This article will guide you through the process of effectively utilizing multilingual files in your Bureau Works projects.

1. Introduction
2. Requirements
  2.1 Notes
3. Creating a project using a multilingual file
4. Translating a multilingual project
5. Downloading the translated multilingual file

1. Introduction

A multilingual file is a digital file that contains text or data in more than one language. These files often utilize specific formatting or coding to separate content by language.

Working with a multilingual file in your project can expedite the process of translating the same content into multiple different languages, as we can use a single file in project creation, work on translating multiple work units, and then download a single file containing all the translations, minimizing the need for pre- and post-manual file processing.

Currently, Bureau Works projects support multilingual files in .xlsx format only.

2. Requirements

In order for a .xlsx to properly function as a multilingual file in Bureau Works, some parameters have to be observed.

The multilingual file will work based on the sheet columns, making each column a different language. In addition to marking the option for a multilingual file, the file requirements are as follows:

1. The first line must always be the locale code, compatible with BWX.
2. If the spreadsheet already contains target locales, the corresponding lines need to be filled with some placeholders. Without the placeholder, even if the segment is translated in the editor, it will not be recomposed in the downloaded translated file. The placeholder can be a period, a dash, filler text, etc.
3. The content has to be in a single sheet tab.

2.1 Notes

• Source and target language column order is irrelevant.
• The first line of the sheet (locale codes) is not translated.
• Each target language reads only its corresponding content column.
• Downloading from any target language with complete work units (WUs) generates a file containing all translated languages.
• If the project has more target languages than the spreadsheet, Bureau Works creates WUs with placeholders in the missing languages.
• If the project lacks a locale from the spreadsheet, the corresponding column remains unchanged in the .xlsx.
• Since WUs utilize placeholders, pre-translation requires overwriting existing content. Ensure the "Translate empty segments only" option is unchecked.

3. Creating a project using a multilingual file

Once you have prepared your multilingual .xlsx file according to the guidelines outlined above, you can proceed to create a new project in Bureau Works. You can read more on project creation in our corresponding article: How to create a translation project in Bureau Works.

Create a new project and fill in the necessary information on Step 1. In this step, carefully select the target languages to guarantee correct translation of multilingual content.

On Step 2, upload your multilingual file.

Once the file completes its upload, click on it to expand its parameters.

With the expanded parameters, the Multilingual File option must be selected.

This step is essential for the correct creation of the project. It is from this point that the process of creating work units for each language and subsequently recomposing the translated file will be successfully carried out.

Complete the project creation.

4. Translating a multilingual project

When translating a multilingual project, you will notice that a separate work unit has been generated for each target language specified during creation.

As a prerequisite for multilingual file functionality, cells must be populated with placeholder characters. Consequently, the target segments will also be pre-filled with this content.

To guarantee that the pre-translation process effectively overwrites these placeholder characters, it is essential to verify and adjust the project configuration. Specifically, you should ensure that the "Translate empty segments only" option is deactivated. This setting will enable the pre-translation functionality to replace the existing content within the target segments.

Continue with the standard translation workflow for your files and submit your completed tasks.

5. Downloading the translated multilingual file

To retrieve the final translated multilingual file, the process is uncomplicated. Downloading a single work unit will yield a file that encompasses all translated languages, each segregated into its corresponding column.

When requesting the download of the translated file, it will include any segments that have not yet been confirmed, streamlining the process.

For this article, a template file with numerous configured columns was utilized, although only three languages were selected in the initial project setup. When opening the translated file, it is evident that only the columns corresponding to the selected languages contain translated content. The remaining columns remain unchanged.

If any questions were not answered in this article, please don't hesitate to contact our support team at help@bureauworks.com.