Translate assets in AEM multilingual-assets

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Multilingual assets means assets with binaries, metadata, and tags in multiple languages. Generally, binaries, metadata, and tags for assets exist in one language, which are then translated to other languages for use in multilingual projects. Adobe Experience Manager Assets lets you automate workflows to translate assets (including binaries, metadata, and tags) to generate assets in other languages for use in multilingual projects.

To automate AEM asset translation, you integrate translation service providers with Experience Manager and create projects for translating assets into multiple languages. Experience Manager supports human and machine translation workflows.

Human asset translation in AEM: The translated assets are returned and imported into Experience Manager. When your translation provider is integrated with Experience Manager, assets are automatically sent between Experience Manager and the translation provider.

Machine asset translation in AEM: The machine translation service immediately translates the metadata and tags for assets.

Prepare to translate assets prepare-to-translate-assets

Multilingual assets means assets with binaries, metadata, and tags in multiple languages. Generally, binaries, metadata, and tags for assets exist in one language, which are then translated to other languages for use in multilingual projects.

In Adobe Experience Manager Assets, multilingual assets are included in folders, where each folder contains the assets in a different language.

Each language folder is called a language copy. The root folder of a language copy, known as the language root, identifies the language of the content in the language copy. For example, /content/dam/it is the Italian language root for the Italian language copy. Language copies must use a correctly configured language root so that the correct language is targeted when translations of source assets are performed.

The language copy for which you originally add assets is the language primary. The language primary is the source that is translated into other languages. A sample folder hierarchy includes several language roots:

/content
    /- dam
        |- en
        |- fr
        |- de
        |- es
        |- it
        |- ja
        |- zh

Perform the following steps for preparing to translate assets:

  1. Create the language root of your language primary. For example, the language root of the English language copy in the sample folder hierarchy is /content/dam/en. Ensure that the language root is correctly configured according to the information in Create a language root.

  2. Add assets to your language primary.

  3. Create the language root of each target language for which you require a language copy.

Create a Language Root create-a-language-root

To create the language root, you create a folder and use an ISO language code as the value for the Name property. After you create the language root, you can create a language copy at any level within the language root.

For example, the root page of the Italian language copy of the sample hierarchy has it as the Name property. The Name property is used as the name of the asset node in the repository, and therefore determines the path of the assets. (<server>:<port>/assets.html/content/dam/it/)

  1. From the Assets console, select Create and choose Folder from the menu.
  2. In the Name field type the country code in the format of <language-code>.
  3. Select Create. The language root is created in the Assets console.

View language roots view-language-roots

The touch-optimized UI provides a References panel that shows a list of language roots that have been created within Assets.

  1. In the Assets console, select the language primary for which you want to create language copies.
  2. Select the GlobalNav icon, and choose References to open the Reference pane.
  3. In the References pane, select Language Copies. The Language Copies panel shows the language copies of the assets.

Create a new translation project create-a-new-translation-project

If you use this option, assets to be translated are copied to the language root of the language to which you want to translate. Depending upon the options you choose, a translation project is created for the assets in the Projects console. Depending on the settings, the translation project can be started manually or runs automatically as soon as the translation project is created.

  1. In the Assets UI, select the source folder for which you want to create a Language copy.
  2. Open the References pane and select Language Copies under Copies.
  3. Select Create & Translate at the bottom.
  4. From the Target Languages list, select the languages for which you want to create a folder structure.
  5. From the Project list, select Create a new translation project.
  6. In the Project Title field, enter a title for the project.
  7. Select on Create. Assets from the source folder are copied to the target folders for the locales you selected in step 4.
  8. To navigate to the folder, select the language copy, and click Reveal in Assets.
  9. Navigate to the Projects console. The translation folder is copied to the Projects console.
  10. Open the folder to view the translation project.
  11. Select the project to open the details page.
  12. To view the status of the translation job, click the ellipsis at the bottom of the Translation Job tile.
  13. In the Assets user interface, open the Properties page for each of the translated assets to view the translated metadata.
NOTE
This feature is available both for assets and folders. When an asset is selected instead of a folder, the entire hierarchy of folders up to the language root is copied to create a language copy for the asset.

