Structure

This page documents the parts of the MXLIFF format that are specific to Phrase. It also mentions the values used for standard XLIFF elements/attributes where that’s relevant. For everything not covered here, MXLIFF follows the XLIFF 1.2 specification.

Element tree

<xliff>
  <file>
    <header>
      <note>
      <metadata-schema>
        <m:fields> (schema)
          <m:field>
            <m:name>
      <m:in-ctx-preview-skel>
    <body>
      <group>
        <m:prop>
          <m:target-order>
        <m:in-ctx-preview-metadata>
          <m:mark>
            <m:open-mark-content>
            <m:close-mark-content>
        <trans-unit>
          <m:comment>
          <m:latest-trans-props>
            <m:trans-prop>
          <m:tunit-metadata>
            <m:mark>
              <m:type>
              <m:content>
              <m:trans-attributes>
          <m:tunit-target-metadata>
            (same shape as m:tunit-metadata)
          <m:editing-stats>
            <m:editing-time>
            <m:thinking-time>
          <m:annotations>
            <m:annotation>
              <m:text>
          <m:metadata>
            <m:fields> (values)
              <m:field>
                <m:value>
  <m:extra>
    <m:users>
      <m:user>

`<xliff>`

The Phrase namespace is added with prefix m and URI http://www.memsource.com/mxlf/2.0. Attributes:

version — version of the underlying XLIFF format, always 1.2.
m:version — MXLIFF schema version (see When to use it for how versioning works).
m:level — number representing a workflow level.

<xliff
  xmlns="urn:oasis:names:tc:xliff:document:1.2"
  xmlns:m="http://www.memsource.com/mxlf/2.0"
  version="1.2"
  m:version="2.12"
  m:level="3"
>

`<file>`

Attributes:

datatype — x-undefined.
m:file-format — format of the original file used during import.
m:task-id — identifies the task this file belongs to. There is a 1:1 relationship between a job and a task.
m:begin-group-id — ID of the first segment (0-indexed) included in the file.
m:end-group-id — ID of the last segment included in the file.
m:transmem-ignore-tag-metadata — whether tag metadata was ignored for translation memory matching. Values: yes, no.

<file
  original="messages.json"
  source-language="en"
  target-language="sk"
  datatype="x-undefined"
  m:task-id="aB2cd4eF_dc2"
  m:begin-group-id="0"
  m:end-group-id="4"
  m:transmem-ignore-tag-metadata="yes"
>

Contains:

Zero or more <note> elements
Zero or one <m:metadata-schema> element
Zero or one <m:in-ctx-preview-skel> element

`<note>`

Attributes:

m:id — ID of a note, unique within the same m:origin.
m:category — categorization of a note.
m:origin — path in the original file the note was extracted from; corresponds to x-file-part (see <group>).

`<m:metadata-schema>`

Describes the schema of all segment-level metadata. Contains one <m:fields> element. <m:fields> (schema) — contains one or more <m:field> elements, each representing a single custom field. <m:field> attributes:

id — ID of the metadata field definition.
type — one of text, date, boolean, link, number, select, multi.

Each <m:field> contains one <m:name> element with the field’s display name.

`<m:in-ctx-preview-skel>`

Skeleton for the in-context preview shown in editors. Contains segment placeholders like <span id="m-tgroup_1" class="m-tgroup"></span>, which editors replace with metadata from <m:in-ctx-preview-metadata> and text from <source>/<target>. Attributes:

bilingual — whether the job is bilingual (true) or monolingual (false).
skel-omitted — true if the in-context preview is not included.
size — length in bytes of the skeleton, set when it’s omitted.

Contains zero or one embedded HTML document written as CDATA.

<!-- In-context preview generated -->
<in-ctx-preview-skel bilingual="false"><![CDATA[
<html>
<h1><span id="m-tgroup_0" class="m-tgroup"></span></h1>
<span id="m-tgroup_1" class="m-tgroup"></span>
<ul>
    <li><span id="m-tgroup_2" class="m-tgroup"></span></li>
    <li><span id="m-tgroup_3" class="m-tgroup"></span></li>
</ul>
</html>
]]></in-ctx-preview-skel>

<!-- In-context preview skipped -->
<in-ctx-preview-skel bilingual="true" skel-omitted="true" size="328" />

`<group>`

Attributes:

m:para-id — identifies a paragraph.

