Transifex allows translators to work on content without worrying 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 simultaneously, click "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, click on the desired project first and then "Translate Live" at the right corner of the 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 on the search box above the strings list, or use the Alt + S shortcut to see the list of available filters. Find the one you want by scrolling through the filter 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 must either make a selection or provide a search term.
The search box will be updated, allowing you to see the filters you have already applied.
Sorting strings
You also have the option to sort strings, making it easier to locate and translate or review the desired ones.
These are the available sorting options:
Default: Strings are sorted according to their order of appearance in the source file. If you choose to display strings from all resources, then strings will be sorted based on the source string's creation date.
Source String Updated (ascending/descending): Strings are sorted according to their most recent modification date.
Translation Updated (ascending/descending): Strings are sorted according to their latest translation update date.
Only translated strings are sorted. Strings with empty translations will always be displayed last.
The "Translation Updated" option is displayed only when you select a target language in the editor.
You can sort strings while using any of the filters described earlier in this article.
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 switch enables and uses 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 can:
Enable the raw mode of the Web Editor.
Display spaces in both the 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, an additional option is 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 string's left is a localization status icon for the selected target language. The color 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, you will see an x icon instead of the status icon.
Selecting all strings
To select all strings to perform specific 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:
"Text" filters
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 included 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 included in the translation string.
"Status" filters
Filters related to the 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.
"Tag" filters
Tag – Search for strings with a specific tag or multiple tags. In the case of multiple tags, the editor returns results with AND logic.
Doesn't contain tag - Search for strings without any tags assigned.
"Users" filters
Translator – You can search for strings translated by a specific collaborator or multiple collaborators. By selecting the "Translator" filter, you will have a list of suggestions. If the user you are looking for is not listed, you can directly search using their username. To include multiple users in the filter, separate their usernames with a comma.
Translator is not - You can search for strings NOT translated by a specific collaborator or multiple collaborators. By selecting the "Translator is not" filter, you will have a list of suggestions. If the user you are looking for is not listed, you can directly search using their username. To include multiple users in the filter, separate their usernames with a comma.
Reviewer - You can search for strings reviewed by a specific collaborator or multiple collaborators. By selecting the "Reviewer" filter, you will have a list of suggestions. If the user you are looking for is not listed, you can directly search using their username. To include multiple users in the filter, separate their usernames with a comma.
Reviewer is not - You can search for strings NOT reviewed by a specific collaborator or multiple collaborators. By selecting the "Reviewer is not" filter, you will have a list of suggestions. If the user you are looking for is not listed, you can directly search using their username. To include multiple users in the filter, separate their usernames with a comma.
"Date" filters
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 updated after a specific date.
"Label" filters
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 pluralized version.
Screenshot - Search for strings with or without screenshots.
More filters
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 included in a string's key.
Occurrence - Search for strings by a specific occurrence, meaning in what file and line a particular string is found. This applies only to files that support the location file tag, like QT files and Javascript SDK Fileless resources (Transifex Native).
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 indicated in the suggestions list:
Having single quotes as value delimiters, especially for text filters, means you should escape single quotes when using 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 with a comment, regardless of what the comment says, use the Comment filter and 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:
Alternatively, you can click on the corresponding grouped filter, find the one you want to remove, and click on it as shown here:
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. Here you can find 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 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.
You will also see the plural toggle buttons for strings with plural forms in the actions toolbar.
📝 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 specific errors. Administrators can set those translation checks 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, please take a look at 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
You might come across strings containing blue or green oval-shaped placeholders as you translate. These are placeholders for HTML tags or variables. For more on how to handle these, please take a look at 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: When the resources of a project are all supported for source editing, the All resources link will be enabled. When at least one 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.
💡Tip
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