Work with a Translation Service

Paligo recommends that you use a professional translation service for your documentation. This could be either an external translation agency or translators in your organization, who use a professional translation software that has a Translation memory which keeps a record of the Paligo content and the translations provided. As long as the Paligo content and translations are in sync, the translation service should be able to identify if the content is:

Already translated and can be ignored.
New and in need of translation.
Changed and in need of re-translation.

This should result in reduced translation costs and time, as translators only need to work on content that is new or has changed. To find out more about the workflow and how to get started with this approach, see Workflow for Translation Services.

Note

If your:

Organization is unable to use a translation service, it is possible to add translations in Paligo, see Work with Internal Translators.
Organization translates the content inside your organization and use a professional translation tool, follow the same instructions as for using a translation service, see Work with a Translation Service.
Translation service is using Crowdin, the process for translating content is different, as translation packages are not used, see Translate with Crowdin.

Workflow for Translation Services

In this article, we explain what steps to take if you use a translation service. The translation service could be either:

An external translation agency
Translators who work in your organization and who use professional translation software.

Note

This workflow does not apply if you have translators who are using Paligo to add the translation. For details on the steps to follow in that scenario, see Workflow for Internal Translation.

The basic workflow when using a translation service or professional translation software consists of several stages (described below and shown in the workflow diagram).

Workflow for translating content when you are using a professional translation service. The stages are discuss with translators, add languages, prepare content, set to in translation, send to translators, import translation, translation review, approve and released.

With this workflow, the idea is that you prepare your content in the source language and then send it for translation. While the content is being translated, you should not update the source language content. This is because the translation needs to be in sync with the source language version of the content. If you need to update and publish your content in the source language while waiting for translations to be completed, see Update Content when Translation is Not Finished.

Before you start working through the stages of the workflow, make sure that you know how to change the state. You will need to change the state of your content at various stages, so that people know that the content is being translated.

Stage 1: Discuss Project with Translators

When you discuss your translation project with the translation service, find out:

How the proofreading is going to be done.

This work is often completed in the translation tool by a subject matter expert (SME) who understands the source language and the target language.
Whether the files provided by the translators are going to be set as "confirmed and locked" in the translation software. This will affect the state of the files when you import them into Paligo.

The translation service may ask for details about the settings they need for their software. For these, see Translation Software Settings.

If the translators are using Phrase or Semantix, use Paligo's integration settings to set up the connection. For details, see:

Stage 2: Add Languages

Before your content can be translated, you need to set up the translation languages in your Paligo instance. You also need to add the languages to the topics and publications you want to translate.

For details on how to add the languages, see:

Stage 3: Prepare Content for Translation

To prepare your content for translation:

Create your publication and topics in the Source Language. When you are editing the content, the topics should be in the Work in progress status, see Change the Status.
Get your content reviewed so that you can be confident that it is accurate and as complete as it should be. For reviews, the topics should be in the In Review status.

To send the content for review, it is a good idea to use review assignments, as these are tracked by Paligo. For details, see Author Instructions for Review Assignments.
When the review is complete and the content is approved, put the content into the In Translation status.

Note

If your content contains images, variables, or filters that need to be translated, you will need to send these to the translators. These files are not included in a translation package. To learn how to prepare these parts for translation, see:

Stage 4: Send Content to Translators

When your content is ready for translation, you can send it to your translators. The process for this varies depending on what software your translators use.

You will need to either:

Export the content as a translation package and send it to the translators.

Create and send a translation package if the translators use software that does not have an integration with Paligo. The translation package is an export file that you can email to your translators.

To learn how to export a translation package, see Export a Translation Package.
Export the content directly to the translation software.

For more details on setting up Paligo to work with these, see Connect Paligo to Phrase and Connect Paligo to Semantix.

Note

Some translation software, such as Crowdin, have a different type of integration. They detect when your topics change to the In Translation state and the content becomes available to translators at that point.

Note

If your content has images that need to be translated, you will need to export the images and send them to the translators separately. Images are not included in translation packages.

