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Add placeholders

Adding placeholders | Smartcat Help Center Placeholders are variables that are supposed to replace certain text content, for example: names, numbers, dates, images, etc. All placeholders must be copied to the translation, however in some cases you need to insert them manually. Inserting placeholders using hotkeys To insert a placeholder, click on the target text where the placeholder should be, and press Ctrl+Alt and the placeholder number: Ctrl+Alt+1, Ctrl+Alt+2, etc. Inserting placeholders using mouse To insert a placeholder, place your cursor in the target text where the placeholder should be, and then click on the placeholder icon in the Source. You can also press the button that will appear in your toolbar if the source segment contains a placeholder or Ctrl+Q. If a segment contains multiple placeholders, they will be inserted in the same order as they appear in the Source. Adding custom placeholders You can add your own placeholder formats on the Placeholders tab that can be accessed from the Settings menu. Use regular expressions to create placeholder formats in which variables will be imported from files in the following formats: CSV, INC, JSON, MQXLIFF, PHP, PO, RESX, SDLXLIFF, STRINGS, TJSON, TTX, XLF, XLIFF, XML\*. Placeholders are applied one after another starting from the uppermost but you are free to change the sequence. You can test placeholders using this tool. *Please note that placeholder settings are valid for the whole account, that is, for every project within. So if you need different placeholders for different projects, we strongly advise you against restarting markup or refreshing project files after you change your placeholder settings or their order. Adding placeholders when creating a project 1. Upload a file to a project and click its name in the Documents section. The Settings menu will appear on the right. 2. Click the Use placeholders to import variables checkbox. Note: you have to adjust the settings separately for each file. Once project creation is completed, placeholder markup will be applied to the selected files. Adding placeholders after creating a project Go to the project page and hit the Mark Up Placeholders button. This button also allows you to refresh placeholder markup after you add/remove placeholders or change their order in the settings*. *Please note that if placeholders were added to already confirmed segments after markup refresh, these segments will no longer be confirmed since a missing placeholder is a critical error. FAQ What are placeholders used for? Placeholders are rules that can be added to an account to protect text that should not be translated and that the users wants to protect from the translation team.

Set up the Editor

Editor setup | Smartcat Help Center User settings allow you to automate work in the Editor to improve the process of working with segments that have been translated previously. To open user settings click on the hamburger menu at the top-right corner. Your settings will work only for you and apply to all the projects you work with. You can change the settings at any time. View Options To work comfortably you can set up your own Editor view. Translation mode. Here you can choose how the translation will be rendered for your website visitors. Compact mode. Minimum menus and panels. Show segment borders. Each segment will be surrounded by a thin borderline for simpler text scanning. Alternate row colors. Every second row will have a dadker color. Automatically show source and target preview. The target preview will be displayed next to the translation if available.  Automatic Translation Insertion When working with a text, you can insert translation memory matches, AI translations, or original text into segments. But you can configure the system so that as you move to each new segment that is not yet translated, the best match from the TM, AI translation, or the source text is automatically inserted. Note that a translation will be applied only if the target field of the segment is empty when you place the cursor in it. Automatic insertion is set up by selecting rules. Check the boxes next to the rules which you want to apply. As you move to each new segment, the system executes the rules you selected one after another until one of them succeeds. If you want the system to copy the source of segments which contain only digits and non-alphabetic characters into the target (for example, arithmetic operators, the paragraph symbol and percentage symbol, etc.), enable the rule Copy the source text containing only numbers and non-alphabetic characters into target. You can specify that the system must confirm such segments right away. To configure the system for automatically inserting TM matches, enable the rule Insert translation memory matches no less than X% and specify starting from what match (in percentages) an entry of the translation memory should be inserted. You can also check the Confirm matches that are 100% and higher box to confirm a TM match after insertion. Even if you don't like the inserted translation, you will be able to correct it and confirm it again. If you use AI translation in your project, we suggest you enable the rule Insert AI Translation output. Then, the system will insert AI translation into segments for which no matches from the translation memory have been found, and this rule will be in effect on all projects for which AI translation is enabled. You can also use the Copy the source text to the target segment rule, so the system copies the original text into a segment that has neither TM match nor AI translation output. After configuring translation insertion, press the Save button. Auto-Propagation of Repetitions In most cases, repeated segments are translated in the same way, but, depending on the context, they may require different translations. To automate your work with repetitions, you can set up auto-propagation. Then, after you confirm a segment, the translation will be automatically copied to all its instances within the document. To enable the automatic insertion of translations into repeated segments, check the Auto-propagate repetitions box and specify is you want the repetitions to be propagated from the beginning of a text, or only from the current segment to the end of the document. The Propagate to segments with differences in case option allows you to auto-propagate repetitions when the text in the target differs from source by case. If you enable the Propagate to confirmed segments option, the translation will be copied into segments with repetitions even if they have already been confirmed. Otherwise, the system will insert translations only into unconfirmed segments. Use the Confirm auto-propagated segments option if you want the system to immediately confirm the propagated translations. Note that the auto-propagation settings will be applied to all of your projects and accounts. If you work in a corporate account, the manager can configure the auto-propagation settings for the project. In this case, you cannot change the settings. After configuring auto-propagation, press the Save button. You'll see an arrow icon to the left of each segment that is repeated within a document. If you want to exclude a segment from repetitions, click the arrow icon to its left. Thus, the target won't propagate to segments with the same source. Changes made to segments with the same source will not apply to the excluded segment. Segment Confirmation By default, the system moves the focus to the next segment when you confirm a segment. As an option, you can set to go to the next unconfirmed segment.

