Integration of Lokalise service into the largest photo bank in the world: experience.
To conquer a foreign market, a business needs not only to translate texts and interfaces into other languages, but also to adapt the product to the current conditions of the region, taking into account all the features: monetary units, measurement system, dates, even traditions and religious nuances. Someone does everything on their own, someone hires translators (or better native speakers), and someone uses professional localization platforms. One such automation and translation management service is Lokalise . Experts of a popular international photo and video bank Depositphotos shared their experience in its implementation. Localization manager Tatyana Grebenyuk and web developer Roman Drogolov. The results of the talks are presented conditionally in two parts, the first of which is devoted to the technical aspects of the development and integration of Lokalise into the project environment, and the second - directly to the issues of translation and interaction with translators.
# This is an international photo and video bank founded by Ukrainian businessman Dmitry Sergeyev in 2009. The company has repeatedly attracted large investments from TMT Investments and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Now the collection of Files Depositphotos has more than 67 million images and videos, and the company itself is present in two dozen markets around the world.
Now Depositphotos is already localized in 20 languages, and work is underway on two more language versions of the project - Thai and Indonesian. The photobank team decided to switch to an automated translation system about two years ago, and since then five internal projects of the company have been running through Lokalise: the website itself, mobile photobank applications, the online graphic editor Crello, the Lightfield photo studio portal and publishing on social networks.
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Before switching to Lokalise, the team used a dedicated SQL database, which managed to grow to 120 thousand keys. Many of them were no longer needed, but it was not possible to remove them, since among such a variety of lines it was impossible to separate the necessary keys from the unnecessary keys. Roman Drogolov notes that after switching to Lokalise, the volume of the key database has decreased by more than 25 times (up to about 5,000), which can now be easily ordered and filtered by the required parameters. “When it was necessary to transfer the base of keys to Lokalise, we embedded the logging of the strings used and looked at which keys were used in the last 2 months on the production. They were then poured into Lokalise, ”recalls the developer. According to him, of course, there were situations when it turned out that the necessary and used key was not transferred to Lokalise, but they were single, and the intuitiveness of the platform made it possible to easily and quickly transfer forgotten keys manually.
The transition to automated service took about a week. During this time, scripts were written that are responsible for interacting with the new database on the Lokalise side, and also slightly changed the layer of caches on the project. After that, the service was fully integrated into the work process Depositphotos.
Roman notes that for him one of the main advantages of Lokalise is the integration of webchuk in the project, and some of them his team was able to adapt to their needs. So, for example, they adapted Slack-webhook for logging changes in localization keys. “Lokalise quite well implemented the use of the same keys for iOS, Android and the web at the same time. Our mobile developers are actively using this functionality, ”he notes.
The developer said that he had almost never encountered conflicts with frameworks while working with Lokalise. The team uses the Phalcon framework, however, is very limited, and prefers hand-written tools to it. “In general, I would like to say that Lokalise has a very good and convenient API. Yes, he lacks a little opportunity to filter the keys, but overall I am satisfied with his work, ”says Roman Drogolov. He adds that there were problems, but they were quickly resolved.
At the same time, the issue of introducing restrictions on API requests to Lokalise was encountered in due time. The team was “slightly” surprised when a number of scripts started working incorrectly. “We, both on test and on production servers, can run several cache scripts simultaneously, which tighten new translations. Due to the fact that requests are going with a half-second-second difference, the API blocked them and had to wait for the next automatic launch in order to fill in the new localization, ”says Roman. However, posting queries in time helped overcome this inconvenience.
“In general, I want to say that the support team of Lokalise works flawlessly. They answer questions very quickly - literally within an hour and a half, explain in some detail how to solve this or that problem, and always strive to find the most convenient way for us. Nick Ustinov works with me on such issues most often, ”says Roman Drogonov (ed. Commentary at the time of the interview, Roman did not know that Nick Ustinov is the CEO of Lokalise).
The localization manager also shared her experience of interacting with the Lokalise service. Tatyana Grebenyuk set Depositphotos. She notes that Depositphotos has started the transition to Lokalise, to simplify the localization process for all its participants, as well as to make it fast and effective. “We needed to be able to use the“ translation memory ”and limit the access of unauthorized people to the admin panel and the key database. Of course, I did most of the work with the database, but sometimes, especially when the task was urgent, we needed to give translators access to the database, and this, as you understand, is fraught with problems of all kinds, ”recalls Tatiana. According to her, now that translators have access to the localization system, and at the same time there is no risk that they will accidentally “break it”, it has become much easier for everyone: localizers, developers, and translators.
