Translating into several languages
A document can be translated into several languages at once. Each language is its own version, but they’re linked and share the same source text.
On this page
How do I add or switch a target language?
At setup — when you upload, paste, or start from a template — the target picker lets you choose several languages, and the document is created in each. Later, add more from the language pill near the top right (showing e.g. “EN → DE, FR, ES”) or the version bar beneath the title.
The version bar is a row of tabs, one per language — click to jump between them. On the dashboard, every version of a document folds into a single card with a chip per language.
How do I keep every language in sync with the source?
There’s no fixed “original” — any version’s source can be edited. When one version’s source no longer matches the others, a Re-sync source button appears; clicking it makes every other version match the one you’re on, and their changed blocks come back untranslated so you can re-translate just those.
Can I run a workflow across every language at once?
Choose All languages when running a workflow (or the header’s Translate/Proofread “all versions” actions) and Transept fires it once per language version. One progress card tracks the whole run — each language is a lane that moves from Queued — waiting for a free slot (languages run a few at a time; the rest start automatically) through live progress to done. Click a lane to jump to that language’s document.
You get one notification as each language finishes, and a single summary when everything is done — including how many languages have findings waiting for your review.
Stopping the run from the progress card stops all languages at once.
How do I export every language version at once?
Use All languages (.docx) — it is the top option in the export menu and appears only on multi-language documents, giving you one .docx per language. Every other export option acts only on the version you are currently viewing. The interchange formats differ: TMX, XLIFF, and CSV each put every language into a single file. See Exports & integrations.
If I add a language later, does it translate itself?
Only if you ask. New language versions start untranslated — translate each from its own editor with the usual Translate button, or tick Translate immediately when you add the language. Either way, nothing runs or bills until you confirm.
Are my language versions one document or several?
Both, deliberately. Anything belonging to the work as a whole covers every version at once: filing one language version into a project takes all its siblings with it, a project counts the group as one document, and assigning a client applies to every version. Anything that is a separate deliverable stays per version: work status and due date are set per language, and each language is its own card on the CRM board.
Why does a run say a glossary does not include a language?
Because one of the attached glossaries has no translations for a language in that run. It is a note, not a blocker: the Run button stays enabled, and that glossary still contributes its do-not-translate flags and variant forms for the language. Add the language on the glossary’s page and fill its translations first if you want full term coverage. A style guide written for another language gets a similar note, and there the shared voice applies regardless. See Glossaries.
Still stuck? Ask Literess in the app, or write to [email protected].