Use hotkeys in the Editor

Editor hotkeys | Smartcat Help Center Discover all the Smartcat keyboard shortcuts for both Windows and macOS In this article, learn all the Smartcat shortcuts for Windows or macOS systems. As a result, you'll be able to edit text with faster and more conveniently. Windows keyboard shortcuts On your computer keyboard, use the following commands for an easier, faster workflow. Undo last action: Ctrl+Z Redo last action: Ctrl+Y Select/unselect segments: Ctrl+[left click] Insert the match with the given number from the CAT Panel to the target: Ctrl+[Number of the match in the CAT Panel] Navigate between the results in the CAT: Ctrl+[Up arrow or Down arrow] Confirm the current segment: Ctrl+Enter Insert a special character: Ctrl+Shift+I Concordance search: Ctrl+K Insert a new term to the glossary: Ctrl+E Jump to the segment number: Ctrl+G Change the case: Shift+F3 Insert tags in series: F8 Insert the tag with the given number in the target: Alt+[the tag number] Go to the next unconfirmed segment: F9 Copy source to target: Ctrl+Insert Add a line break (only available when translating SRT files): Ctrl+Q Find the next terminology error: F7 Navigate between the source and the target: Tab Go to the next segment: Enter or Down arrow key Go to the previous segment: Up arrow key Split the segment (cursor in the source cell): Ctrl+Shift+S Segment merging (multiple segments of the same paragraph selected): Ctrl+Shift+J Open your user preferences: Alt+Ctrl+S Revert the segment to the previous stage: Alt+Shift+Delete MacOS keyboard shortcuts On your macOS keyboard, use the following commands for an easier, faster workflow. Undo last action: Cmd+Z Redo last action: Shift+Cmd+Z Select/unselect segments: Cmd+[left click] Insert the match with the given number from the CAT Panel to the target: Ctrl+[Number of the match in the CAT Panel] Navigate between the results in the CAT: Ctrl+[Up arrow or Down arrow] Confirm the current segment: Cmd+Enter Insert a special character: Cmd+Shift+I Concordance search: Cmd+K Insert a new term to the glossary: Cmd+E Go to the segment number: Cmd+G Change the case: Shift+Fn+F3 Insert tags in series: Fn+F8 Insert the tag with the given number in the target: Option+[the tag number] Go to the next unconfirmed segment: Fn+F9 Copy source to target: Cmd+Shift+S Add a line break (for SRT files only): Fn+F8 Find the next terminology error: Fn+F7 Navigate between the source and the target: Tab Go to the next segment: Enter or Down arrow key Go to the previous segment: Up arrow key Split the segment (cursor in the source cell): Shift+Cmd+S Segment merging (multiple segments of the same paragraph selected): Shift+Cmd+J Open your user preferences: Option+Cmd+S Revert the segment to the previous stage: Shift+fn+Home

