Translating content

This guide covers how to send content for translation and manage translations in Brightspot.

Note

Before sending content for translation, ensure translation settings are configured for your site.

Sending content for translation

To send an asset for translation:

1. Create or open the content you want to translate. Click Publish or complete your workflow.

2. In the editorial toolbar, click and select Translate This [Content Type].

3. From the Service dropdown, select one of the following:

   Option	Description
   Manual	Translate content manually within Brightspot without an external service. Use this to create localized content yourself.
   [Translation Service]	One of the configured translation services (e.g., Amazon Translate, Google Translate).

4. Click Next.

5. From the Target Locales list, select the locales to translate the content to. You can select individual locales or locale groups configured by your administrator.

6. Click Next.

7. Review the assets to be translated. The summary shows:

   • Content type
   • Content label/title
   • Last update date

8. Click Translate.

Brightspot displays a confirmation that the translation has started. You can view translation progress and history in the Translations tab.

Viewing translation status

To view the status of translations:

1. Open the content that was sent for translation.

2. Click the Translations tab in the content sidebar.

3. The tab displays:

   • Active translations currently in progress
   • Completed translations with links to the translated content
   • Translation history showing past translation requests

Associating existing content as a translation

If you have content that was translated outside of Brightspot, you can associate it as a translation of the source content.

To associate existing content as a translation:

1. Open the source content (the original language version).
2. Click and select Translate This [Content Type].
3. Under Service, keep Associate Existing Content as a Translation selected.
4. Under Existing Translations, click Add Item.
5. Search for and select the existing content that is the translation.
6. Under Target Locales, select the locale that the existing content represents.
7. Click Mark as Translation.
8. Click Done.

The associated content now appears in the source content's Translations tab.

Breaking an association

To remove an existing translation association:

1. Open the source content and go to the Translations tab.

2. Find the translation whose association you want to remove.

3. Under the Actions column, click and select Break Association.

4. In the confirmation prompt, click Confirm.

Bulk translation

You can translate multiple pieces of content at once from the search results.

To translate multiple items:

1. Navigate to Search.
2. Search for the content you want to translate.
3. Select up to 100 items using the checkboxes.
4. From the Bulk Actions menu, select Translate.
5. Follow the same translation workflow as single-item translation:
   • Select the translation service
   • Choose target locales
   • Review and confirm

warning

Bulk translation is limited to 100 items per request. For larger batches, perform multiple bulk operations.

All selected items are sent for translation together. You can monitor progress in each item's Translations tab or via the Translation widget.

Manual translation

Manual translation allows editors to create localized versions of content without using an external translation service.

To manually translate content:

1. Send the content for translation and select Manual as the service.
2. Select the target locale(s) and click Translate.
3. Brightspot creates draft copies of the content for each target locale.
4. Open each draft and manually translate the content fields.
5. Publish when the translation is complete.

Translation with references

When translating content, you may have the option to include referenced content in the translation. For example, an article might reference an author or related articles.

During the translation process, Brightspot may prompt you to:

• Include references — Translate the referenced content along with the main content
• Exclude references — Only translate the main content, keeping references to the original language versions

The behavior depends on how your content types are configured and the translation service being used.

Resolving translation errors

Sometimes a translation service successfully returns translated content, but Brightspot fails to save the new localized content. This can happen due to validation errors, required fields that weren't translated, or other content constraints.

This is distinct from translation service failures where no data is returned. When Brightspot has the translated data but couldn't save it, you can manually resolve the issues.

To resolve translation errors:

1. Open the source content and go to the Translations tab.
2. Find the translation with errors (indicated by a Success with Errors status).
3. Under the Actions column, click Resolve Errors.
4. Brightspot opens the translated content with the translation data applied.
5. Review and fix any validation errors (highlighted fields, missing required values, etc.).
6. Click Save to complete the translation.

tip

Common causes of translation errors include required fields that the translation service didn't populate, character limits exceeded by translated text, or custom validation rules on your content types.

Translation logs

Brightspot maintains detailed logs of all translation activity. Each log entry tracks:

• Service — Which translation service was used
• Status — Current status (Pending, Success, Failed, Canceled)
• Source/Target Locale — Language pair for the translation
• User — Who requested the translation
• Date — When the translation was requested
• Content Hash — Used to detect if source content has changed

To view a translation log, click the View Log action in the Translations tab.

When you re-translate content that was previously translated, Brightspot automatically archives the old log and creates a new one. This maintains a complete history of translation activity.

Tips for effective translation

• Review before publishing — Configure completion actions to save translations as drafts when review is needed
• Use locale groups — Set up locale groups for commonly-used language combinations
• Check the Translations tab — Monitor translation progress and access completed translations
• Maintain consistency — Use the same translation service for related content when possible
• Use bulk translation — For large-scale localization projects, use bulk translation to process multiple items efficiently
• Monitor the dashboard — Add the Translation Dashboard Widget to track translation activity across your site