How to Translate a Storyline Course?
Articulate Storyline 360 makes it possible to create interactive eLearning courses with quizzes, simulations, branching scenarios, and multimedia content. When that training needs to reach learners in other countries, translating the course involves more than simply changing the text.
A localized Storyline course needs to preserve the original meaning, interactions, layout, audio, captions, and learner experience across languages. This guide explains how to translate an Articulate Storyline course, including the current Articulate Localization workflow and the traditional XLIFF/Word translation process.
For a broader overview of Storyline translation, including planning, AI-assisted translation, professional localization, and common challenges, see our complete guide to Articulate Storyline translation.
Two Ways to Translate an Articulate Storyline 360 Course
Today, there are two main approaches to translating a Storyline 360 course:
1. Articulate Localization
Storyline 360 includes an integrated Articulate Localization workflow. Open your Storyline project and go to File → Localization → Translate Course. You can select one or more target languages and manage the language versions within the same Storyline project.
This option can be useful for teams that want an integrated workflow within Articulate 360.
2. XLIFF or Word Translation
Storyline 360 also supports exporting course text to XLIFF or Word for external translation. This approach is commonly used when working with professional translators, translation management systems, or localization providers.
The rest of this guide focuses on the XLIFF/Word workflow because it gives course owners more control when working with professional translation and localization teams.
Prepare Your Storyline Course for Translation
Before exporting your course for translation, review the project and identify all content that will need localization.
Check the following:
- Slide text and interactive elements
- Quiz questions and feedback
- Audio and narration
- Closed captions
- Text embedded in images
- Variables and trigger-related text
- Player labels and navigation text
- External files and resources
If your course contains narration, prepare a separate script that identifies the slide, speaker, audio duration, and target language. This makes it easier to create or replace localized voice-over later.
Text embedded in screenshots, graphics, or other non-editable images should also be identified because it may require separate localization.
Export the Course Text
For the traditional translation workflow, open your Storyline 360 project and go to:
File → Localization → XLIFF/Word Translation
You can then choose Export to XLIFF or Export to Word.
For XLIFF, select the source language and the XLIFF version required by your translation workflow. Storyline 360 currently supports XLIFF 1.2 and 2.0.
For Word export, Storyline can provide a readable document for translators and can include slide thumbnails for additional visual context.
This is critical so once translation is complete a voice-over artist can then read the script in the appropriate amount of time and create each audio clip. Especially if you have multiple voices throughout the course, this can get complex and confusing, so this is essential.
Many times a course will have non-editable images that are screenshots or some other picture that has words in it. Most times, this text will need to be translated, but because the image is not editable, you’ll need to get the editable version or recreate it by writing down the content in the image. Having the editable version will typically be easier, but if a screenshot or jpeg, you’ll need to type out the content.
Step 2: Translate the Exported Content
Once the XLIFF or Word file has been exported, the content can be translated using a professional translator, translation management system, or localization provider.
A professional eLearning localization workflow should go beyond translating the visible text. It should also account for terminology, formatting, cultural adaptation, audio, captions, and technical requirements.
When using the traditional XLIFF/Word workflow, some Storyline elements require separate attention. Articulate notes that trigger conditions, player text labels, and variable names are not translated through this process. Closed captions also need to be handled separately.
Working with an eLearning localization provider can help coordinate translation, linguistic review, technical work, and in-context quality assurance.
Learn more about Transcend’s eLearning Localization Services.
Step 3: Import the Translated Course Back into Storyline 360
Before importing the translation, create a copy of the original Storyline project. Keep the original source-language file unchanged.
Open the duplicate project and go to:
File → Localization → XLIFF/Word Translation → Import
Select the completed XLIFF or Word translation file and import it into the duplicated project.
After importing, review the translated content carefully. Translated text may take up more or less space than the original English text, so text boxes, buttons, and other slide elements may need to be adjusted.
Step 4: Review the Translation in Context
Articulate has a review tool known as “Review 360,” which can also be used on Storyline 360 content. This is where the quality of the translation is reviewed “in-context” to ensure there are no errors. You can publish the course without having to format the slides and provide the 360 link to your SMEs for each language to review. The SMEs can provide feedback and recommendations to change the translation which you’ll need to do in the XLIFF file(s) and script file(s).
