Overview
The Contextual Reference Columns feature allows you to designate columns from your spreadsheet files to serve as contextual references within the translation editor. This enhances the translation process by displaying extra reference information (such as comments or images) directly alongside the segments being translated, helping translators deliver more accurate and context-aware translations. This feature is available when uploading spreadsheet files (e.g., .xlsx) and is compatible with other platform features such as Multilingual Files workflows.
Index
1. What are Contextual Reference Columns?
Contextual Reference Columns allow you to select up to two columns in your spreadsheet file to act as reference material for translators. The information in these columns is displayed in the translation editor alongside the source segments, giving translators valuable context such as product descriptions, previous comments, or additional data. You can also include an image column for visual references.
2. When to Use Contextual Reference Columns
This feature is useful when your translation project requires translators to have additional information from the original file. Typical use cases include:
Providing notes or descriptions for product listings.
Including customer comments or historical translations.
Displaying related images to clarify segment meaning.
3. How to Configure Contextual Reference Columns (Step-by-Step)
Step 1: Upload Your Spreadsheet File
Start by uploading your .xlsx (or other supported spreadsheet) file to your project.
Step 2: Enable the Contextual Reference Feature
In the File Filter settings for spreadsheets, enable the option Enable Contextual References.
For multilingual files, this option appears after selecting Multilingual files.
Step 3: Map Your Reference Columns
Once enabled, new fields will appear for configuring your contextual reference columns:
Sheet name: Select the sheet you want to configure.
Source Column: Choose the column containing the source text.
Reference Column 1: (Optional) Select the first reference column.
Reference Column 2: (Optional) Select the second reference column (maximum 2 reference columns allowed).
Reference Image Column: (Optional) Select a column containing the filenames of reference images.
Step 4: Save and Continue
Proceed with the project creation as normal.
4. Configuration Options Explained
Sheet Name: The specific sheet within your spreadsheet where the mapping will apply.
Source Column: The column containing the main text for translation.
Reference Column 1 / 2: Up to two columns can be selected to provide additional context. These are shown to translators in the editor.
Reference Image Column: Use this to link images to segments, either by matching the image filename to a reference ID from the spreadsheet or to the segment number. Multiple images per segment are supported.
5. Uploading Reference Images
When you include a Reference Image Column in your spreadsheet, you have the opportunity to associate images with translation segments, providing additional visual context to translators. This functionality is not limited to .xlsx files—images can be associated with segments for various file types, provided the filenames match the correct identifiers.
How to Upload Reference Images:
Prepare Your Image Files:
Create a.zipfile containing your reference images in.pngor.jpgformat.Matching Images to Segments:
There are two supported methods for associating images with translation segments:Using Reference IDs from the Spreadsheet:
If your spreadsheet includes a column with unique reference IDs, activate the "Use reference ID" option during the image upload process. The image filenames within your.zipfile must exactly match the reference IDs specified in your spreadsheet.Using Segment Numbers as Filenames:
Alternatively, you may name your image files according to the segment number (file index) that corresponds to each translation segment.
Uploading the ZIP File:
Navigate to Project > Reference Files > Attach visual references to translation segments and upload your.zipfile. The system will automatically associate images with the appropriate segments based on your selected matching method.
6. Important Notes and Limitations
You can configure up to two reference columns and one image column per sheet.
You cannot create multiple contextual reference configurations for the same sheet name within a single spreadsheet file.
The contextual reference feature is compatible with Standard xlsx and Multilingual File workflows.
For multilingual files, the Enable Contextual References option becomes available only after selecting Multilingual files in the workflow.