When translating your content manually, there are two workflow options you can choose from. You can either translate the content 'in-house' using your own internal resources or use the services of a translation vendor.
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File formats
We offer three translation file formats that can be used to translate your elearning:
Which one you use depends on your preferred workflow.
Translating in-house
When translating internally, it's usually best to use the CSV format.
About CSV
Comma separated value files (or CSV) are easier to work with than the other two options—they are fairly easy to read and can be opened in a spreadsheet for editing, making it a familiar format for most internal teams.
When using a CSV, you should expect to be dealing with the text's HTML as well as the text itself. HTML defines how the text is formatted in your course. For example, if is is bold or italicised. You should ignore the HTML tags and change only the text between them.
See Editing a translation CSV for more guidance.
Working with a vendor
If you're working with a vendor, you'll most likely need to export an XLIFF file. However, there may be some vendors who prefer to use the JSON format.
We don't recommend trying to edit these files yourself—if you want to translate the course yourself, use CSV.
About XLIFF
XLIFF is an XML-based format specifically designed for translation that clearly separates source and target content while preserving formatting and context.
In its raw form, it's not easily readable by humans so it is best used when working with a vendor who can use and edit it in a specialised translation software.
About JSON
JSON is a lightweight, human-readable data format commonly used in software development. Although not specifically designed for localisation, its flexibility and popularity in web development make it a preferred choice for translation by some vendors over XLIFF.
As with XLIFF, it isn't easily readable by humans and is best used by vendors using specialist software.