Projects
Projects are translation environments for the various types of content you want to translate.
For example, there could be a Project for the translation of your legal documents, a separate Project for your marketing assets, a Project for your website translation etc.
Structuring your account into Projects ensures that your content is organized in Smartling.
Projects can also be used to provide a dedicated workspace for each department within your organization that want to handle translations in a decentralized and independent way.
Each Project can be configured with a set of languages and linguistic assets, as well as your preferred translation provider and workflow, which help you save valuable time during the creation of new translation orders.
Continue reading for more information on when to create a new Project and configuring a Project.
Jobs
Within each Project, you then create translation orders, which are called Jobs in Smartling.
For each Job, you can choose who should work on the translation by selecting the right workflow. Before initiating the translation of a Job, you can see a cost estimate directly in Smartling.
Jobs typically have a due date (or deadline), so your linguists know exactly when the translations need to be delivered.
For more information on creating and managing translation Jobs, read Create a Job / Request Translation and Manage Translation from the Job Details.
Projects vs Jobs
Projects provide the right environment for the translation of your various content types.
They allow you to pre-configure default settings, such as the right set of languages, linguistic assets, workflows, people, and translation providers, making the creation of your actual translation Jobs a quick and easy process.
Jobs, on the other hand, are the translation events that occur within a Project. They enable you to manage your translation budget and timeline directly in the Smartling platform, by allowing you to set up a due date and check the estimated translation cost in advance.
When to Create a New Project
There is no limit to the number of Projects you can create in your Smartling account. However, the number of Projects needed for your account depends on a few considerations:
Content Types
Your legal content likely requires a very different tone and terminology than your creative marketing assets. Separate Projects allow you to set clear guidelines for the translation for each content type, so your linguists can meet your expectations and deliver the right tone.
Translation Memory
A translation memory is a database of your translations. Smartling allows you to re-use previous translations to save on your translation cost. If your preference is to keep the translation memory for each content type and tone separate, we recommend creating a separate Project for them.
Language Configuration
A Project can only have one source language. If you are translating content from multiple source languages, a Project for each source language is required.
How your content gets into Smartling
Whether it's by a simple drag and drop file upload, or a more complex API, Connector, or GDN integration, a separate Project should be used for each.
People
Creating separate Projects for different teams of people allows them to work more independently, with separate workflows, translation Agencies and localization processes.
For more information on how to create a Project, read Create & Configure Projects.