Preview source text

Source text preview | Smartcat Help Center The Source Preview feature offers a real-time preview of the original text to provide you deeper context. You can find the preview at the bottom or on the right of the editing area there you'll see how the source text looks in the original file. Drag the slider up to view more of your document. The Source preview is available for just some file formats. It also not to be confused with the Target preview features, available for subtitles and HTML files and allowing viewing the translations applied on top of the source videos or converted to HTML.

Explore the Smartcat Editor

Smartcat Editor overview | Smartcat Help Center Get a brief overview of the different editing features you can use on Smartcat Editor Smartcat Editor is Smartcat's proprietary computer-assisted translation (CAT) tool, available to all clients via their Smartcat workspace to review and edit their translations. It is designed to enable total translation quality and consistency and to collaborate with colleagues as well as external linguists. Understanding Smartcat Editor Smartcat Editor is made up of different elements and features to optimize the translation editing step. 1. Toolbar with search bar and the a wide range of editing commands. 2. The editing area that contains the source and target texts, the translation source, and the segment confirmation box 3. The CAT panel containing the translation memory, automatic translation, and glossary matches. 4. A series of tabs for communication, QA and revisions history. The screenshot below shows a sample English to French translation project after Smartcat Language AI has performed an automatic translation. Use shortcuts for faster, easier editing With Smartcat, you can use a wide range of keyboard shortcuts to make the editing process as efficient as possible. Working in the editing area In the editing area, you can see your source text on the left and its translation on the right. Both sides are split into segments. In the editing area you can do the following.View the translation source – AI translation or translation memorySee the notifications on any spelling or grammar errorsReview, correct and confirm specific segmentsSee the in-context preview of the target text (if the format is supported)Read comments – such as instructions or questions from a colleague or an external linguist – corresponding to a specific word, phrase or segmentSearch the source or target text for specific language entries The CAT Panel This displays matches from the translation memory, AI translation output, and glossary terms found for wordings or words within source segments. Here, you can also find information about the translation memory, its name, the exact source where the last update was made, the update history, and the AI translation engine used, if applicable. To insert a match, double-click it in the CAT panel. If you have several suggestions, press Ctrl plus the number of the suggestion in the CAT panel ( Ctrl+1, Ctrl+2, etc.). CAT Info The CAT info panel displays the differences between the new source segment and any matches found in the translation memory. It also performs concordance searches. Concordance search enables you to search for a term in the entirety of the translation memories associated with the project in the source or target text. Tabbed Area The tabs let you streamline collaboration and communication between your team members and perform quality assurance. In the tabbed area you can do the following.View translation suggestionsPerform concordance searchView revisions history, including information on the name of the user who modified the text, as well as the time and date of the actionSee the quality issues found in the translation during LQAView comments to the document and the specific segmentPreview the translation formatting