Similarly, if you use variables, they need to be translatable variables and you can send the variable set to your translators separately. Variable sets are not included in translation packages.

Stage 5: Import the Translation

When the translators have completed their work, import the translation into Paligo, see Import a Translation Package.

Your next step will vary, depending on the state of the content that the translation service provided. Typically, it will be either "confirmed and locked" or "confirmed" (this is true for Phrase, other vendors may use different terminology):

Confirmed and locked files will import as 100% translated and 100% approved. The proofreading is done, so you only have to change the state to Released in Paligo.

Ignore Stage 6 and continue with Stage 7.
Confirmed but unlocked files will import as 100% translated, but not 100% approved. You will need to review and approve the translation.

Proceed with Stage 6

Note

Typically, Paligo updates the index for topics automatically. But for publications, you may have to trigger the re-indexing manually. This is usually due to some of the topics reusing external components, and the external components do not get re-indexed automatically.

Manual re-indexing is explained as part of the procedure in Import a Translation Package.

Stage 6: Review the Translation

This stage only applies if the translation service provides a translation that is not 100% approved.

Change the state of the imported translation content to In translation review.
Review the translation. Depending on your requirements, you can either:
- Use Resource View to check that the translation is complete (see Check or Approve the Translation).
- Use the Translation View to review the translation text and check that the translation is complete.
  
  Caution
  
  If you are using a translation service, we strongly recommend that you do not edit the translation in the Translation View. If you make changes, your content in Paligo will no longer be in sync with the translation memory in your translation service's software.

Stage 7: Set the Content to Released

When the translations are completed:

Set the state of the content to Released, see Release Content.
Note

When you change the status to Released, Paligo automatically approves completed translations in all available languages.

For example, if you have a topic translated into Italian and German.
- The Italian content is 100% translated and 0% approved.
- The German is 87% translated and 23% approved.
When you change the state to Released, Paligo sets the Italian content to 100% translated and 100% approved and the German content to 87% translated and 87% approved.
Publish the content and translations, see Publish Content.

Start Working with a Translation Service

At the start of your translation project:

Find out if you need to set up Paligo's translation software integrations. These are needed if your translators are using Phrase or Semantix.

For instructions on how to set up the integrations, see:
- Connect Paligo to Phrase
- Connect Paligo to Semantix
Note

If your translation service uses Crowdin, the translation process works differently as it does not require translation packages. For details, see Translate with Crowdin.
Provide your translation service with the Translation Software Settings.
Read the Workflow for Translation Services. That explains the process and has links to the various other resources you need, including information on how to:
- Send content to a translation service, see Export a Translation Package
- Receive content that the translation service returns, see Import a Translation Package.
If you will need to update and publish the content in the source language while waiting for translations to complete, you will need to branch your content. You can learn about the process for updating content while waiting for translations in Update Content when Translation is Not Finished.

Translation Software Settings

Your translation provider is responsible for setting up their Translation Memory System (TMS). But they may need some guidance on what settings are appropriate for translating Paligo content.

Here, we provide some information about what settings to use and the intended workflow. We have used an example from the Phrase TMS, but the same approach can be used for others such as TRADOS, MemoQ, Swordfish and so on.

Example 1. XLIFF import settings

XLIFF 1.2 settings for translation software. Import note is checked. Save confirmed segments to TM on import is checked. Segment XLIFF is checked. Interpret linebreak/pagebreak tags is not checked. Preserve whitespaces is not checked. Copy source to empty target if segment is not imported is checked.

These settings (or similar in another TMS) will work for many use cases. Please note that:

The XLIFF is segmented according to the TMS rules (usually on sentence level)
Linebreaks and whitespaces are ignored
Previously translated and approved translations are imported into the translation memory.

Example 2. Status flag rules for import and export

Translation software settings for Import Segment Rules and Export Attributes Mapping

To get the most out of the translation, for example, to skip already translated segments, the TMS should:

Import approved as state=final
Export confirmed and locked segments as state=final.
Have non-locked content set to state=needs-review-translation, unless you do the review and approval process directly in a TMS. This will allow you to give final approval to the translation in Paligo.

