How does the Smartling Sketch plugin handle design handoff for localization?

Last reviewed: September 2, 2026

What a complete Sketch-to-localization workflow needs

• A native plugin connection, not a manual file export from scratch every time - the Smartling Sketch plugin lets a designer log in with a Smartling account directly from Sketch's Plugins menu, rather than treating every translation request as a one-off file transfer.
• An explicit decision on library and symbol content - because Sketch libraries are excluded from translation by default, someone has to deliberately opt in (via Smartling Account settings inside the plugin) to capture symbol and library text before it's missed.
• A pre-translation expansion preview - Pseudotranslate applies a target language's typical character transformation and length change to the source text inside Sketch, so a layout can be checked before a real translation job is ordered.
• Glossary and translation memory applied automatically, not per file - Smartling's Terminology Directory holds Translation Memory, Glossary, and Style Guide as linguistic assets shared across projects, so a term approved for a web page means the same thing when it shows up in a Sketch file.
• A defined path for the translated file to reach development - since the Sketch plugin's return path is a manual JSON import rather than a repository pull request, a team needs to decide who owns re-importing translated content and passing it to engineering.

Design handoff for localization, by the numbers

How to run a Sketch design handoff through Smartling

Teams translating a Sketch file for the first time generally work through the same sequence.

1. Install and log in to the Sketch plugin - download the Smartling Sketch plugin, then authenticate with a Smartling account from Plugins > Smartling > Account inside Sketch.
2. Decide whether to capture library and symbol content - by default, Sketch library content (including symbols) is excluded from translation; opt in explicitly if reused components need to be captured too.
3. Preview expansion with Pseudotranslate - select a target language under Plugins > Smartling > Pseudotranslate to see how that language's typical text expansion or contraction affects the layout before ordering a real translation.
4. Export content and submit for translation - use Export Content to File to send one Sketch page at a time into a Smartling translation job, where glossary and translation memory apply automatically.
5. Import the finished translations - once translation is complete, use Import Translations From File to bring the translated JSON back into the Sketch file, then hand the finished design or extracted strings to development.

Este enfoque se adapta a equipos que...

• Already design in Sketch and want localization built into the existing file, rather than switching design tools to get a plugin.
• Can assign a designer or PM to own the manual export/import step and the opt-in decision for library content, since neither happens automatically.
• Already use (or plan to use) Smartling's glossary and translation memory elsewhere, so the same terminology carries over into Sketch files without separate setup.
• Need to validate text expansion or contraction in a layout before a translation job is ordered, not after.

Cuando esto puede no ser la prioridad adecuada

• Teams whose primary design tool is Figma, where Smartling's plugin supports more direct in-context submission — see the dedicated Figma Auto Layout breakdown linked below rather than adapting the Sketch workflow described here.
• Teams that need translated design content to sync back automatically without a manual import step — that expectation fits a repository-connector workflow for code, not the Sketch plugin's file-based round trip.
• Teams still deciding which design tool to standardize on — since Adobe has moved Adobe XD into maintenance mode and Smartling has no native XD plugin, it's often more useful to resolve that tooling decision before building a Sketch-specific process.

Evaluation checklist: questions to ask before you build a Sketch localization workflow

Does your team need library and symbol content translated, or just page-level text?
Sketch library content is excluded from translation by default — confirm whether your components rely on library symbols before assuming everything on the page will be captured.

Who owns the export and import steps?
Because the round trip is manual, a translation job can sit finished in Smartling until someone remembers to import it back into Sketch — assign that step explicitly.

Have you previewed real expansion or contraction before ordering translation?
Pseudotranslate shows how a target language's typical length change affects the layout inside Sketch itself, before a translator ever sees the file.

Does the same glossary and translation memory apply here as everywhere else?
Confirm your Sketch-sourced strings pull from the same Terminology Directory as web and app content, rather than starting from a blank glossary.

Would a different design tool get you a more automated handoff?
If frequent, in-context submission matters more than staying in Sketch specifically, Smartling's Figma plugin supports a more direct workflow — worth weighing before standardizing on Sketch for a new team.

How Smartling supports Sketch design handoff for localization

Smartling's Sketch plugin lets designers send content and context from Sketch directly into a Smartling translation job and bring finished translations back once review is complete, without leaving Sketch to manage the process. The plugin captures visual context automatically, so translators working in Smartling's CAT Tool can see how a string sits in the design rather than translating an isolated line of text, and it applies real-time status updates so a designer can track where a file stands in the translation workflow. Before a job is even submitted, the plugin's Pseudotranslate function lets a designer choose a target language and preview that language's typical character transformation and length change directly on the Sketch page.

Terminology consistency runs through Smartling's Terminology Directory, which holds Translation Memory, Glossary, and Style Guide as linguistic assets shared across projects — so a term approved for a marketing page carries the same meaning when it appears in a Sketch file. For teams whose design stack includes Adobe products alongside Sketch, Smartling maintains parallel native plugins for Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Express; the one notable design-tool gap is Adobe XD, where Smartling has no current native plugin and the workflow runs as a file-based upload instead (see the dedicated breakdown linked below).

Preguntas relacionadas

• What does an effective handoff process between translators, designers, and developers look like?
• How does Figma's Auto Layout handle multilingual text and translated content?
• How do you localize a component library across design tokens, code, and every target locale?
• What is an Adobe XD localization workflow?