File processing settings control how LingoHub formats, encodes, names, imports, and exports your resource files when downloading them manually or pushing them to a repository.
To access these options, navigate to Projects, select your project, and go to Settings. Then choose the File processing tab.
File encoding options
The Encoding setting dictates the character encoding format used for exported files:
UTF-8: The industry standard for almost all web, mobile, and software file formats. Recommended for nearly all project types.
UTF-16: Used primarily by specific ecosystem conventions, such as default iOS
.stringslocalization files.
HTML encoding options
The HTML encoding setting determines how special characters, HTML tags, and entity references are formatted inside your exported resource files:
HTML encoding type | Description & behavior | Recommendation |
Raw | Applies minimal HTML encoding, preserving original character formatting. | Recommended for standard web and software workflows. |
Escape | Full HTML entity encoding (e.g., converting | Best for environments requiring strict HTML entity escaping. |
CDATA | Wraps text content inside | Recommended for XML-based files with embedded HTML or special markup. |
File naming and language indicators
The Add language information to file name setting controls whether locale codes are appended to generated filenames (e.g., filename.en.xml vs. filename.xml) under the Files overview:
only to target language files: Keeps the original filename for the source language file while appending language codes to translated target files (e.g.,
messages.jsonfor English,messages.de.jsonfor German).to all resource files: Appends language codes to both source and target files (e.g.,
messages.en.jsonandmessages.de.json).to no resource files: Preserves original filenames without adding locale codes.
Default settings: LingoHub automatically defaults this setting based on standard conventions for your project's primary file format, but you can override it at any time.
Exporting comments
The Export comments setting controls whether segment descriptions and translator notes added in the Editor are written into exported files:
only to source language: Includes description metadata exclusively in the primary source file (default setting).
to all resource files: Exports comments into both source and target language files.
File format support: If a file format does not natively support comments (e.g., standard .json), LingoHub automatically omits comments regardless of this setting.
Import rules (source & target languages)
Import rules define how LingoHub processes incoming resource files when syncing from a repository or uploading files manually:
Create new segments through imports: Controls whether new keys/text segments found in the resource file should be added to your LingoHub project.
Update segments through imports: Defines when existing text segments should be overwritten by imported content (e.g., Always, Only empty, or Never).
Delete segments through imports: When enabled, any key/segment that is removed from your source resource file will automatically be deleted from LingoHub upon import.
Export rules & status-based content filtering
Export rules allow you to control which segments are included when generating resource files for export (via manual download, Pull requests, or Direct push):
Source language export settings
Empty content handling: Choose whether empty source text segments should be kept (Keep) or omitted (Skip) during export.
Status filtering: Toggle which segment statuses are included in source exports (e.g., Export text segments with Draft status, Export text segments with Approved status).
Target language export settings
Empty content handling: Choose whether untranslated/empty target segments are exported as empty strings or skipped.
Status-based export filtering: Control exactly which translation stages are pushed to production or repository files by toggling specific statuses:
New
Draft
AI Translated
Translated
Approved
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