A Smell is wxrks's AI-powered warning that a translation might have a problem worth a second look — inconsistent terminology, awkward phrasing, or a mistranslated idiom, for example. It runs right in the Editor, on one segment at a time, either automatically as you work or on demand whenever you want a second opinion.
💡 Who is this for? This guide is for Linguists and Reviewers who need to use in-Editor Smells warnings to catch translation quality issues as they work within the wxrks platform.
What is a Smell?
A Smell flags a translation that reads as potentially wrong or awkward — not necessarily one that definitely is. wxrks checks for smells automatically as you work (if enabled in your Editor preferences), or on demand via Check Smells in the segment's Augmented Actions menu.
Smells don't have access to your Translation Memories or Glossaries, so the final call is always yours. A smell can flag a real issue, but its absence doesn't guarantee the translation is error-free — and because it can't see your glossary, it also won't catch things a glossary-aware check would, like a term that's technically correct English but contradicts your account's approved terminology. For that kind of check, see How to use the wxrks QA Check Tool and Augmented Term Lookup.
Smells are one of several Augmented Actions — AI-powered tools that assist your translation work without replacing it. Turning them on for your account, Organizational Unit, and Editor preferences is covered in wxrks Augmented Actions; this article focuses specifically on Smells.
Key Concepts
Term | Meaning |
Smell | A potential quality problem the AI review found in one segment's translation. Each Smell has a type (category) and a short explanation. |
Check Smells | The button in a segment's Augmented Actions menu that runs a Smells check on demand. |
Fix Smell | Asks the AI to rewrite the segment's translation to address one specific Smell. |
Ignore Smell | Hides one Smell finding you've reviewed and dismissed. Reversible. |
Running a Smells Check
Automatically as you work
With Check Smells turned on in the Editor's Settings panel, wxrks checks a segment for smells whenever you edit it and move on — it skips segments you've already confirmed or locked, so it only runs while you're actively working on a translation, not on finished work.
On demand
Select any segment, click its Augmented Actions button, and choose Check Smells to run the check yourself — useful when you'd rather trigger it on your own schedule than have it run automatically.
Turning Check Smells off in your Editor Settings only affects you — it removes the automatic check and the button from your own Augmented Actions menu, without changing anything for other users on the account.
Reading a Smell Finding
A finding shows the Smell's type (a category badge, such as Grammar, Semantic, Wording, Fluency, or Terminology) and a plain-language explanation of the problem — right under the segment itself, so you don't have to leave the translation to see what was flagged.
In this real example, wxrks flagged a Grammar smell on a Portuguese translation, explaining that the phrase read as grammatically awkward and suggesting two more natural alternatives — a good illustration of the kind of fluency issue this check is built to catch, distinct from the terminology-consistency checks a glossary-aware tool would run instead.
Two actions are available on most findings (not on the UI Term type, which has no rewrite to offer):
Click the hammer icon (Fix Smell) to have the AI rewrite the translation to address that specific finding.
Click the eye icon (Ignore Smell) to dismiss a finding you've reviewed and don't agree with. Click it again to bring the finding back.
If a segment has several findings, your account's Compact Smells Editor preference controls how they're grouped — see QA Confidence Score and Smells for that setting and the rest of the Editor display preferences shared between both Smells surfaces.
If nothing was flagged, wxrks shows No smells found — a reminder that a clean result means no likely issue was detected, not a guarantee the translation is perfect.
Important Behavior and Edge Cases
Smells need Augmented Translation Actions enabled. If your account, Organizational Unit, or personal Editor preferences have Augmented Actions turned off, Check Smells won't be available — see wxrks Augmented Actions for the three levels this is controlled at.
No access to TMs or glossaries. A Smell can flag fluency, grammar, or accuracy problems, but it won't catch a mistranslated glossary term or an inconsistency with a Translation Memory match — those need a glossary/TM-aware check instead.
A clean result isn't a guarantee. No Smells found means nothing was flagged, not that the translation is certainly error-free.
Confirmed and locked segments are skipped automatically. The automatic check only runs while you're actively editing a segment.
This is a different surface from the QA panel's Smells. This article covers the per-segment check in the Suggestions area of the Editor. wxrks also runs the same AI review in batch, across a whole work unit, from the QA panel — which additionally scores each segment's severity into a Confidence Score. See QA Confidence Score and Smells for that flow.
Troubleshooting
I don't see Check Smells anywhere. Confirm Augmented Translation Actions is turned on for your account and Organizational Unit, then check your own Editor Settings panel — see wxrks Augmented Actions.
A finding is in the wrong language. Set your preferred Smells Language (Source, Target, or English) in the Editor's Settings panel.
I disagree with a finding. Click its eye icon to ignore it — this doesn't change the translation, just hides that one finding for you.
Still stuck? Search the wxrks Community or reach out to [email protected].
Related Articles
wxrks Augmented Actions — the full set of AI-powered Editor actions, and how to turn them on for your account.
QA Confidence Score and Smells — the same AI review run in batch across a whole work unit from the QA panel, with severity-based Confidence Scores.
How to use the wxrks QA Check Tool — the rule-based, glossary/TM-aware checks that complement Smells.