Overview Lokalise - a service for localizing applications and updating translations "by air"
The chief editor of the popular site for developers and IT specialists TProger.ru, who grew up from the VC-public “Typical Programmer”, made a very sensible review of Lokalise, which we are happy to share. Those who work with the localization of mobile and web applications will be especially appreciated.
Lokalise is a service for automating the application localization process, which has already been chosen by more than 1,000 teams, including MSQRD, Carousell, MEGOGO, Depositphotos. We studied the capabilities of the platform and in this review we will tell, due to which Lokalise helps to localize quickly and easily.
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You can enter the service, both by going through the traditional registration procedure, and through Google or GitHub accounts. At the first entrance we are greeted with a brief instruction on how to work with the service:
First tip
Tips will continue to pop up every time you appear for the first time in a section. If the brief instructions are not enough for you, you can refer to the comprehensive documentation . It covers a wide range of issues, including workflow organization . Localization instructions for projects under iOS or Android contain screenshots detailing the necessary actions from adding files to the service to implementing the localization in the application.
You can also contact the Lokalise team directly at any time via the support chat in the lower right corner of the page. Each message, if necessary, can be supplemented with files and screenshots.
The service supports many different file formats: from the most popular Apple Strings (.strings), Android Resources (.xml) and Comma-separated values (.csv) to JSON (.json) and Excel books (.xslx). The required number of keys (tags) can also be created and duplicated manually without downloading the file.
Within one project, you can set up translation into several languages at once. For each label there are several options:
Machine translation can be edited manually to avoid automatic translation errors. You can also order a paid translation of all tags for each language by a carrier. The price of the work is immediately displayed on the page with the project:
The panel with translation settings, on the right, under the inscription “TO ORDER”, the price of the work
It also shows the progress of the translation in percent of the total number of keys for the language. If necessary, you can quickly find and replace values, including within a single language or everywhere at once. Each label can fully or partially borrow the value of another label, referring to it.
As a result, you will get a ready-made file with localizations. For downloading, you can choose the most convenient format for you from the many available - in particular, using Lokalise, you can localize iOS, Android and web applications. The service supports integration with the App Store and Google Play for importing and exporting metadata.
Lokalise is suitable for working on localization in a team.
Each of the keys can be supplied with explanatory information: make comments and add screenshots, so that you and your colleagues can understand more precisely in which interface element the translated text will be used. Moreover, the screenshots are automatically attached to the tags when they are loaded.
In the multilingual viewing mode, to the left of each label, there are icons with available actions, to the right of a click a window with comments opens
Also available is the history of work on the translation of each individual tags:
Translation history
The service supports integration with Slack and can send you notifications about changes in the project each time it is saved. You will also receive notifications by e-mail and / or in Slack (depending on the settings), if you are mentioned in the comment through the "@". Another useful feature is the ability of participants to work on localization to vote for various translation options.
In addition to the "manual" mode, Lokalise also supports work through a well-documented API over HTTPS. Access to the service API is carried out by token. Data is returned in JSON format.
A separate interesting and very convenient feature of the service is the SDK for Android and iOS. It is designed to update texts without the release of new versions in app stores.
The service has several tariff plans : free, “Startup” for $ 40 per month if paid for a year or $ 50 for a monthly payment, “Business” for $ 80 per month (respectively $ 100). All of them are distinguished by restrictions on the number of keys, projects that are simultaneously involved in the development of employees, and access to the SDK for iOS and Android (not available under a free plan) and other features.
There is also an unlimited "Enterprise" offer, which is made out individually and is also provided free of charge for open source projects. In addition to the absence of restrictions, this plan includes support by a personal manager and the ability to order the necessary functionality for revision. Upon registration, you get a 14-day trial period with an “Enterprise” plan.
We also talked with the commercial director of Lokalise - Peter Antropov. Peter answered us some interesting questions.
Please tell us in detail about the differences between free and paid plans.
The free plan is pretty heavily circumcised. It is for those who do not have $ 40 ($ 50) on a normal plan. Usually, those teams that go to new markets are fairly well funded, so the free plan is chosen either by not the most confident start-ups or by the principled users of free solutions, and there are less and less of them. There are only 3 users in free plans, 1000 tags (keys), no mobile SDK, no translation memory (automatic translation suggestions based on past similar) and translation history. Something can be done, but only.
Are there any bonuses for customers cooperating with you for a long time?
