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XLIFF Localization and Internationalization

XLIFF file (Wikipedia) a XML-based localization file format. It is used as a translation exchange format. Soluling localization tool and service support all XLIFF versions.

Few development tools except Angular use XLIFF as a native resource format but usually the native resource is first exported to XLIFF, then XLIFF is translated and finally imported into native resource. This process requires two format changes (native to XLIFF and XLIFF to native). On each change some information may be lost. This is why it is recommended to localize the native resource directly. Soluling supports dozens of native formats. If native format is supported do not use XLIFF but let Soluling to handle native format directly.

Localization process of XLIFF files

XLIFF file contains one or more unit (2.x) or trans-unit (1.x) elements. Each element contains one ore more strings to be localized. For example the following sample contains

<unit id="sample">
  <segment>
    <source>This is a sample</source>
  </segment>
</unit>

When localized the unit contains the target element that contains the translate value.

<unit id="sample">
  <segment>
    <source>This is a sample</source>
    <target>Tämä on esimerkki</target>
  </segment>
</unit>

To localize an XLIFF files add the file to the Soluling project file. Then translate the project. Finally when building Soluling creates one XLIFF file for each language.

Samples

GitHub and <data-dir>\Samples\XLIFF contains following XLIFF sample files:

Configuring XLIFF Localization

You can configure how to localize your XLIFF file (.xliff, .xlf) by selecting the item in the project tree, right-clicking, and choosing the Options menu. A source dialog appears that lets you edit the options. This source uses the following option sheets.

• File
• Options
• Output
• Write options

Read more about other data files such as XML, XSL, JSON, YAML, INI, Excel, SVG, TMX, XLIFF, text and binary files.