When localizing your content, you might need to manually modify your localization table to improve translation quality, add context for when a translation should be used, or even remove unused translation entries.
Whether you have translation entries automatically captured or manually added, all the translation entries are saved to the cloud localization table. To modify the localization table, you can perform the following actions:
- Add source content to the table, either manually or automatically.
- Remove content from the table, such as usernames or other strings that shouldn't be translated.
- Add translations to entries in the table for any supported languages set in your experience.
Before making any changes to your table, it's important to understand each field in the cloud localization table to prevent issues or conflicts.
Cloud Localization Table
The localization table is the reference for all translations within your experience. It's important to understand each field of the localization table to effectively add or modify entries.
When populated, the table contains all user-facing content within your experience that requires translation along with any available translations for specific languages. You can add source content and add translations to the Cloud Localization Table or download and upload a .csv version of your table. Only users who have edit permission for an experience can access an experience's localization table.
The localization table has the following columns:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Source | A required field containing the in-experience source text strings gathered by automatic text capture or manual entry. This is the source text that you intend to translate to other languages. Source text is required before you can add a translation and multiple entries can share the same Source, as long as they have unique Context fields. If you are translating dynamic content, such as partial strings, the Source field must follow one of the supported parameter formats described in Translating Dynamic Content. |
| Context | An optional field containing a reference to the in-experience object containing the source text. You can use the Context field to specify which translation Roblox displays on an object. See Using Context Overrides for more details. |
| Example | An optional field containing any additional information about an entry you may want to include as notes for translators. You can use this field to show manual translators where and when your experience uses a specific translation. |
| Key | An optional field for implementing key-based lookup when using localization APIs. You can leave this field empty if you are not using localization APIs for specific tasks, such as localizing images and sounds. |
| Location | A field that is auto-filled by the Automatic Text Capture system. It contains a reference to the in-experience object containing the source text which can help you or a translator identify where the string is being encountered in your experience. This field is either blank or populated by the Automatic Text Capture System. To manually add your own object reference, use the Context field. |
Some fields in the localization table must be unique to avoid unexpected behavior. Keep in mind the following:
- For all entries, the Source field must not be empty.
- No two entries can share the same Source and Context values.
- No two entries can share the same Key.
Adding Source Content
You must add source text to translate to the experience's localization table before you or any collaborators add translations. You can use Automatic Text Capture to collect text strings automatically as your experience is played by users or manually add text sources.
See Localizing Images and Sounds for instructions on localizing non-text content.
Automatic Text Capture
The Automatic Text Capture (ATC) tool collects text strings that users encounter in your experience through GUI objects, such as TextLabels or BillboardGui and is usually the fastest way to collect translatable text from your experience. In many cases, the Automatic Text Capture tool is already enabled for automatic translations.
Manually Adding Source Content
You can also add content manually. This is recommended if your experience contains text that doesn't appear during typical gameplay, like a complex conversation tree, which may take longer to collect via ATC. You can add entries to the table in the localization page or with a .csv file upload. It is recommended to use the .csv upload if you want to specify an entry's Key, Context, or Example fields.
Entries in the localization table are case-sensitive.
For example, when using "hello" as a source value on the localization table, Roblox does not apply translations for "Hello" or "HELLO".
You can manually add image and sound asset IDs to the localization table with a .csv upload. For more information see Localizing Images and Sounds.
Adding Sources With Localization Settings
You can add source content in the localization page. This is ideal for making quick additions to your localization table.
To add source content through the localization page:
In your experience's localization page, click the Translate button on the top right.
Select the Strings tab.
Click Add Entry.
In the Text to translate field, input the source text and click Save.
If you are using key-based scripting to translate a string, input the key name in the Key field.
If the string has multiple meanings, such as a character's back and a back button, input the full path of the specific text object in the Context field.
Click Save.
Adding Sources With File Upload
You can add source content to your localization table with a .csv upload. You can use this option when making large numbers of updates to your localization table.
To add source content through the .csv upload:
In Studio, navigate to the Plugins tab.
In the Localization section, select Tools.
In the Cloud Localization Table section, select Download to save the .csv.
Open the .csv in your preferred spreadsheet editor.
Under the Source column, add source text and save. You can leave the other columns blank.
Key Context Example Source Options Start In Studio, in the Cloud Localization Table section, select Update and upload the new .csv file.
Click Confirm on the Confirm Upload prompt to save the new entry to the cloud localization table.