Most teams buy a one-year rather than a monthly subscription, it is 20% cheaper. Otherwise, according to customer reviews, our service is most convenient to use and rich in features. They come to us from other services, and so far we have not seen a single unsubscribe. Development teams, start-ups, web, mobile studios and large companies are willing to pay for services that accelerate access to new markets, facilitate work, remove routine, reduce the number of bugs, and provide unique functionality with which they do what they previously could not.
Regarding open source: how exactly do you work with such projects? What confirmations or the like are needed to get a free “Enterprise” plan for this program?
At our discretion, we provide, while there were no disputes. By the way, we are very easy to communicate, on the site we have a chat support, in which the whole team is available. We answer quickly and on business.
What feature or possibility of your service do you find most attractive to the user?
In addition to the most convenient web-interface (multilanguage view, etc.) - this is the presence of iOS and Android SDK for instant text updates without new versions in stores. With this functionality, you can update texts as often as necessary, without backing up users with updates. The update is instant, it is not 1-2 days of approval for the update in the App Store. Plus it is a guarantee that 100% of users will immediately see new texts, and not 80% of users will update the application by the end of the second month, as it usually happens.
It is also multiplatform tags (keys), universal placeholders, search for duplicates and vote on transfers. According to users, we have the best API on the market and the CLI utility. We support plurals (we have the plural form of the word - ed.), We have references between the keys. In other words, Lokalise is the most advanced solution for localizing and automating translations.
What features are you working on now? What can be expected in the near future, and what is long?
So plans. First of all, it is Live Edit - the ability to edit translations live with instant viewing in the designed fonts on the screen of an iOS or Android device or in an emulator, with translation of this screen onto the desktop of a translator or product manager, with backlighting of the current key, etc. iOS beta release in early August, but for now you can evaluate the demo video.
Next, there will be a tool for “wrapping up” hard-coded text into tags (keys), without which this process is done manually by those who are quick to impose, and then think about the translation.
We also plan to add public projects for crowd transfers, a long list of integrations and a few wow features that we don’t want to name.
You can follow the news of the service in the project blog. In addition to information about updates, it contains useful recommendations and instructions for using the service.
Summarizing, we share the opinion of Tproger: Lokalise greatly simplifies and speeds up the work with localizations, including the command one - in particular, you can quickly share the results with a partner in order to clarify options for localization.
Lokalise is a service for automating the application localization process, which has already been chosen by more than 1,000 teams, including MSQRD, Carousell, MEGOGO, Depositphotos. We studied the capabilities of the platform and in this review we will tell, due to which Lokalise helps to localize quickly and easily.
')
First meeting
You can enter the service, both by going through the traditional registration procedure, and through Google or GitHub accounts. At the first entrance we are greeted with a brief instruction on how to work with the service:
First tip
Tips will continue to pop up every time you appear for the first time in a section. If the brief instructions are not enough for you, you can refer to the comprehensive documentation . It covers a wide range of issues, including workflow organization . Localization instructions for projects under iOS or Android contain screenshots detailing the necessary actions from adding files to the service to implementing the localization in the application.
You can also contact the Lokalise team directly at any time via the support chat in the lower right corner of the page. Each message, if necessary, can be supplemented with files and screenshots.
Work with localization
The service supports many different file formats: from the most popular Apple Strings (.strings), Android Resources (.xml) and Comma-separated values (.csv) to JSON (.json) and Excel books (.xslx). The required number of keys (tags) can also be created and duplicated manually without downloading the file.
Within one project, you can set up translation into several languages at once. For each label there are several options:
- machine translation from Yandex.Translator;
- machine translation from Google.Translate;
- hint from translation memory - the service will prompt you the most suitable translation based on the already translated tags;
- You can also leave a word without translation - this is convenient when the term does not need a translation.
Machine translation can be edited manually to avoid automatic translation errors. You can also order a paid translation of all tags for each language by a carrier. The price of the work is immediately displayed on the page with the project:
The panel with translation settings, on the right, under the inscription “TO ORDER”, the price of the work
It also shows the progress of the translation in percent of the total number of keys for the language. If necessary, you can quickly find and replace values, including within a single language or everywhere at once. Each label can fully or partially borrow the value of another label, referring to it.
As a result, you will get a ready-made file with localizations. For downloading, you can choose the most convenient format for you from the many available - in particular, using Lokalise, you can localize iOS, Android and web applications. The service supports integration with the App Store and Google Play for importing and exporting metadata.
Team work on the translation
Lokalise is suitable for working on localization in a team.
