GL Strings: what we accomplished in 2024 and what’s coming next

As we leave 2024 behind, it’s time to reflect on what we achieved in 2024. As we shared in our 2023 end-of-year wrap-up, we wanted to focus our efforts on automation, so we built a range of functionalities to simplify and streamline some steps in the localization workflow.

Early this year, we introduced the machine translation and screenshot rules, which automate status updates while helping teams keep track of their translation progress. We also completely revamped our design tool plugins and added new actions; teams can now handle their entire design localization process from Figma to Sketch and Adobe XD. This eliminates the need to log in to the dashboard and ensures that teams can work more efficiently without switching platforms.

Teams working in highly regulated industries must certify that their translations don’t contain errors and are correctly displayed in their app before app release. This past year, we released a range of features to help teams carry out this often complex task: screenshot statuses to help differentiate those screenshots in their final version from those that are still under review, screenshot rules to automate screenshot status updates, screenshot hashes to automatically detect when a screenshot has been updated on the GlobalLink Strings dashboard, and finally, our Side-by-Side screenshot view which displays the source and translated screenshot next to the text strings.

Beyond automation, we delivered a fresh integration with Appium and continued to enhance user experience with updates to our dashboard: we added a search and replace functionality, a new comments panel, and an improved tags list, among others.

Last but not least, to promote our identity as an integral part of the GlobalLink ecosystem, we said goodbye to Applanga, and we welcomed our new brand name: GlobalLink Strings.

Looking Ahead: What's Coming in 2025

In 2025, we are doubling down on automation to further streamline the daily processes that our users rely on. We aim to provide even more workflow automation; the upcoming tasks feature will play a big part in this. With tasks, users can define the scope of a translation or review task within their project and assign it to another team member in an easier and more efficient way for both task creator and assignee.

But that’s not all—we’re also diving into the world of Artificial Intelligence to bring even more innovative solutions to our users.

We’re excited to introduce a new AI panel in our Editor. Through this panel, users can rephrase or shorten existing translations based on a single button click. Additionally, we’re working on an AI-based screenshot review feature that will automatically detect translation errors such as incorrectly placed text, cut-off words, or even issues with text bleeding over on screenshots. By leveraging AI, we’ll be able to save valuable time and reduce human error, making the review step smoother and more efficient than ever before.

We will also continue to improve the user experience for teams that require us to certify that their app has been localized following strict industry standards. Once the localization process has been finalized, teams can obtain a translation certificate for their content. Certified translations can be locked from editing, thus preventing users from updating the content without going through their industry-specific localization process. Additionally, they can reuse content from their already-certified projects in any future apps they build and localize on GlobalLink Strings.

As we head into 2025, we’re excited to continue our journey of innovation and improvement. We can't wait to share more as the year unfolds. Stay tuned and get ready for a year full of exciting new features!