XLIFFy For Mac

XLIFFy is a minimalist file editor for the XML Localisation Interchange File Format (XLIFF) that is ordinarily used for the translation files. The utility will operate the changes in the source file almost instantly, but it does not seem capable of preserving the original formatting.

To start working with the XLIFFy app, you must begin by directly opening the source XLIFF resources. The utility will automatically detect the included files, and you get to see their content.

XLIFFy organizes the data in three different rows: original text, the translation, and notes. Within the XLIFFy main window you get to edit only the translation field: even though the other fields can become active, you don’t seem to be able to type in them.

To help you dealing with extensive documents, XLIFFy also comes with a search tool that works in real-time and leaves visible only the entries that match your query.

Even though XLIFFy displays in the status bar that the document has been edited, the utility does not wait for the user to save the file to operate the changes. This is extremely significant since XLIFFy saves the modifications directly to the source files.

On the other hand, XLIFFy does not preserve the original formatting of the XLIFF file and places everything on a single line which makes the document extremely hard to read.

Moreover, you do not seem to be able to set or modify the target translation language, so make sure to include the appropriate tag in the XLIFF file beforehand.

Bottom line, XLIFFy can help you localize apps via a minimalist user interface, without having to write any code. Nonetheless, backing up the original file beforehand is advisable since XLIFFy operates the changes even before you decide to save the file.

It is worth mentioning that not all XLIFFy fields are editable, and the app does not preserve the spacing used in the original XLIFF file (it produces hard to read code files, which can be a problem if they need further processing).