Some file types — subtitles, UI strings, app labels — have a hard character limit for every line: go over it and the text gets cut off or breaks the layout. Target Char Limit lets you set that limit per segment (or per group of segments) directly in wxrks, so translators see it while they work instead of finding out after delivery.
💡 Who is this for? This guide is for Project Managers and Vendors who need to set and work within character limits on translated segments within the wxrks platform.
How Target Char Limit Works
Target Char Limit is a per-segment character cap that comes from your source file, not a value you type into wxrks by hand — each segment gets its own limit from a column you designate when the file is uploaded. Once it's turned on for a project, it adds a few things to the Editor:
A live character counter on the segment you're translating, comparing the current translation length to its limit.
A visible warning on any segment whose translation goes over its limit.
A Target Char Limit Exceeded filter, so you can pull up every over-limit segment in a file at once.
Two enforcement modes — Soft or Hard — that decide whether an over-limit segment can still be confirmed.
Setting Up Target Char Limit When Creating a Project
Target Char Limit is configured per file, in the same file-parameters panel used for other file upload parameters, during Step 2 of project creation.
Before you start
You'll need a structured file (an XLSX spreadsheet is the typical case) with separate columns for:
The source text.
The target text for each language you're translating into.
A numeric character limit for that row.
Target Char Limit only works on a Multilingual File — a spreadsheet where the source text and every language's translation sit in their own columns of the same file, instead of one file per language. Multilingual File can't be combined with Data Transformation Parameters in the same file, so if that option is already turned on for your file, turn it off first.
Enable the limit and map the column
After uploading your file, click its row to expand the file parameters, then turn on Multilingual File under Multilingual Flags. Fill in the Source Column and each language's Target Column to match your spreadsheet, then turn on Enable Target Char Limit and enter the column that holds the character limit in Target Char Limit Column.
Note: the Target Char Limit Column field only appears once Multilingual File and Enable Target Char Limit are both on, and the Source Column/Target Column fields must already be filled in for it to save.
Choose Soft or Hard Enforcement
Turning on Enable Target Char Limit also reveals two mutually exclusive toggles — turning one on turns the other off:
Soft Enforcement: a translator can still confirm an over-limit segment — it stays flagged with a visible warning afterward.
Hard Enforcement: an over-limit segment can't be confirmed or locked at all. Trying to shows "Oops, it's not possible to lock a segment that exceeds the character limit." The text has to come under the limit first.
Once everything is set, click Save in the file parameters panel — the worksheet settings aren't saved automatically as you change them.
Working With the Limit in the Editor
With the limit enabled, selecting a segment that has one shows a character counter (labeled Target max chars) comparing its current translation length to the configured limit. Typing an over-limit translation turns the counter into a warning, and the segment stays flagged if it's confirmed under Soft Enforcement, or blocked entirely under Hard Enforcement.
Finding over-limit segments
Rather than scrolling through a file looking for warnings, open the Filter panel and turn on Target Char Limit Exceeded to show only the segments currently over their limit.
When one cell becomes several segments
If a single cell in your file contains multiple sentences that wxrks splits into separate segments (for example, at each period), the character limit applies to their combined length, not to each one on its own. Confirming any one of those segments checks the total of the whole group against the shared limit — so translating one sentence more concisely can bring the whole group back under the limit, and one long addition anywhere in the group can push all of them over.
Including Tags in the Character Count
By default, only the translatable text counts toward the limit — inline tags (formatting, placeholders, etc.) don't. If your limit needs to account for those too — for example, because the destination system counts raw markup toward its own display limit — turn on Include Tags in the Char Count next to Enable Target Char Limit. With it on, the text each tag is represented by in your file also counts toward the segment's total, so the same segment can show a higher count than it does with tags excluded.
Note: Include Tags in the Char Count can't be used together with the HTML Subfilter Break at <br> Tags setting — turning one on turns the other off.
Good Practices
Set the character limit while creating the project, not after — reworking the file parameters mid-project means re-mapping columns on every file.
Use Hard Enforcement when a system genuinely can't accept over-limit text (subtitle players, fixed-width UI fields); use Soft Enforcement when you want translators to see the warning but keep some flexibility.
Lean on the Target Char Limit Exceeded filter for review passes instead of scanning the file visually — it's the fastest way to confirm nothing was missed before delivery.