Translation Management is Alive!

After months of intense development work, we're ready with the first release of Translation Management.

Until I can write a complete guide, here is a quick-starter.

In this tutorial I'll cover:

1. Downloading and installing the module
2. Making sure that multilingual workflow is enabled
3. Setting up translators
4. Sending jobs for translation
5. Translating
6. Summary

1. Download, Unpack, Install and Enable

Just like with any other Drupal module, you'll need to download it, save in the modules directory, unzip (tar zxf translation_management-6.x-NNN.tar.gz) and enable it.

2. Set up languages and check the multilingual workflow

Since we're talking about managing translations, your site needs to be multilingual. If you're not sure how to do that, have a look at our guide for setting up a multilingual Drupal site.

Next, you can use the Status Check (Admin -> Content management
-> Translation Manager -> Status Check).

This is how it looks like:

Green means everything for that content type gets translated. Yellow means some translates and some doesn't. Red means nothing is translatable.

3. Setting up translators

The new translation process includes a translator role. A translator is a Drupal user who's granted translation capabilities.

Being a translator means that the user can access the translation job queue, pull jobs and do them. A translator doesn't need any other Drupal privileges. Since all translation is done from the module's own editor, a translator doesn't need to have any editing privileges in Drupal.

1. Set up new users (if your translators don't yet have Drupal user accounts).
2. Go to Translation Manager -> Translator Management and click on Add translator.
3. Choose which languages to translate between.

4. Sending jobs for translation

Content admins now go to the Translation Dashboard to control their site's translation (Translation Manager -> Translation Dashboard).

You can use the filter to display nodes, CCK, blocks and any other Drupal content. Most importantly, you can choose to display documents in certain languages and translation status. For example, you can show all English documents that need translation.

Choose the documents to translate and click on the Translate Selected Documents at the bottom of the page. By default, jobs go to the first available translator. You can also choose which translator gets specific jobs.

Your job is done. Now, it's up to the translators.

5. Translating

Your translators need to log in to Drupal. The first Beta release doesn't yet send email notifications to translator (we'll have this ready very soon), so let them know there's new work waiting.

Once logged in, translators go to go Translation jobs. It's a new item in the main menu (for translator).

Translators can filter jobs by status. They can see all jobs that are waiting for translation, being translated or complete. Click on Edit to go to the editing page.

The translation editor is a new screen created by the module. It's not the standard Drupal Translate tab.

The translation editor has some unique features for more convenient translation:

• All content types are translated in the exact same way.
• Original content displays next to the translation.
• Each field has its own complete status. When contents update, translators see what's changed.

When you're done translating, a field, click on the This translation is finished checkbox. When all fields are translated, click on the Save button at the bottom of the screen.

The module now sends the different pieces of the translation to where it needs to go. No matter what content type it is, it goes to the right place.

6. Summary

Content admins can check on the translation status in Translation Manager -> Translation Jobs. You'll see where each job stands and how's doing it.

There are quite a few other features in Translation Management, but this post is getting too long to handle them.

In the next post, I'll talk about some of the advanced stuff like auto URL-adjustment, image translation management and outgoing links replacement.

We'd love to get your feedback. Leave comments here about how it's working for you.