Localization Overview
- XLIFF Package
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The XML Localization Interchange File Format (XLIFF) is a standardized document format used for localization. Because an XLIFF package contains a single XLF file for your entire publication, XLIFF packages are useful for the localization of small publications and for projects that can be completed by one translator. An XLIFF package can contain only textual content and cannot include any media files, like screenshots. If you use XLIFF packages and need to send media files for translation, use the media package. Once you create an XLIFF package, you can download it as a ZIP file and send it to your Localization Services Provider (LSP).
This package is an integral part of Heretto CCMS and comes with your Heretto subscription.
- Source Package
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A source package contains both textual and media content, like screenshots, in its original format, like DITA and PNG files. Because of that, source packages are useful for the localization of large publications or projects that need to be completed by multiple translators. A source package is an all-in-one package type. Once you create a source package, you can download it as a ZIP file and send it to your LSP.
This package is an integral part of Heretto CCMS and comes with your Heretto subscription.
- Media Package
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A media package bundles all media files related to a publication, such as screenshots or diagrams. It contains no textual content. It is useful for projects in which media content needs to be localized separately from textual content or when only media content needs to be re-localized. A media package is also a complementary package to the XLIFF package and XTM Integration as they are text-only packages. Once you create a media package, you can download it as a ZIP file and send it to your LSP.
This package is an integral part of Heretto CCMS and comes with your Heretto subscription.
- XTM Integration
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XTM is a third-party cloud Translation Management System (TMS) that Heretto is integrated with. An XTM package can contain only textual content and cannot include any media files, like screenshots. It is useful especially to those teams that do not want to manually send ZIP files for localization. Once you create an XTM package, you send it for localization directly from Heretto with a click of a button.
This integration is an integral part of Heretto CCMS; however, to use it, you need to purchase an XTM license.
Heretto CCMS enables you to manage your existing localization jobs comfortably from the Localization Jobs dashboard available in the Content Library.
Important Considerations
Keep these considerations in mind when working with localization packages:
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We recommend creating localization jobs for released publications (maps). When you create a release for a map, you essentially create an uneditable archive of a specific version of that map that you can localize, branch, download, publish, or view. If you create a localization job from a release, you can safely continue editing the publication in the master branch while translators work on the localization. Using this method, issues during localization package upload to a release are unlikely. If, on the other hand, you create a localization job directly on an unreleased (standard) map in the master branch, then continue editing it, when you receive localized content and upload it to Heretto CCMS, you are likely to get upload issues related to unmatched content segments. Those segments would be the ones you added after creating the localization job.
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Before you create a localization job, resolve any content issues in your publication, for example, invalid structures, broken links, unresolved content key references (
conkeyref). If you create localization jobs from releases (recommended), resolve any content issues in your publication before creating a release. Failing to resolve issues in your publication before creating a localization job or release is likely to cause issues when uploading localized content and publishing it. Typically, you create a release for a publication (map) when it is ready for localization or delivery to your audience. -
Make sure that you upload your localization job in the right place. For example, if you created a localization job from a release (recommended), upload it in that release. If you created it for an unreleased publication, upload it there. There are a couple of easy ways to make sure you upload your localized content in the right place:
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Upload your localization jobs from the Localization Jobs dashboard available in the Content Library. The Localization Jobs dashboard gathers all localization jobs in one place and enables you to perform any relevant actions without the need of finding a relevant publication first. Use the localization job number in the localization package ZIP file to find the right package.
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Before uploading localized content, verify that your localization job was created for a released publication. To do that, open the ZIP file with localized content and go down the folder structure (no need to unzip the file first). If the localization job was created from a release, it contains a releases folder followed by an alphanumeric Universally Unique Identifier (UUID), for example, releases\ce032b53-b825-4089-bcc2-698cd60c188a.
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Do not mix localization packages in one publication. For example, it is not recommended to use a source package for a publication then switch to an XLIFF package for that same publication. Each package segments your content differently. If you switch packages, you might run into issues caused by non-matching content segments in your target language content. Exception: You can safely use XLIFF and media packages in one publication as they are designed to complement each other.
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Avoid uploading very large packages (500 MB or more). This applies to XLIFF, source, and media packages. Heretto enables you to create a single localization job for multiple target languages which can make your localization packages very large. Uploading such a large localization package might fail due to the sheer amount of data that needs to be processed in a single upload operation. Instead of uploading one large package, we recommend splitting it into several smaller packages.
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Once you have uploaded a locale, you cannot entirely delete or remove it from the CCMS. Keep this in mind if you are performing any testing or other explorations with the localization feature in Heretto CCMS.