Export a Translation Package

To send content to a translation service, you will need a translation package. Paligo creates translation packages automatically as part of the export process. Each translation package contains the content to be translated, with the exception of images and variables.

The following is not included the translation package:

Images must be sent separately to the translation service, see Translate Images.
Variables must be sent separately to the translation service as a Variable set . Make sure that the variables are translatable variables.

To export a translation:

Select the folder containing the topic or publication to be translated in Content Manager.

If the content is not in a folder, select the top-level folder Documents.

Paligo opens the Resource View.
Change the topic or publication status to In translation.
Expand the entry for the publication or topic to see the details and then select the Translations tab.

Tip

Select Show incomplete topics to see a list of topics (in a publication) that are not fully translated.
Select the Dotted Menu (...) for the topic or publication.
If needed, select Translation and choose Add languages.
Check the boxes for any languages you want to add to the topic.
Select OK.
Select Translation and choose Export translation.
Select the language or languages in the Translate to field.

You can only select languages that have already been added to the topic.
Important

When using Phrase, it is important to choose languages that are available for the target project.

If you choose unavailable languages, the export will fail and exclude the unavailable languages from the translation package. The translation package (with the available languages) will be exported to Phrase and Paligo will display the following message:
```
Error sending to Phrase: TargetLangs must match project settings.
```
Choose a Document format.
- XLIFF is the most commonly used format for translations.
- A variant XLIFF format that is required by some translation tools.
- PO is a format that is often used to translate web content
- Phrase is for sending content to the integrated translation service.
  
  To use this, the function must be activated, see Connect Paligo to Phrase.
- Semantix is for sending content to the integrated translation service.
  
  To use this, the function must be activated, see Connect Paligo to Semantix.
Choose a Project from the dropdown menu. This feature is optional and is only available for the Phrase integration.

To add a new project:

Source language and target language is already set according to the template.
1. Select Create a Project.
2. Select a Template from the dropdown menu.
  
  To create new templates, see Project Template TMS in the official Phrase documentation.
3. Name the project.
4. Add a Due date (optional).
5. Select Create.
Note

In Phrase, there are global file import settings that are available from the Settings menu. But these are not used for Paligo translations. Instead, you have to apply settings to a project template.

To set up a project with your preferred settings, create a new template in Phrase with the required settings. Next, create a new project based on the new template. Then, in Paligo, select the new project in the integration settings (see Connect Paligo to Phrase).
Choose your Export Options:
- Include a due date
  
  This feature is optional and is only available for the Phrase integration.
  
  Check the box Due date to add a due date for the project (if not already added in the project). Use the calender to select a date.
- Mark approved translations - Recommended
  
  We recommend that you check the Mark approved translations box to avoid unnecessary translation costs. When it is checked, Paligo gives the "final" state to any translations that have already been approved. The "final" state indicates to translation services that they can ignore this content. The translation service must have the Translation Software Settings for this to work.
  
  Clear the box to give previously approved translations the state needs translation. The translation service will regard the content as new and it will be re-translated.
- Include fuzzy translations
  
  Use this function to set unapproved translations to have state needs review translation in the translation package. Unapproved translations are often for content that has previously been translated and approved, but the source language content has now changed. The changes mean the translation is no longer approved.
  
  Clear this box to set unapproved translations to have state needs translation in the translation package. The translation service will regard the content as new and it will be re-translated.
  
  In most cases, Paligo recommends to clear the box Include fuzzy translations because the translation software will often segment content differently than Paligo.
- Include variables information
  
  Use to control whether Paligo adds XLIFF comments containing information about any variables in your content. The variable information can be useful to translators, as they may need to reorder the sentence structure in other languages. This can be easier if they know what type of variable is used, for example, a product name.
  
  Check the box to include the variable name and variable set name in the XLIFF translation file. Paligo will add the variable information inside an XLIFF comment.
  
