translation" button won't be enabled.
Other Editor tools
The Editor has several other tools to help you as you translate. You can check out Other Tools in the Editor for more details.
Tip! "All resources" When the resources of a project are all supported for source editing, the All resources link will be enabled. When at least 1 resource is not supported, the All resources link will be visible but disabled and accompanied by a tooltip on hover giving information on why it is disabled. |
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