The very idea of ​​contacting Lokalise arose after the CEO of Depositphotos 24 read the material on the platform, and it seemed interesting to him. Tatyana notes that then the desire to find a new integral localization platform and information about Lokalise coincided surprisingly, in addition, the price offers of the service were quite adequate.
The translation team at Depositphotos is own, grown from the very start of the project. According to Tatyana, the company has been cooperating with these people for more than 5 years, and 70% of them have been working from the beginning of localization on their language. “These are people who know all the specifics of the project, and I only part with them in very exceptional cases,” she says. After the transition to a new system, the time spent on localization has been halved. If earlier on one language it took about 4 months of continuous work, now this period has decreased to 2-2.5 months. “This reduction was made possible due to the fact that translators work directly in the translation platform and I do not need to pull out each key for them individually,” says Tatiana.
Now the fore projects have been localized in 20 languages ​​and work is underway for two more - Thai and Indonesian. “Our work is structured as follows: translators get access to Lokalise, where they translate the main version into their language. After that, we upload the translation to the test server and give them access also there, so that they can look at the final version of their work, comment and supplement their translations if necessary, ”says Tatiana. She also notes that after such a test, the translation is still there, in Lokalise, verified with the help of other online translators and independent experts for whom the target language is native (native speakers).
The Manager of Advance notes that the main advantages of the Lokalise service are ease of use, the ability to easily give translators access to the database, availability of translation history, as well as key filters. “Conveniently, there are comments here, you can pull up screenshots to provide the translator with the necessary context of a particular key. It is also very important for me that I can quietly hide some language if the work with it at the current stage is completed, ”says Tatyana.
At the same time, she would like the filtering by keys to be more finely tuned and precise, and also that the “translation memory” has more flexibility. “Given the volume of our projects, translators often get a little lame by translating a word. It would be nice if they had more than one translation option in the prompt, but everything that was used in the current project, ”adds the manager Depositphotos. In addition, in her opinion, the service lacks the ability to create special "personalized" lists of keys for a particular task.
But despite some flaws in the platform, at Depositphotos they do not use other localization services and do not plan to leave Lokalise. “I, as a project manager, of course, receive offers from other companies, but mostly they are not platforms for working with our own translators, but regular translation services with freelance translators. For a project like us, this is not appropriate. A stranger cannot simply understand many things, and the transfer from someone else will definitely not suit us, ”says Tatyana.
# This is an international photo and video bank founded by Ukrainian businessman Dmitry Sergeyev in 2009. The company has repeatedly attracted large investments from TMT Investments and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Now the collection of Files Depositphotos has more than 67 million images and videos, and the company itself is present in two dozen markets around the world.
Now Depositphotos is already localized in 20 languages, and work is underway on two more language versions of the project - Thai and Indonesian. The photobank team decided to switch to an automated translation system about two years ago, and since then five internal projects of the company have been running through Lokalise: the website itself, mobile photobank applications, the online graphic editor Crello, the Lightfield photo studio portal and publishing on social networks.
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Start
Before switching to Lokalise, the team used a dedicated SQL database, which managed to grow to 120 thousand keys. Many of them were no longer needed, but it was not possible to remove them, since among such a variety of lines it was impossible to separate the necessary keys from the unnecessary keys. Roman Drogolov notes that after switching to Lokalise, the volume of the key database has decreased by more than 25 times (up to about 5,000), which can now be easily ordered and filtered by the required parameters. “When it was necessary to transfer the base of keys to Lokalise, we embedded the logging of the strings used and looked at which keys were used in the last 2 months on the production. They were then poured into Lokalise, ”recalls the developer. According to him, of course, there were situations when it turned out that the necessary and used key was not transferred to Lokalise, but they were single, and the intuitiveness of the platform made it possible to easily and quickly transfer forgotten keys manually.
The transition to automated service took about a week. During this time, scripts were written that are responsible for interacting with the new database on the Lokalise side, and also slightly changed the layer of caches on the project. After that, the service was fully integrated into the work process Depositphotos.
Roman notes that for him one of the main advantages of Lokalise is the integration of webchuk in the project, and some of them his team was able to adapt to their needs. So, for example, they adapted Slack-webhook for logging changes in localization keys. “Lokalise quite well implemented the use of the same keys for iOS, Android and the web at the same time. Our mobile developers are actively using this functionality, ”he notes.
