An XLIFF file (XML Localization Interchange File Format) is the industry-standard bilingual file wxrks generates for a work unit, built specifically to round-trip through third-party CAT tools. Export one when a linguist or reviewer needs to work outside wxrks in a dedicated CAT tool, then import the finished file back into the same project to bring the translation into wxrks.
💡 Who is this for? This guide is for Project Managers and Vendors who need to export a work unit as an XLIFF file for translation or review in an external CAT tool, then import the finished file back into wxrks.
1. XLIFF vs. other file formats
wxrks offers more than one way to move translation work outside the platform, and it helps to know which one you actually need:
An XLIFF file (this article) is the industry-standard bilingual format most third-party CAT tools already know how to open. Use it when you or your linguist work in a dedicated CAT tool.
If you'd rather work in a spreadsheet instead of a CAT tool, use a bilingual XLSX file — the same export/reimport idea, covered in How to export and import a bilingual XLSX file in wxrks.
This is also different from a multilingual .xlsx file, which is a single spreadsheet with one column per target language used at project creation to generate several work units at once — not something you export from a work unit that already exists.
2. Exporting XLIFF files from wxrks
2.1 Whole project or selected work units
Open the project (from Projects, or from your task list if you're a Vendor) and go to its Overview tab, where the work units are listed.
To export specific files, check the box next to each work unit you want first. To export everything, skip this step.
Click Import/Export, then select the XLIFF option under Export.
Choose how much to export:
Whole project at workflow: exports an XLIFF file for every work unit at the selected workflow step, packaged into one .ZIP.
Selected Work Units: exports only the work units you checked — still delivered as a .ZIP, even for a single file.
A confirmation dialog appears next, showing how many work units will be exported. Exports always use the current source text, including any edits made after the file was originally uploaded — not necessarily what was in the original source file.
If the download doesn't start, check whether a pop-up blocker is preventing it, and confirm your browser's download location is set to a folder you can find.
2.2 Exporting a single work unit with its Translation Memory or Termbase
Each work unit also has its own Export action, reached from its row's ... menu. Unlike the toolbar path above, this opens a picker that lets you export XLIFF on its own, bundle it together with the project's Translation Memory (TMX) or Termbase (TBX), or export ALL of them at once in a single package. Reach for this when your CAT tool or linguist also needs the project's TM or terminology alongside the file itself.
3. Keep the XLIFF structure intact
Once you have the exported file open in your CAT tool of choice, only edit the translatable content — don't change the file's tags or structure. wxrks matches each segment back to the work unit it came from using identifiers embedded in the exported XLIFF, so if a CAT tool alters that structure in any way, the file may fail to import back into wxrks properly.
4. Importing XLIFF files into wxrks
You can only import an XLIFF file that was exported from the same work unit it's being imported into, with its structure kept intact — this is what lets wxrks match the translated segments back to the right place.
4.1 Importing one file at a time
Open the row menu (
...) for the work unit you want to import into and click Import.
Select XLIFF as the file type to import (this same modal can also import XLSX).
Choose how imported segments should be confirmed:
Confirm only changed segments (on by default): confirms only the segments whose target text you actually changed in the file.
Confirm all imported segments: confirms every segment that has non-empty target text in the file, whether or not you changed it.
Turning one toggle on turns the other off. Turn both off to import without auto-confirming anything, if you'd rather review and confirm each segment yourself in the Editor afterward. Confirmed segments are saved to the project's translation memory if the project's TM is set to write.Click Browse, choose your translated or reviewed .xlf/.xliff file, then click Import.
4.2 Importing multiple files at once
From the same project, click Import/Export, then Bulk import zip.
Select XLIFF as the file type to import, and choose the confirm-segments option the same way as above.
Click Browse, choose the .ZIP file containing your translated or reviewed XLIFF files, then click Import. Wait for the confirmation to appear before leaving the window.
Once the import finishes, the target segments in the affected work unit(s) are updated with the content from your file.
Related articles
How to export and import a bilingual XLSX file in wxrks — the same export/reimport idea, using a spreadsheet instead of a CAT tool.
How to work with a multilingual .xlsx file in wxrks — a different .xlsx workflow, used at project creation to translate multiple languages from one file.