Translating a page

This section applies only to a site configured for more than one language. On such a site, each page has a Language. Pages has a Language filter in the table view, and a Language button in the header of the tree view, which switches the tree to one language at a time.

To create a page in another language:

1. In the sidebar, select Pages.
2. Find the page to translate from, and open its ⋮ row menu.
3. Select Translate. The item is shown only when at least one configured language has no translation of the page yet.
4. In the window that opens, choose the target language in the Language select. It lists only the languages the page has not been translated into, and the first is preselected. Confirm.
5. The CMS creates an unpublished copy in that language, with the same title, slug, blocks, SEO fields and tags as the original, and opens it for editing. The notification reads "Translated into" followed by the language code. The copy is made from the original's current draft, where one exists.
6. Replace the text in each block with the translated text. Translating in place keeps the original wording in front of you.
7. Translate the Slug as well, in Page settings, so the address reads naturally in the new language. An untranslated slug still works, but the address is visible to readers and to search engines.
8. Select Save & publish when the translation is complete.

Translating the homepage makes the copy the homepage for its language, if that language does not have one yet.

Two rules govern translations:

1. Translate parents before their children. The CMS refuses to translate a page whose parent has no translation in the target language, because the child would otherwise sit at an address that is partly in one language and partly in another. The refusal names the parent page to translate first. Work from the top of the tree downward.
2. Links inside a translated page follow the reader's language. A link to another page of the site leads to that page's version in the language being read, when one exists. Where no translation of the target exists yet, the link leads to the original language instead of to a missing page. Links do not need to be edited by hand when translating.

A page's language cannot be changed after the page is created. Use Translate to create the content in another language.

When the language has a deleted translation

A deleted translation still holds its language: the CMS cannot create a second page in that language for the same original while the deleted one exists. When the language chosen in step 4 has a deleted translation, the window shows the sentence "A deleted fr-ca translation exists at /prix." (with that language and the deleted page's address) and two choices beneath it:

1. In the Translate window, after choosing the Language, choose one of:

• Restore it brings the deleted translation back with its version history, its address and its publication state. Nothing is copied from the original.
• Replace it permanently deletes the deleted translation and every version of it, then creates a new translation from the original, as in step 5 above. This cannot be undone.

2. Confirm. Restore it opens the restored translation and shows the notification "Restored the fr-ca translation", with the chosen language code in place of fr-ca. Replace it opens the new translation and shows "Translated into" followed by the language code.

The two choices are shown only to accounts permitted to delete content. For any other account, confirming shows the same sentence as an error notification and creates nothing; ask someone with that permission to restore or delete the old translation. The deleted translation can also be handled from the list of deleted pages; see Deleted pages.