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IFC translation service: online editor

In this article we discuss the different working area’s of the online editor for proofreaders and translators.

1. Top navigation bar

The top navigation bar is visible for translators as proofreaders.

The top navigation bar presents:

1. The Menu with the following options:

1.1. File:

  • Translated File Preview: preview the translated file in pot. format.
  • Download the file for offline translation → Read more about Offline proofreading.
  • Export the file in XLIFF for offline translation → Read more about Offline proofreading.
  • Export filtered in XLIFF: filter the strings on criteria first before exporting → Read more about Offline proofreading.
  • Upload translations → Read more about Offline proofreading.
  • View All Strings in the editor.
  • Open file and switch to another file.
  • Replace in Translations. Do a search in your own translations and replace a string with another translation if needed.

1.2. Language: change translation language

1.3. Workflow: switch between proofreading and translations (If you are added to the proofreading team)

1.4. Project: switch between visited pages and contact the project manager.

1.5. View: switch the view mode. Translations can be viewed in Comfortable or Side-by-Side mode. Typically comfortable mode is enabled. In Side-by-Side mode, translators can also translate, although this mode is mostly intended for comfortable voting for multiple best translations in a row, while managers and proof-readers can approve the best translations.

1.6. Help: get help

1.7. Quit editor: Quit the editor and go back to the Language page.

2. Quick access to menu tabs:
Next to the menu you can see in which file and workflow you are working. (proofreading / crowdsourcing). If you are proofreading it should show Proofreading and if you are translating it should show crowdsourcing. This way you can easily navigate to the most-used menu items in one click.

3. In the top left corner are the following options:

Show or hide the left panel (This icon only shows in translation mode)

Show or hide the right panel

Set default keyboard shortcuts

Editor settings

The Editor settings has the following setup:

  • Translation Memory Suggestions – you can specify the minimum similarity match (in percentages) for translation memory suggestions shown under the translation field.
  • Compact strings view – if enabled only the beginnings of the long strings will be shown in the string list.
  • QA checks – if enabled the pop-up messages with warnings will appear each time you try to save a translation with some inaccuracy (punctuation/tags/spaces mismatch, missing variables etc.)
  • Auto-complete – if enabled the pop-up with translation prediction and automatic translation completion will appear while you type the translation.
  • Auto-approve – if enabled the translations added by proof-readers or members with higher permissions are automatically approved.
  • HTML Tags Displaying – you can choose Show or Hide option that applies to all HTML tags. In case you choose Auto tags will be hidden in HTML, Haml, XML, Web XML, Markdown, Docx files but shown in other file formats. When tags are hidden you can expect that, for example:

    <a href=”https://sample.com”>Sample</a>

    Will be replaced with:

    <0>Sample

4. Color Theme – set the Light or Dark theme, or select Auto to allow the Editor to set the theme based on your device system settings.

5. Profile: here you can see your notifications, messages, change profile settings and log out.

2. Main area

The main area only shows in proofreading mode and is not relevant for translators.

In the main area, you can see the list of strings of the selected file(s). You can scroll down using the scroll bar and click through pages with the grey button at the bottom of the section.


Strings are text elements which are either individual words, expressions, or sentences.

2.1. Top left side bar

In the top left sidebar you have the following options:

Check/Uncheck (select/deselect) all strings

Approve one or multiple selected strings. The check icon will be clickable after you have selected one or multiple strings.

• 3-dots icon give you the option to:

  • Copy String url
  • Copy Source skleton
  • Show Translation history


• When you click on the Information icon (i) it will hide/show context info per string.

Search specific strings you want to proofread.

Filter the strings on:

  • Not Approved – Strings are filtered on Not approved by default.
  • Untranslated – Show only strings without any translations.
  • Approved – Show only strings with approved translations.
  • QA issues – a list of possible QA issues will show when you hover of this item.
  • Machine Translation – Show strings that are translated by TM and/or MT suggestions without changes. Often such strings need additional review.
  • With Comments – Show strings that have comments.
  • With Unresolved Issues – Show strings with unresolved issues in the current language or all languages.
  • Advanced Filter – Filter that allows configuring own filtering and sorting parameters.

Filter the strings on Todo, Pending and Done

Filter

2.2. Columns

The Main area is the main working area and exist out of 2 columns.

The column on the left shows the source string and the column on the right shows the translation. Check screenshot below.

To proofread translations you need to select a string from the left column.

Approve the translation by clicking on the check icon. If you don’t approve you have the following options:

1. Enter another translation:

1.a. Remove the suggestion and enter your own suggestion. By copying the source string you can keep the initial string structure while translating messages with replacement tokens or elements of ICU message syntax.

1.b. Delete the suggested translation in the right side-bar and enter your own.

1.c. Select TM and MT suggestions or suggestions in Other Languages in the right side-bar by clicking on the first tab

1.d. Don’t change the translation and leave a comment in the comments section in the right side-bar (3) for the translator to change translation.

