Resolve file upload issues

Learn about common reasons for file upload failures in Smartcat and how to troubleshoot issues related to file size, image size, parsing, and text export errors.

Below you'll find the common reasons why Smartcat fails to upload your files.

  1. File size. Smartcat supports files of the following formats not bigger than 512 Mb so there maybe issues when uploading .docx and .pptx files of substantial size. 

Solution: Save the original *.pptx or * .docx file in LibreOffice or Microsoft Office using the Save as option in the file menu.

You can also split a multi-slide presentation into two or more parts and add them to one project.

2. Image size. The platform imposes a document size limit of 30 Mb for extracting text from images, and the uploaded file is larger.

Solution: Split the document into parts smaller than 30 Mb. You can use tools for editing documents, for example, PDF-XChange Editor, Adobe Acrobat and others.

3. Parsing error. The platform may be unable to recognize the content of the slides.

Solution: exclude all extras (e.g. hidden slides, slide masters, etc.) when loading the file into the project.

To remove these elements you can a also convert your presentation to *.pdf, then back to * .pptx.

4. Text export error. Your text can contain elements Smartcat can't recognize.

Solution: Modify the original document and delete elements like:

  • invalid characters

  • large pictures or videos that can cause presentation to freeze

  • shapes and objects that differ from the rest visually or by some attributes

  • graphs and diagrams.

FAQ

Can I process TS files in Smartcat?

TS files cannot be processed natively in Smartcat but it is possible to convert them using a free app called QT Linguist which is part of a larger development framework but can be installed separately. Using QT Linguist, these TS files can be converted to XLIFF which can be processed using Smartcat. Upon translation, they can be converted back to TS format using QT Linguist.

QT Linguist can be downloaded from here.

Is it possible to upload .jpg file for reference?

You would like to upload screenshots for reference, and they are in the .jpg format. There are 2 options:

  1. You can add these files as reference to the project as described in Can I add reference files to my project? This is the easiest and fastest process but when dealing with references such as screenshots, it might create some work for the translation team to find the image that corresponds to the string being translated.

  2. You can upload individual graphic files for each segment where needed using the Camera [Alt-Insert] button in the toolbar. A picture icon will be displayed in the segment and the translator will be able to click on the icon to show the screenshot. This process takes longer but creates more targeted references. This feature needs to be enabled in the account, it is not enabled by default.