🔀 Translate an InDesign document with an exchange file (with an LSP or professional translator)

Translating InDesign documents can be challenging due to layout and formatting issues—but Redokun makes the process faster, easier, and layout-safe

📘 About This Guide

This guide walks you through the offline workflow using Redokun’s export/import of sentences feature, starting from an .idml file. It’s ideal for collaborating with an LSP (translation agency) or professional translator.

If your collaborator prefers to work online or they are a professional agency, check out:

✅ What you'll learn:

How to prepare and upload your InDesign file
How to assign languages
How to export sentences for translation and reimport them
How to download the translated .idml file and open it in InDesign

❗ Note: Redokun works with .idml files (not .indd). If your document is in .indd format, export it from InDesign as an .idml file before uploading.

✨ Optional: Use the Redokun InDesign Extension

You can enhance your experience by installing Redokun's InDesign Extension. It helps keep your source file previews in sync.

Install Redokun's InDesign Extension
Close and reopen InDesign after installation.

Once installed, the extension ensures that every time you save your InDesign file, Redokun updates the online preview.

✅ Tip: For the first few times, we recommend saving your document under a new name before uploading to Redokun.

📋 Before You Start: Optimize Your InDesign File

To ensure smooth segmentation and clean formatting during translation:

Use consistent paragraph and character styles throughout your file.
Avoid manual line breaks and unnecessary formatting.
Make sure all text is editable (not outlined or placed as images).

📘 Optional: Download our free InDesign optimization ebook to learn best practices. Download it here →

📥 1. Upload Your IDML File

❗ Segmentation tip: Set your segmentation preference in Settings > Text Segmentation before uploading. Use Sentence Segmentation (default) for better TM reuse and consistency, or Paragraph Segmentation for more fluent AI translations. 📘 Learn more about segmentation →

Go to your Document List.
Click Upload Document.
Select your .idml file.
Choose the source language of your document.
Click Upload.
Choose the source language of the document.
Click Upload.

When you upload a document, Redokun automatically applies filters to exclude non-translatable elements like numbers and currencies. Learn more about filters →

🌐 2. Add Target Languages

After setting the source language, you’ll be asked to select one or more target languages for your document.

Use the search bar or scroll the list to find your desired language.
Click a language to select it. If you haven’t invited any translators before, your name will appear below as the translator. Otherwise, Redokun will suggest the translators you most recently invited.
You can add multiple languages in one step.

Country-specific languages:

Redokun supports multiple regional variants for many languages (e.g., German, German (Austria), German (Belgium)). You can choose the general version or specify a locale when needed. If you don’t see the language or variant you need, go to your Language Settings and make sure it’s enabled. If a variant is missing from the list, feel free to message us at support@redokun.com.

👥 3. Assign Translators

When working with a Language Service Provider (LSP), you can choose one of two workflows:

Option 1: Manual Exchange (Most Common)
Option 2: Assign a Contact from the LSP

Option 1: Manual Exchange (Most Common)

In this offline method, the LSP doesn’t use Redokun.

You’ll:

Assign yourself as the translator (this allows you to download and upload files).
Download the exchange file from Redokun.
Send it manually to the LSP.
Receive the translated file back and upload it yourself.

This is ideal when the LSP prefers to work outside the platform.

💡 Tip: Redokun supports different types of exchange files.

For professional translators and LSPs, we recommend using the XLIFF file format.

You’ll find detailed instructions on using XLIFF later in this guide.

Option 2: Assign a Contact from the LSP

If you prefer the LSP to handle the file exchange directly:

Add someone from the LSP as the translator in Redokun.
They’ll log in, download the exchange file, translate it, and upload the XLIFF themselves.

🔧 Adding or Managing a Translator

Click Add translator next to the target language.
If someone has translated into this language before, you’ll see their name and can select them.
To invite someone new, enter their email address.
They’ll receive an invitation to join Redokun and begin working on the content.
To remove a translator, click the X icon next to their name.

If you’re handling the file exchange manually, assign yourself as the translator when prompted.