Add to an existing translation project add-to-existing-translation-project

If you use this option, the translation workflow runs for assets that you add to the source folder after running a previous translation workflow. Only the newly added assets are copied to the target folder that contains previously translated assets. No new translation project is created in this case.

  1. In the Assets UI, navigate to the source folder that contains untranslated assets.

  2. Select an asset you want to translate, and open the Reference pane. The Language Copies section displays the number of translation copies that are currently available.

  3. Select Language Copies under Copies. A list of available translation copies is displayed.

  4. Select Create & Translate at the bottom.

  5. From the Target Languages list, select the languages for which you want to create a folder structure.

  6. From the Project list, select Add to existing translation project to run the translation workflow on the folder.

    note note
    NOTE
    If you choose the Add to existing translation project option, your translation project is added to a pre-existing project only if your project settings exactly match the settings of the pre-existing project. Otherwise, a new project is created.

    1. From the **Existing translation project** list, select a project to add the asset for translation.

  7. Select Create. The assets to be translated are added to the target folder. The updated folder is listed under the Language Copies section.

  8. Navigate to the Projects console, and open the existing translation project you added to.

  9. Select the translation project view the project details page.

  10. Select the ellipsis at the bottom of the Translation Job tile to view the assets in the translation workflow. The translation job list also displays entries for asset metadata and tags. These entries indicate that the metadata and tags for the assets are also translated.

    note note
    NOTE
    • If you delete the entry for tags or metadata, no tags or metadata are translated for any of the assets.
    • If you use Machine Translation, asset binaries aren’t translated.
    • If the asset you add to the translation job includes subassets, select the subassets and remove them for the translation to proceed without any glitches.
  11. To start the translation for the assets, select the arrow on the Translation Job tile and select Start from the list. A message notifies the commencement of the translation job.

  12. To view the status of the translation job, select the ellipsis at the bottom of the Translation Job tile.

  13. After the translation completes, the status changes to Ready to Review. Navigate to the Assets UI, and open the Properties page for each of the translated assets to view the translated metadata.

Update language copies update-language-copies

Run this workflow to translate any additional set of assets and include it in a language copy for a particular locale. In this case, the translated assets are added to the target folder that already contains previously translated assets. Depending on the choice of options, a translation project is created or an existing translation project is updated for the new assets. The Update language copies workflow includes the following options:

  • Create a new translation project
  • Add to existing translation project

Add to existing translation project add-to-existing-translation-project-1

If you use this option, the set of assets are added to an existing translation project to update the language copy for the locale you choose.

  1. From the Assets UI, select the source folder where you added an asset folder.
  2. Open the References pane, and select Language Copies under Copies to display the list of language copies.
  3. Select the check box before Language Copies, which selects all language copies. Unselect other copies except the language copy (copies) corresponding to the locale(s) to which you want to translate.
  4. Select Update language copies at the bottom.
  5. From the Project list, choose Add to existing translation project.
  6. From the Existing translation project list, select a project to add the asset for translation.
  7. Select Start.
  8. See steps 9-14 of Add to existing translation project to complete the rest of the procedure.

Create temporary language copies creating-temporary-language-copies

When you run a translation workflow to update a language copy with edited versions of original assets, the existing language copy is preserved until you approve the translated assets. Assets stores the newly translated assets at a temporary location and updates the existing language copy after you explicitly approve the assets. If you reject the assets, the language copy remains unchanged.

  1. Select the source root folder under Language Copies for which you already created a language copy, and then select Reveal in Assets to open the folder in Assets.

  2. From the Assets UI, select an asset you already translated and select the Edit icon from the toolbar to open the asset in edit mode.

  3. Edit the asset and then save the changes.

  4. Perform steps 2-14 of the Add to existing translation project procedure to update the language copy.

  5. Select the ellipsis at the bottom of the Translation Job tile. From the list of assets in the Translation Job page, you can clearly view the temporary location where the translated version of the asset is stored.

