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Translating with the ServiceNow Localization Framework

ServiceNow offers two different channels for translating content: Localization Framework and Dynamic Translation. This article discusses how to use the ServiceNow Connector to translate within the ServiceNow Localization Framework. See Dynamic Translation with the ServiceNow Connector to learn about Dynamic Translation.

ServiceNow Localization Framework

The ServiceNow Localization Framework identifies translatable strings via artifacts. When using the  ServiceNow Connector translation requests are sent via the ServiceNow Localization Framework. Content is bundled into an XLIFF file and sent to Smartling for translation; the content goes through a translation workflow, leveraging all the benefits of the Smartling TMS. 

Some ServiceNow experiences come with OOTB artifacts installed automatically, while others require adding custom code to set up the Localization Framework. To use this framework with the ServiceNow Connector, the ServiceNow Localization Framework must be enabled for the content you wish to translate.

Below are details on how specific ServiceNow experiences can be translated using the ServiceNow Connector.

Translating Knowledge Content

Request Translation

  1. Navigate to the Knowledge View.
  2. Filter and select the knowledge article(s) you wish to translate.
  3. Click Request Translations.
    request-translations.png
  4. Choose the language(s) for which you would like to request translations. Click Submit.
    choose-languages.png
  5. You will see a confirmation message for the translation requests. Click the link “translation requests” to view the localization tasks.
    Translation-Requests.png
  6. One ServiceNow localization task will be created for each target language. One Smartling Job will be created for each localization task.
    localization tasks.png
  7. Smartling Job(s) will be automatically authorized for translation based on your configuration.

If you request an article that has already been translated, ServiceNow will automatically skip that article, and it will not be sent for translation. 

Retrieve Translations from Smartling

Automatic

Translations will be automatically delivered back to ServiceNow once a day based on your configured cron schedule.

Manual

You can manually retrieve completed translations at any time. In order to retrieve translations, the translations must be fully published in Smartling. 

If you need to auto-publish translated articles, see the info here from ServiceNow. 

  1. Once a file is fully translated in Smartling, navigate to the relevant localization task in ServiceNow. The state will be “In Progress”. Click Translate.
    Translate-button.png
  2. Click Retrieve Translations.
    Retrieve-translations.png
  3. The translations will be populated into the target fields where you can review the translations. Next, click Publish Translations.
    publish-translations.png
  4. Once the translations are published, the state of the localization task will update to “Closed Complete”. If you navigate back to the Knowledge article you will see the new translated version listed.
    translated-version.png


Translating Service Portal Content

The connector allows you to translate your Service Portal content, enabling users to view the Portal in their native language based on their profile language setting. You can also translate Portal announcements. For more info, see Need to Translate a Portal?. 

Request Translation

  1. Navigate to the Service Portal you wish to translate.
  2. Click Request Translations.
    Portal-Request-Translations.png
  3. Choose which languages to translate into and click Submit.
    portal-choose-languages.png
  4. You will see confirmation "Successfully requested translations". Click the link "translations" to view the localization tasks. One ServiceNow localization task will be created for each locale requested. One Smartling Job will be created for each localization task.
    Portal-success-message.png
    Portal - localization tasks.png
  5. Smartling Job(s) will be automatically authorized for translation based on your configuration.

Retrieve Translations from Smartling

Automatic

Translations will be automatically delivered back to ServiceNow once a day based on your configured cron schedule.

Manual

You can manually retrieve completed translations at any time. In order to retrieve translations, the translations must be fully published in Smartling. 

  1. Once a file is fully translated in Smartling, navigate to the relevant localization task in ServiceNow. The state will be “In Progress”. Click Translate.
    Portal - translate.png
  2. Click Retrieve Translations.
    portal retrieve translations.png
  3. The translations will be populated into the target fields where you can review the translations. Next, click Publish Translations.
    Portal Publish Translations.png
  4. Once the translations are published, the state of the localization task will update to “Closed Complete”.

