File Formats

Supported formats

Localizia currently supports XLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File Format):

XLIFF is the industry standard for exchanging localization data between tools, CAT systems and translation management platforms.

How files are parsed

When you upload a file, Localizia:

1. Detects the XLIFF version automatically
2. Extracts the file hierarchy (<file>, <unit>, <segment>)
3. Identifies placeholders and formatting tags
4. Creates individual segments for each translatable text
5. Preserves leading and trailing whitespace per segment

Placeholders

Localizia automatically detects and preserves placeholders in your content. Common placeholder formats include:

• Numbered placeholders: {0}, {1}, {2}
• Opening/closing tags: {0}...{/0}
• Self-closing tags: {0/}
• Named variables: {username}, {count}

How placeholders work during translation

1. Detection — placeholders are identified in the source text before translation
2. Instruction — the AI model is instructed to preserve all placeholders exactly as they appear
3. Validation — after translation, placeholders are validated to ensure none were lost or modified
4. Display — in the segment editor, placeholders appear as colored badges for easy identification

Multi-segment units

Some XLIFF files contain translation units with multiple segments (e.g. sentences within a paragraph). Localizia handles these by:

• Decomposing multi-segment units into individual segments for translation
• Translating each segment independently
• Recomposing them back into the original unit structure on export

Export

When you export a translated file, Localizia:

1. Takes all reviewed/approved translations
2. Recomposes multi-segment units
3. Validates placeholder integrity
4. Generates a valid XLIFF file matching the original version

The exported file is ready to be imported back into your localization tool or development workflow.