Translations and review
Translate a document into another locale in the dashboard, see which fields still fall back to the default locale, and mark a translation reviewed once you have checked it against its source.
Why a translation can be unfinished or out of date
A site in several languages raises two questions about every translation, and they are different questions. The first is whether the translation is complete: does it say everything the original says, or do some fields still show the original's words? The second is whether it is current: was it checked against the original as the original reads today, or has the original changed since?
Quillet answers the first question with fallback. A translation does not have to be finished to be useful. Any field it does not fill is taken from the default locale, one field at a time, so a German page with a translated headline and an untranslated footer shows readers the German headline and the English footer rather than a gap. The dashboard marks every field filled this way, so nothing stays untranslated by accident.
It answers the second with review. When you mark a translation reviewed, the CMS records which version of the source you checked it against. When the source changes after that, or the translation does, the translation is flagged again. Locales and fallback explains both ideas in full.
How fallback and review show in the dashboard
The locale select
The page bar has a select with the project's locales, such as en-US and de-DE. A locale the document has is ticked. One it does not have reads, for example, de-DE (not translated). Choosing a locale opens that translation of the same document.
A translation that does not exist yet
Opening a locale the document does not have shows "This document has no de-DE translation yet." and "Readers asking for de-DE are being served the en-US document below.", with the default locale's text underneath and a button, Start the de-DE translation. What the new translation starts with depends on the kind of document:
- A structured document or page starts with nothing of its own. Every field shows as inherited from the default locale until you write it, so you can see exactly what is untranslated.
- A Markdown or plain-text document starts empty, and the whole document falls back to the default locale until you write it.
Inherited fields
On a structured translation, a card beside the form says how many fields are still inherited, such as "2 fields inherited from en-US", and lists them. Each of those fields carries an Inherited from en-US badge. Hover over the badge, or move to it with Tab, to read "This field has no de-DE value; readers get the en-US value until you add one." Press a field's name in the list, and the en-US value is copied into your translation as a starting point.
Some fields are shared across locales. An engineer has marked them as the same in every language, such as a link or a product code. A translation does not show these fields, and the form says "Shared across locales." in their place.
The Translations card
In a project with more than one locale, every document has a Translations card beside it. The card lists each locale with its state:
- Source: the default locale, which the others are measured against.
- Missing: no translation yet.
- Partial: a translation that still inherits some fields, with how many, such as "1 field inherited".
- Translated: every field has a value of its own.
Each translation also carries Needs review or Reviewed. For the locale you have open, the card says why, in one of these sentences:
- "Not yet reviewed against the source."
- "Needs review: the source changed since this translation was reviewed (reviewed against v2; the source is v3 now)."
- "Needs review: this translation was edited after it was reviewed."
- "Reviewed against source v2 just now."
Everything in the card is "Measured on drafts.": it describes the latest saved versions, not what is published.
How to
Start a translation
- Open the document, and in the page bar's locale select choose the new locale, such as de-DE (not translated).
- Press Start the de-DE translation. The translation is saved as a new draft.
- Fill the fields, or write the text, in the new language.
- Press Save.
Translate the remaining fields
- Open the translation and find the card that counts the inherited fields.
- Press a field's name to copy the default locale's value in, then translate it in the form. Or type straight into the field.
- Press Save. The count goes down. At zero the card says "Nothing inherited from en-US", and the Translations card says Translated.
Review a translation
- Open the translation that Needs review.
- Press Open the source. The default locale opens in a new tab, so you can read the two side by side.
- Correct the translation wherever it no longer matches, and press Save. While anything is unsaved, Mark reviewed asks you to "Save your changes first."
- Press Mark reviewed. The card now says "Reviewed against source v3", with the source's version number at that moment.
Publish a translation
- Press Publish on the translation. Each locale is published on its own.
- Read the dialog. When you publish the default locale, it says when readers of other locales get it too, because those locales have no published translation of their own.
To take a translation down, press ⋮ (Publishing actions) and choose Unpublish. Readers of that locale then get the default locale's version again.
Limits
- A list falls back as a whole. If a translation has its own list of blocks or items, every entry comes from the translation; if it has none, the whole list comes from the default locale. Entries are not matched one by one.
- Any saved change to the source flags every translation for review, even a corrected typo in a field that a translation does not use. Review cannot yet tell which fields changed.
- A field marked as shared does not stay shared inside a list. There, each translation keeps a value of its own.
- Review and completeness are measured on drafts, not on what is published.
- An owner adds a locale to a project, or removes one, in Settings. A locale that still has documents in any environment cannot be removed.
- The dashboard does not translate. It shows what is translated and what is not; the words come from you or your translators.