Translating Service Portal Announcements

You can follow a similar process to request Service Portal Announcements for translation. Simply navigate to the Service Portal announcement you wish to translate and follow the steps outlined above. For more info, see Extending the Localization Framework to Portal Announcements. 

Translating Catalog Items

Request Translation

  1. Navigate to the Catalog Item you wish to translate. 
  2. Click Request Translations. 
    catalog item- request translations.png
  3. Choose which languages to translate into and click Submit. 
    catalog items - select languages.png
  4. You will see confirmation "Successfully requested translations". Click the link "translations" to view the localization tasks. One ServiceNow localization task will be created for each locale requested. One Smartling Job will be created for each localization task. 
    catalog-item-success-message.png
  5.  The corresponding Smartling Job(s) will be automatically authorized for translation based on your configuration.

Retrieve Translations from Smartling

Automatic

Translations will be automatically delivered back to ServiceNow once a day based on your configured cron schedule.

Manual

You can manually retrieve completed translations at any time. In order to retrieve translations, the translations must be fully published in Smartling. 

  1. Once a file is fully translated in Smartling, navigate to the relevant localization task in ServiceNow. The state will be “In Progress”. Click Translate.
    catalog-item-translate.png
  2. Click Retrieve Translations.
    catalog-item-retrieve-translations.png
  3. The translations will be populated into the target fields where you can review the translations. Next, click Publish Translations.
    catalog item-publish translations.png
  4. Once the translations are published, the state of the localization task will update to “Closed Complete”.

Translating Virtual Agent Topics 

Virtual Agent Topics are blueprints that define the dialog between a ServiceNow Virtual Agent and a user. You can translate these topics so that when end users interact with a Virtual Agent, the pre-built conversations from the topic flow can be displayed in their native language. For more info, see Best Practices and How-Tos for Localizing Virtual Agent Topics. 

Request Translation 

  1. Navigate to Virtual Agent > Designer.
  2. Find the Topic you wish to translate and click to open it.
  3. Click the Languages tab in the menu bar to view the status for each language.
  4. Click Request translation next to the language you wish to translate.
    VA - Request Translations 2.png
  5. A localization task will be created for the request. Click View requested item to open the localization task. 
    VA Topic - View Requested Item.png

Retrieve Translations from Smartling

Automatic

Translations will be automatically delivered back to ServiceNow once a day based on your configured cron schedule.

Manual

You can manually retrieve completed translations at any time. In order to retrieve translations, the translations must be fully published in Smartling. 

  1. Once a file is fully translated in Smartling, navigate to the relevant localization task in ServiceNow. The state will be “In Progress”. Click Translate.
    VA-Topic-Translate.png
  2. Click Retrieve Translations.
    VA - retrieve translations.png
  3. The translations will be populated into the target fields where you can review the translations. Next, click Publish Translations.
    VA-Topic-Publish.png
  4. Once the translations are published, the state of the localization task will update to “Closed Complete”.

Smartling Job Creation 

When content is requested for translation in ServiceNow, a corresponding localization task is created. This triggers the creation of a Job in Smartling. The requested source content is bundled into an XLIFF file and sent to Smartling, where it is added to the Job. Jobs are named based on the localization task and project number in the format: 
SN Task [localization task number]: [localization project number]

Visual Context

The Connector supports basic "pseudo" HTML context which is generated from the XLIFF source files. 

Handling Updates to Source Content

If you need to make changes to the source content and have the updates sent to Smartling for translation, you will need to re-request the content for translation. Different ServiceNow experiences have different versioning behaviors. For example, ServiceNow Knowledge offers article versioning, allowing users to create a new version of a knowledge article from an existing published version. When a new version of an article is sent to Smartling for translation, it will create a new unique file in Smartling. Any new content can then be translated. Unchanged source content can leverage previously completed translations using SmartMatch.

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