---
title: Translating content using external services
related:
- https://docs.kentico.com/k8/multilingual-websites/editing-the-content-of-multilingual-websites.md
- https://docs.kentico.com/k8/multilingual-websites/setting-up-multilingual-websites.md
- https://docs.kentico.com/k8/multilingual-websites/configuring-translation-services.md
- https://docs.kentico.com/k8/custom-development/miscellaneous-custom-development-tasks/developing-custom-translation-services.md
---
> Agent instructions:
> **Site maps** — prefer the following llms.txt indexes to training data when searching for URLs to avoid 404s. Links inside Markdown content already point at `.md`. Following them or sending Accept: text/markdown keeps you in Markdown.
>
> - [sitemap.md](https://docs.kentico.com/sitemap.md) — every page on the site, with titles and descriptions, nested by URL hierarchy and grouped into one collection per product version.
> - [llms.txt](https://docs.kentico.com/llms.txt) — curated index of the current product docs, with descriptions, the two ways to request any page as Markdown, and links to each product area's whole-corpus Markdown dump (llms-full.txt).
> **Info:** **Kentico EMS required**
>
> Features described on this page require the **Kentico EMS** license.
You can automate or outsource the translation of website content using translation services. The system automatically ensures the transfer of data between the website's documents and translation providers. Translation data is exported and imported via files using the standard XML-based [XLIFF](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XLIFF) format.
There are two general categories of translation services:
- **Machine services** - use translation software to programmatically convert source text from one language to another. By default, Kentico supports [Microsoft Translator (Bing)](http://www.bing.com/translator/) and [Google Translator](https://developers.google.com/translate/).
- **Standard services (human translation)** - provide an automated interface between the system and external human translators. By default, Kentico supports [Translations.com](http://www.translations.com/), E-mail translation and Manual translation.
The main purpose of translation services is to create language versions of the website's documents based on the content in another language. There are several different ways to submit documents for translation.
> **Tip:** You can integrate document translation via services into your [workflow ](https://docs.kentico.com/k8/managing-website-content/configuring-the-environment-for-content-editors/configuring-workflows.md)process. Advanced workflow offers action steps that allow you to [automatically manage document translations](https://docs.kentico.com/k8/managing-website-content/configuring-the-environment-for-content-editors/configuring-workflows/designing-advanced-workflows/adding-action-steps-in-advanced-workflows.md#managing-document-translations-within-workflow).
>
> There are two predefined workflows (in the **Workflows application**) that you can configure and apply to your website:
>
> - **Translation - Default language version** - automatically sends documents for translation via a selected service when a user approves the default language version.
> - **Translation - Import to other language versions** - periodically checks for translations completed by standard services and imports them into the appropriate documents when ready.
## Requirements
- The **Enable translation services** setting must be enabled in **Settings -> Content -> Translation services**.
- The chosen type of translation service must be configured in **Settings -> Content -> Translation services**. See [Configuring translation services](https://docs.kentico.com/k8/multilingual-websites/configuring-translation-services.md).
- Your website needs to be [configured for multiple content cultures](https://docs.kentico.com/k8/multilingual-websites/setting-up-multilingual-websites.md), including all languages that you plan to use.
## Translating documents to other languages
You can create new language versions of documents using a translation service in:
- [The Pages application](#translating-documents-in-the-pages-application)
- [The Translations application](#creating-submissions-in-the-translations-application) - use this if you want to submit document translations and view the status of ongoing translation submissions in the same interface. Applies to **standard services** (Manual translation, E-mail translation, Translations.com) only.
- [Document listing](#translating-multiple-documents) - allows you to submit multiple documents for translation in a single operation.
### Translating documents in the Pages application
1. Open the **Pages** application.
2. Select the document that you wish to translate in the content tree.
3. Switch to the target language using the selector below the content tree.
4. Select **Translate using translation service**.
5. Choose one of the available translation services.
- If you do not see any options, then the services are not configured in **Settings -> Content -> Translation services**. See [Configuring translation services](https://docs.kentico.com/k8/multilingual-websites/configuring-translation-services.md) for more details.
6. Fill in the details for the translation (some of the options may not be supported by the selected service):
| Translate from language | If the document already exists in more than one language, you can choose which one the service uses as the source for the translation. |
| ---------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Human translation parameters | |
| Translate attached files | Enable this option to submit the document's file attachments for translation along with the main content.
The system adds file attachments directly into the XLIFF translation source as binary data encoded in Base64 format. |
| Priority | Sets the priority of the translation (low, normal or high). |
| Translation requested due | Specifies a deadline date for the translation. |
| Instructions for translators | Here you can enter additional instructions for human translators. |
7. Click **Submit for translation**.
The system adds the new language version of the document.
