Automate Job Creation with Jobs Automation Rules

Jobs Automation Rules allow Account Owners and Project Managers to automatically batch content into translation jobs on a recurring schedule, without manual intervention. Rules can be configured to batch content by language, file, string tags, word count, and more. You can also choose to have jobs automatically authorized for translation.

For Jobs Automation Rules to work successfully, content must meet all of the following conditions:

1. In Smartling — The content must already be ingested into your Smartling project.
2. Awaiting authorization — The content must not yet have been authorized for translation.
3. Not already in a job — The content must not already be in a translation job.

50,000 hashcode limit: Jobs created by Jobs Automation Rules are limited to a maximum of 50,000 hashcodes per job. If a rule finds more than 50,000 hashcodes, the first run will include up to 50,000 hashcodes, and the subsequent run will pick up the remaining string hashcodes.

Connector compatibility: Standard Jobs Automation rules cannot be used with connectors, with the exception of the Repository Connector. However, connector-specific Jobs Automation rules are available for use with certain connectors. For more information, see Automation Rules for Connector Content Translation.

Global Delivery Network (GDN) projects are an ideal candidate for Job Automation Rules.

How to create a Jobs Automation Rule

1. From the account-level Jobs Dashboard, click the Automation Rules tab. 
   
   • From here you can view all existing rules and create new ones.
2. Click Create Rule and configure the following settings:
   • Project (required): Choose a project to apply the rule to from the dropdown list.
     • GDN or API projects are recommended.
     • For file projects, ensure the files are already in Smartling before the rule is set to run.
   • Job Name (required): Smartling will use your preferred job naming convention each time a new job is created.
   • Job Description: Give your job a meaningful description for translators.
   • Schedule (required): Decide when you want the job to be created, and the frequency.
     • Frequency options include: weekly, fortnightly, every 3 weeks, or every month.
     • You can also be specific about the day of the week, date of the month, and time at which the job is created.
     • Alternatively, instead of an exact time, you can decide that the job should be created every hour, every 3 hours, every 6 hours, or every 12 hours.
   • Languages: Select the languages to be captured into the job.
     • Only content that is not authorized across all the selected locales will be captured.
   • Auto-Authorization: Set to ON if you want to automatically authorize the job for translation.
     • If enabled, you can choose the workflow each language will use for translation.
     • If you prefer to authorize larger jobs manually, you can set an optional limit for auto-authorization. Jobs with a total word count above the specified limit will not be authorized automatically.
     • To set a limit, auto-authorization must first be enabled. The default limit is 50,000 words, and the minimum value is 1. You can adjust the default limit if needed.
   • Include content already authorized for any other language(s): Include content that has been partially authorized across all the locales of a job.
     • Partially authorized content refers to content that has been authorized for translation into at least one other language, but not all languages.
     • Note that In Progress and Published strings are filtered out.
   • Filter content by file: Toggle ON if you want to include or exclude a particular file name (if it's a Files Project) or URL (if it's a GDN Project).
     • If left OFF, Smartling will capture all new content into the job.
     • You can use wildcard symbols to specify what should or should not be included. A "?" denotes a single character wildcard, and an "*" denotes a multiple character wildcard.
   • String Tags: Include or exclude strings with specific tags.
     • To enable this rule, switch on the toggle and specify which tags you would like to include or exclude. You can select multiple tags as needed.
     • Only strings tagged with at least one of the selected tags will be included or excluded in jobs created by the rule.
   • String Key/Variant: Include or exclude strings with specific keys or variants.
     • To enable this rule, switch the toggle on and specify which keys or variants you would like to include or exclude.
     • It is possible to add multiple values by listing each key or variant in a separate row.
       Example:
       
     • Wildcard symbols can be used: a "?" denotes a single character wildcard, and an "*" denotes a multiple character wildcard.
       For example, "key1*" will match strings with keys like "key1", "key12", "key 123", etc.

   • String Ingestion Warnings: Strings with a specified ingestion warning will not be included in any jobs created with this rule. For more information, see String Ingestion Warnings Explained.

     It is highly recommended to enable these warnings, especially if auto-authorization is enabled, to prevent unwanted content from being translated. After enabling warnings, review any flagged strings and refine your configuration accordingly.

     You could also consider a two-job approach:
     1. First, create an automation rule with all warnings enabled and auto-authorization turned on.
     2. Next, create a second automation rule for the same content, but with no warnings enabled and authorization switched off.

     This way, you will have jobs containing all the content, but it will allow you to review any flagged strings before authorizing them for translation.

   • Word Count Rules: Toggle on to limit the size of each job by total words per language or weighted words per language.
     • For example, if 5,000 weighted words per language are available and the Word Count Rule is set to 2,500, two or more separate jobs with a maximum of 2,500 weighted words each will be created.
     • To limit the total number of jobs created from the available content, use Word Count Rules in conjunction with a Job Limit.
     • Please note that the weighted word count of a job may differ from the total word count.
     • Language Exception: Choose to add a language exception to this rule by selecting a language and applying a specific word count to it.
     • It is possible for the word count limit to be exceeded, due to differences between the word count before strings enter a job and what happens after, such as Translation Memory leverage.
   • Job Limit: Works in conjunction with Word Count Rules. Limits the total number of jobs created from available content each time the rule runs.
     • To enable, switch the toggle on and enter the maximum number of jobs as a numeric value (e.g. 5 jobs).
     • Each job will contain no more than the maximum number of weighted words specified in the Word Count Rules.
     • Any content not included in the defined number of jobs will remain in your Smartling project (awaiting authorization and not in a job). These strings can be bundled into a job manually, deleted, or left to be picked up the next time the rule runs.
     • In GDN projects, strings awaiting authorization that have not been placed into a job will be deleted from the Smartling project 14 days after they were ingested, unless otherwise specified.
   • Due Date: Set a due date for your job based on content volume. Keep your translation provider's standard turnaround times in mind.
   • Notifications: Enter the email address for anyone who should receive a notification when a job is created.
     • Recipients do not need to have a Smartling account.
3. Click Save.
   • This will enable your rule immediately.

Jobs Automation Rule actions

Click the ellipsis menu next to a rule in order to run, edit, copy, or delete the rule. 
 

Each time the rule runs, the most recent run time is captured in the Last Run column.

If no content matches the rule configuration when it runs, no job will be created. See the General FAQ page for more details.

Enabling and disabling a Jobs Automation Rule

The On/Off toggle under the Status column allows you to enable or disable each rule as required. 

New rules are enabled by default. To disable a rule, switch the toggle Off in the Status column.

After making a change to an existing rule, always check the On/Off toggle to confirm the rule is enabled or disabled as intended.

If a project is archived, any rule associated with it will be removed from the list of available automation rules. If an archived project is later unarchived, any associated rules will remain disabled. To resume job creation, switch the toggle On for any rules that should be active for the unarchived project.

Search and sharing

The Automation Rules page allows you to filter for specific Jobs Automation Rules using the following criteria:

• Projects: Search for rules created for the selected project(s).
• Job Name: Search for job names containing specific keywords.

Once the desired search criteria have been entered, click the search icon to run your search. 

Search results can be shared with other team members who have access to the Automation Rules page by copying and sharing the URL displayed in your browser.