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XLIFF 2.0

 

Extension .xml, .xlf, .xliff
Smartling Identifier xliff2
Example File (see example below)
Resources

Background on XLIFF

OASIS specification xliff 2.0

Example File

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>

<xliff xmlns="urn:oasis:names:tc:xliff:document:2.0"

    xmlns:xmrk="urn:xmarker"

    xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"

    xsi:schemaLocation="xliff_core_2.0.xsd" version="2.0"

    srcLang="en-US"

    trgLang="uk-UA">

  <file id="description.properties">

<unit id="1">

   <segment>

     <source>Various types of model.</source>

     <target></target>

   </segment>

</unit>

<unit id="2">

   <segment>

     <source>Machine Learning has drawn a lot of attention.</source>

   </segment>

   <ignorable>

     <source> </source>

   </ignorable>

   <segment>

     <source>Then we introduce the needed mathematical notation.</source>

   </segment>

</unit>

  </file>

</xliff>

Smartling supports .xlf, .xliff, and .xml files that use the XML Localization Interchange File Format v 2.0 (XLIFF2).

Articulate XLIFF 2.0 is not supported, meaning you cannot upload a translation XLIFF 2.0 file to Articulate Storyline. You must translate XLIFF 1.2 and choose the articulate option for translations to be compatible with Articulate import. 

Visual Context

Visual context is not automatically provided for XLIFF files. To provide visual context for your XLIFF file, you can upload a context file manually, or integrate with Smartling’s JavaScript Library, or the Context Capture Google Chrome Extension, or an API.

An alternative method of providing visual context is to allow translators to view the raw XLIFF file as context. Large files can split into chunks of strings or kilobytes by your Smartling Representative.

To enable raw file image context for a project:

  • Go to Settings > Contexts
  • Under Use file content as visual context, switch XLIFF on

String Instructions

Smartling automatically captures XLIFF notes and makes them translator instructions. See xliff_note_to_instruction for more information.

Excluding Strings

To exclude content from translation, you can use XLIFF’s translate attribute. To exclude a string from translation, set translate=no. See XLIFF Resource Documentation for details on the translate attribute.

Plurals in XLIFF 2.0 Files

XLIFF 2.0 does not support plural translation.

Standard Placeholder Format

See Placeholders in Resource Files for more on placeholders.

XML Characters

The following XML character are always escaped. You can control this by using the entity_escaping directive.

Character (character name) Escape sequence

< (less-than)

&lt;

> (greater-than)

&gt;

& (ampersand)

&amp;

' (apostrophe or single quote)

 &apos;

" (double-quote)

  &quot;

Return Untranslated Strings as Empty

If using File API to download Custom XLIFF files from Smartling, the parameter includeOriginalStrings=false can be set to return an empty string if no translation is available. By default, Smartling returns the original source string if no translation is available, meaning the parameter is set to includeOriginalStrings=true

Directives

File directives are supported, both inline and via our API.  Directives are specified in comments within the files, in the following format:

Inline File Format

<!-- smartling.[directive_name] = [value] -->

API Parameter

smartling.[directive_name] = [value] 

Here are examples of supported directives for XLIFF 2:

Control String Length

Directive

xliff_segment_code_strategy
Values
  • string
  • span
Smartling Translate Supported Yes
Description

Controls how long strings should be parsed; either as a separate string or as one long string.

string - every segment is ingested as a separate original string. 
span - all segments are ingested as part of one string. Each segment is encoded with <span> with attribute t="seg", so they can be reordered in a translation.
Examples

<!-- smartling.segment_code_strategy=span -->

Smartling will parse a long string into one long string.

 

Change String Parsing

Directive string_format
Values

Currently, supported formats are:

  • HTML - string value will be parsed as HTML
  • TXT - string value will be parsed as plain text with strings separated by new lines.
  • Markdown - string value will be parsed as Markdown.
  • @default - (note the leading at-sign) string value will be treated as simple text.
Smartling Translate Supported Yes
Description

Specifies the format of strings for the specified paths, and can enable HTML inside another file format.

It is important to consider the side effects of HTML parsing, including losing keys, and precedence rules for other formats.
Examples <!-- smartling.string_format =html-->

Smartling parses values of all nodes as HTML.
Use Case

If your document has disparate kinds of strings that are used in different contexts, for example, if your single XLIFF file contains application UI strings, with standard string formatting and placeholders, together with one or few keys that are just giant HTML documents (example; TOS or Privacy Policy).

 

Reference <originalData> Elements

Directive original_data_type
Values

Currently, supported formats are:

  • html - <originalData> elements will be referenced and parsed as HTML.
  • none - <originalData> elements will not be referenced.
Smartling Translate Supported Yes
Description

Allows for <originalData> XLIFF elements to be referenced.

When this directive is set to "html" and the directive "string_format" is also set to "html", <originalData> XLIFF elements will be referenced to enable block and inline tag parsing, similar to raw HTML parsing.
Examples <!-- smartling.original_data_type = html-->

Smartling references <originalData> elements and parses them as HTML. Please note that in this example, the directive “string_format” should also be set to “html”.

 

Translator Instructions

Directive

xliff_notes_to_instruction
Values
  • file
  • group
  • unit (default)
  • none
Description

Controls where translator instructions are located in the file.

By default, all notes inside a unit are ingested as translation instructions.

none - disables the ingestion of translator instructions.
Examples

<!-- smartling.xliff_notes_to_instruction=group, unit -->

The translator instructions will consist of group-level notes and unit-level notes.

 

Standard Placeholder Format

Directive

placeholder_format
Values NONE; C; IOS; PYTHON; JAVA; YAML; QT, RESX
Smartling Translate Supported Yes
Description Used to specify a standard placeholder format.
Examples  <!-- smartling.placeholder_format = IOS -->

Specifies iOS-style placeholders for the file.

 

Custom Placeholder Format

Directive  placeholder_format_custom
Values 1) Custom Java regular expression.
2) NONE - disables any current custom placeholders
Smartling Translate Supported Yes
Description Specifies a custom placeholder format. Any text in your file matching the regular expression you provide will be captured as a placeholder.
Examples

<!-- smartling.placeholder_format_custom = REGEX-->

<!-- smartling.placeholder_format_custom=\{([^}]+)\} -->

Any characters surrounded by curly brackets, e.g., {first name}, will be treated as a placeholder.

 

See Placeholders in Resource Files for more on placeholders.

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
manipulate it during translation.

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

 

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