Translate content

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An administrator enables languages; see Manage website languages.

When a language is enabled, you are ready to translate existing content or create content in a specific language. Content here can be, for example, pages or blocks on an Optimizely Content Management System (CMS) website or product-related content on an ecommerce site. When a language is enabled in CMS, content properties that are not global are available for translation. See also Global properties.

To prevent editors from accidentally creating content in the wrong language, an administrator can set access rights differently for different languages. If implemented, you can only edit and create content in languages you can access.

See also the Optimizely Languages app to extend the functionality in CMS for translating content into multiple languages.

Switch language and viewing language versions

To switch the language in CMS, go to the Sites tab in the navigation panel and select the desired language to work with. The user interface reloads, displaying the page tree in the selected language.

Switch language and viewing language versions

If your master language is English and you switch to Swedish, pages not yet translated into Swedish are displayed in italics in the page tree and with the language code (en for English; de for German). Pages that exist in Swedish are displayed in normal font.

If your master language is English and you switch to Swedish, pages not yet translated into Swedish are displayed in italics in the page tree

To view only translated pages, select Show Content in Current Language Only from the page tree's Settings button. This filters out other language versions. You can also use this option in the assets panel and the Versions gadget to view blocks and versions only in the current language. Click Show All Languages to see the entire content tree again.

view only translated pages

When you only show content in one language, you can move pages to another location in the page tree structure by drag and drop or copy and paste, but you cannot sort pages. Sorting is disabled because sorting in one language, where you may not see all pages, can cause unexpected results in other languages.

The setting Show Content in Current Language Only is enabled individually for each panel or gadget instance. This means that you, for example, can add the Versions gadget twice and display only the current language in one of the instances and languages in the other.

You can also switch languages by selecting the desired language in the Header when editing translated content in the All Properties view. The user interface reloads, displaying the content in the selected language.

You can use the Versions gadget to see the different language versions when you translate content. By selecting a language in the version list, you can switch to editing in another language using the switch option in the notification bar.

use the Versions gadget to see the different language versions when you translate content

You can search for language versions for some content by typing a keyword in the search field for Pages or Blocks in the assets panel.

Preview content in different languages

Click View to preview and edit content in one of the languages available for translation on the website.

preview and edit content in one of the languages available for translation on the website

Delete language versions

Select More > Delete Version or More > Delete All [language] Versions in the Versions gadget to delete one or more language versions for content.

Delete language versions

Deleting one or more language versions cannot be undone.

Translate existing content

The Sites tab displays the languages available for content creation, with the default language for the website at the top. Languages that are enabled on the website but are not enabled for editing are shown in italics.

Translate a page

By default, pages in the tree structure are displayed in the Pages tab, including those not translated. These are shown in italics. Select Show Content in Current Language Only to see pages for the chosen language.

Do the following to translate a page:

  1. Under the Sites tab in the navigation panel, select the desired target language for translation. The interface reloads, and you are taken to the Pages tab.
  2. Select the desired page to translate in the page tree, and then click Translate in the notification bar at the top. Or, select Translate in the context menu for the page in the page tree.
  3. Click the compare view icon to translate in one panel while simultaneously seeing the original version in the other panel.
  4. Edit the content and follow the content publishing flow to save and publish the translated page.

Translate a block

You can access language versions for blocks from Blocks in the assets panel. By default, all blocks are displayed, including those not translated; these are shown in italics. Select Show Content in Current Language Only to see blocks for the chosen language.

To translate a block:

  1. Under the Sites tab in the navigation panel, select the desired target language for translation, and the interface reloads.
  2. Expand the assets panel and select Blocks.
  3. Select the desired block to translate in the block structure and then the Translate option in the context menu.

    Select the desired block to translate in the block structure and then the Translate option in the context menu

  4. Click the Compare view icon to translate in one panel while simultaneously seeing the original version in the other panel.
  5. Edit the content and follow the content publishing flow to save and publish the translated block.

Global properties

Depending on your implementation, some properties may be globally shared, and you can edit them in the master language. These properties are marked as non-editable when editing the content in another language. Switch to the default language if you need to edit these. When editing in the All Properties view, the default language is usually the first language listed next to Languages in the header.

Global properties - the default language is usually the first language listed next to Languages in the header

Create content in another language

To create content in a language other than the master language, select the desired language under the Sites tab. Then select the page branch or folder where you want to create the content and create a page or a block. Add content and follow the content publishing flow to save and publish.

Optimizely Customized Commerce icon Optimizely Commerce Connect and multiple languages

See Multi-language management in the Optimizely Commerce Connect section for information about working with multiple languages if you have Optimizely Commerce Connect installed.