When working on localization projects, having the right tools at your disposal can make all the difference in productivity and quality. Transifex includes several powerful features that many users overlook. Here are five essential tools that can transform your translation workflow:
1. Find and Replace: Smart Bulk Updates
The Find and Replace feature is more sophisticated than you might expect. Beyond simple word replacements, it offers:
- Partial matching capabilities.
- Bulk updates across multiple selected strings.
This tool is perfect for updating terminology across your project or maintaining consistency in translations. It can save hours of manual editing work.
2. Use a Different Language as Your Source When Translating
Working with regional variants? This feature allows you to use translations from languages similar to your source text. For example:
- Use Brazilian Portuguese translations when working on European Portuguese.
- Reference French (France) while translating for French (Canada).
- Start with Spanish (Spain) when working on Latin American Spanish variants.
This approach not only speeds up translation but helps maintain consistency across regional variations of your content.
3. Smart Tagging System
The tagging system is a powerful organizational tool that goes beyond basic categorization:
- Create custom tags like “Urgent,” “UI Elements,” or “Marketing” to provide additional context and create groups of content.
- Use smart tags such as “locked” to prevent unwanted changes.
- Apply the “notranslate” tag for content that should remain in its original form.
- Filter and search strings by tags to focus on specific content types.
- Batch-apply tags to multiple strings simultaneously.
This feature is particularly valuable for large projects where organization and prioritization are crucial.
4. Raw Editor Mode
For technical translations, Raw Editor Mode provides precise control over your content:
- Direct access to HTML attributes and formatting
- Unfiltered view of special characters and placeholders
- Perfect for maintaining exact formatting in complex strings
- Essential for technical documentation and UI element translations
- Ability to edit and verify markup without interference
This mode is invaluable when accuracy in technical elements is as important as the translation itself.
5. Keyboard Shortcuts
Speed up your workflow with these essential keyboard combinations:
Navigation Shortcuts:
- Ctrl+1: Shortcut to the Context tab.
- Ctrl+2: Move to the Suggestions tab.
- Ctrl+3: Quick access to the History tab.
- Ctrl+4: Jump to the Glossary tab.
- Ctrl+5: Access Comments and Issues.
Content Manipulation:
- Ctrl+Enter: Save Translation.
- Tab: Save your translation and select the next string.
- Ctrl+D: Mark selected translation as reviewed
- Ctrl+Shift+D: Mark the selected translation as reviewed and go to the next string.
- Ctrl +H: Fill in the translation box with machine translation.
- G: Quickly add selected text as a glossary term.
Using these shortcuts can significantly reduce the time spent on repetitive actions and mouse movements. You can find the full list of shortcuts by clicking the three dots on the top right of the editor and selecting Keyboard Shortcuts.
Making the Most of These Features
While these features are powerful individually, their real value comes from integrating them into your daily workflow. Take time to experiment with different combinations to find what works best for your specific translation needs.
These tools are designed to make your translation work more efficient and accurate. By mastering them, you can focus more on translation quality and less on technical processes.