  6. Select the checkbox next to Title.

  7. From the toolbar, select Accept Translation and then select Accept in the dialog to overwrite the translated asset in the target folder with the translated version of the edited asset.

    note note
    NOTE
    To enable the translation workflow to update the destination assets, accept both the asset and metadata.

    Select Reject Translation to retain the originally translated version of the asset in the target locale root and reject the edited version.

  8. Navigate to the Assets console, and open the Properties page for each of the translated assets to view the translated metadata.

Create translation projects creating-translation-projects

To create a language copy, trigger one of the following language copy workflows available under the References rail in the Assets UI:

Create and translate

In this workflow, assets to be translated are copied to the language root of the language to which you want to translate. In addition, depending upon the options you choose, a translation project is created for the assets in the Projects console. Depending on the settings, the translation project can be started manually or allowed to run automatically as soon as the translation project is created.

Update language copies

You run this workflow to translate an additional group of assets and include it in a language copy for a particular locale. In this case, the translated assets are added to the target folder that already contains previously translated assets.

NOTE
Asset binaries are translated only if the translation service provider supports the translation of binaries.
NOTE
If you launch a translation workflow for complex assets, such as PDF files and Adobe InDesign files, their subassets or renditions (if any) are not submitted for translation.

Create and translate workflow create-and-translate-workflow

You use the create and translate workflow to generate language copies for a particular language for the first time. The workflow provides the following options:

  • Create structure only
  • Create a new translation project
  • Add to existing translation project

Create structure only create-structure-only

Use the Create structure only option to create a target folder hierarchy within the target language root to match the hierarchy of the source folder within the source language root. In this case, source assets are copied to the destination folder. However, no translation project is generated.

  1. In the Assets UI, select the source folder for which you want to create a structure in the target language root.
  2. Open the References pane and select Language Copies under Copies.
  3. Select Create & Translate at the bottom.
  4. From the Target Languages list, select the language for which you want to create a folder structure.
  5. From the Project list, choose Create structure only.
  6. Select Create. The new structure for the target language is listed under Language Copies.
  7. Select the structure from the list, and then select Reveal in Assets to navigate to the folder structure within the target language.

Apply translation cloud services to folders applying-translation-cloud-services-to-folders

Adobe Experience Manager lets you avail cloud-based translation services from the translation provider of your choice to ensure your assets are translated based on your requirements.

You can apply the translation cloud service directly to your asset folder so they can be utilized during translation workflows.

Apply the translation services applying-the-translation-services

Applying translation cloud services directly to your asset folder eliminates the need to configure translation services when you create or update translation workflows.

  1. From the Assets user interface, select the folder to which you want to apply translation services.

  2. From the toolbar, select the Properties icon to display the Folder Properties page.

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  3. Navigate to the Cloud Services tab.

  4. From the Cloud Service Configurations list, choose the desired translation provider. For example, if you want to avail translation services from Microsoft, choose Microsoft Translator.

    chlimage_1-216

  5. Choose the connector for the translation provider.

    chlimage_1-217

  6. From the toolbar, select Save, and then click OK to close the dialog.The translation service is applied to the folder.

Apply custom translation connector applying-custom-translation-connector

If you want to apply a custom connector for the translation services you want to use in translation workflows. To apply a custom connector, first install the connector from Package Manager. Then, configure the connector from the Cloud Services console. After you configure the connector, it is available in the list of connectors in the Cloud Services tab described in Applying the translation services. After you apply the custom connector and run translation workflows, the Translation Summary tile of the translation project displays the connector details under the heads Provider and Method.

  1. Install the connector from Package Manager.

  2. Select the Experience Manager logo, and navigate to Tools > Deployment > Cloud Services.

  3. Locate the connector you installed under Third Party Services in the Cloud Services page.

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  4. Select the Configure now link to open the Create Configuration dialog.

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  5. Specify a title and a name for the connector, and then select Create. The custom connector is available in the list of connectors in the Cloud Services tab described in step 5 of Applying the translation services.

  6. Run any translation workflow described in creating translation projects after you apply the custom connector. Verify the details of the connector in the Translation Summary tile of the translation project in the Projects console.

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See also

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