Each of the keys can be supplied with explanatory information: make comments and add screenshots, so that you and your colleagues can understand more precisely in which interface element the translated text will be used. Moreover, the screenshots are automatically attached to the tags when they are loaded.
In the multilingual viewing mode, to the left of each label, there are icons with available actions, to the right of a click a window with comments opens
Also available is the history of work on the translation of each individual tags:
Translation history
The service supports integration with Slack and can send you notifications about changes in the project each time it is saved. You will also receive notifications by e-mail and / or in Slack (depending on the settings), if you are mentioned in the comment through the "@". Another useful feature is the ability of participants to work on localization to vote for various translation options.
API and SDK service
In addition to the "manual" mode, Lokalise also supports work through a well-documented API over HTTPS. Access to the service API is carried out by token. Data is returned in JSON format.
A separate interesting and very convenient feature of the service is the SDK for Android and iOS. It is designed to update texts without the release of new versions in app stores.
Available Tariff Plans
The service has several tariff plans : free, “Startup” for $ 40 per month if paid for a year or $ 50 for a monthly payment, “Business” for $ 80 per month (respectively $ 100). All of them are distinguished by restrictions on the number of keys, projects that are simultaneously involved in the development of employees, and access to the SDK for iOS and Android (not available under a free plan) and other features.
There is also an unlimited "Enterprise" offer, which is made out individually and is also provided free of charge for open source projects. In addition to the absence of restrictions, this plan includes support by a personal manager and the ability to order the necessary functionality for revision. Upon registration, you get a 14-day trial period with an “Enterprise” plan.
We also talked with the commercial director of Lokalise - Peter Antropov. Peter answered us some interesting questions.
Please tell us in detail about the differences between free and paid plans.
The free plan is pretty heavily circumcised. It is for those who do not have $ 40 ($ 50) on a normal plan. Usually, those teams that go to new markets are fairly well funded, so the free plan is chosen either by not the most confident start-ups or by the principled users of free solutions, and there are less and less of them. There are only 3 users in free plans, 1000 tags (keys), no mobile SDK, no translation memory (automatic translation suggestions based on past similar) and translation history. Something can be done, but only.
Are there any bonuses for customers cooperating with you for a long time?
Most teams buy a one-year rather than a monthly subscription, it is 20% cheaper. Otherwise, according to customer reviews, our service is most convenient to use and rich in features. They come to us from other services, and so far we have not seen a single unsubscribe. Development teams, start-ups, web, mobile studios and large companies are willing to pay for services that accelerate access to new markets, facilitate work, remove routine, reduce the number of bugs, and provide unique functionality with which they do what they previously could not.
Regarding open source: how exactly do you work with such projects? What confirmations or the like are needed to get a free “Enterprise” plan for this program?
At our discretion, we provide, while there were no disputes. By the way, we are very easy to communicate, on the site we have a chat support, in which the whole team is available. We answer quickly and on business.
What feature or possibility of your service do you find most attractive to the user?
In addition to the most convenient web-interface (multilanguage view, etc.) - this is the presence of iOS and Android SDK for instant text updates without new versions in stores. With this functionality, you can update texts as often as necessary, without backing up users with updates. The update is instant, it is not 1-2 days of approval for the update in the App Store. Plus it is a guarantee that 100% of users will immediately see new texts, and not 80% of users will update the application by the end of the second month, as it usually happens.
It is also multiplatform tags (keys), universal placeholders, search for duplicates and vote on transfers. According to users, we have the best API on the market and the CLI utility. We support plurals (we have the plural form of the word - ed.), We have references between the keys. In other words, Lokalise is the most advanced solution for localizing and automating translations.
What features are you working on now? What can be expected in the near future, and what is long?
So plans. First of all, it is Live Edit - the ability to edit translations live with instant viewing in the designed fonts on the screen of an iOS or Android device or in an emulator, with translation of this screen onto the desktop of a translator or product manager, with backlighting of the current key, etc. iOS beta release in early August, but for now you can evaluate the demo video.
Next, there will be a tool for “wrapping up” hard-coded text into tags (keys), without which this process is done manually by those who are quick to impose, and then think about the translation.
We also plan to add public projects for crowd transfers, a long list of integrations and a few wow features that we don’t want to name.
You can follow the news of the service in the project blog. In addition to information about updates, it contains useful recommendations and instructions for using the service.
Summarizing, we share the opinion of Tproger: Lokalise greatly simplifies and speeds up the work with localizations, including the command one - in particular, you can quickly share the results with a partner in order to clarify options for localization.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/334528/
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