Contains:

Zero or one <context-group> element without a name attribute — general context information:
- x-file-part — part of the original file the segment was extracted from
- x-key — context key
- x-key-note — context note
- x-max-len — maximum allowed length of a translation
Zero or one <context-group> element with name="x-plural" — plural information for PO (gettext) files:
- x-plural-category — plural rule category (zero, one, two, few, many, other, or a concrete number)
- x-plural-examples — sample values for the category
- x-plural-source-singular / x-plural-source-plural — source text in singular/plural form
Zero or one <m:prop> element
Zero or one <m:in-ctx-preview-metadata> element

<!-- General group context -->
<context-group>
  <context context-type="x-file-part">document::variables</context>
  <context context-type="x-key">variable.id.36</context>
  <context context-type="x-key-note">References specific product type</context>
  <context context-type="x-max-len">30</context>
</context-group>

<!-- PO plural context -->
<context-group name="x-plural">
  <context context-type="x-plural-category">other</context>
  <context context-type="x-plural-examples">0, 5~∞</context>
  <context context-type="x-plural-source-singular">I've bought a new chair.</context>
  <context context-type="x-plural-source-plural">I've bought some new chairs.</context>
</context-group>

`<m:prop>`

Group properties. Contains zero or one <m:target-order> element — a number indicating the order in which to compose target segments (equivalent to Segments order in XLIFF 2.0).

`<m:in-ctx-preview-metadata>`

Metadata for the in-context preview skeleton, specific to the parent <group>. Contains zero or more <m:mark> elements, each with an id and optional <m:open-mark-content> / <m:close-mark-content> text elements.

<m:in-ctx-preview-metadata>
  <m:mark id="3">
    <m:open-mark-content><![CDATA[<a href="#">]]></m:open-mark-content>
    <m:close-mark-content><![CDATA[</a>]]></m:close-mark-content>
  </m:mark>
</m:in-ctx-preview-metadata>

`<trans-unit>`

Attributes:

xml:space — preserve
m:score — score of an automatically filled translation (e.g. during pre-translation). When m:trans-origin is mt, this is a QPS.
m:gross-score — same as m:score before penalization. Only differs from m:score for translation memory matches.
m:trans-origin — origin of the filled translation: mt (machine translation), tm (translation memory), nt (non-translatable), or rb (deprecated, superseded by nt).
m:trans-origin-detail — detail about the origin, e.g. the specific engine used.
m:confirmed — workflow level at which the segment is confirmed.
m:locked — whether the segment is locked/editable. Values: true, false.
m:locked-by — what locked the segment.
m:locked-by-detail — detail when locked-by is ex.
m:para-id — paragraph ID, matching m:para-id on the parent <group>.
m:repetition-exception — true when a linguist unmarked the segment as a repetition.
m:created-at / m:created-by — when and by whom the segment was created.
m:modified-at / m:modified-by — when and by whom the segment was last modified.
m:level-edited — legacy attribute, always false.

Contains:

Two <alt-trans> elements, distinguished by origin:
- machine-trans — match-quality (MT quality score), m:mt-id (MT connector ID), <target> (MT-provided translation)
- memsource-tm — match-quality (TM match score), tm-id (translation memory ID, if known), <target> (TM-provided translation)
Zero or one <context-group name="sub-trans-unit" purpose="information"> — metadata about sub-units (segments nested within another segment):
- x-type — type of sub-unit (currently only ICU)
- x-subtype — more granular type, e.g. the ICU variable type
- x-category — differentiates sub-units belonging to the same segment and tag (for ICU, the plural variable form)
- x-parent-trans-unit — ID of the parent <trans-unit>
- x-parent-mark-id — ID of the parent mark
- x-examples — sample values (used for ICU plural variables)
Zero or one <context-group name="context-key" purpose="match"> — context key, used when a <group> contains multiple <trans-unit> elements in a hierarchy:
- x-key — the segment’s context key
Zero or one <m:latest-trans-props> element
Zero or one <m:tunit-metadata> element
Zero or one <m:tunit-target-metadata> element
Zero or one <m:editing-stats> element
Zero or one <m:annotations> element
Zero or one <m:metadata> element

<!-- Sub-unit metadata -->
<context-group name="sub-trans-unit" purpose="information">
  <context context-type="x-type">icu</context>
  <context context-type="x-subtype">plural</context>
  <context context-type="x-category">few</context>
  <context context-type="x-parent-trans-unit">aB2cd4eF_dc2:1:5</context>
  <context context-type="x-parent-mark-id">3</context>
  <context context-type="x-examples">2~4</context>
</context-group>

<!-- Context key -->
<context-group name="context-key" purpose="match">
  <context context-type="x-key">string.id.29:I bought {p, plural, one {:} other {some books}}.</context>
</context-group>

`<m:comment>`

Deprecated — no longer written or read since converter version 25.8. Historically held a single segment comment (not the same as editor comment functionality), such as extraction details. Attributes: created-at, created-by, modified-at, modified-by, resolved (true/false).

