Smartling is our localization platform that is used to translate pages on our website, emails and landing pages in Marketo, and various marketing collateral. The integrated marketing team is primarily responsible for our localization initiatives and translations.
#mktgops)support@smartling.com - This will create a ticket for the Support Team (teams in NY and Dublin, Ireland).translation@smartling.com - This will go to the Language Services Team who manages the translationsVideos
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Project Manager needs to be given access to specific projects to be able to see and modify anything in that project. Account Owners can add Project Managers. Project Managers can add additional Project Managers to the projects they have access to.Requesters, the Requester Portal feature must be enabled for your account.See more details on Smartling's help article regarding user permissions.
To request access to Smartling, open an access request issue.
In your request, be sure to indicate if you need access to submit jobs for translation, or if you will be an internal reviewer. Standard access for job submission is granted as a Project Manager to allow you to authorize your jobs. Internal Reviewers are granded Translation Resource access.
Smartling does not allow one account to request translation and review translations. If you will be doing both, indicate that in your request as two accounts are required.
Our current contract with Smartling allows access to any language we require. However, we only have the following languages set-up. If additional languages are required, open an issue for Marketing Ops and it will be reviewed.
Translation costs are managed from a centralized budget. Please document your requests and submissions so we can track them against the available budget. If you are planning a large translation job (more than $3k based on Smartling in-platform estimates), please ask for assistance in the #mktgops Slack channel.
Please use the follow naming convention: Language Abbreviation - Campaign Name or Name of Asset - FYFQ - DRI or Team. This is only applicable to the Documents and Marketo projects as the GDN is handled differently. Where possible, please include as much detail as you can. The assets submitted through the Marketo project will have an auto-generated name due to the connector. Once your Marketo job shows up in the Smartling UI, click into the job and rename it according to the naming conventions above. It is important to follow these standard naming conventions so finance can accurately allocate translation costs across teams.
Total word count (word count of the source file/language, not the translated file/language) multiplied by the per word rate (rate differs based on language) minus discounted rates from matches on previous translations (repetitions). You can view the cost estimate for your job in Smartling before you authorize it for translation. You will record this number in the tracker above.
There are two Due Date fields in Smartling.
SLS Due Date is the date the translator is expected to be done with the translation. You cannot edit this date.Overall Job Due Date is the date that you expect internal review and DTP (if applicable) to be complete.Smartling categorizes translation jobs by the integration type (Marketo, documents, GDN). This is because each of these integration types parse the strings differently based on the file format (example: HTML vs. PDF). Before you request a translation, you must first start at the integration type and know what type of document format you are translating. You also need to consider the appriopriate workflow for your translation. Below are the options for workflows:
Detailed instructions and expectations for reviewers can be found on the Smartling Reviewers page.
If you are using a workflow above that requires internal review, please follow the process below.
#smartling-reviewers Slack channel to find out who has the time to pick up the job before assigning it.| Language | Reviewers |
|---|---|
| German | @KSetschin, @JulianBede, @jkunzmann, @ddornseiff, @mbrandner1 |
| Russian | @KSetschin, @V_Rusin, @dzalbo, @igor.drozdov |
| Japanese | @toshitakaito, @yuki_murakami, @Tea_Tatsuki, @mueda1, @skawaguchi1, @Yohanesses |
| Korean | @taehohyun, @iyoo, @kko4, @Yohanesses |
| French | @pgascouvaillancourt |
| Portuguese (Brazilian) | @lvieiradossantos, @ricardoamarilla, @lvieiradossantos |
| Spanish (LATAM) | @jaime, @ricardoamarilla, @lvieiradossantos |
| Italian | @Valelomby @agulina |
Enable email notifications to help stay on top of content changes during the translation workflow process. Notification settings can be customized on a per project basis.
You can reply to issues via email.
Projects are organized by the integration type:
Please note: It is recommended that if you are translating a design-heavy .pdf you submit the .idml file to Smartling instead of the PDF. After the translation, the PDF won't typically render properly and it is very challenging to fix. Smartling offers DTP services and will design the translated file for you for an additional fee and they will return translated design files and PDF. If you are using DTP, you must submit an .idml file. If you are using DTP, follow the submission instructions under Design Files. If you would prefer our internal design team complete the design or do not require design, submit only the content in a .docx,.csv, or .srt file, using the instructions in this section.