Linguist Content Review Training Guide

Linguist Content Review Training Guide Overview This guide trains internal linguists and freelance reviewers on the content review process in Smartcat. It covers understanding your role, accessing assigned tasks, navigating the CAT Editor, and completing reviews efficiently using quality criteria and available resources. When to use it Reference this guide when you're new to reviewing content in Smartcat, need a refresher on the review workflow, or want to understand the differences between reviewer roles. Key Concepts and Terminology TermDefinitionTranslatorCreates the initial translation from source language to target languageEditor/ReviewerReviews and improves existing translations for accuracy, fluency, and adherence to guidelinesProofreaderPerforms final quality check for errors, typos, formatting, and consistency before deliverySegmentA unit of text (usually a sentence or paragraph) displayed in the CAT Editor for translation or reviewCAT EditorSmartcat's Computer-Assisted Translation editor where all translation and review work happensTM (Translation Memory)Database of previously translated segments that suggests matches for similar contentGlossaryList of approved terminology with defined translations to ensure consistencyLQA (Linguistic Quality Assurance)Formal quality evaluation process using standardized error categories Understanding Your Role Role Definitions Your assigned role determines what actions you can take and what's expected of your work: Translator Creates initial translations from source to target languageHas full editing access to target segmentsResponsible for accuracy, fluency, and following project instructions Editor/Reviewer Reviews translations created by others (human or AI)Improves accuracy, fluency, and consistencyCan edit target segments and confirm changesMay provide feedback to translators Proofreader Performs final quality check before deliveryFocuses on catching errors, typos, and formatting issuesEnsures consistency across the documentTypically the last human review stage How Your Role Is Assigned Your role is determined by the project's workflow configuration: Project managers set up workflows with specific stages (e.g., Translation → Editing → Proofreading)Each stage has assigned linguists with defined rolesYou receive tasks based on your assignment to a specific workflow stageYour permissions (what you can edit, confirm, or view) depend on your role in that stage ⚠️ If you're unsure which role you've been assigned, check your task notification or contact the project manager. Accessing Your Assigned Tasks Step 1 — Log into Smartcat Go to smartcat.com and click Log inEnter your email and password, or use SSO if your organization has configured itComplete two-factor authentication if prompted Step 2 — Navigate to your tasks After logging in, you land on your My Tasks page, which displays all assignments awaiting your actionTasks show: Task ID - Unique identifier for each taskTask - Workflow stage name (for example, Translation, Editing, Proofreading)Files - Names of the files included in the task. You can click this field to open the file in the CAT EditorUnits - Total work volume in units (words, pages, characters, etc.)Files Completed - Count of completed filesProgress - Visual progress showing percentage of completion for the taskStatus - Task status, including New, In Progress, Completed, Cancelled, Declined, Pending, Waiting for Payment, and InactiveTask Deadline - Deadline assigned to the taskLanguages - Language pair for the translation taskCreation Date - date the task was created Step 3 — Understand task notifications You receive task notifications through: Email — Sent when you're assigned a new task or a deadline approachesIn-app notifications — A red dot appears next to the My Tasks tabDashboard updates — New tasks appear in your My Tasks list Each notification includes: Project and document nameYour assigned role (Translator, Editor, Proofreader, etc.)Word count and deadlineLink to open the task directly Step 4 — Accept or decline the task When you receive a new assignment: Review the task details — Check word count, deadline, subject matter, and any special instructionsAccept the task — Click Accept to confirm you'll complete the work by the deadlineDecline if needed — If you cannot complete the task, click Decline and optionally provide a reason ⚠️ Declining a task returns it to the project manager for reassignment. Only decline if you cannot complete the work. The Review Workflow Step-by-Step Step 1 — Open your assigned document Log in to Smartcat and locate the task in My TasksClick the document name to view the project detailsClick Open file to open it in the CAT Editor. If there are several files in the project, click the three dots to the right of the