# Localizing with Smartling


Our Smartling integration lets you sync your localization workflow between your Dyspatch account and Smartling project.

Dyspatch supports two levels of localization for your email — [Email Localization](/localization/localizing_an_email/),
for [editable content](/blocks_and_themes/using_editable/) that will change from email to email such as text content,
and [Block Localization](/localization/block_localization/), for content that will be consistent between emails, such as
headers and footers.

After you've completed the [Smartling integration setup](/integrations/smartling_setup/) process, you will be able to
sync both your email and block localizations to Smartling.

## Localizing Content

### Adding Locales

To get started, navigate to your email or block's **Localizations** tab and click **Add Locale** to add any locales that
you would like to sync with Smartling.

![Arrow pointing to Add a Locale button in the Dyspatch Email Builder](https://docs.dyspatch.io/img/localizations/smartling-add-locales.png)

<div class="highlight tip">If your export fails, ensure all locales you've added are set up in your Smartling configuration.</div>

### Syncing Content to Smartling

When your locales are ready, click **Sync to Smartling**, enter a name for your Smartling job, and click **Confirm &
Sync**.

!['Sync to Smartling' option in the Email Builder](https://docs.dyspatch.io/img/localizations/sync-to-smartling.png "class: img-size-75 idm")

### Complete Translations in Smartling

You will now see a progress bar in Dyspatch which shows the current status of your localizations in Smartling. For email
localization, your content will now be
[locked for localization](/emails/email_statuses/#the-draft-stages-and-their-statuses),
meaning that no content can be changed.

![View of Smartling Job Status In Progress in the Email Builder](https://docs.dyspatch.io/img/localizations/smartling-in-progress.png "class: img-size-75 idm")

#### Using Smartling Instructions

Content-specific sections that don't have a preview in the Visual Context, like subject lines, hrefs, and alt text, will include instructions for what the value is.

![View of Smartling String selected with Preheader instruction](https://docs.dyspatch.io/img/localizations/smartling-instruction.png "class: img-size-75")

### Pulling Completed Translations Back to Dyspatch

Once the Smartling process is complete, we'll automatically update each locale in Dyspatch with the translated content
and unlock your email.

For block localization, you can [bulk update](/blocks_and_themes/bulk_updating_blocks/) your
block so that your changes will appear in emails containing a previous version of the block.

![View of email template translated to French once Smartling job complete](https://docs.dyspatch.io/img/localizations/smartling-translation-complete.png)

<div class="highlight note">If your job is complete in Smartling but the localizations aren't showing up in Dyspatch, you may need to refresh your browser to see the updated translations.</div>

### Viewing Visual Context for Translations

Smartling's **Context** tab shows translators a visual preview of your email alongside the strings they're translating, highlighting exactly where each selected string appears in the design.

#### Opening the CAT Tool

From your Smartling job's **Languages** tab, select the **...** menu next to a language and choose **Edit in CAT Tool**.

![Actions menu on a language row in a Smartling job, with Edit in CAT Tool highlighted](https://docs.dyspatch.io/img/integrations/smartling-edit-job-in-cat.png)

#### Using the Context Tab

In the CAT Tool, select the **Context** tab. Selecting a string in the list highlights its location in the visual email preview above.

![Smartling CAT Tool Context tab with a translated string highlighted in the visual email preview](https://docs.dyspatch.io/img/localizations/smartling-visual-context.png)

<div class="highlight tip">Visual context helps translators see where a string appears and how much space it has, which is especially useful for short strings like buttons or headers.</div>

Read more in Smartling's <a href="https://help.smartling.com/hc/en-us/articles/360057484273--Overview-of-Visual-Context" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Overview of Visual Context</a> documentation.

## Syncing a New Job in an Existing Smartling Project

If a template is updated and you need to sync it as a new Smartling job, you can reassign already-approved translations from the previous job to avoid retranslating unchanged strings.

#### Steps

**1. Sync to Smartling with a new job name**

From Dyspatch, sync the updated content to Smartling as normal but with a new name, for example, `Welcome Email - update`.

**2. Open the new job in Smartling**

In Smartling, click on the newly created job name to open it, then select the **Strings** tab.

**3. Filter by previously published strings**

Use the left-hand search panel to filter strings by:
- **Job Name**: select the original Job Name, `Welcome Email` in this case
- **Status**: select **Published**

This surfaces strings already approved and published in your previous job.

![Strings filtered by selected previous job name in Smartling](https://docs.dyspatch.io/img/integrations/smartling-published-jobs.png)

**4. Select all filtered strings**

Select all strings shown in the filtered results.

**5. Reassign to the new job**

Click **Actions → Change Job → Existing Job**, then select your new job.

![Selection modal of new job to reassign the translation strings to](https://docs.dyspatch.io/img/integrations/smartling-change-translation-job.png)

Your matching translations are now reassigned to the new job — no retranslation needed for unchanged strings.

## Video Walkthrough

Want to see our Smartling integration in action? Check out our video walkthrough!

<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 560px; aspect-ratio: 16/9;" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SepfvoH2Vpg" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen loading="lazy" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-presentation allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe>

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### Learn More

Read more about working with Smartling in Dyspatch on our [Smartling Integration](/integrations/smartling/) page.