2. Green highlighted parts in a source string

If you hover over the green highlighted parts in a source string it will show the message that ‘variables cannot be translated’. They are used for specific information that is changed by the system. Below an example of a green highlighted part:

3. Right side-bar

The right side bar has the following tabs:

1. Translations (only shows in proofreading mode)

2. Comments

3. Search TM

4. Terms

3.1. Translations

This tab only shows in proofreading mode and displays the actual translations, TM and MT suggestions and Other Languages.

1. Translations

  • The translation of a selected string.
  • Who submitted the translation
  • When the translation was submitted.
  • 0 = the amount of votes for the suggestion
  • Option to approve or delete the suggestion
  • Option to remove the translation


2. TM and MT suggestions

TM = Translation Memory is a database of the source strings and their corresponding translations into different languages that can speed up the translation of the same or similar strings in your projects. The project TM is created automatically for each project. Every translation made in the project is automatically added to the project TM.

MT = Translation via machine engines takes translations from Google Translate.

When you hover over these suggestions a floppy icon will show next to the suggestions. When you click on this icon the suggestion is automatically added/saved to the translation area in the left/middle section. You can save and approve the suggestion. If you don’t want to make use of these suggestions or they are not available you can enter your own translation in the translation area and click SAVE.

Floppy icon

3. Other languages
The Other Languages section allows you to check the string translations into other target languages. This can be a useful tip for multilingual people and while translating dialects of a language. When you click on one of these translations it will automatically appear in the translation field.

3.2. Comments

Additionally, in the Comments tab, you can report the issues regarding the source strings or translations to the project managers by selecting the Issue checkbox.

Available issue types:

  • General question – General question related to the source string or its translations.
  • Current translation is wrong – The translation added to the source string is incorrect and requires correction.
  • Lack of contextual information – The meaning of the string isn’t clear and requires additional clarifications.
  • Mistake in the source string – The source string text contains typos or any other mistakes.

The issues are reported to the project managers to correct mistakes or add context and resolve the issues. You can also Edit, Resolve, or Delete your issue by hovering over your comment.

3.3. Search TM

Here you can search the translation memory for previously made translations and reuse them to ensure consistency. Translation Memory (TM) is a database of the source strings and their corresponding translations into different languages that can speed up the translation of the same or similar strings in your projects. The project TM is created automatically for each project. Every translation made in the project is automatically added to the project TM.

The Search TM tab provides the following options:

  • Source – Search for matches in a source language.
  • Target – Search for matches in target languages. (language into which another language is to be translated).
  • Guess translation – Highlight probable translation of a search phrase.
  • Numeric equivalence – Match digits from a search phrase with any other digits.

Additionally, to maximize your search results, you can use the following wildcards with your search phrase:

  • Type an asterisk (*) to find words where the end or beginning may be different.
  • Example: any* finds any, anyway, anything
  • Example: *way finds way, anyway, highway
  • Type a plus sign (+) to find words where the end or beginning must be different.
  • Example: any+ finds anyway, anything, anywhere, except any
  • Example: +way finds anyway, highway, someway, except way
  • Type a minus sign (-) to exclude words from your search.

Example: Save -as

Use quotation marks to find the exact combination of words.

Example: “Save as”

3.4. Terms

Search in terms. Here you can do a search for terminology. The main aim of terminology is to explain some specific terms or the ones often used in the project to be translated properly and consistently.

Project managers add a Glossary to explain terms specific to the project or to mark the ones that shouldn’t be translated. Glossary can also be translated as a separate file, so later on all the terms can be used consistently across different languages.

If a term added to the Glossary is used in the source string, you’ll see it underlined in the Editor. Hover over the term for a detailed explanation and translation tips.

If there is no project terminology available it will automatically show Wikipedia explanations.

Quality Assurance (QA)

You might also get automatic Quality Assurance (QA) check pop-up messages to avoid some translation inaccuracy. For example, you can see notifications about inconsistency in punctuation, space mismatch, missing variables, and more.

Replacement tokens

Some strings might have replacement tokens (something like {0}, {1}, or %1) or elements of ICU message syntax. Such items themselves should not be translated but are used by the website code to insert some information into strings dynamically. To work with such strings, you should copy the source string and translate only the real words.

4. Left side-bar

The left side-bar (2) only shows in translation mode so this chapter is not relevant for proofreaders.


In the left sidebar, you can see the list of strings of the selected file(s). You can scroll down using the scroll bar and click through pages with the grey button at the bottom of the section.

Strings are text elements which are either individual words, expressions, or sentences.

