Working Offline: Export and Import
The Editor lets you take your translation work offline whenever you want to handle part of an assignment outside the Editor — to translate or review segments in your preferred desktop CAT tool, edit them in Word or Excel, or hand the file off to an external collaborator. Once you are done, you can import the edited file back to apply the changes to your Job, Project, or Resource.
The export tool offers a comprehensive set of templates that match different working styles and levels of expertise: a quick source-and-target export for someone who only needs the text, a richer file that includes comments and translation memory hits for translators who want full context, or a complete template that adds custom fields for users who need every detail.
This article covers the File → Export and File → Import flow for Jobs, Projects, and Resources (translation memories). For string-management content stored in Flex containers, see the separate Import and Export articles — that flow is unchanged.
Exporting your content: pick a format and a template, and download a bilingual file in one click.
Importing your edits: bring an offline-edited file back into the Editor, preview the changes, and apply them.
If Export and Import don't appear in your File menu, your role does not include them — the keyboard shortcuts behave the same way.
Exporting your content
Each export produces a bilingual file: the source language and one target language of your choice.
Jobs and Projects: choose XLIFF, Word, or Excel.
Resources: XLIFF only.
Follow these steps to export:
Open the File menu in the top menu bar and select Export → XLIFF/Word/Excel (Jobs and Projects) or Export → XLIFF (Resources). The export dialog opens.
Choose the format using the radio buttons. Resources show only XLIFF.
Pick the language pair. If your assignment has a single target language, the pair appears as static text. If you have access to multiple target languages, pick the target from the dropdown.
Select a template from the dropdown. Templates control what columns and metadata are included in the file (see Templates below). The Editor remembers your last template across exports.
If the grid has active filters, a warning appears informing you that only the segments matching the current filters will be exported. Clear the filters before exporting if you want the full content.
Click Export. The file downloads automatically to your default Downloads folder — no save-as dialog interrupts your workflow.
Export Menu and options for XLIFF, Word and Excel
The Export dialog in a Job, showing the XLIFF/Word/Excel radio buttons, the language pair dropdown with several target languages, and the template dropdown expanded to display the four templates.
Templates
Templates package the most common combinations of fields and metadata so you do not have to configure them one by one. Pick the one that matches what you need to do offline.
For Jobs and Projects:
Template | What it includes |
|---|---|
Basic (source + target) | Source and target text only. Use this for the simplest offline editing pass. |
With comments | Source, target, and the comments attached to each segment. |
With comments and TM/terminology hits (80%) | Adds translation memory and terminology suggestions (matches at 80% similarity or higher) so the offline translator has context. |
Full (comments, TM/terminology hits (80%), custom fields) | Includes everything above plus your project's custom fields. |
For Resources (translation memories):
Template | What it includes |
|---|---|
Basic (source + target) | Source and target only. |
With comments | Adds segment comments. |
Full (comments, custom fields) | Adds custom fields. |
If you switch from a Job or Project to a Resource and the previously remembered template is not available there (for example, a memory-hits template), the Editor falls back to the Basic template.
Names of exported files
Exported files are named after what you are working on — the document name when a single document is loaded, otherwise the Job, Project, or Resource name. The source and target language codes are appended (for example, _en-fr), and a _filtered suffix is added when the grid has active filters. Spaces and filename-unsafe characters are sanitized, and no timestamp is included.
Importing your edits
When the offline file is ready, import it back to update the segments. The import always goes through a dry-run Preview so you can confirm the changes before they are committed.
Accepted file formats: .xlf, .xliff, .xlsx, .docx.
Follow these steps to import:
Open the File menu and select Import. The 3-step import dialog opens.
Step 1 — Upload: Drag your file into the upload area or click to browse. If you also need to update segments that are currently locked, enable Overwrite locked segments before continuing. Click Continue to upload and run a dry-run check.
Step 2 — Preview: Review the dry-run report. The Editor shows how many segments will be Processed, how many have Changes, how many have No changes, and how many will be Skipped. Click Download report to save a detailed breakdown of every line, or click Go back to upload a different file. When the preview matches what you expect, click Import to apply the changes.
Step 3 — Results: A confirmation alert and the same report table show the final outcome. Click Download report if you want to keep a record of the run, then click Done to close the dialog.
Import wizard — Step 1 (upload) and Step 2 (preview)
The Import dialog open at Step 2 (Preview), showing the report table with counts for Processed, Changes, No changes, and Skipped segments, the Download report link, and the Import button.
Custom fields and labels included in the imported file are ignored. The import updates segment text and translation status only. Use the Batch Actions Panel to apply labels or set custom-field values after the import.
Learn More
Filtering and Searching: Narrow your content with filters, then export only the segments that match.
Import and Export: The equivalent flows for Flex containers (string management).
Batch Actions Panel: Apply labels or update custom fields in bulk after re-importing offline edits.