Removing Content from Localization Table
If you find source content that is wrong or no longer needed in your localization, you can remove this content by either clearing all entries collected via ATC or manually removing source content. When you remove source content, you also remove any associated translations.
Clear Unmodified Auto-Captured Entries
You might want to remove some auto-captured entries if the ATC tool collects strings that shouldn't be translated, such as usernames, user-generated names, or chat strings. This option only clears auto-captured entries that you haven't manually edited.
To clear unmodified auto-captured entries:
In your experience's localization page, click Settings.
Select which time period you would like to clear strings from in the dropdown list. This clears all entries that were auto-captured from the specified time period.
Click the Clear button.
Manually Remove Source Content
You can also remove entries manually. This is recommended if you have specific entries you want to remove or if the entries you want to remove were manually modified in any way, such as content that is added manually or ATC entries that have been manually edited.
To remove source content through the localization table on Creator Dashboard:
In your experience's localization page, click the Translate button on the top right.
Select Game Strings.
Click the entry you would like to remove in the Strings column.
Click the trash can icon to the right of the 'Text to translate' section.
Click the Delete button in the confirmation dialog.
To remove source content through a .csv upload:
- In Roblox Studio, navigate to the Plugins tab.
- In the Localization section, select Tools.
- In the Cloud Localization Table section, select Download to save the .csv.
- Open the .csv in your preferred spreadsheet editor.
- Delete the entire row for any entries you would like to remove, and save.
- In Studio, in the Cloud Localization Table section, select Update and upload the new .csv file.
- Click Confirm on the Confirm Upload prompt to save the new entry to the cloud localization table.
Adding Translations
You can add translations to string, experience information, or experience product entries on your experience's localization table using the localization portal or with a .csv file upload.
In some cases, strings may require real-time translation during gameplay, such as a timer, using units of measurement, or when displaying player names. You can add translation parameters to the localization table as placeholders for this type of content. See Translating Dynamic Content for implementation details.
Adding String Translations
The localization page provides a direct way to provide translations for the collected strings. This method of adding translations is the only option available to users added as translators to your experience.
To translate text through the localization page:
In the localization settings page, click the Translate button on the top right.
In the Target Languages menu on the left, select the target language you want to add a translation to.
Select the Strings tab at the top of the page.
In the Strings column, select the string you intend to translate.
In the Text to translate field, input the desired translation and click Save.
You cannot make edits to an existing source's Key, Context or Example fields through the localization settings page. To add or edit a source's Key, Context, or Example fields, you can remove and re-add the entry on the Localization page with these fields included, or make the edits directly through the .csv upload process.
Adding Experience Information Translations
On your experience's localization page, you can modify experience information, such as the name, description, icon, and thumbnails, by updating the localization table:
In the localization settings page, click the Translate button on the top right.
In the Target Languages menu on the left, select the target language you want to add a translation to.
Select the Information tab at the top of the page.
For Name and Description fields, input the desired translation and click Save.
For Icon and Thumbnails, use the Upload or Remove buttons to modify your localized images. You can upload up to 10 thumbnails per experience. When complete, click Save.
Adding Experience Product Translations
On your experience's localization page, you can modify experience product details, such as developer products, game passes, and badges:
In the localization settings page, click the Translate button on the top right.
In the Target Languages menu on the left, select the target language you want to add a translation to.
Select the Products tab at the top of the page.
Input the desired translations for your experience product and click Save.
Adding Translations With File Upload
You can download the localization table from Studio and re-upload the file with additional translations or edits. This is helpful in cases when editing several translations at a time or when collaborating with translators outside of Roblox. You can only edit a source's Key, Context or Example fields through the .csv file.
To translate text through the .csv:
In Studio, navigate to the Plugins tab.
In the Localization section, select Tools.
In the Cloud Localization Table section, select Download to save the .csv.
Open the .csv in your preferred spreadsheet editor.
Add translations on the same row as the source text, under the column with the specific country code you are localizing to. Save when finished.
In the Cloud Localization Table section, select Update and upload the updated .csv.
Click Confirm on the prompt to save the new entries to the cloud localization table.
In a spreadsheet editor, your table may look like this:
| Key | Context | Example | Source | es | pt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Options | Opciones | Opções | |||
| Start | Iniciar | Iniciar |
If this is the first addition of a translation for a language, you need to manually add the country code as a new column in the spreadsheet. See Language Codes for a list of supported languages and country codes.