Every linguist sets their own Editor preferences, such as Track changes or Proofread, in the Editor's Settings tab. Editor preferences let you impose some of those choices on everyone who works in an Organizational Unit or a project, for example to make sure reviewers always work with Track changes on, while leaving the rest to each linguist.
Who can do this:
Account Admin: creates, edits and deletes shared Editor preferences, and chooses the account default.
Organizational Unit: a user with the Organizational Unit Update permission chooses which preferences the Organizational Unit uses.
Project: a user with the Project Update permission, typically the Project Manager, chooses which preferences the project uses.
Users who can open these settings but not change them see You can see these settings but not change them.
Key concepts
Term | Meaning |
Editor preferences (a shared set) | A named set of the 14 Editor options, created by an Account Admin in Settings > Translation > Editor preferences. |
Free | The option is not imposed. Each linguist keeps their own choice. |
Locked on / Locked off | The option is forced on or off. Linguists see it with a lock and can't change it. |
Default | The one shared set that applies to every Organizational Unit and project set to Inherit. |
Own copy | A private set that belongs to a single Organizational Unit or project. |
1. Create shared Editor preferences
Go to Settings > Translation > Editor preferences and click New preferences.
Enter a Name that says who the preferences are for, such as Review team.
Leave Set as default off unless the preferences should apply to every Organizational Unit and project set to Inherit. Read How inheritance works in section 3 before turning it on.
For each option, choose Free, Locked on or Locked off. Lock only what must be the same for everyone; every locked option is one that linguists can no longer adjust to their own way of working.
The options are grouped as in the Editor's Settings tab:
Editing: Track changes (with Expand automatically under it), Expand alternative translations, Sequential navigation, Ask before propagating repetitions, Show segment comments.
AI assistance: Context-sensitive translation, Alternative suggestions, Proofread, Spellcheck, Review assessment, Fix tags, Smells (with Language under it).
Language sets the language Smells findings are written in. Instead of Locked on and Locked off, it is Free or Locked; when locked, pick Default, Target language or Source language.
Click Save.
ℹ️ Note: An AI option marked Forced off when … is blocked (for example, Forced off when Proofread is blocked) depends on an Augmented Action. When that action is blocked for the account, the Organizational Unit or the project, the option is off for linguists even if your preferences lock it on. Blocking decides whether an action can run at all; Editor preferences only decide how linguists use the actions that are allowed.
2. Manage your shared preferences
The Editor preferences page lists every shared set. In use shows where each one applies, and Default shows which one is the account default. Open the ⋯ menu of a row to:
Edit the name or the options. Changes reach every Organizational Unit and project that uses the set.
Duplicate it, to start a variant without changing the original.
Set as default or Remove default.
Delete it. Organizational Units and projects that used it go back to Inherit.
3. Choose the preferences for an Organizational Unit or project
The same control exists at both levels:
Organizational Unit: open the Organizational Unit, then Translation > Translation & Editor Settings > Editor & review > Editor preferences.
Project: open the project, then Translation & Editor Settings > Editor & review > Editor preferences. Save with Save changes.
Pick one of three choices:
Choice | What applies |
Inherit | Whatever the level above uses: a project inherits from its Organizational Unit, and an Organizational Unit inherits the account default. With no default at the account, no shared preferences apply and every linguist uses their own. |
Select preferences | The shared set you pick in Choose preferences. A project can also pick its Organizational Unit's own copy. |
Own copy | A private set for this level only. It starts as a copy of the preferences in effect (or with every option Free when none apply) and saves as you edit it. Switching away from Own copy deletes the copy after a confirmation, and projects that had selected the Organizational Unit's copy go back to Inherit. |
Preferences in effect confirms the result, for example Review team locks 4 options, with a badge showing where the set comes from: Set here, From the org unit or Account default.
How inheritance works: the nearest level that sets preferences wins, and sets are never combined. If the account default locks Track changes on and a project selects a set where Track changes is Free, linguists on that project choose Track changes freely. This is different from blocking Augmented Actions, where a block at a higher level always applies below.
What linguists see in the Editor
When a linguist opens a task, the Editor applies the preferences in effect for that project. In the Settings tab, each locked option shows a lock icon and its switch can't be changed. Hovering the lock explains why, for example Locked by the Review team editor preferences of this project. An Augmented Action blocked for the project shows Off: this AI action is blocked by this project.
Free options keep working as before. Locks never overwrite a linguist's own saved choice: when an option becomes Free again, or the linguist works on a project without that lock, their own setting comes back.
Example: a review team that must track every change
Your reviewers must always leave a visible trail of their edits and must not use Proofread, but they can arrange everything else as they like.
Create a set named Review team with Track changes Locked on, Proofread Locked off, and every other option Free. Don't set it as default.
On each review project, choose Select preferences and pick Review team.
Reviewers on those projects see Track changes on and Proofread off, both locked. On other projects, their own preferences apply.
To apply the same rule to all of a client's projects, select Review team on the client's Organizational Unit instead, and leave its projects on Inherit.
Common mistakes
Turning on Set as default without checking In use. The default applies to every Organizational Unit and project set to Inherit, which is usually most of the account. Check where it lands before you save.
Expecting a lower level to add to the locks above. Selecting a set on a project replaces the Organizational Unit's set entirely. Lock everything the project needs in the set you select there.
Locking an AI option on to force an action that is blocked. A blocked action stays off whatever the preferences say. Unblock it in the Augmented Actions settings first.
Losing an Own copy by switching back to Inherit. The copy is deleted, not kept for later. If you'll need it again, create it as a shared set in Settings > Translation > Editor preferences instead.