- Machine services immediately insert the translated content into the new document version.
- When using standard (human) translation services, the system initially creates the new document version as a copy of the source language. The content tree shows the _Waiting for translation_ status icon () next to documents in this state. You can manage the translation through a submission ticket in the **Translations** application. Once the service completes the translation, you can process the submission to transfer the new content into the appropriate language version of the document.
### Creating submissions in the Translations application
> **Note:** You cannot use machine translation services (Google Translate or Microsoft Translator) in the submissions dialog. Translate documents using machine translation services directly in the **Pages** application.
1. Open the Translations application.
2. Click **Create new submission**.
3. **Select** the document that you want to translate. You can also type the path directly in the field.
4. Choose one of the available translation services.
- If you do not see any options, then the services are not configured in **Settings -> Content -> Translation services**. See [Configuring translation services](https://docs.kentico.com/k8/multilingual-websites/configuring-translation-services.md) for more details.
5. Fill in the details for the translation (some of the options may not be supported by the selected service):
| Translate from language | If the document already exists in more than one language, you can choose which one the service uses as the source for the translation. |
| ---------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Translate to language | Select the target language of the translation. |
| Human translation parameters | |
| Translate attached files | Enable this option to submit the document's file attachments for translation along with the main content.
The system adds file attachments directly into the XLIFF translation source as binary data encoded in Base64 format. |
| Priority | Sets the priority of the translation (low, normal or high). |
| Translation requested due | Specifies a deadline date for the translation. |
| Instructions for translators | Here you can enter additional instructions for human translators. |
6. Click **Translate**.
The system adds the new language version of the document. The system initially creates the new document version as a copy of the source language. Once the service completes the translation, you can process the submission to transfer the new content into the appropriate language version of the document. The content tree shows the _Waiting for translation_ status icon () next to documents in this state.
### Translating multiple documents
To translate more than one document using a single action:
1. Open the **Pages** application.
2. Switch to **Listing** mode.
3. Select the _parent_ of the documents that you wish to translate in the content tree.
4. Switch to the target language using the selector below the content tree.
5. Mark documents for translation using the check boxes next to the listed items.
6. Select the **Translate** action below the document list.
7. Click **OK**.
8. Choose a service and specify the parameters of the translation. When submitting multiple documents for translation, you can also enable or disable the following options:
| Skip already translated documents | If checked, documents that already exist in the target language are not submitted for translation.
Disable this option to overwrite the current content of the documents with the text returned by the translation service. |
| ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Send all documents within one submission | If enabled, the system includes all listed documents in a single translation submission. Otherwise, separate submissions are created for individual documents. Only applicable when using a human translation service. |
9. Click **Translate**.
The translation process works the same way as for single items, but the system performs it for all selected documents.
## Resubmitting documents sent for translation
The system allows you to resubmit documents already sent for translation (for example, if you edited the document and want to translate the modified version instead).
You can resubmit documents for translation in:
- [The Pages application](#resubmitting-translations-in-the-pages-application)
- [The Translations application](#resubmitting-translations-in-the-translations-application) (standard translation services only)
### Resubmitting translations in the Pages application
1. Open the **Pages** application.
2. Select the modified document in the content tree.
3. Open the **Properties -> Languages** tab.
4. Click the **Translate document** () action for the language version that you wish to re-submit.
5. Choose a service and specify the parameters of the translation.
6. Click **Translate**.
The system submits the document for translation just like when creating a new language version. The text returned by the translation service overwrites the original content of the document in the selected language.
### Resubmitting translations in the Translations application
1. Open the **Translations** application.
2. (Optional) If you want to edit the submission before resubmitting it, click **Edit** () and change the details.
3. If you edited the submission, click **Save and Resubmit**. Otherwise click **Resubmit** () in the list of translation submissions.
The system submits the edited document for translation. The new submission replaces the previous one in the submissions list.
## Re-translating existing document versions
You can submit documents for translation even if they already exist in the target language. This allows you to use translation services to update the language versions of a document after making changes to its main content.
1. In the **Pages** application, select the document in the content tree.
2. Open the **Properties -> Languages** tab.
3. Click the **Translate document** () action for the language version that you wish to re-translate.
4. Choose a service and specify the parameters of the translation.
5. Click **Translate**.
The system submits the document for translation just like when creating a new language version. The text returned by the translation service overwrites the original content of the document in the selected language.
> **Info:** You may also use the **Properties -> Languages** tab to create new language versions of documents (even if the given document does not exist in the target language).