4.1.Top left side bar


In the top left sidebar you have the option to:

1. Search in file: to search specific strings you want to translate within a file(s).



2. Filter the strings on:

  • Show All – Show all strings from the opened file/folder in the original order.
  • All, Untranslated First – Show all strings from the opened file/folder. Untranslated strings are displayed at the top of the list, then translated strings, and the approved ones are displayed at the bottom of the list.
  • Untranslated – Show only strings without any translations.
  • Need to Be Voted – Show already translated strings.
  • Not Approved – Show strings that are already translated but not yet approved by a proofreader.
  • Approved – Show only strings with approved translations.
  • QA issues – Show strings with no QA issues or with unresolved QA issues in the current language.
  • Machine Translation – Show strings that are translated by TM or MT suggestions without changes. Often such strings need additional review.
  • With Comments – Show strings that have comments.
  • With Unresolved Issues – Show strings with unresolved issues in the current language or all languages.
  • Hidden – Show strings that are hidden from translators. Strings can be hidden by project managers or hidden automatically by Crowdin when they are marked as duplicates.
  • Advanced Filter – Filter that allows configuring own filtering and sorting parameters.


3. Filter the strings on Todo, Pending and Done with:

4.2. Statuses

Strings may have the following statuses:

1. Untranslated

2. Partially translated (in case, some of the plural forms are not translated)

3. Translated

4. Partially approved (in case, some plural forms are not approved)

5. Approved

6. Hidden (visible only for project managers and proof-readers)


There also might be the following icons besides strings:

  • With CommentsThe string has comments from contributors
  • With IssueThe string has an unresolved issue

While translating the content of an HTML, XML, TXT, DOCX, HAML, Web XML, and Markdown file formats a list of strings is displayed as a file preview. Statuses of the strings are marked with the following colours:

  • Red – untranslated
  • Light-green – translated
  • Green – approved
  • Grey – not for translation

An active string is highlighted with the colour yellow.

4.3. Green highlighted parts in a source string

If you hover over the green highlighted parts in a source string it will show the message that ‘variables cannot be translated’. They are used for specific information that is changed by the system.

Green highlighted part

4.4. Replacement tokens

Some strings might have replacement tokens (something like {0}, {1}, or %1) or elements of ICU message syntax. Such items themselves should not be translated but are used by the website code to insert some information into strings dynamically. To work with such strings, you should copy the source string and translate only the real words.

5. Middle-top area

This is the main working area (3) that only shows in translation mode. This chapter is not relevant for proofreaders.

5.1. Main working area

In the main working area the source string shows on top and translation section below.

To add a translation, you need to select the string from the left section (2) first, and it will show in the central top field Source String. You can enter your translation in the input field below the source string which is marked with the text ‘Enter translation here’.

5.1.1. Right top corner

In the right top corner of the middle section you can see the label of the string ‘TODO’ and the option to click through the strings by using the arrow icons. With the 3-dots icon you can:

  • Copy string URL: to access a specific string using its unique link or share it with colleagues.
  • Copy Source skeleton
  • Translation history: to see all the modifications done to the string. In the translation window, you will also see the Maximum length of translation limit if it’s exceeded.

5.1.2. Context and Request

At the end of the source string (scroll when you have a long string) you will see 2 green text links: This area shows the context of a string. Context can include the technical details, an explanation of where the line appears in the actual product or screenshot showing the location of the string in a user interface.

If the source string does not have any context, and it isn’t clear how to translate it, click Request and the project manager will be notified that additional explanations are required.

5.1.3. Input field for your translation

Below context and request is the input field where you can enter your translation marked by ‘Enter translation here.’ In the left bottom corner of the input field you can choose to:

Copy the source string

Clear your translation

Select one of the TM and MT suggestions.


TM = Translation Memory is a database of the source strings and their corresponding translations into different languages that can speed up the translation of the same or similar strings in your projects. The project TM is created automatically for each project. Every translation made in the project is automatically added to the project TM.

MT = Translation via machine engines takes translations from Google Translate.

When you click on this icon all TM and MT suggestions are selected (Middle-bottom area). When you hover over these suggestions a floppy/save icon will show next to the suggestions. If you click on the this icon the suggestion is published in the translation area and automatically saved. You will proceed to the next string.

If you don’t want to make use of these suggestions or they are not available you can enter your own 5. translation in the translation area and click SAVE. You are automatically redirected to the next string.

5.1.4. Quality Assurance (QA)

You might also get automatic Quality Assurance (QA) check pop-up messages to avoid some translation inaccuracy. For example, you can see notifications about inconsistency in punctuation, space mismatch, missing variables, and more.

6. Middle-bottom area

This section (4) shows 3 green text links:

  • Translations
    If you click on one of the suggested Translations, it will automatically appear in the translation field. Refer to it as a basis for your own suggestions.
  • TM and MT suggestion
    To quickly copy the TM or MT suggestion to the translation field you have to hover over the suggestions. A save/floppy icon will show. Click and save the desired suggestion and it will automatically be saved as your translation.
  • Other Languages
    The Other Languages section allows you to check the string translations into other target languages. This can be a useful tip for multilingual people and while translating dialects of a language. When you click on one of these translations it will automatically appear in the translation field.

Updated on July 29, 2022

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