Storyline XLIFF import error

What the import needs

Storyline exports the course text as XLIFF 1.2 or 2.0 (File → Localization → XLIFF/Word Translation → Export), and imports the translated file the same way into a copy of the project. It matches each segment to the course by its ID and reads the file as XML, so the IDs, the tags and every character have to survive translation.

When the import fails

1. Unsupported XLIFF File

   A character or tag that isn't valid XML

   Storyline reads the file as XML, so one bad character stops the import: a bare & or <, an HTML entity like   that XML doesn't define, or a tag a translation tool added.

   Fix: Correct the character or tag in that segment. Translation Check names the segment.

   Translation Check

2. Formatting tags changed

   Storyline writes bold, italics and other formatting as inline tags with IDs. A translator or tool that drops, adds or edits them returns a file that loses its formatting or won't import.

   Fix: Put the tags back exactly as exported. Translation Check lists missing, extra and changed tags.

   Translation Check
3. The document target language should be present only when Target elements are present

   No target language in the header

   The file has translations but no target language declared: trgLang in XLIFF 2.0, target-language in 1.2. Unfinished vendor exports are the usual cause.

   Fix: Add the target language to the file's header, or ask the vendor to export again.

   Text editor

4. The XLIFF version changed

   Storyline exports XLIFF 1.2 or 2.0. Some translation tools only accept one version, or save the file back in another.

   Fix: Export the version your vendor's tool supports, and import back the same version.

   Vendor

When it imports but looks wrong

1. Some text is still in the source language

   Segments came back empty or unchanged, or the course was edited after the export, so some text no longer matches.

   Fix: Fill the empty segments. If the course changed, export again, translate the new text and import that file.

   Translation Check

2. A %Variable% shows as text

   A reference like %UserName% was translated, split or dropped. The import works and the slide shows the raw reference or a blank.

   Fix: Restore the reference exactly as it appears in the source.

   Translation Check

3. Text runs out of its box

   Translations often run longer than English, and a fixed text box clips them.

   Fix: Shorten the translation or resize the box after import. Translation Check flags segments much longer than their source.

   Translation Check

Before you import

1. Import into a copy of the course, and don't edit the course between export and import.
2. Run the returned file through Translation Check and fix what's flagged.
3. After the import, check text fit on every slide. Captions aren't in the XLIFF, so translate and import them separately.