Translating with the Smartling Plugin for Adobe Photoshop

The Smartling plugin for Adobe allows you to send Photoshop content to Smartling for translation in a Job. Only the content in text objects is translatable, meaning words in images are not translatable.

Using the Photoshop plugin will also provide automatic Visual Context for linguists in the CAT Tool.

You can monitor the progress of the Job in Photoshop, or in Smartling. Once the translation of the file is complete for a language, you can create a translated version of the file in Photoshop, by using the plugin to apply the translations.

This article guides you through the steps of sending content for translation and retrieving translations in Photoshop.

Prerequisites

1. Adobe Photoshop app
2. Access to Smartling as an Account Owner or Project Manager user
   • This means having an activated user account (i.e. you have signed in to Smartling successfully)

Log in to Smartling via Photoshop

1. Open Adobe Photoshop
2. Create a new or open an existing Photoshop file
3. In the Photoshop menu (top nav), click Window > Extensions (legacy) > Smartling
   • A tab in your browser will automatically open, prompting you to log in to Smartling
4. Log in to Smartling with your user role credentials
   • After a successful login, you can close the browser tab
5. In Adobe Photoshop, choose the project you want to send content for translation to in Smartling
6. Choose to exclude irrelevant strings
   • Enabling this setting prevents any string that contains only numbers, special characters or emojis from being submitted for translation
7. Choose if you would like to enable variants
   • By default, variants are disabled. If variants should be created, please enable this setting before submitting any content for translation. New variants for strings will be generated based on the text node ID and the text node position in a table grid.
     In most cases, it is recommended to leave variants disabled. If enabled, new variants will be created on each upload of a file.
8. Click Save
9. Once the confirmation flag appears, click X to close out the window
   

Preparing Photoshop Content for Translation

Although, there is very little to no file prep. required before submitting Photoshop content for translation in Smartling, it might be worthwhile checking that all strings (layers containing text), are as they should be.

Content in Text objects in visible layers are ingested for translation. Text in images are not ingested for translation. 

When you submit the Adobe file for translation via the plugin, it is converted to a JSON file. Each text object is a string with a unique ID.

Strings are ordered in the same order as they listed from top to bottom of the JSON file. If you need to control string ordering, manually export the file and arrange the strings with their ID in the JSON file. You can then import it back to Photoshop and the changes should not affect the design layout. Follow steps to submit content for translation from Photoshop.

If you would like to placeholderize content, (meaning make a word or string not translatable), you can simply apply curly brackets, i.e. {} or {{}}, around the word or string, then select the placeholder checkbox when you submit the content for translation (step 10).

If you use curly brackets for another purpose, and would like the content in the brackets translated, ensure to update them to another type of bracket before submitting the content for translation.

Submit Photoshop Content for Translation in Smartling

To submit your Photoshop content into a Smartling job:

1. Launch Photoshop Desktop App
2. Open a new or existing Photoshop file.
   
   • This is the source file that the Smartling plugin will convert into a JSON file for translation
   • You must have the file open in Photoshop to take any action on it via the Smartling plugin
   • It is recommended to wait until all components have loaded successfully into the Photoshop file before proceeding with translation
   • If your source file contains images, it is recommended that they are of a reduced resolution size, as larger images can cause performance issues. For more information, read the Photoshop documentation
   • Ensure to save any changes made to the file before sending it to Smartling for translation
3. Click Window > Extensions (legacy) > Smartling
4. In the Smartling window, click Menu on the top left-hand corner
   • This is where you'll find all functions of the Smartling plugin
     
     
5. From the options listed in the menu, select Submit Translations
   
6. Using the checkbox on the left, select the layer(s) you would like to submit for translation
   
   • You can unselect layers that does not need a translation.
7. To view the strings and string keys within each layer, click the downward arrow on any of the layer
   
8. Using the checkbox on the left, select the string(s) you would like to submit for translation
   
   • You can unselect strings that does not need a translation.
9. Click the pencil icon to edit the key name
10. Choose to turn any text inside {} and {{}} into non-translatable placeholders, by selecting the checkbox
11. Once you've identified the frames/strings that you'd like to translate, click Next to proceed.
12. Complete the Submit Translation dialog.
    1. Choose to add the content to an existing Job and choose the existing Job from the dropdown, or choose to create a new Job and name the new Job
    2. Give the Job a deadline.
       • This defaults to one day in advance from the current day (recommended)
       • You can make the turn around time shorter in Smartling, by adjusting the due date in the Job
    3. You can give the linguists additional details on how you want the Job translated by providing a description
    4. Choose to pre-authorize the Job, meaning once you complete these steps, the Job will automatically authorize and proceed with the translation in the target language's default workflow.
       • If you choose not to select this checkbox, the Job will sit in Awaiting Authorization in Smartling until a user Authorizes the Job for translation. This option allows the user to decide the workflow in which the language should be translated in, as well as view a cost estimate before commencing translation.
    5. Select the target languages for the translation (required)
       
13. Click Submit to submit the content to Smartling for translation
14. Once complete, the Translation Submitted dialog will appear with the Job summary
    • Click the hyperlinked Job name to open the Job in Smartling on your browser
15. Close the window to continue working in Photoshop

Export Content to JSON to Manually Upload to Smartling

You can export a JSON file of your Photoshop page. One Photoshop page can be exported at a time. If your design has multiple pages, you will need to export each page individually.

1. Click Window > Extensions (legacy) > Smartling
2. In the Smartling window, click Menu on the top left-hand corner
   
3. From the options listed in the menu, select Export (Manual)
4. Select the Layers you want to Export
5. Click the dropdown arrow to select the strings you want to include in the exported file
6. Click Export
   • A JSON and PNG file is automatically saved to your Downloads local drive
7. Open the JSON in a text editor to prepare for translation
8. In Smartling, follow steps to creating a Job

Making Changes To Source Content

When you add edit source content in files that have already been submitted for translation, only the new content will be seen in Smartling in the new Job. This means that source content that has already been translated, will not be retranslated in Smartling, saving you in translation costs.

This is because each file, with its unique name (or namespace), is treated once in a Smartling project. When it is submitted for translation for the first time, all translatable content is parsed (broken into strings) and translated. Any content that gets added or modified in the file that has the same filename as one that has already been translated, is the only content that gets ingested for re-translation. That's why you will only see the "new" content in the "new" Job, and not all the content in the file.

Retrieve Translations from Smartling

Once your translations are complete in Smartling, you can send translations directly to your Photoshop app by Applying Translations via the Translation Status model. Alternatively, a Smartling user can download the translated files from Smartling and manually import them to Photoshop. 

Manually Import a Translated File to Photoshop

To import translated JSON files into Photoshop:

1. Click Window > Extensions (legacy) > Smartling
2. In the Smartling window, click Menu on the top left-hand corner
   
3. From the options listed in the menu, select Import (Manual)
4. Select your translated JSON file from your local drive