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Bulk actions

Learn how to apply various bulk actions to selected keys.

Ilya Krukowski avatar
Written by Ilya Krukowski
Updated over 3 months ago

The bulk actions menu allows you to perform actions on multiple translation keys at once, streamlining your workflow.

Applying a bulk action

To apply a bulk action to multiple translation keys, first select the keys in the project editor. To do this, tick the checkbox next to each key. To select all keys within the current project scope, tick the checkbox in the project menu next to the Filter dropdown.

Once you select at least one key, a blue floating popup will appear, displaying all available bulk actions.

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Available actions

  • Create a task — opens a task creation page with a predefined scope limited to the selected keys.

  • Order translation — request professional translation services for the selected keys. You'll need to choose a translation provider, target languages, and provide a payment method.

  • Invite to review center — invite new contributors to review the selected translation keys. For more details, refer to the Review center article.

  • Duplicate — create copies of the selected keys within the current project.

  • Copy/move to project — copy or move the selected keys to another project. Note:

    • If Include all languages is disabled, only languages present in both projects will be copied.

    • If Include all languages is enabled, all languages from the source will be pushed to the target, creating any missing languages in the target project.

  • File: assign — assign the selected keys to a translation file.

  • File: unassign — unassign the selected keys from all translation files.

  • Tags: add/remove — add or remove tags from multiple keys. You can enter a new tag or choose one from your existing tags.

  • Platform: link/unlink — link or unlink the platform to/from the selected keys.

  • Unverified: set/unset — mark or unmark translations as "unverified." The "unverified" status typically indicates that a translation isn't considered fully correct.

  • Context: set/unset — add or remove context, which is used with some file formats (e.g., .po). This isn't necessary if you don't use context in your code.

  • Review: set/unset — mark or unmark keys as "reviewed." A "reviewed" status usually means a second linguist has proofread the translation. The review feature must be enabled in the project settings.

  • Custom translation statuses: set/unset — add or remove custom translation statuses (CTS). Please note that the CTS feature must be enabled in the project settings.

  • Hide/unhide from contributors — hide or unhide keys from contributors/translators. Hidden keys can only be viewed and modified by project admins.

  • Character limit: set/unset — set or remove a character limit for the selected translation values. If translations exceed the limit, they won't be automatically trimmed.

  • Screenshots — manage screenshots for the selected keys. You can link/unlink screenshots or upload new ones.

  • Copy keys to translations — set the selected key names as the translation values for chosen languages. Refer to "Applying bulk actions on a per-language basis" for more details on selecting languages.

  • Copy source to target — copy the base language value (in multilingual view) or the source language value (in bilingual view) to the selected languages.

  • Apply TM to — apply translation memory (TM) matches to the selected translations, with an adjustable TM threshold. Lokalise will first attempt to find a match that meets or exceeds this threshold.

  • Cross-reference languages — once key references are set in the base language, use this action to cross-reference all other languages.

  • Clear translations — clear translations for the selected languages, setting their values to "empty."

  • Fill with text — fill translation values for the selected languages with a specified text.

  • Pseudolocalize — apply pseudolocalization to the selected translation values. Pseudolocalization is used for testing the internationalization aspects of software.

  • Restore to the last translation history — revert all selected translations to a previous history state, using the translation history that tracks modifications.

  • Show selected — display all selected key names in a separate dialog box.

  • Archive/unarchive — archive or unarchive keys. Archived keys won't be shown in the project editor by default. To view them, adjust the filter to "Key — is archived."

  • Delete — permanently delete the selected keys and their translations. This action cannot be undone, so consider creating a project snapshot before proceeding.


Applying bulk actions on a per-language basis

You can apply bulk actions to specific languages within a project. To do this, select the desired project languages from the dropdown menu:

Next, choose the translation keys you want to apply the bulk action to. You’ll notice a notification indicating how many languages will be affected by the action.

Languages that were not selected won't be impacted. By default, bulk actions won’t be applied to the base language. If you want to include the base language, tick the corresponding checkbox.

Please note that some actions, like Apply TM to, cannot be applied to the base language.


Automatic snapshots on bulk actions

Automatic snapshots for bulk actions feature is available starting from the Essential plan.

When you apply a bulk action, a project snapshot can be automatically captured. To enable this feature, go to More > Settings > Snapshots and toggle on the Automatic snapshot on bulk actions option.

For a full list of bulk actions that trigger snapshot creation, refer to the Snapshots article.


Bulk undo

This feature is currently in open beta.

How does it work?

Creating automatic snapshots for every bulk action can be time-consuming. Instead, you can use the bulk undo feature, which cancels the applied action and reverts the selected keys to their previous state.

This feature is designed to replace automatic snapshots for certain actions, making it easier to revert changes. The undo option is available for 30 days after the action is performed.

Currently, bulk undo supports the following actions:

  • Copy keys to translations

  • Copy source to target

  • Apply TM to

  • Clear translations

  • Fill with text

  • Pseudolocalize

Enabling bulk undo

To use this feature, you don't need to enable automatic snapshots on bulk actions. Instead, go to your project settings and enable the Undo bulk action feature under the Miscellaneous section.

Please note that enabling bulk undo will disable automatic snapshots on bulk actions in the current project.

Bulk undo in action

For example, let's use the Pseudolocalize action on these two keys:

Now we would like to revert this action. To achieve that, open More > Activity:

Expand Undoable processes, find the process related to your bulk action, and click Undo:

Each bulk action has a separate Undo button. Keep in mind that clicking this button will revert the affected keys to their state before the action was applied. Any changes made after the bulk action will be lost.

Finally, click Yes, undo:

You’ll now see a new entry under Finished processes:


Special notes for bulk actions

  • There’s no bulk action to apply Google Translate or DeepL to multiple keys at once. Instead, you can:

    • Set up an automation rule to apply machine translation and run it manually as explained in the Automations article.

    • Create a professional translation order and choose one of the machine engines as a translation provider.

  • Certain bulk actions (Apply TM, Tags: add/remove, Delete key) are performed in the background. You’ll see a notification indicating that the action is queued, and it may take some time to complete.

  • After a translation-level bulk action is applied, translation statuses will be automatically set to unverified and not reviewed. Custom translation statuses won't be affected.

  • Some bulk actions ignore language filtering and cannot be applied on a per-translation basis. The following actions can be applied at the translation level:

    • Unverified: set/unset

    • Review: set/unset

    • Custom translation statuses: set/unset

    • Copy keys to translations

    • Copy source to target

    • Apply TM to

    • Clear translations

    • Fill with text

    • Pseudolocalize

    • Restore to the last translation history

  • When you use Select all, it marks all keys within the current scope. For example, if you’ve filtered keys by tags and then click Select all, only the filtered keys will be selected. To select all project keys, reset the filter first.

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