Jobs. This takes you to all translation jobs regardless of what project they reside in.Request Translation button in the top-right.Language Abbreviation - Title of asset or campaign name - FYFQ - Team/individual DRI - Example: KO - Benefits of Single Application CICD eBook - FY22Q2 - Campaigns/JTDescription, paste the link of the epic or issue related to the translation job.Reference number field, enter the Allocadia ID for your team's translation budget. The Content team does not have an ID and can leave this blank.Save Job and Continue.Authorize.DTP as your workflow and follow the instructions under Design Files.Confirm.Jobs tab from the GitLab Documents project.Files tab from within the job.Download Files link.Subfolders for languages - file name is not ammended, remains the same as the source fileLanguages in file names - adds the locale code at the end of the file nameSubfolders for languages and languages in file namesConfirm.Job Attachments section in the sidebar of the job.The Marketo project is where you will submit Marketo assets (emails, landing pages, forms) to Smartling for translation. The Marketo connector is a mirror-image of our Marketo instance and is updated in real-time.
Important: The original source asset must be available in the same location from where the translation was requested for the connector to successfully create the translated version in your Marketo instance.
When you submit Marketo jobs, the jobs will be available in the general Jobs tab in the platform and within the Marketo connector. Marketo jobs will not have the same name as jobs submitted through the Documents since these jobs are automated.
In the right side pane window shows the various Marketo assets that are either approved to be submitting for translation or in draft. Clicking the link icon opens a new tab to login into Marketo to view that particular asset.
You can submit one or multiple Marketo assets at a time to submit to Smartling for translation. Select the language you wish to translate your Marketo asset.
Please note: If you only select one language to translate your Marketo asset, Smartling will queue up the other languages as well.
Only authorize the or approve the strings for the language you want. Smartling queues up the other languages for translation to account for future use cases but you will still need to follow the regular process for submitting Marketo jobs through the connector for those other languages. If you were to authorize translation for the other languages on a particular Marketo job in Smartling, it will translate those assets, but it will not return them to Marketo per the connector. You must submit any Marketo assets from the connector and not via the jobs menu.
Auto-authorize - automatically approves any Marketo job submission for translation (currently turned off).
When the translation job is complete, Smartling will automatically download those translated assets back to Marketo. The chron scheduler in Smartling looks for completed Marketo jobs every hour and pushes them to Marketo. The original source language asset is not changed, a translated copy is created and the file name is appended with the abbreviated language code (e.g. French = fr).
The original source asset must be available in the same location from where the translation was requested for the connector to successfully create the translated version in your Marketo instance. Only submit approved (not draft) Marketo assets. Check out the help article for more info.
A note about translations directly from Marketo: Our experience has been that this is more expensive as strings that you do not need translated are pulled in (for example, tokens, URLS, image names, etc). You can manually exclude these strings, but it is time-consuming. Be aware of this if you use the Marketo Connector and try to exclude strings that do not require translation or submit a file through Documents instead if it is a smaller job. If the job is large, the Marketo Connector will save you a significant amount of time.
Projects and choose GitLab - Marketo.Marketo tab under Account Settings.Translate drop down, select the type of Marketo asset you wish to translate (snippets, forms, landing pages, emails, programs).Request Translation button.Request Translation. By default, the Marketo connector is configured to send your translation requests to your authorization queue. You will need to authorize the content to send it to Translation Resources.Exclude Strings functionality.In the Marketo connector within Smartling, Translation Progress will show you all the Marketo jobs submitted for translation. The Applied column is a date stamp showing when Smartling pushed that particular asset back to Marketo. If a Marketo translation job is completed and it's still showing up in the Translation Progress queue, you can select it from this menu and click the Export to Marketo button. Completed Marketo translation will get pushed back to Marketo every hour. The asset should will be pushed to wherever the source file is located within Marketo. It will not overwrite the original file. A translated copy is created and the locale code will be appended to translated asset.
Each job is parsed differently in Smartling depending on the file type. So if a similar string exists both in a web page (HTML) and a document (PDF), Smartling may not match those strings in the same way. As a result, we recommend opening a job per file type- you can have as many languages on one job as needed.