file name to open it individuallyThe editor loads with source text on the left and target text on the right Step 2 — Understand the editor layout The CAT Editor displays: Source panel (left) — Original text in the source language (read-only)Target panel (right) — Translation text you can review and editSegment list — Each row is one segment; click any segment to select itResources panel — TM matches, glossary terms, and comments (typically on the right side)Toolbar — Actions like confirm, search, filter, and settings Segment status indicators: Icon/ColorMeaningEmpty checkboxUnconfirmed — needs reviewGreen checkmarkConfirmed — approved and completeLock iconLocked — cannot be edited (confirmed in previous stage)Yellow/OrangeFuzzy TM match applied — review suggested translationPurpleMachine/AI translation — review automated output Step 3 — Review each segment For each segment in your assignment: Read the source text — Understand the original meaning and contextReview the target text — Check if the translation accurately conveys the sourceCheck TM suggestions — The Resources panel shows matches from Translation Memory; use them if appropriateVerify glossary terms — Highlighted terms should match the approved glossary translationMake edits as needed — Click in the target field and type your corrections Step 4 — Confirm reviewed segments After reviewing and editing a segment: Press Ctrl+Enter or click the Confirm buttonThe segment status changes to confirmed (green checkmark)Move to the next segment When to confirm: The translation is accurate and completeTerminology matches the glossaryFormatting and tags are correctThe segment is ready for the next workflow stage (or delivery) ⚠️ Only confirm segments you've actually reviewed. Confirming without review can pass errors to the next stage or to the client. Step 5 — Complete the task When all segments are reviewed and confirmed: Verify completion — Use the filter to check for any unconfirmed segments (Filter > Status > Unconfirmed)Run QA checks — Click the QA button in the toolbar to run automated quality checks; resolve any flagged issuesMark the task complete — Click Done in the toolbar to signal you've finished your reviewThe document advances — Your completed work moves to the next workflow stage (or to delivery if you're the final reviewer) Tips and Recommendations Use keyboard shortcuts for efficient navigation ActionShortcutMove to next segmentEnter or Ctrl+DownMove to previous segmentCtrl+UpConfirm segmentCtrl+EnterOpen TM/Glossary panelF3Insert TM matchCtrl+1 (first match), Ctrl+2 (second match), etc.Add commentCtrl+MSearch in documentCtrl+F Use resources effectively TM matches appear with a percentage score (100% = exact match, lower = fuzzy match)Glossary terms are highlighted in the source. Hover to see the approved translationComments from previous stages appear as icons. Click to read context from translators or PMs Quality Criteria for Reviews When reviewing content, evaluate each segment against these criteria: Accuracy Does the translation convey the same meaning as the source?Are all source elements translated (nothing omitted or added)?Are numbers, dates, and proper nouns handled correctly? Fluency Does the translation read naturally in the target language?Is the grammar correct?Is the style appropriate for the content type and audience? Terminology Are glossary terms used consistently and correctly?Is industry-specific terminology accurate?Are product names and brand terms handled per project instructions? Consistency Are repeated phrases translated the same way throughout?Does the style match other documents in the project?Are formatting conventions followed consistently? Formatting Are tags and placeholders preserved correctly?Is punctuation appropriate for the target language?Are line breaks and spacing handled correctly? Common Issues I can't clear a segment The segment may be locked from a previous workflow stageCheck if you have the correct role assignment for editingContact the project manager if you need editing access Glossary terms aren't highlighting Verify a glossary is attached to the projectCheck that the glossary contains entries for your language pairTry refreshing the editor (F5) TM Suggestions aren't appearing Confirm a Translation Memory is assigned to the projectCheck your TM panel settings (it may be collapsed)The TM may not contain matches for your content I accidentally confirmed a segment with errors Click the segment to select itMake your corrections in the target fieldPress Ctrl+Enter to re-confirm with the corrected text I need to leave feedback for another translator Use the comment feature (Ctrl+M) to add a note to the segmentBe constructive and specific about what needs improvementComments are visible to project managers and may be shared with translators