  Clear the box if you do not want to include XLIFF comments with information about the names of variables and variable sets.
Select Export.

Paligo produces the translation packages as a zip file that downloads in your browser (even if a translation integration is used).
Manually send the translation package to the translation service (if not using a translation integration).

Note

In the Semantix portal, the translation project manager will receive a quote for the translation. Once the quote is accepted the translation service will be provided.
The returned translation package must be imported to Paligo (even if a translation integration is used), see Import a Translation Package .

Tip

It is also possible to use the Translation View to export translation files.

Select the topic or publication to be translated in Content Manager.
Select the Dotted Menu (...) for the topic or publication.
Select Edit and choose Translate.

This will open the Translation View.
Select the Cog.
Select Export translation.

If you are not using a translation integration, you will need to send the package to your translation service manually. When the translation service returns the translation, you will need to import it back into Paligo.

If your Paligo instance is set up to use a translation integration, such as Phrase, Paligo sends the translation package automatically when you export. When the translation work is complete, it is sent back to Paligo and you can import it.

Note

We recommend that you notify the translation service when you send a translation package. Also, ask them to notify you when they send the translation back.

Paligo cannot send automatic notifications to translation systems. Similarly, they are unable to send notifications to Paligo.

Import a Translation Package

When your translation providers have completed their work, they will return an updated translation package to you. You will need to upload that package back into Paligo, so that Paligo can add the translations to the relevant topics. It is possible to upload a zip file containing multiple files (one file per language pair) or to upload individual files.

To upload, either:

Display the publication or topic in Resource View, select the Dotted menu (...) and then choose Import Translation.
Open the publication or topic in Translation View, select the Cog and choose Import Translation. To find out more, see Working in Translation View.

If you sent images and / or variables to the translation service, these will be returned separately. They are not included in the translation package:

To import translated images, see Translate Images.
To import translated variables, see Import Translated Variable Sets.

Note

If you use one of Paligo's translation integrations, such as Phrase, you will need the translation service to notify you when the translation is complete. You can then import the translation into Paligo.

Select the folder containing the topic or publication to be translated in Content Manager.

If the content is not in a folder, select the top-level folder Documents.

This will open the Resource View.
Select the Dotted menu (...) for the publication or topic.
Select Import Translation.
Select an Import type:
- To manually import a zip file, choose Upload file.
- To import through a translation integration, choose Phrase or Semantix.
  
  Note
  
  This is only possible if the translation integration is set up correctly in Paligo, see Connect Paligo to Phrase or Connect Paligo to Semantix.
Select the target language of the content that you are going to import.

Important

You can only import the translation if the language is added to the matching publication and topic. To find out more, see Language Management.
Select a single translation file or a zip file with multiple languages to be imported.
Use the Ignore current translation status checkbox to control how Paligo reacts to statuses set by the translation service.
- Check the box to allow Paligo to update the status based on the status that is set by the translation service.
- Clear the box to have Paligo ignore the status. The content will keep its current status in Paligo.
Select Import.

Paligo will import the translation into the matching publication or topic.

Important

If encountering problems during an import of a Phrase project, use the checkbox Override import project . It will force Paligo to find the missing Phrase job ID and reconnect it with the Phrase project ID.
This final step only applies if you imported a translated publication.
1. Return to Resource View.
2. Select the Dotted menu (...) for the publication.
3. Select Translation and choose Re-index translations.
  
  It instructs Paligo to index the translations again, including any reused content in them.

Note

You might need to refresh the page to see the upload status.

Tip

It is also possible to use the Translation View to import translation files.

Select the topic or publication to be translated in Content Manager.
Select the Dotted Menu (...) for the topic or publication.
Select Edit and choose Translate.

This will open the Translation View.
Select the Cog.
Select Import translation.

Review or Edit the Translation

To open the assignment the Translation View:

Select the assignment in the Assignments Panel.

The Assignment Types control which view opens up.