You can request a translation job either from the main Jobs tab in the top navigation or from the project level the job will be conducted in based on the file type (Marketo, GDN, Documents).
All saved jobs must be authorized before they are submitted for translation.
Smartling does not support Google sheets as a file type. If you are working within Google sheets, you will need to export as a CSV file. This has been successful for many files.
The other option is to export as an Excel file. After exporting, open the document in TextEdit or a similar application to check for any trailing commas. Any trailing commas should be removed because Smartling will not properly parse the file.
File directives are used to define the location of specific data in a file. CSV requires the use of directives with any upload to Smartling. Other supported file types listed above do not necessary require directives, depending on how you want to import the translation. If you want to simply upload a separate file for each language, including the source, directives are not required (excluding CSV). Importing one file with multiple languages will require the addition of file directives to ensure that Smartling can read where the keys are located in the file, and where the content you are importing is located in the file. See the help article on CSVs for more info on what directives to use in your file.
The DTP workflow in Smartling will format your file to support the new translation. Desktop Publishing in Smartling will take the new translations and apply them to your design files and return back a formatted file ready to use. Design files can be requested in the #marketing-design slack channel. Below is the process to follow if you wish for DTP to format your file:
Jobs. This takes you to all translation jobs regardless of what project they reside in.Request Translation button in the top-right.Language Abbreviation - Title of asset or campaign name - FYFQ - Team/individual DRI - Example: KO - Benefits of Single Application CICD eBook - FY22Q2 - Campaigns/JT.idml file to be translated. Do not submit a PDF, this workflow requires the design files.Description, paste the link of the epic or issue related to the translation job. Enter "Please return designed PDF" in addition to the epic or issue.Reference number field, enter the Allocadia ID for your team's translation budget. The Content team does not have an ID and can leave this blank.Save Job and Continue.Authorize.DTP workflow. This workflow will translate your content, allow it go to review with our internal reviewers and then go onto the graphic designer who will format it.Confirm.Job Attachments section.Upload AttachmentsUpload.Job Attachments section in the sidebar of the Job.You can upload additional files, screenshots, etc. to provide context to the translators about the job. The more context you provide around a job the better.
If any strings are rejected from the translation job, those would appear as issues. If the translators have any difficulties or questions about the source file, these would appear as issues as well. If an issue is raised on a job, all account owners and project managers for that project will be notified. Translators will wait for a day for a response but will continue the job if no response is provided. Once the issue is resolved, please mark the issue as Resolved.
The History tab on a job provides detailed information about the activity that has occured with the job. You also have the option to Download Translation Activity Report. The same history is available on the individual string level.
A translation memory is a saved record of previously translated content. Each time a translation is saved in Smartling, it is written to a translation memory.
To provide feedback about a particular translation to store in our translation memory, send an email with the translation job and detailed feedback to translations@smartling.com and copy our customer success manager.
A string that perfectly matches a string in the translation memory, including any tags, placeholders, etc. SmartMatch compares new strings against existing translations in your leverage configuration to automatically apply translations to strings you've translated before.
The process of adapting content from one language to another without losing consistency in tone, intent, and style. Unlike translation, where words or phrases are converted from one language into another, transcreation is based on the conversion of the essence of a message from one language to another, rather than verbatim. See the Transcreation Tool help article for more info.
An approach to estimating the cost and effort required to translate a job that accounts for Translation Memory Leverage and Repetitions. Calculated by multiplying each word with the corresponding fuzzy match rate.
For example, let’s assume your job has ten source words, and that for words with an 85-94.9% fuzzy match, you will pay 60% of the per-word-rate. If all ten words fall into this fuzzy tier, there are six weighted words in the job. The reason is that 10 x 0.60 = 6.
When Smartling uses an existing Translation Memory (TM) to match source content with existing translations in the TM, it will often find word matches that are less than 100% identical. These are called "fuzzy matches" and are represented by the percentage to which they match (typical fuzzy match percentages are 50-99%). Translators can see these fuzzy matches in the CAT tool and choose to edit them instead of translating from scratch.
Computer assisted translation tool. This is where all of the translating, editing, and reviewing takes place. See CAT Tool for more information.