Translation workflow
You can choose to translate specified Excel columns or entire Excel spreadsheets. If needed, you can also send content with metadata. Check the restrictions on the length of translation when sending large Excel files for translation.
Translating Excel columns
When translating columns, it is possible to configure one or more source-target language pairs. You can save settings in the document properties. Select the “Save as default” button. Then, they are retrieved automatically.
Note
You can select the entire column or a range of consecutive rows in a column, e.g.: column A or rows 10-24 in column A
In your Excel sheet, highlight the columns you wish to translate.
In the XTM Connect pop-up, choose the source column and source language along with the target column and target language.
Choose a project template set up in XTM.
Click Request translation.
When a project is created, target cells are blocked and cannot be edited.
If you wish to have a column translated to more than one target language, click the plus icon and repeat the instructions above. The source column will be exported to XTM and have a separate project created for each language pair.
Target columns must be empty to request translation and create a project in XTM. You cannot overwrite the source column with the target text: translations are always retrieved to target columns.
The project file sent to XTM is converted to an XLIFF file format.
In XTM, the project name contains the Excel sheet name, Excel tab name, and the first few words of the source text. To the projects created with the same name, a number is added automatically to distinguish them in XTM.
File size restrictions
The maximum size of Excel files that can be sent to XTM is 5MB.
That size includes all the metadata added by XTM Connect when creating a project. If the size is exceeded, an error message is displayed. In that case, it is recommended to split the Excel content into smaller pieces, put it into separate Excel sheets, and send it for translation one by one.
Translating spreadsheets
You can send an entire spreadsheet for translation and have it translated into one or more target languages. In XTM, separate projects will be created for each target language, while translations will be returned to Excel into separate sheets for each target language.
In the XTM Connect pop-up, click the Spreadsheet button.
Fill out your project details providing the source language, target language(s), project template and due date (optionally).
Click Request translation.
When a project is created, separate sheets are set up and blocked for edition.
Sending content with metadata for translation
You can display additional data as metadata (in a column in the editor) or as a comment. You can also choose how a comment with metadata is displayed in XTM Workbench: either as a new column or as a comment in the docked panel.
In your Excel sheet, select the columns you wish to translate along with the metadata columns.
In the XTM Connect pop-up, choose the source column and source language along with the target column and target language.
Select the Add comments box to specify settings.
In Source – specify the source column, while in Comment – the comment section.
Click the three dots menu to choose the way the metadata is to be displayed in XTM.
Choose the Project template and (optionally) set the due date.
Select Request translation.
Restrictions on the length of the translation
You can set restrictions on the length of translation by specifying a minimum or maximum target text length.
Note
Exceeding the character limit will not impede the import of the translated text from XTM
Note
The target length column must not be the same as the column you have selected for your translation input
In your Excel sheet, choose any column to be your target length column and enter the number of characters you want your translation to have. The limit can be set to either a maximum or a minimum number of characters.
Select the columns you wish to translate.
In the XTM Connect pop-up, choose the source column and source language along with the target column and target language.
Select the Monitor target length option box to specify settings.
In Source – specify the source column, while in Target length – the column with specified target length.
Click the three dots menu to specify whether the number in the target length limit.
Choose a Project template and (optionally) set the due date.
Select Request translation.
Importing translation from XTM
Translations are retrieved automatically once the translation is finished in XTM. The target cells are auto-populated with translation.
You can also import translation manually from the control panel under XTM Connect.