The web translation editor is an integral part of the project editor in Lokalise. It allows you to add or update translation values manually, or by leveraging suggestions from the translation memory, machine translation engines, or Lokalise AI.
Getting started
To begin using the translation editor, log in to Lokalise. You’ll be greeted with the projects dashboard. Click on the name of the project you want to work on. If you don’t see the project, ensure you’re browsing the correct team. You can switch between teams by clicking on your avatar in the bottom left corner and selecting the appropriate team from the menu.
This will take you to the project editor, where you’ll see all translation keys, languages, and values listed. To start translating, simply click on any translation value:
If you prefer to focus on translating into a single language, you can switch to the bilingual view. This view is specifically designed for streamlined translation in one language at a time.
Translation editor features
Please note that depending on your project type, access rights, and subscription plan, the interface might look slightly different.
Main controls
Once you’ve clicked on a translation value, you’ll be presented with the translation editor:
Lokalise provides numerous keyboard shortcuts for common actions. Refer to the Hotkeys article for more details.
In the example above, we’re editing the French translation. The editor includes the following elements:
Text input: Here, you can enter the translation value. You can type regular text, add HTML markup, and insert placeholders as needed.
Save button. Click this to save your translation. Once saved, the editor will close, and you’ll see the updated value. You can click on the value to edit it again.
Save and complete button. This button appears if the translation is part of a task. If the Auto-mark items as completed on edit option was disabled during task creation, you’ll see two options: Save changes or Save and mark as complete. Selecting the latter will increase the task progress, but you can still unmark the item as completed if needed.
When all translations for a language within a task are marked as complete, that language can be closed. Once all languages are completed, the entire task can be resolved.
Cancel button: Use this to discard any changes you’ve made.
Insert source: Clicking this will copy the base language value into the editor. The base language is typically the language you are translating from. In the example above, English is set as the base.
Display placeholders as blocks: This icon hides all placeholders and markup elements, displaying them as small blocks instead.
This feature is useful to avoid accidentally altering these elements, which should usually remain unchanged. For more information, refer to the Placeholders article.
Character count: The character count updates as you type. For example, if the counter shows "5/100," you’ve entered five characters, and the maximum length for this translation is 100 characters. Once the limit is reached, no more characters can be added. This limit is set on a per-key basis (by default there's no limit), as explained in the Character limit article.
Mark as reviewed (glasses icon): This icon appears if the reviewing feature is enabled in the project settings and you have reviewer permissions. Marking a translation as reviewed indicates that it has been checked by an editor or proofreader. You can later filter translations to show only reviewed or unreviewed strings or export only reviewed translations.
Suggestions tab
To the right, you’ll see the Suggestions tab:
AI Suggestions: The first block under the Suggestions tab is AI Suggestions. Click Translate with AI to generate a translation using Lokalise AI.
Translation memory (TM) suggestions: Below the AI suggestions, you might see an entry like "100% — Your name," indicating a match from the translation memory. This match is displayed because you or another contributor has previously translated a similar string. You can leverage this to maintain consistency.
Machine translation (MT) suggestions: The next set of suggestions comes from machine translation engines like Google Translate, DeepL, and Microsoft Translator. Click on a suggestion to insert it into the editor. Keep in mind that MT engines might produce inaccurate results in complex cases.
TM tab: There’s also a dedicated TM tab where you can search translation memory entries and manage TM if you have the necessary permissions.
You can control the appearance of the Suggestions tab in your personal profile under the General tab.
Glossary entries
Sometimes, the Suggestions tab may also contain glossary entries:
In the example above, "API" is a suggestion taken from the project glossary. A glossary is used to store translations and explanations for complex or specialized terms.
I cannot edit a translation! Why?
If you find yourself unable to edit or save a translation, there could be several reasons. Let's explore two common scenarios.
You can't open the translation editor
If you’re unable to start translating because clicking on the value doesn’t bring up the editor, here are some typical reasons:
Another contributor is modifying the translation: To avoid conflicts, a translation that is currently being edited by another contributor cannot be modified simultaneously. In this case, you’ll see the contributor’s name and avatar under the translation value.
Self-conflict issue: In rare cases, you might see yourself listed as modifying a translation. To resolve this, try the following:
Check if you have another browser tab open with the Lokalise editor.
Investigate any network issues on your PC. Wait for 5-10 minutes, reload the page, and see if the issue persists.
If the problem continues, please reach out to our support team.
Lack of permissions for the language: If this language is not set as contributable for you, it means you do not have permission to modify translations for this language. Contact your team lead or project administrator to request the necessary access rights.
Translation is locked due to a task or professional order: The translation may be locked because it was added to a task, and you are not assigned as a contributor for that task, or because it was included in a professional translation order. In this case, you’ll see a lock icon next to the text.
Contributing within tasks only: Sometimes, project admins enable the Contributing within tasks only option in the project settings. When this option is active, non-admin users won’t be able to modify translations unless explicitly assigned to a task. Contact your project administrator for more information.
Source language in bilingual view: When working in the bilingual view, you won’t be able to modify source language values.
For example, if English is the source language, you cannot edit translation values on the left. To modify English translations, set this language as the target in the dropdown at the top, or switch to the multilingual view.
You can open the editor but cannot save the translation
If you can open the editor but cannot save the translation, it’s usually because certain quality assurance (QA) checks have been violated, and their escalation level is set to "error." Lokalise supports many QA checks, so pinpointing the exact issue can be challenging. However, we recommend ensuring that:
Your translation doesn’t contain any mistakes.
All placeholders and HTML markup are correctly used, matching the source language.
You haven’t missed any opening or closing brackets.
If you’re a project admin, you can go to the project settings, open the QA checks tab, and review the checks with the "error" escalation level to identify the issue. If you’re a regular contributor, contact your project admin for more details.