Find and replace text in the Editor

Text replacement in Editor | Smartcat Help Center You can search for specific text in the Editor using the filter in the toolbar. To find text within a document, select a word or a phrase in the source or translation and press Ctrl+F. The selected fragment will be copied to the search field, and the system will display only the segments containing this text. You can also enter the text into the search field manually as the toolbar also contains the text search and filter bar which can be expanded by pressing the 'pencil' icon in the upright corner of the toolbar. The left and right arrow buttons next to the Target field can be used to find next and previous occurrences of the word in the translation. To narrow down your search you can press the Add filters button and apply extra search criteria such as revision date, source text specifics, or the author of the revision. To replace the fragment, hit the Replace button or Ctrl+H and fill in the Replace with field, then press Replace or Replace All. To update the search results, hit the Replace button. In case you want to clear the filter and see all segments, hit the cross.

Conduct concordance searches

Conducting concordance searches | Smartcat Help Center As you move from one segment to the next, the system offers you translation matches from the TM. However, you might be seeking the translation of a single word or phrase rather than the entire segment. In such cases, you can use the concordance search by searching the TM for matches containing the word or phrase. Select the word in the Source or Target field and press the button in the toolbar or Ctrl+K.  The word will be copied to the concordance search field, and the Concordance Search tab will display matches from translation memories applied to the project and containing the keyword. Alternatively, you can also type in the word in the Concordance Search tab, select Source or Target, and hit the Search button. One of the advantages of a tool like Smartcat where the data is centralized is that concordance searches will look in the entire TM, not its local subset. This results in more relevant matches. To find translations of a word or phrase in any available TMs that are not enabled on the project, use the Global Search tab under Linguistic assets in the main workspace. Then hit Global concordance and type in a keyword. To figure out a translation memory where the keyword is found, hit the downward arrow to the right of the keyword.

Add images as visual context

Adding images for context | Smartcat Help Center Giving a linguist as much context as possible is especially important when localizing games and apps and in cases, segments might contain only a word or two, so the context is harder to grasp and the same text within repetitions might have to be translated differently depending on the position in the user interface. Therefore, without additional information, the linguist cannot tell whether the text belongs to a button, a tooltip, the name of a column in a table, and so on. This is why there is a feature in Smartcat that allows linguists to attach screenshots and images to segments. Adding an image 1. Select a segment in the Editor, then press the button with the camera icon on the toolbar. 2. Upload the file or add a link to the image in the dialog box*. *If you don't see the button on the toolbar, let us know, and we will enable the feature for you. Alternatives 1. You can add either a link to an image stored in an external location in the comment to a segment (.jpg or.png). 2. You can or add links to images to the source file. This method works for special localization formats, such as.resx, .po and .strings. To upload a screenshot, you need to add a link to the image in the comment to the line in the source file. When uploading the file, Smartcat automatically recognizes all the images and uploads them. Viewing added images Segments to which screenshots have been attached are marked with the camera icon. Click on it to see the screenshot.

Understand tags

Effective use of tags | Smartcat Help Center Get a better understanding of Smartcat Editor tags and both automatic and manual tagging Tags are used on the Smartcat platform to maintain the formatting or internal code – like index entries or cross-references – of your original document. If the original file that you uploaded for translation contains any tags – such as markup, links, or formatting – they are transferred to the Smartcat Editor, the platform's CAT tool. Note that tags are important to ensure the correct formatting of the document. To keep the formatting of the source document, the tags should be placed in the same order they are placed in the source text. Automatically applied tags in translation segments There are instances when Smartcat automatically creates tags for your translations to improve your workflow. Here are the three primary types of automatic tag. 1. Segment copiesAutomatic tags are generated when a segment is a repetition – an exact copy – of another segment that has already been translated within your translation project.2. Automatic engine auto-tag supportCertain automatic translation engine support tag auto-insertion. For instance, Google Neural translation engine inserts its translated output into specific segments.3. Context matchesA segment has a context match in a translation memory applied to the project, and the match is inserted.The below image provides an example of what tags look like on the Smartcat Editor user interface: the five-sided orange shapes with numbers inside them. An example of a tag highlighted in red inside Smartcat Editor Adding tags manually Sometimes you may need to add or delete tags manually. You can also delete a tag in the same manner as any other symbol. If the translation is missing a tag that is present in the source text you can add it quickly and easily yourself. Follow these instructions to do so:Place the cursor in the translation text where you want to place a tag or select the target phrase with your cursorUse the keyboard shortcut of Alt + tag number Alternatively you can place the cursor in the translation where you need to put a tag or select the target phrase and click on the tag icon in the source text. Note: If a segment contains multiple tags, they will be inserted in the same order as they appear in the source.

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