⚠️ You can also invite your team to start translating online with the help of computer-assisted translation and AI translation tools. Learn how here.

➡️ What Happens Next

After assigning languages and translators, Redokun will:

Redirect you to the Document Detail page (if you uploaded a single document),\or
Redirect you to the Document List (if you uploaded multiple documents).

From there, you can manage the next steps in your translation workflow. Typically, users take one of the following paths:

⚙️ 4. Pre-Translate the Document (Recommended)

To speed up the process, you can run Pre-Translate to:

Automatically fill in previously translated segments using your Translation Memory.
Use AI Translation to translate new segments (depending on your plan).

Where to do it:

Run Pre-Translate for all languages from the Document Detail page.
Or, run it on a language-by-language basis from inside the Web Editor.

Learn how to use Pre-Translate →

🔀 5. Offline Translation

From the Document Detail page:

On the language row, click the three-dot menu and select Export phrases.
In the Export Phrases screen, choose your preferred format. We recommend using XLIFF when working with Language Service Providers, as it’s the industry standard.
Share the file with your translator.
Once the translation is complete, return to the same menu and select Import phrases to upload the translated file.

💡 What is an XLIFF file?

XLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File Format) is a standardized file format used in translation and localization. It’s designed to make it easy to share text for translation between different tools and systems.

Each XLIFF file is a bilingual document: it contains the original content alongside a space for the translated version, segment by segment.

✅ Why we use it at Redokun:

It ensures translators can work efficiently with compatible tools.
It helps preserve style elements, like bold text or links, through special tags.
It prevents formatting issues and improves accuracy when you re-import the translation.

🔧 Translators don’t need to understand the file’s structure — they just fill in the translation fields using the tool they’re comfortable with.

📅 6. Download the Translated InDesign File

To download the final file, all translations must first be confirmed and locked. This ensures the content is stable and no further edits are in progress.

Confirm the translation

You can confirm the translations in two ways:

From the Web Editor, by clicking Confirm translation after reviewing all segments.
From the Document Detail page, by clicking Confirm and lock next to each language.

Download the translated document

Once a translation is confirmed and locked, the Download button becomes active.

Click Download to generate the translated file. Redokun will export the document in its original format and layout.

✅ Redokun preserves the original layout—just open the translated .idml file in InDesign and you're done!

Downloading a file may deduct words from your plan's word balance, depending on your subscription.

📝 7. Invite Your Team to Proofread the Translations (Optional but Recommended)

Many teams prefer to review the translation internally before finalizing the InDesign file—especially when working with external translators or agencies. Redokun makes this easy.

You can assign someone from your team to review and finalize translations directly inside Redokun. This allows your team to:

Read translations in context
Suggest edits or approve segments
Ensure that confirmed translations are saved to your Translation Memories (TMs)

To do this:

Change the assigned translator for the language(s) you want to proofread.
Invite a colleague from your team to take over the proofreading step.

✅ This approach ensures that your company’s final approved translations are stored for future reuse, improving consistency and efficiency.

✨ Optional: Install the Redokun InDesign Extension

If you plan to review translations from inside Redokun, we recommend installing the Redokun InDesign Extension before uploading your file.

The extension helps generate static previews of your original InDesign file. These previews are extracted during upload and shown in the Web Editor, helping translators and reviewers better understand the layout and context of each sentence.

Install the InDesign Extension
Close and reopen InDesign after installation
Upload your document to Redokun

✅ Tip: For the first few times, we suggest saving your file under a new name before uploading, just in case.

📌 Additional Tips

Use the Brief, Notes, and Instructions section to communicate with your team.
Utilize Comments and Mentions for segment-specific discussions.
Monitor progress using the Translation Progress Bar:
- Grey: Confirmed segments
- Orange: Draft segments
- Green: Untranslated segments

Learn more about proofreading and collaboration →

🔄 Working with Many InDesign Files?

Need to batch convert .indd to .idml before uploading?

📘 Use this guide to streamline your workflow.

Feel free to reach out to support@redokun.com if you need further assistance or have questions about specific features!