Localization

What is Localization? Or the more informal question that is asked is: “How do I get my VT System in other languages for my users?”

It is the specialized process of adapting your platform, video content and applications for regional—or local—consumption. It goes beyond translation to modify the source language and other platform elements to appeal to the users cultural preferences in their own target language.

There are two immediate ways to Localize your VT System.

1. Google Translate

Google Translate can be enabled for your System at any time under the System Management section, under Language Settings. It will appear as a drop-down option on the lower left of the screen in the footer:

Google Translate will translate every written word in your System, except for Videos, Caption/Subtitles found in those Videos, and any words written in a graphic, such as those found perhaps in Carousel Panel images, or Category and Course images.

2. Advanced Localization

Advanced Localization is a more finely curated translation of the majority of the written text found in the platform. With Advanced Localization enabled, Users can navigate to My Profile -> Settings and choose their language.

There are often several dialects to choose from as well – such as for Spanish, you can choose Spain, Mexico, Colombian, Ecuadorian, etc.
See full list here.

Using this Localization option will translate most written words in the platform. The content that is not translated is anything that can be “Content Managed” – which means, if you have the option to update the text, then we do not translate it. Examples of this include Category, Course and Chapter titles and descriptions, and test questions.

If you choose Advanced Localization we suggest you create a special separate Location, Theme and set of Content that can be translated.

Translating your Training Center Content

If you have he Super User B Privilege to Export/Import your content, then you can export a list of your content, then localize it in an excel file, and then re-import it back into the System to instantly create Localized content for your platform.

The privilege to Export/Import can ONLY be granted by a LightSpeed VT Employee at the moment, so please contact us (support@lightspeedvt.com) for access. This is because we’d like to explain a few things about this process to you before you get started.

Once you have access to the privilege, you can find it under the Account column, under System Tools:

From there, select the “Export/Import” tab:

On this screen, you can enter a comma list of Categories, Courses, or Chapters to be exported. Once you enter those IDs an excel file will automatically download to your computer.

If you do not have access to the content, we’ll give you a warning like this – this will help prevent any typos when you enter your list of content to export:

Once you have successfully exported your content, you’ll see an excel file that looks something like this:

The only columns you can update are basically the ones with text in them – nothing with IDs or numbers. Category Name, Category Description, Course Name, Course Description, Chapter Name, Test Instructions, Test Summary – Passed, Test Summary – Failed, Test Question, and Test Answers.

Once you have translated those columns (any column left in English will not be updated), then choose the excel file from your hard drive and click Import Data – we’ll give you one more warning before proceeding:

And as a safety precaution, we’ll give you a link to download the original / backup file just in case you need to revert your import. We suggest you download this just in case you see a mistake you made in the import.

So to summarize, our suggested steps for localizing your content are:

1. Create a duplicate of the content that you wish to localize.
2. Create a separate localized content role – something with the Language name in it such as “Learner – Spanish”.
3. Assign the duplicated content to the new special / localized content role.
4. Export a list of the duplicated content that you want to translate – this will download an excel file to your computer.
5. Translate the Category, Course, Chapter and Test question content to any language you choose.
6. Use the same excel file to re-import the data – and grab that backup copy just in case.

Once the import is complete, you will now have a copy of your content localized for whichever language you need.

And now users with that special localized content role sign in, they will see your localized content, just as they would your original / english version.

Notes and Considerations:

1. Let’s say 6 months later you need to change a test question in one of your original / English Courses – remember you will also need to make that change to the duplicated / localized Category/Course/Chapter as well.
2. When exporting and importing, do NOT change any of the “ID” columns – Category, Course, Chapter, Test – these IDs are what we use to determine which items to update. Any changes to these columns or numbers could cause major issues with which content is updated.

Only translate the text/content columns, and do not delete or remove any of the ID columns!

Adding Captions / Subtitles to Standard Video Content

In this section we’ll cover how to add Captions to standard video content (no interactivity) and then next we’ll cover Interactive content.

First, navigate to 301 – Create/Edit Courseware and then navigate to the Chapter you would like to add Captions to, and then select: Add Caption

Next, enter the Caption name (the name of the Language) and then choose the caption file to upload.

Once you have added all of your Captions, click “Save Chapter”

And that’s it! You can view them now in action in the Training Center, you will now see a “CC” icon appear with the Caption options you have added:

Adding Captions / Subtitles to Interactive Video Content

Navigate to 303 – Interactive Studio and open the project you would like to add Captions to.

Select the segment you would like to add Captions to, and then click on the “Video Details” drop down:

From there, select “Add Language” and choose from a list of available languages.

If you do not see the language you are looking for, navigate to System Management and then the “Language Settings” section to add it.

Once your language is selected, click Select File which will open a screen for you to choose the caption file from the media library.

And that’s it – now you can add additional languages or add Captions to different segments.

How do I create Caption files for my videos?

We use a 3rd party vendor Rev.com for quick/cheaper machine translation.

When you order foreign language captions, they send English ones for free.

As an example, for Spanish, they charge $3 per minute. They provide a little note to estimating the content, if the file is – let’s say 1:30 in duration – they will round up to the 2:00 minute mark. (So this one video would be $6).

You can upload your files, paste URLs, or pull from YouTube or Vimeo. They will give you an estimate before you are charged.
When choosing your preferred format to receive the files in, choose “.VTT” – that is the caption type that LightSpeed VT uses.

Learn how to upload and create captions using Rev.com →

If you would like human translations, voice over work, or on-screen assets translations done, please contact us a support@lightspeedvt.com for more information.