Extension | .srt |
Smartling Identifier | srt |
Resources | SubRip |
Smartling supports the translation of the subtitles of videos via SubRip SRT files.
SubRip SRT files are extracted text files that include subtitles and their timings from various video formats. For best results, it is recommended that you include the video URL upon upload, for visual context for translators. Smartling automatically matches the subtitle strings with the uploaded video file or video URL.
Preparing SubRip SRT For Translation
XML Characters
The following XML characters are always escaped. You can control this by using the entity_escaping directive.
Character (character name) | Escape sequence |
< (less-than) |
< |
> (greater-than) |
> |
& (ampersand) |
& |
' (apostrophe or single quote) |
' |
" (double-quote) |
" |
Directives
File directives are supported via our API (inline is not supported). Directives are specified in the following format:
API Parameter
smartling.[directive_name] = [value]
Here are examples of supported directives for SRT files:
Escape Base Characters
Directive | entity_escaping |
Values |
(case-insensitive) |
Smartling Translate Supported | Yes |
Description |
Controls whether base characters ( > < & " ) are "escaped" into entities when delivering translations. This can be set universally for the whole file via API, or by setting the directive at the top/start of the file. The directive can also be placed inline to control the behavior of specific strings. |
Examples |
For example, your translation might look like this: By default, using the "auto" setting, we will assume this is HTML from the <hr> tag. When the translated file is downloaded, the translated string will be escaped as: Using smartling.entity_escaping = false will allow is above string to appear unescaped. |
Escape Characters the Same as Source
Directive | entity_escaping_strategy |
Values | propagate | none |
Smartling Translate Supported | Yes |
Description |
Used to retain entity escaping for all non-base entities. For example, normally we turn © into © but if we use this new directive the translation will automatically update to use escaping from the source. For each entity character, we'll check to see if it was escaped in the source and try to match (propagate) it in the target. The default is none which is the current behavior, which recognizes HTML4 entities only - if HTML5 entities are required as well, you must use the entity_escaping_type=propagate directive.
This does not affect source content at all - so using it will not result in new strings. Numerical entities are not considered at all with this directive, and are treated normally. |
Examples |
smartling.entity_escaping_strategy = propagate If the same character is both escaped and unescaped in the same string, propagate will return the characters in the translation escaped in the same order as they were in the source. However, if there are a different number of characters in the translation where the translation process removed or added some and the escaping is inconsistent among them, propagate will escape all entities for that character. This does not affect source content at all - so using it will not result in new strings. propagate will only affect non-base entities - all named entities except & , ", <, >. Base entities continue to be controlled by HTML detection and the entity_escaping directive. |
Unescape HTML5
Directive |
entity_escaping_type |
Values |
html4 (default)|html5 (case-insensitive) |
Smartling Translate Supported | Yes |
Description |
By default, all html4 entities are unescaped, except the basic set: < > & ". When this directive is set to html5, all html5 entities will be unescaped as well. If you choose to set this directive to html5, you must also use the entity_escaping_strategy=propagate directive |
Examples |
smartling.entity_escaping_type = html5 |
Trim Whitespace
Directive |
whitespace_trim |
Values |
on|yes|true or off|no|false or leading|trailing The default value is on. |
Smartling Translate Supported | Yes |
Description |
A whitespace is any character or series of characters that represent horizontal or vertical space in typography. When rendered, a whitespace character is not a visible mark, but does occupy an area or space on a page. Although whitespaces are necessary within a string (typically to separate words), unnecessary whitespaces can be found at the start of a string (leading) and at the end of a string (trailing). With this directive, you can trim whitespaces, as it enables or disables whitespace trim management for the ingested strings. Whitespace is optionally trimmed from content then re-inserted on download for convenience so that translators do not have to manage the extra spaces. However, content owners may want to retain surrounding whitespace so that translators can By default, the leading and trailing whitespaces are trimmed. You can choose to disable trimming or specify trimming for leading or trailing whitespaces. The directive can only be used as the API request parameter. |
Examples |
smartling.whitespace_trim=on Smartling will trim leading and trailing whitespaces (default) smartling.whitespace_trim=off Smartling will not trim leading or trailing whitespaces smartling.whitespace_trim=leading Smartling will trim only leading whitespaces smartling.whitespace_trim=trailing Smartling will trim only trailing whitespaces |
Translating Video Subtitle Files
Smartling allows you to translate SubRip (SRT) files with Visual Context. When the user in the CAT Tool clicks the target string, the video automatically plays for that specific string. on the Translators can loop, pause, and adjust the playback rate of the video context for the most accurate subtitle translations.
When you upload an SRT file to Smartling, you'll be prompted to add your video link in the same step. Make sure you have both assets ready, or you won't be able to complete your upload.
Uploading an SRT and Video Context File
- Do one of the following:
- In the New Experience, from your chosen project, click the Files tab > Upload Files
- In the Classic Experience, from your chosen project, go to Content > Files and click Upload Files.
- Upload your SRT file (one file at a time)
- OPTIONAL: follow the steps to creating a translation Job for the SRT file now, or you can do it later
- Once the SRT file is uploaded in your Smartling project, go to the Context Dashboard and upload the video file for visual context
- Choose to upload a video file or link a video URL
- Choose to match with strings in a file and search for the SRT file name in the field
Alternatively, if you do not have the URL ready at the time of SRT upload, you can add the URL at a later stage, via the Context tab. See Add a Video URL for Subtitle Translation for more information.
What happens Next?
Once your SRT and video files have been added to Smartling, you'll see them in your Files list. You may experience a slight delay with the video thumbnail until the best frame is loaded.
Keep in mind the following when adding your video file link:
- It must be publicly accessible
- It can't be a link to a video that's embedded in a web page
- It can't be a link that previews the video in a browser
- Video file resolution cannot be more than 3200x2100 or 2100x3200
Updating an SRT or Video File
If you modify your original video or subtitles, you can update these assets in Smartling for retranslation by deleting the original SRT file, and repeating the steps to uploading an SRT and video context file.
- To delete the original SRT file, do one of the following:
- In the New Experience, from your media project, click the Files tab and then click the three dots.
- In the Classic Experience, from your media project, go to Content > Files and click the three dots.
- Select Delete File from the dropdown.
- Next, repeat the steps to uploading an SRT and video context file.
Video Tutorial: Translating Video Subtitles in Smartling
Timestamps:
Step 1: Create a .srt or .vtt file 00:06
Step 2: Check the segmentation 00:51
Step 3: Upload the subtitle file to Smartling 02:06
Step 4: Upload the video as visual context 02:45
Step 5: Authorize the job 03:34
What your linguists see 03:45
Step 6: Download the completed translations 04:14
Step 7: Add the translated subtitles to your video 04:32
a. Closed captions 04:41
b. Open captions 04:56
Help & Support 05:08