We’ve already discussed this attribute in the previous section. datatype - specifies the kind of text contained in the element.It serves as a reference to the original corresponding code data or format for the given element, and its value is determined by the tool creating the XLIFF document (usually, you won’t enter IDs manually). id - this is the only mandatory attribute.trans-unit - this tag is nested inside the body and contains your source and target texts as well as other associated elements.It contains the content from the file and does not have any attributes. body - this is a mandatory tag that should be nested directly into the file element.Here are the most important tags and attributes: That’s it, we have discussed the preamble - now we’ll cover the main part of the XLIFF document! Main partĪll your translation data should be nested inside the file tag discussed in the previous section. target-language - an optional attribute that contains a language code for your target translations.datatype - this is the last mandatory attribute, and it specifies the kind of text contained in the element.This attribute is case sensitive and should contain a language code formatted as specified in the RFC 4646. source-language - another mandatory attribute that specifies the source language of your text elements.For example, in Angular we would say something like original='ng2.template', meaning that the contents have been extracted from an HTML template. original - this is a mandatory attribute that contains the original filename from which the contents of the file element were extracted.

Here are some attributes that this tag supports: Your XLIFF file must contain at least one file nested directly into the xliff tag. file - this is a mandatory tag that corresponds to a single extracted original document.For instance, header might contain links to reference materials or glossaries, mention a tool used to create this file, and so on. It should be nested directly in the xliff tag and it usually contains metadata. header - this is an optional tag, and you might find it in some XLIFF documents.xmnls - once again, contains the format name and the version for example, urn:oasis:names:tc:xliff:document:1.2.version - we are going to discuss version 1.2, but there are other versions available (namely, 2.0 and 2.1).xliff - this is the root tag that nests all other data.- this is an XML declaration in other words, we’re stating that this is an XML file, duh! Typically the version and the encoding attributes are provided as shown in the code example above.PreambleĪll XLIFF files start with a few tags that together we can call a preamble. We will cover the most popular and widespread tags and attributes, but you can find the full tree structure in the official specification. To make things simpler, let’s deconstruct this file and move on step by step. If you feel overwhelmed, don’t, because you’ll find yourself navigating this file like a pro in no time. We’ll dive in and take a look at the following example taken from our Angular i18n tutorial: Now let’s see how the XLIFF files are structured. Translation management systems also support this format and, of course, Lokalise is no exception. XLIFF version 1.2 emerged in 2008 and is still used in many technologies, including Angular, iOS, macOS, and Symfony PHP. The main intent was to create a single interchange file format that can be understood by any localization provider. XLIFF was designed by a technical committee that included software providers and localization service providers. As you might guess, it is based on the XML format, which itself means Extensible Markup Language - it has been used quite heavily in software development since it appeared in 1996. XLIFF is an acronym for XML Localization Interchange File Format. If you are eager to start translating your files right away, please proceed to the next section. So, first of all let’s discuss what this format is all about. What is an XLIFF file and how is it structured? X…what?

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