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How to translate the Uwazi interface

Prerequisites​

  • Admin access to your Uwazi instance
  • At least two languages installed in your collection

You install languages in How to manage the languages of a collection. This guide assumes you already did that.

Steps​

Interface text means the buttons, menus, and messages of Uwazi itself. You translate it in Settings > Translations, under System translations.

That section always holds the System row, which holds the main interface text. Two more rows can appear:

  • The Menu row holds your navigation link titles. It appears once you save your navigation links.
  • The Filters row holds your named filter group titles. It appears once you save a named filter group.

You have three ways to translate this text. Edit each term by hand, import a batch from a file, or edit text in place as you browse. Pick the one that fits your task.

Translate interface terms by hand​

Use this way to translate or fix a few terms at a time.

  1. Go to Settings > Translations.
  2. Under System translations, select the edit icon on the System row.
  3. Turn on Untranslated Terms to show only the terms that still need work.
  4. Type the translated wording for each term in each language column.
  5. Select Save. Uwazi shows "Translations saved".

A term counts as untranslated while its value still matches the default language. You can't save an empty value.

note

The Menu and Filters rows work the same way. Uwazi adds their terms once you save your navigation links and named filter groups.

Import interface terms from a file​

Use this way to translate many terms at once. You upload a CSV file, so this suits a large batch or wording prepared outside Uwazi.

First, build the file. The easiest way is to start from Uwazi's English interface file on GitHub. It lists every Key with its English wording, so you don't have to find the keys yourself.

  • Download the file. It already has a Key column and an English column.
  • Add one column for each language you translate. Use the language name as the header, exactly as it appears in Settings > Languages. For example, Français or Español. Don't use the two-letter code.
  • Type your wording for each term in its language column.

Your file looks like this:

Key,English,Français,Español
Library,Library,Bibliothèque,Biblioteca
Search,Search,Rechercher,Buscar
Upload,Upload,Téléverser,Subir

Each row pairs a term key with its wording in every language.

Then import it:

  1. Go to Settings > Translations.
  2. Under System translations, select the edit icon on the System row.
  3. Select Import at the bottom of the editor.
  4. Choose your CSV file. Uwazi imports the terms and shows "Translations imported."
note

Import updates terms that already exist in the System row. Uwazi skips any key it doesn't recognize and any empty cell. There is no button to export the current terms, so match your keys to the wording already in Uwazi.

Translate interface terms in place​

Use Live translate to fix wording you see on a page, without hunting for its term.

  1. Select the language button in the top-right header.
  2. Turn on Live translate at the bottom of the menu. You can now select any interface text on the page.
  3. Select any highlighted text. A Translate window opens with one box per language.
  4. Type the translated wording in each box.
  5. Select Save. Uwazi shows "Translations saved".
  6. Turn off Live translate when you finish.

Result​

Your Uwazi interface now reads in each language you translated. Users see your wording when they switch language from the header.

tip

11 languages ship with ready-made interface text. To restore the original text for one of them, use Reset in Settings > Languages.

See also​