Overriding an existing translation on a questionnaire

At a Glance

Replace automatic translations with your own custom text to ensure accuracy and cultural appropriateness. Override individual fields while maintaining the overall translation structure of your questionnaire.

Core Steps

1. Navigate to Ask > Surveys > Build select your survey
   
   
2. Navigate to your questionnaire and open the Translations sidebar
   
   
   
   
3. Select the language containing translations you want to override
   
   
4. Click on the question or content block with content you want to modify
5. Click the edit icon to open the translation editor
   
   
    
6. Replace the existing translation with your custom text and click Save
   
   

In-Depth Guide

To override automatic translations

Even when translations are marked as "Complete," you may want to improve the accuracy or cultural appropriateness of specific content.

1. Select target language: In the translation sidebar, click on a language that shows "Complete" status with a green checkmark
2. Identify content to override: Review the translated content and identify questions, options, or support text that need improvement
3. Access the editor: Click on the question block containing content you want to modify, then click the edit icon
4. Review current translations: In the editor modal, you'll see all current translations for that question
5. Replace with custom text: Delete or modify existing translations in the relevant fields
6. Verify context: Ensure your override maintains consistency with surrounding content
7. Save overrides: Click Save to apply your custom translations

To manage translation overrides strategically

Quality Improvement: Override automatic translations to improve accuracy, tone, or cultural sensitivity.

Brand Consistency: Replace generic translations with terminology that matches your organization's voice and style.

Technical Accuracy: Ensure specialized terms or concepts are translated appropriately for your audience.

Cultural Adaptation: Modify content to be more culturally relevant or appropriate for specific regions.

Understanding the Details

How It Works

Override Persistence: Once you manually override a translation, that custom text becomes permanent for that specific field and will not be automatically updated if you change the default language content.

Selective Replacement: You can override individual fields (question text, specific options, support text) without affecting other parts of the same question.

Status Maintenance: Overriding translations doesn't change the language's "Complete" status since you're replacing existing translations rather than filling missing ones.

Translation Priority: Manual overrides always take precedence over automatic translations from the translation service.

Override Tracking

Visual Indicators: The system doesn't distinguish visually between automatic and overridden translations in the preview view.

Edit History: Previous automatic translations are replaced entirely when you save overrides.

Consistency Responsibility: You're responsible for maintaining consistency across overridden content.

Advanced Override Scenarios

Partial Question Overrides: Override only specific elements of a question (e.g., just the support text) while keeping automatic translations for other parts.

Option-by-Option Control: For multiple choice questions, override individual answer options while retaining automatic translations for others.

Contextual Improvements: Adjust translations based on how they appear in the overall questionnaire flow and context.

Regional Variations: Create language-specific versions that account for regional differences within the same language.

Best Practices for Translation Overrides

Review in Context: Always preview overrides within the full questionnaire to ensure proper flow and consistency.

Maintain Parallel Structure: Ensure overridden translations maintain the same structure and meaning as the original content.

Document Changes: Keep track of significant overrides for future reference and consistency.

Test with Native Speakers: When possible, have native speakers review your overrides for accuracy and cultural appropriateness.

Important Notes

• Permanent changes: Overrides are not automatically updated when you modify the original default language content
• Responsibility for accuracy: You become responsible for the quality and accuracy of overridden translations
• No reversion option: There's no built-in way to revert to the original automatic translation once overridden
• Consistency maintenance: Ensure overridden terms are used consistently throughout the questionnaire

⚠️ Translation overrides are permanent and will not be automatically updated if you modify the original content. You'll need to manually update overrides when making changes to the default language.