Tip

For alternative ways to open an assignment, see Different Ways to Open Assignments.
Review and edit the translation in the Translation View.
Select the Settings and choose Translation is complete or Translation is not complete.

Alternatively, you can select individual segments and check the box Translation complete.

Note

A translation needs to be marked as final and complete, to avoid a re-translation if it is included in a translation package again.

The translator's software can only skip past content that has been marked as final and complete.
If the translation was part of an assignment workflow, select Your assignments and choose The translation is complete.

Translate with Crowdin

Crowdin is a cloud-based translation and localization platform, designed for agile translations, where content can be updated and translated frequently. It has its own app, available in the Crowdin store, for integrating with Paligo.

If you are using Crowdin for translations, you need to be aware that it works differently from Paligo's other translation integrations:

There are no Crowdin integration settings in Paligo. You set up the entire integration in Crowdin.
You can use Crowdin to translate any Paligo topic that is in the "In Translation" status.
You can manage the synchronization between Crowdin and Paligo. You choose when to "pull" content into Crowdin and "push" the translations back into Paligo. You do not need to use import and export translation packages.

When using Crowdin, we recommend that you:

Select the folder containing the content in Content Manager.

If the content is not in a folder, select the top-level folder Documents.

This will open the Resource View.
Use the status button to set the content state to In translation.
Set up Crowdin to connect to Paligo. For this, you will need to:
- Create a project in Crowdinand add the target languages
- Create a Crowdin workflow to define and manage the translation processes in your organization.
- Install the Paligo app (available from the Crowdin store)
- Set the Paligo app to connect to your Paligo instance.
  
  You will need the name of your Paligo instance, an email address with access to your Paligo instance, and the API key. For details on how to find the API key, see API Keys.
- Set up some form of notification so that when the translation work is complete, you receive a message.
  
  In Crowdin you can set up notifications at the project level so that you receive an email when the work is done. Alternatively, you can set up connectors with Slack, MS Teams and similar apps to get notifications there. It is also possible to set up webhooks for Crowdin Enterprise (see webhooks) and set Crowdin to sync automatically with Paligo at regular intervals.
For information on setting up Crowdin to connect to Paligo, see the official Crowdin documentation.
When you have set up Crowdin to connect to Paligo, access the project. It has two columns: Crowdin is on the left and shows the content in Crowdin and Paligo is on the right. The Paligo column shows all content in your Paligo instance.

Note

Crowdin can view all topics in Paligo, but only those that are set to In Translation can be worked on.
Use the checkboxes to select the topics and the Sync To buttons to push content from one system to the other. The Sync to Crowdin button pushes "In Translation" content from Paligo to Crowdin, so that it can be translated. When the translation work is finished, select the Sync to Paligo button to push the translated content from Crowdin back to Paligo.

When the content has been translated, you should receive a notification.
In Paligo, set the content to the In Translation Review state. Use the Resource View to check that the translation is complete (100%) . If it is complete, proceed to step 7.

If the translation is complete, you can approve the work. Select the options menu ( ... ) for the publication or topic, and then select Approve translation. Note that if you approve the translation of a publication, it automatically approves all of the topics inside that publication.

If the translation is incomplete, put the topic in the In Translation state and notify the translators that it needs more work. When they translate it again, repeat step 6.
When the translations are complete, set the state to Released. You can then publish the content (see About Publishing).

Translate with LanguageWire

LanguageWire is a cloud-based, AI-driven translation platform, designed for agile translations, where content can be updated and translated frequently.

If you are using LanguageWire for translations, you need to be aware that it works differently from Paligo's other translation integrations:

There are no integration settings in Paligo. You set up the entire integration in LanguageWire. See their official documentation for information on how this is done.
You can translate any Paligo topic with In Translation status, see Change the Status.
The synchronization between LanguageWire and Paligo is managed by you. You choose when to "pull" content into LanguageWire and "push" the translations back into Paligo. There is no need to import and export translation packages.

Translate with Phrase

Paligo can connect directly to Phrase so that you can:

Export translation packages directly to Phrase from Paligo
Import completed translations directly from Phrase.

