The Smartling Figma Buzz plugin connects your assets to a Smartling project so text can be translated. From within Figma Buzz, you can submit content for translation, add it to a Smartling job, and use your preferred workflow. Visual context is automatically generated so linguists can see how the text appears in the design.

You can monitor translation progress in Figma Buzz, access the related Smartling job via a direct link, and apply completed translations back to your assets.

This article covers the Smartling Figma Buzz plugin, which is separate from the Smartling Figma plugin used for product and UI design files. If you work with standard Figma design files, refer to the Figma plugin documentation instead.

Key terms

Before you start

Make sure you have all of these:

• Access to Figma Buzz - The Smartling Figma Buzz plugin runs inside Figma Buzz. You’ll need a Figma account with access to Buzz and the asset(s) you want to translate.
• A Smartling account with the right role - You need to be an Account Owner, Project Manager, or Requester in Smartling. 
• Edit access to the asset in Figma Buzz - Viewer access isn’t enough, you need to be able to edit the asset. If you can’t edit it, ask the file owner to share it with you as an Editor.

FAQ: How do I check what role I have in Smartling?
Sign in to Smartling, click your profile icon (top-right), and look at your role. If you can’t sign in or your role is something else (like Translation Resource or Content Viewer), contact your Localization Manager.

Setting up the Figma Buzz plugin 

Install and open the plugin

1. Open the Figma desktop app or launch Figma in your browser
2. Go to the Smartling Figma Buzz plugin page.
3. Click the bookmark icon to Save the plugin to your account
   
4. Open the Figma Buzz asset you want to work with.
5. In the top navigation, click Plugins > Saved plugins > Smartling Figma Buzz
6. The plugin panel opens on the left side of your screen, showing three tabs: Translate, Tools, and Settings. 
   

If you don’t see Smartling Figma Buzz in the Plugins menu, it isn’t installed yet. Install it from the Figma Community, or ask your Localization Manager which version your team uses. On organization/enterprise plans, if you see “Request approval” or “Approval pending,” click Request approval and wait for your Figma admin to approve it. The plugin won’t run until they do.

Connect the plugin to Smartling

This process is required to link the plugin to your Smartling project.

1. In the plugin, go to the Settings tab.
2. Under Account, click Log in with Smartling at the bottom. A browser tab opens.
   
   
3. Sign in to Smartling with your credentials. When you see “You’re logged in to Smartling. Close this window and return to your application,” close that tab and go back to Figma Buzz.

4. Back in the plugin, a Project dropdown appears. Click it and choose the Smartling project you want to use for sending content for translation. If you haven't already created a dedicated Figma project*, create one now and then select it from the dropdown.

   *You can use any Files-type project with the Figma plugin. We recommend creating a Connector project and then selecting Figma as the Connector type, or using "Figma" or "Figma Buzz" in the project name so it's clear what the project is used for and is easily identifiable.

5. Click Save. You’ll see a “Project saved” confirmation.

FAQ: I don’t see my project in the dropdown.
The dropdown only shows projects you have access to in Smartling. If the project you expect isn’t listed, ask your Localization Manager to confirm the project name and that your account has access to it.

Generate pseudo translations to preview translated design

Preview how your text expands in translated languages, without doing real translation. This lets you spot layout problems (overflow, wrapping, font support) before you pay for translation.

1. Open Tools → Pseudo.
   
2. Choose a Method:

3. Drag the Text expansion slider to simulate how much longer translated text might be (e.g. +30%; the range runs from about −30% to +60%).
4. Check the Preview and the count of strings found on the page.
5. Click Apply pseudotranslation. The plugin creates a pseudo-translated version of your asset on the canvas so you can review the layout.

Note: Pseudotranslation is a layout test, not a real translation. The output is placeholder text. Delete or ignore the pseudo version once you’ve checked your design.

Submit content for translation

This is the main flow for sending the text in your asset to Smartling for translation. The Translate tab walks you through it:

1. In the plugin, open the Translate tab and make sure the Submit sub-tab is selected. (The other sub-tab, Status, is for checking the status of jobs that you've already submitted. See Check translation status and apply translations.)
   
2. Under Select rows, you'll see your asset(s) listed as rows, with a count of how many strings each contains (for example, Row 1 — 1 item · 10 strings).
3. Tick the rows you want to translate. Use All or None at the top to select or clear everything quickly.
4. Click Next.
5. Under Select strings, the plugin shows every individual text string inside the rows you picked, organized in a tree (Row → asset → individual strings). The counter at the top shows how many are selected (for example, 10 of 10 selected).
   
6. By default all strings are selected. To exclude something you don’t want translated like a price, a brand name, or a product code, uncheck it here. Use the Search strings box to find a specific string, and All / None to bulk-select.
7. Click Next. 

