For Android XML files

Non-translatable strings are automatically marked in your localization projects when you import terms with a translatable="false" flag from an Android XML file.

The terms import can be made in multiple ways:

• in the user interface, using the Import option in the Project page and selecting to import translations in the source language
• using our simple REST API with the method projects/upload, the argument updating and the value terms_translations. For the language argument choose the project's source language.
• with any of our code hosting integrations

When you import the non-translatable strings to the source language in your POEditor project, the source language needs to be set as Default Reference Language, otherwise the non-translatable values will be ignored.

After you import the untranslatable values in your Default Reference Language, they will be copied in all your other project languages and locked, so that they can't be edited.

To update a non-translatable string, make a new translations import using an updated Android XML file in the Default Reference Language, and check the box to overwrite old translations.

For other file formats

As the translatable="false" flag is specific to Android XML, it is not possible to set strings as non-translatable natively in other file formats.

As a workaround, you can add a placeholder value to the translation (for example, you could copy the original string), then use the Lock Proofread Translations feature to block the translation box for that string. This will prevent contributors without Proofreading rights from editing it.

You can also mark Glossary terms as non-translatable by setting the do_not_translate field.