Translation editor

An online translation editor can be a great help in getting started with translation management, and also it can improve the translation process experience for more advanced teams. It's easier and more intuitive and user-friendly than an Excel file, and multiple users can work on translations in one place.

Learn how to use SimpleLocalize translation editor and set it to your and your team needs. Adjust the views and learn all editor options to take full advantage of its features.

Table of contents

• Translation editor views

  • List View – Side-by-side
  • List View – All translations
  • Table View

• Translation actions

  • Accept translations
  • Auto-translate
  • Translation history

• Translation filters

  • Search
  • Languages
  • Sort translations
  • Additional information

• Translation editor settings

  • Input size
  • Automatic text wrapping
  • Translation text summary
  • Auto-translation indicator
  • Screenshots
  • Other settings
  • Translation key description
  • Code description

• Keyboard shortcuts

  • General shortcuts
  • List View shortcuts
  • Bulk update translations
  • Delete translation keys

Translation editor views

All translation editor settings you can find on the right side of the editor in the Translations tab. Click on Settings to expand all view options. Below, you can see each view description and below all options available in the editor.

List View – Side-by-side

Side-by-side view is an advanced version of list view. It splits the view into two columns, so you can see two languages at once. Below, you can decide which information to show, like key details, key or code descriptions.

List View – All translations

This view shows a simple list of all translation keys with their properties and translations in all languages. If you need to check specific key details or work on individual translation, this view will help you focus on the key.

Table View

Table view is a simple spreadsheet-like view. It can store thousands of keys and translations in multiple languages. To start translating, click on the translation input and type in the translation.

Translation actions

Translation actions are additional options in the editor: Reviews, Auto-translation, and Translation history. You will find them in the Settings section in all editor views.

Enabling a translation actions option will show extra buttons near the translation input in all editor views.

Accept translations

Change the translation status to Accepted for additional verification of translations quality. Use this option to verify translations done automatically by DeepL or Google Translate and mark them as reviewed.

Click on Accept to indicate that the translation has been checked, and no further adjustments are needed.

Needs review translation is a translation that needs to be checked and reviewed before being accepted.

You can filter translations to find not accepted translations using translation status filter.

Auto-translate

This quick auto-translate option allows using auto translation for a single text. With that option, you can use DeepL or Google Translate directly inside the translation editor when working on translations.

To auto-translate text, click on the Auto-translate action button in the target language, choose translation service provider (Google Translate or DeepL), confirm the target language and choose the source language for auto-translation. Next click 'Apply auto-translation' and that all, your text is now translated!

Translation history

Translation history will show you all changes and reviews for each translation in all languages. You can use translation history to apply previously used translations and see how the translation was changing over time.

Note that the storage time of translation history depends on the chosen subscription plan. If you can't see any past data in translation history, it means that there were no changes within the last 7, 30 or more days, depending on the plan.

Translation filters

The filters described below will help you in working on translations in translation editor. Thanks to filters, you can adjust the translations list and display only those translations, which you need to see.

You can find all translation filters at the top of the translation editor in all views.

Search

Search translation keys and translations by typing in the key or translation you are looking for. The search will also find results inside your translations.

Languages

Use Languages filter to select which languages you want to display in the editor. Click on Languages to open the list of all languages used in your project. Select languages you would like to display and click Apply button to go back to the editor.

Sort translations

Sort the list of translation keys most or least translated, last seen or modified translations, newest or oldest keys, or namespaces.

Additional information

You can display additional information for each translation key in both List views. In a simple list, without expanding translation view, you can see selected language translation, create or last modification date and auto-translated texts.

Translation editor settings

The options listed below are used in all editor views. SimpleLocalize will remember your preferences and on subsequent logins the editor will open with your previously saved settings. Use options below to customize translation editor to your needs and preferences.

Input size

Change the default input size to bigger to work on longer, multi-line texts comfortably. This option appears by default in list views.

Here you can see the bigger input size in the list view with extra translation actions buttons.

To expand the key view and see larger input in Table View, click on the key. You will also be able to adjust the input size manually.

Automatic text wrapping

This option will wrap your multi-line translations to show the whole text within the input. It works great when used together with a bigger input size option to display the entire longer text in one view.

In the example below, you can see the automatic text wrapping option enabled in Side-by-Side view with expanded key view.

Translation text summary

Use this option to show the number of characters, words, whitespaces and lines in your translation. It helps to keep similar translation length and style in different languages.

The translation text summary will show up under translation input in each view of translation editor.

Auto-translation indicator

Use this option to see right away if the key was translated automatically and may require additional review.

The chosen translation service logo, DeepL or Google Translate, will appear in the translation input in all views.

Screenshots

Add a screenshot near the translation you are working on for easier and faster translation key localization. Project owners and project admins can add or delete screenshots, while translators can only view them.

For the Table View, you can enable the Show screenshot column option in the editor settings. This will display screenshots adjacent to the respective translation key.

In the List View, locate the Screenshots option under the translation keys. To add an image, simply click on the screenshot area and upload the desired image. Additionally, you can click on the image to view it in full size.

Other settings

Show hidden translation keys

While importing your translations to SimpleLocalize with Excel or CSV, you can set some keys as 'hidden' if you don't want them to be shown in the editor. By default, such keys are not visible in the editor, but you can show them using Show hidden translation keys option.

Add line breaks with Ctrl + Enter

This is an extra option that can help translators in their work. Instead of adding a new line in your translation with Enter, use Ctrl+Enter.

Translation key description

In translation key description, you can add any extra information you want to show to translators. Usually, it is the specific key location. Use it to add a link with the location screenshot to help to locate the key easily. The link will open automatically in a new tab. This information can be shown in all editor views.

Click on Show description column to display key descriptions in Table View, or check key details in List View to see the description.

Code description

Code description is a key description or key details set directly in your source code. It can be displayed in the Table View with Show code description column option checked in editor view settings.

Note that code descriptions are imported from the source file, and cannot be edited in the translation editor. See an example of code description below.

<FormattedMessage
    id="YOUR_TRANSLATION_KEY"
    defaultMessage="Your default translation text"
    description="Your code comment for translators"/>

Keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are the fastest way to speed up your workflow. To use a shortcut, press and hold one or more modifier keys and then press the last key of the shortcut.

General shortcuts

List View shortcuts

Those shortcuts are available in the List View while you select one of the rows.

Bulk update translations

Efficiently manage multiple translation keys at once using the Bulk Actions feature. To access the bulk actions, hold down the Ctrl or ⌘ key on your keyboard while selecting the translations you wish to update.

Bulk actions provide you with the following options:

• Clear translations: This option allows you to remove translations in selected languages for the chosen translation keys.
• Change review status: Apply review statuses to multiple translation keys and their corresponding translations with just a few clicks. This feature is especially useful when starting to use the review option. For instance, you can mark your default language translations as "Accepted."
• Change key details: Update key details for the selected translation keys.
• Change namespace: Assign namespaces to the selected translation keys.
• Auto-translate: Run a bulk auto-translation for the chosen translation keys and languages.
• Merge translations: Transfer selected translations easily from one project to another. In cases where translations do not exist in the target project, they will be added; existing translations will be updated based on the translations from the source project.

Delete translation keys

You can easily delete a selected translation key by using the trash can button located in every editor view.

For deleting multiple translation keys at once, navigate to the List View. While holding down the Ctrl or ⌘ key, click on a key to enable the bulk update view. Bulk update option allows you to select multiple keys at once or even select all of them and use Delete keys option.