FAQ: What counts as a string? 
Each text layer is one string. In the example asset, “Transforming Landscapes,” “One day, Four speakers, Keynotes & Panels,” and the date, time, place, and info lines were each separate strings, 10 in total. Expand a row to see exactly what will be sent before you submit.

8. Choose New job (the default) or Existing if you’re adding strings to a job you already created.

For a New job, fill in:

For an Existing job, choose the job from the Select Job dropdown, then pick your Target languages.

9. Click Next.

FAQ: A language I need isn’t in the list.
The dropdown only shows languages enabled in your Smartling project. If one is missing, you will need to add it to your project. See How to Add a Language to a Project. If you are not an Account Owner or Project Manager, you may need to ask your Localization Manager for assistance.

10. Review the summary:
    • Strings: how many will be sent
    • Job: the job name, or (new job) if you’re creating one
    • Languages: the target locales you chose
11. Confirm everything looks correct, then click Submit.
    
12. From here you can click Done, or New submission to submit additional content for translation. If you would like to submit a different design asset, click Done, open the different design asset, and repeat the process above. 

FAQ: What happens after I click Submit?
Your job is created in Smartling and goes to Awaiting Authorization (if pre-authorization was left unchecked). Your Localization Manager (or you, if you have access) reviews and authorizes it. Once authorized, linguists translate your strings. You can check progress any time from the Status sub-tab in the plugin, or in Smartling directly.

Visual context

When you submit content for translation, the plugin automatically generates static visual context. This provides a fixed snapshot of the source design that does not update in real time as translations are entered. It allows linguists working in the CAT Tool to see the original design and the placement of each string, helping them translate more accurately.

Check translation status and apply translations

Once a job is complete in Smartling, you can apply translations from within Figma Buzz from the Translate → Status sub-tab. Like submitting content for translation, it’s a guided flow with multiple steps. 

1. In the plugin, open the Translate tab and click the Status sub-tab.
2. Under Linked jobs, the plugin lists the Smartling jobs linked to this asset, with a count (e.g. 1 found). Each job shows its name and a status badge (Awaiting Authorization, In Progress, Completed, etc.). 
3. To open a job in the Smartling dashboard, click the ↗ icon next to it.
4. Click Next.
   
   
5. The plugin shows each row with its available locales. Expand a row to see them. Each locale displays its name and code (e.g. fr-BE, it-IT, ja-JP, fr-FR), a status badge, and when it was submitted (e.g. Submitted: Jun 4 · Not yet applied).
   
   
6. Select the locales you want to apply translations for, then click Apply [N] translations.
7. You'll see a processing message ending in a Done badge, with a confirmation message (e.g. “Applied 10 text nodes”).
8. Click Done. 
9. For each locale you apply, the plugin creates a new translated version of your design alongside the original. One new asset is created per locale, named [Original asset name] [locale-id] (e.g. Social Post [fr-FR]). Your original (source) asset stays exactly as it was.

FAQ: What if I apply translations before the job is complete?
Some strings may stay in the source language because there is no translation yet. Wait until all languages are complete in Smartling, then click Apply [N] translations again.

Next steps

After you apply translations, you may notice the translated text is larger than the source, so the design or layout may need adjusting to accommodate it. Languages such as German, Russian, and French often expand 20–30%, so buttons and headers may need more space. Desktop publishing (DTP) may be needed depending on file complexity, formatting, and content structure. This is when it's best to have a DTP process in place. Learn more in How to Perform Desktop Publishing in Smartling. 

Want to catch layout problems before you translate for real? Use Pseudotranslate in the Tools tab to preview how much your text will expand.

Alternative request translation flow: manual export & import

Instead of submitting content through the plugin, you can manually export your asset's source strings as a JSON file, upload that file to Smartling for translation, and then import the translated file back into your asset. You would follow the standard process of creating a job in Smartling using the exported file.

Export (manual)

Download your asset’s source strings as a JSON file, useful for offline review or handing content to another system.

1. In the plugin, open the Tools tab and click the Export sub-tab.
2. Select rows, click Next, then Select strings (search and All / None are available; e.g. 10 of 10 selected).
3. Click Export zip. A .zip downloads to your computer.
4. Unzip the file on your machine, then upload the JSON file to Smartling when creating a new job (or adding it to an existing job) in your Figma project, and authorize it for translation. 

Import (manual)

Apply a translated JSON file (exported from Smartling) directly to your asset, instead of pulling it through the Status flow.

1. Navigate to the job in Smartling and download the translated JSON file. 
2. Next, in the plugin, open the Tools tab and click the Import sub-tab.
3. Under Import translations, drop the JSON file onto the drop zone, or click to browse.
4. Click Apply.

Troubleshooting