`<m:latest-trans-props>`

Metadata of the latest translation selected in an editor. Contains <m:trans-prop> elements with a name attribute:

score — same as m:score
gross-score — same as m:gross-score
origin — same as m:trans-origin
origin-detail — same as m:trans-origin-detail
processed-by — whether the segment was last processed by an AI service such as MT Optimize or Auto Adapt
target-quality — QPS score from MT Optimize or a third-party service, in range 0.0–1.0

<m:latest-trans-props>
  <m:trans-prop name="score">0.89</m:trans-prop>
  <m:trans-prop name="gross-score">0.94</m:trans-prop>
  <m:trans-prop name="origin">tm</m:trans-prop>
  <m:trans-prop name="origin-detail">2936</m:trans-prop>
  <m:trans-prop name="processed-by">auto-adapt</m:trans-prop>
  <m:trans-prop name="target-quality">0.85</m:trans-prop>
</m:latest-trans-props>

`<m:tunit-metadata>`

Metadata for marks inside <source>, encoded as {1} or {2>translatable<2}. Contains zero or more <m:mark> elements, each with an id and:

<m:type> — type of the mark
<m:content> — the mark’s content
<m:trans-attributes> — comma-separated list of translatable attributes, each following in a subsequent <m:mark> under the same <m:tunit-metadata>

<m:tunit-metadata>
  <m:mark id="1">
    <m:type>b</m:type>
    <m:content>&lt;b&gt;</m:content>
  </m:mark>
  <m:mark id="2">
    <m:type>img</m:type>
    <m:content>&lt;img alt="" src="logo.png"/&gt;</m:content>
    <m:trans-attributes>alt</m:trans-attributes>
  </m:mark>
  <m:mark id="3">
    <m:type>attribute</m:type>
    <m:content>alt</m:content>
  </m:mark>
</m:tunit-metadata>

`<m:tunit-target-metadata>`

Same shape as <m:tunit-metadata>, but describes marks inside <target> instead of <source>.

`<m:editing-stats>`

Editing statistics for a segment. Contains one <m:editing-time> and one <m:thinking-time> element (both numbers, in the same unit). How the times are tracked:

When a user clicks into a segment, both thinking time and editing time start counting.
When the user starts editing, thinking time stops but editing time continues.
When the user clicks into a different segment, editing time stops.
Re-entering a segment resumes counting and adds to the previous totals; if re-entering results in no edits, the times are left unchanged even if the segment is re-confirmed.

`<m:annotations>`

Contains one or more <m:annotation> elements. Attributes:

category — currently only LIONBRIDGE is used.
type — optional, more specific annotation type.
translate — whether the annotated text is translatable (yes/no).
excludeFromCharCount — whether to exclude the text from word/character counts (yes/no).
offset — offset into <source> where the annotation starts.
position — 1-indexed order of the annotated text within <source>.

Contains one <m:text> element with the annotated text.

<m:annotations>
  <m:annotation category="LIONBRIDGE" translate="yes" excludeFromCharCount="no" offset="4" position="1" type="term">
    <m:text>linguist</m:text>
  </m:annotation>
  <m:annotation category="LIONBRIDGE" translate="no" excludeFromCharCount="yes" offset="10" position="2">
    <m:text>Phrase</m:text>
  </m:annotation>
</m:annotations>

`<m:metadata>`

Custom metadata values for a segment. Contains one <m:fields> element. <m:fields> (values) — one or more <m:field> elements, each with an rid attribute referencing the corresponding field in <m:metadata-schema>. A field’s value is either plain text, or one or more <m:value> elements when the field type is multi.

`<m:extra>`

Additional information about the whole MXLIFF document. Contains one <m:users> element, which lists every user (via <m:user id="...">) who created or modified any task included in the file.

BYO Engine

MXLIFF

Build a TMS Plugin

Managing TMS Connectors

Managing Automated Project Creation

Element tree

`<xliff>`

`<file>`

`<header>`

`<note>`

`<m:metadata-schema>`

`<m:in-ctx-preview-skel>`

`<group>`

`<m:prop>`

`<m:in-ctx-preview-metadata>`

`<trans-unit>`

`<m:comment>`

`<m:latest-trans-props>`

`<m:tunit-metadata>`

`<m:tunit-target-metadata>`

`<m:editing-stats>`

`<m:annotations>`

`<m:metadata>`

`<m:extra>`

​Element tree

​<xliff>

​<file>

​<header>

​<note>

​<m:metadata-schema>

​<m:in-ctx-preview-skel>

​<group>

​<m:prop>

​<m:in-ctx-preview-metadata>

​<trans-unit>

​<m:comment>

​<m:latest-trans-props>

​<m:tunit-metadata>

​<m:tunit-target-metadata>

​<m:editing-stats>

​<m:annotations>

​<m:metadata>

​<m:extra>

Element tree

`<xliff>`

`<file>`

`<header>`

`<note>`

`<m:metadata-schema>`

`<m:in-ctx-preview-skel>`

`<group>`

`<m:prop>`

`<m:in-ctx-preview-metadata>`

`<trans-unit>`

`<m:comment>`

`<m:latest-trans-props>`

`<m:tunit-metadata>`

`<m:tunit-target-metadata>`

`<m:editing-stats>`

`<m:annotations>`

`<m:metadata>`

`<m:extra>`