XLIFF "Untranslated" Mode Will Return Only Untranslated Strings

What's new?
1

Hello everyone,

We’re sharing an important update regarding a change to the original XLIFF file download behavior when using the “untranslated” mode via the API

What’s changing?

Currently, when requesting untranslated strings in XLIFF format via our API using the mode=untranslated parameter, the system returns all source strings without <target>…</target> tags, regardless of the strings’ translation status. This behavior could be refined to provide a more accurate output when using the XLIFF format.

What will change?

  • Only strings without translations will be included in the XLIFF file when mode=untranslated is used.
  • The file will include just the source strings, without <target> tags—aligning with what you expect when requesting only untranslated content.
  • The change applies to the API for resources with default file type: XLIFF

Example

Consider the following example. You have an XLIFF resource with three strings in total. The first string "Hello" and the third string "This is a beautiful day" are translated. The second string "Hello world" is untranslated.

Current output

<trans-unit id="1" xml:space="Test">
  <source>Hello</source>
</trans-unit>
<trans-unit id="2" xml:space="Test">
  <source>Hello World</source>
</trans-unit>
<trans-unit id="3" xml:space="Test">
  <source>This is a beautiful day</source>
</trans-unit>

New output

<trans-unit id="2" xml:space="Test">
  <source>Hello World</source>
</trans-unit>

When will this change take effect?

The update will take effect on July 28, 2025.

Who is affected?

This change only impacts users who:

  • Have resources with default file type XLIFF file format and using our API to download the untranslated strings with the mode=untranslated.

:megaphone: Is there any action you need to take?

Depending on how you process the returned files, you may need to adjust your workflow to align with the updated behavior.

If you have any questions or want to share feedback, feel free to reply to this post or reach out to our support team.

Thanks for using Transifex by XTM!

— The Transifex Team