Including one or multiple sets of translations for surveys allows both data collectors and respondents to understand survey questions. The translation steps listed in this topic are specifically about the languages supported by the form.
To learn more about the behavior of each of the apps of Survey123 in relation to language settings, see Supported languages.
Translate survey
All elements of the survey—questions, hints, messages, choice lists, images, and form elements—are translated on the Options tab of the web designer.
- Click Manage survey languages on the Options tab.
- Click Add language.
- Select a Language name option and click OK.
- Enter a translation for each question, hint, message, choice list item, and form element.
The language editor supports the same editing tools available in the question editor. Click the edit tool to use a rich content editor, image picker, or question value chooser.
Use the Preview in language switch to see the translations in the survey preview.
More than one translated language can be added for a survey. Click Languages to add another language. The default language is shown alongside the currently selected translated language.
The languages that are supported by Survey123 are shown in the list. Other languages can be added, but when users switch the survey to one of these languages, only the content in the form will change. For example, you may choose to add Creole translations for the content in the form, but the menus, pop-ups, and buttons in the app will remain in your default language when Creole is selected.
To see all translated languages at once, click the table view button. In table view, the survey preview is not visible but all languages can be edited.
Export and import translations
The following text elements in a survey can be exported to Microsoft Excel files to enable distributed translation:
- Question labels, hints, and guidance hints
- Constraint messages and required messages
- File names for audio and images used in questions and choices
- Customized form elements, for example, the survey's title and description
- Choice labels
To export and import translations, the survey must contain at least one language other than the default.
To export text elements for translation, choose Export translations from the Languages menu. A .zip file is created for you to download to your computer. This .zip file contains individual .xlsx files for each language.
Each .xlsx file contains a worksheet with three columns:
- Column A—Key that represents the survey element
- Column B—Text in the default language
- Column C—Text entered by the translator
The key that represents the translatable text is a concatenation of the survey element's type, name, and value, and it can provide context to the translator as to how the text is used in the survey. The following lists examples of common keys:
- #/questions["status"]/label—The label of the question named status
- #/questions["status"]/hint—The hint of the question named status
- #/choicelists["yes_no"]/choices["yes"]/label—The label of the choice named yes
- #/choicelists["yes_no"]/choices["no"]/label—The label of the choice named no
The keys and column headings in translation files must not be changed. Modified keys or column headings will lead to import failures.
To import completed translation files (as a .zip file containing individual .xlsx files), choose Import translations from the Languages menu. The translated text is imported into the columns for each language in the Manage Survey Languages panel.
Default language
When you first launch the Manage Survey Languages panel, the default language used is determined by your ArcGIS organization user language setting. When a user is not signed in to an ArcGIS organization, the web browser settings are used in the web app and website.
When switching between different translated languages, the default language is always displayed alongside the currently selected translated language.