By default, translation values can be as long as needed, but you can set limits on a per-key basis to control the maximum number of characters.
Setting character limit
Setting character limit for a single key
To limit the maximum character length of translations for a specific key, open the project editor, find the key you want to modify, and click on its name:
This opens the key editor. Go to the Advanced tab and adjust the Character limit setting:
Once you are ready, click Save.
Setting character limit for multiple keys
To set a character limit for multiple keys at once, select the keys in the editor by ticking the checkboxes next to their names. Then, choose Character limit: set/unset from the bulk actions dropdown.
Enter the desired limit in the text input and click Proceed.
Unsetting character limit
To remove a character limit, simply enter 0 as the new character limit. You can do this either in the key editor or through the bulk actions menu.
Translation editor and character limit
When a character limit is set, it will be displayed in the translation editor:
The counter shows the current translation length and the maximum allowed length. If the limit is reached, the counter will turn orange:
At this point, you won’t be able to enter any more characters into the text input.
Finding translations violating the limit
To find all translations that exceed the character limit, use the "Translation — is longer than allowed by" filter. Enter 1 as the value, and you'll see all translations that go over the limit by at least one character.
Special notes and known limitations
Setting a character limit will not automatically trim existing translations. If a key already has a translation that exceeds the limit, it won’t be shortened.
If you set a character limit on a key and then update translations via import (with Replace modified values enabled), bulk actions, automations, find and replace, or Update translation API endpoint, the translation will still be updated even if it exceeds the character limit.
However, if a user tries to edit an imported translation that is longer than the character limit, they won’t be able to save it until the value is within the limit.
The character limit is ignored if the translation is updated as part of a Gengo order.