Note

To use Paligo with Phrase, you need to set up the Paligo to Phrase integration. You can then follow the translation service workflow. To get started, see Work with a Translation Service.

Connect Paligo to Phrase

Paligo has a Phrase integration that allows Paligo and Phrase to communicate directly. This means you can send translation jobs from Paligo to Phrase directly. Similarly, translators can send completed translations from Phrase back to your Paligo instance.

To use the Phrase integration, you need a Phrase account that:

Has the role of a Project Manager (PM) or Administrator.
Has permission to "Modify setup's server settings". This is related to user rights and you can set it up by editing the user profile in Phrase.
Is on a plan that provides API access. Paligo requires API access to connect to Phrase.

To set up the integration in Paligo:

Make sure you have a project in Phrase. When you export content from Paligo, it will be imported into the project in Phrase.
Log in to Paligo via a user account that has administrator permissions.
Log in to Paligo via a user account that has administrator permissions.
Select the avatar in the top-right corner.
Select Settings from the menu.
Select the Integrations tab.
Select Add or Change on the Phrase box.
Enter Username and Password.
Select the Default project used for translation export.
Select Save.
Select Test setting to verify the connection.

You should get a notification that the test was successful, which means that Paligo can connect to Phrase.

Note

If not, check that the entered credentials are correct, and pay close attention to typographical mistakes in the entries.

If you still cannot get Paligo to connect to Phrase, contact support for help.

Once the integration is set up, you can send content for translation directly from Paligo to Phrase, see Export a Translation Package. Paligo recommends that you ask your translation service to contact you when they have completed their work. Phrase is unable to provide Paligo with a notification.

When the translation is complete, you can import the content directly from Phrase into Paligo, see Import a Translation Package. Paligo automatically matches the translation to the content for the source language. You can then manage the translation and release status for the content in all languages. For details, see Workflow for Translation Services.

Translate with Semantix

Semantix is a translation provider with a portal for ordering translations. Paligo has an integration for Semantix which you can use to send your translation projects directly to their portal.

You can export content directly to Semantix for a quote. When you accept the quote (in Semantix), the translation service will begin work on the translations. When the translations are complete, the translation service should notify you. You can then import the translations back into Paligo.

Note

To use Paligo with Semantix, you need to set up the Paligo to Semantix integration. You can then follow the translation service workflow. To get started, see Work with a Translation Service.

Connect Paligo to Semantix

Semantix is a translation provider with a portal for ordering translations. Paligo has an integration for Semantix which you can use to send your translation projects directly to their portal.

To set up the integration in Paligo:

Log in to Paligo via a user account that has administrator permissions.
Log in to Paligo via a user account that has administrator permissions.
Select the avatar in the top-right corner.
Select Settings from the menu.
Select the Integrations tab.
Select Add or Change on the Semantix box.
Enter your Semantix credentials.
Select Save.
When you have the integration set up, you can choose to send a translation directly to Semantix.

For details, see Export a Translation Package.

When the translation is complete, you can import the translation directly into Paligo. We recommend that you ask your translation service to contact you when they have completed their work. Semantix is unable to provide Paligo with a notification.

Work with a Translation Service

Note

Workflow for Translation Services

Note

Stage 1: Discuss Project with Translators

Stage 2: Add Languages

Stage 3: Prepare Content for Translation

Note

Stage 4: Send Content to Translators

Note

Note

Stage 5: Import the Translation

Note

Stage 6: Review the Translation

Caution

Stage 7: Set the Content to Released

Note

Start Working with a Translation Service

Note

Translation Software Settings

Export a Translation Package

Tip

Important

Note

Note

Tip

Note

Import a Translation Package

Note

Note

Important

Important

Note

Tip

Review or Edit the Translation

Tip

Note

Translate with Crowdin

Note

Translate with LanguageWire

Translate with Phrase

Note

Connect Paligo to Phrase

Note

Translate with Semantix

Note

Connect Paligo to Semantix

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