- terminology and consistency
- grammar and spelling
- text expansion
- buttons and navigation
- quiz questions and feedback
- images and graphics
- captions
- audio timing
- interactive elements
- links and resources
Step 5: Voice-over
Now that the translations have been finalized, you can confidently provide the translations to your voice-over artist for each language with the script you created. If you have multiple voices for each language then you can highlight their appropriate sections to each artists.
They will need to record each audio clip and you will need to make sure they are appropriately labeled so you can then add them back into the course and replace the English version.
Localized voice-over should be reviewed for timing, pronunciation, terminology, and synchronization with the on-screen content. The translated narration may take a different amount of time to deliver than the original English version, so audio timing should be checked during the final QA process.
Step 6: Adjust Formatting and Layout
Translated text can expand or contract compared with English, which may affect the layout of your Storyline course.
Review each slide for:
- Text overflowing its text box
- Buttons becoming too small
- Unbalanced spacing
- Incorrect line breaks
- Overlapping images or objects
- Changes to quiz or interaction layouts
- Text embedded in graphics
Adjust text boxes, spacing, font sizes, and visual elements as needed while maintaining the original design and learner experience.
Step 7: Perform Final Quality Assurance and Functionality Testing
Finally, you are done! Well hold on there. I know this process has been long, but you really need to complete one more full review. This would check that all the text is translated, buttons all work properly, and have an SME take the course to ensure everything is working exactly how you’d expect. Usually there will be a few issues you’ll catch in this final pass but it will all the difference in the world to your learners knowing you have quality trainings in their language. This speaks volumes to them and how much you care about them.
Linguistic QA
- Translation accuracy
- Grammar and spelling
- Terminology
- Cultural appropriateness
Technical QA
- Buttons and triggers
- Variables
- Quizzes
- Navigation
- Audio and captions
- Links
- Interactive elements
- LMS functionality
Step 8: Publish and Distribute
Now, your translated content has been created and proofread. The next thing is to make it available to your target audience. Before distributing the localized course, test the published package in the target LMS or learning environment. Confirm that completion tracking, navigation, multimedia, links, and assessments work correctly in the selected language. Go to the file menu and select “Publish.”
Best Practices for Translating an Articulate Storyline Course
- Plan for Text Expansion: The translated content may have larger texts than the original content due to text expansion. When you translate a sentence from English to Russian, it may be longer. This expansion will overflow into other elements in the content and could ruin the course design. There are two ways to plan for this. First, make room for extra texts in the target language when you’re designing your course content. Second, shrink text on overflow. To do this:
- Right-click the slide(s)
- Go to “Format Shape”
- Click “Text box.”
- Activate “Shrink text on overflow.”
- Do a Separate Translation for Texts in Images: This content doesn’t export automatically with the XLIFF file. So you can do it manually and translate them separately or use software that can translate image-embedded texts.
- Translate other course elements and external attachments, such as closed captions.
- Keep your source language simple and avoid using colloquialisms or culture-based idioms, which can complicate translations.
Frequently Asked Questions About Storyline Translation
Does Storyline 360 have a built-in translation feature?
Yes. Storyline 360 now includes Articulate Localization, which allows course creators to translate projects into multiple languages through the integrated localization workflow.
Can I translate a Storyline 360 course using XLIFF?
Yes. Storyline 360 supports exporting course content to XLIFF or Word for external translation and importing the translated file back into the project.
What Storyline content needs to be translated separately?
Depending on the workflow, some elements require additional handling, including text embedded in images, trigger conditions, player text labels, variable names, and certain audio or media components.
How do I prevent translated text from breaking the course layout?
Leave sufficient space for text expansion and review every translated slide in context. Text boxes, buttons, images, and other design elements may need adjustment after translation.
Do Storyline courses need localized voice-over?
Not always. A course can use translated on-screen text and captions without replacing the original narration, but fully localized training may require translated scripts and new voice-over recordings.
How should I QA a translated Storyline course?
Review the course for linguistic accuracy, terminology, cultural appropriateness, layout, navigation, interactions, audio, captions, quizzes, and functionality. Test the final published course in the intended learning environment before release.
Can a professional localization company translate an Articulate Storyline course?
Yes. A professional eLearning localization provider can coordinate translation, linguistic review, multimedia localization, technical adjustments, and quality assurance for Storyline courses.