Difficulties and support
The developer said that he had almost never encountered conflicts with frameworks while working with Lokalise. The team uses the Phalcon framework, however, is very limited, and prefers hand-written tools to it. “In general, I would like to say that Lokalise has a very good and convenient API. Yes, he lacks a little opportunity to filter the keys, but overall I am satisfied with his work, ”says Roman Drogolov. He adds that there were problems, but they were quickly resolved.
At the same time, the issue of introducing restrictions on API requests to Lokalise was encountered in due time. The team was “slightly” surprised when a number of scripts started working incorrectly. “We, both on test and on production servers, can run several cache scripts simultaneously, which tighten new translations. Due to the fact that requests are going with a half-second-second difference, the API blocked them and had to wait for the next automatic launch in order to fill in the new localization, ”says Roman. However, posting queries in time helped overcome this inconvenience.
“In general, I want to say that the support team of Lokalise works flawlessly. They answer questions very quickly - literally within an hour and a half, explain in some detail how to solve this or that problem, and always strive to find the most convenient way for us. Nick Ustinov works with me on such issues most often, ”says Roman Drogonov (ed. Commentary at the time of the interview, Roman did not know that Nick Ustinov is the CEO of Lokalise).
View of Localization Manager Depositphotos
The localization manager also shared her experience of interacting with the Lokalise service. Tatyana Grebenyuk set Depositphotos. She notes that Depositphotos has started the transition to Lokalise, to simplify the localization process for all its participants, as well as to make it fast and effective. “We needed to be able to use the“ translation memory ”and limit the access of unauthorized people to the admin panel and the key database. Of course, I did most of the work with the database, but sometimes, especially when the task was urgent, we needed to give translators access to the database, and this, as you understand, is fraught with problems of all kinds, ”recalls Tatiana. According to her, now that translators have access to the localization system, and at the same time there is no risk that they will accidentally “break it”, it has become much easier for everyone: localizers, developers, and translators.
The very idea of ​​contacting Lokalise arose after the CEO of Depositphotos 24 read the material on the platform, and it seemed interesting to him. Tatyana notes that then the desire to find a new integral localization platform and information about Lokalise coincided surprisingly, in addition, the price offers of the service were quite adequate.
Specific work on localization
The translation team at Depositphotos is own, grown from the very start of the project. According to Tatyana, the company has been cooperating with these people for more than 5 years, and 70% of them have been working from the beginning of localization on their language. “These are people who know all the specifics of the project, and I only part with them in very exceptional cases,” she says. After the transition to a new system, the time spent on localization has been halved. If earlier on one language it took about 4 months of continuous work, now this period has decreased to 2-2.5 months. “This reduction was made possible due to the fact that translators work directly in the translation platform and I do not need to pull out each key for them individually,” says Tatiana.
Now the fore projects have been localized in 20 languages ​​and work is underway for two more - Thai and Indonesian. “Our work is structured as follows: translators get access to Lokalise, where they translate the main version into their language. After that, we upload the translation to the test server and give them access also there, so that they can look at the final version of their work, comment and supplement their translations if necessary, ”says Tatiana. She also notes that after such a test, the translation is still there, in Lokalise, verified with the help of other online translators and independent experts for whom the target language is native (native speakers).
Lokalise strengths and what the service lacks
The Manager of Advance notes that the main advantages of the Lokalise service are ease of use, the ability to easily give translators access to the database, availability of translation history, as well as key filters. “Conveniently, there are comments here, you can pull up screenshots to provide the translator with the necessary context of a particular key. It is also very important for me that I can quietly hide some language if the work with it at the current stage is completed, ”says Tatyana.
At the same time, she would like the filtering by keys to be more finely tuned and precise, and also that the “translation memory” has more flexibility. “Given the volume of our projects, translators often get a little lame by translating a word. It would be nice if they had more than one translation option in the prompt, but everything that was used in the current project, ”adds the manager Depositphotos. In addition, in her opinion, the service lacks the ability to create special "personalized" lists of keys for a particular task.
But despite some flaws in the platform, at Depositphotos they do not use other localization services and do not plan to leave Lokalise. “I, as a project manager, of course, receive offers from other companies, but mostly they are not platforms for working with our own translators, but regular translation services with freelance translators. For a project like us, this is not appropriate. A stranger cannot simply understand many things, and the transfer from someone else will definitely not suit us, ”says Tatyana.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/337156/
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