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11 · Element texts of webforms shipped in recipes cannot be translated through locale / localize.drupal.org
Project Webform
Component Translation
Category Feature request
Priority Normal
Status Draft, not filed on drupal.org yet

Problem/Motivation

A webform stores all its elements as one YAML string (elements, schema type: text). Locale can only translate this string as a whole. Individual texts – titles, placeholders, options, button labels – never reach the translation database, so community or recipe translations cannot be applied.

Drupal CMS site templates ship webforms (Haven, Byte, Convivial Gov, Summit, Provus EDU, Pulse, CareSphere, Convene). On a site installed in German their forms stay English ("Your email address", "Tell us more...", "Send"), although everything else is translated. Webform's own per-element translation only helps if someone creates the translation manually in the UI.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Install Drupal CMS in German with the CareSphere site template.
  2. Open the contact page: all field labels, placeholders, options and the submit button are English.

Proposed resolution

Expose element texts to locale, e.g. - a config schema per translatable element property (like Webform's own translation manager already knows), so locale can translate #title, #placeholder, #options labels, #submit__label etc. individually, or - a locale integration that translates element texts from the string database when a webform is created from config.

Remaining tasks

Discuss the approach.

Additional information

Workaround in dcle (WebformElementsTranslator): translates the element texts one by one and writes the YAML back; option keys are kept.

Copy to drupal.org

Issue title:

Element texts of webforms shipped in recipes cannot be translated through locale / localize.drupal.org

Issue summary (paste it into the "Issue summary" field; project, component, category and priority are in the table above):

<h3 id="summary-problem-motivation">Problem/Motivation</h3>
<p>A webform stores all its elements as one YAML string (<code>elements</code>, schema <code>type: text</code>). Locale can only translate this string as a whole. Individual texts – titles, placeholders, options, button labels – never reach the translation database, so community or recipe translations cannot be applied.</p>
<p>Drupal CMS site templates ship webforms (Haven, Byte, Convivial Gov, Summit, Provus EDU, Pulse, CareSphere, Convene). On a site installed in German their forms stay English ("Your email address", "Tell us more...", "Send"), although everything else is translated. Webform's own per-element translation only helps if someone creates the translation manually in the UI.</p>
<h3 id="summary-steps-reproduce">Steps to reproduce</h3>
<ol>
<li>Install Drupal CMS in German with the CareSphere site template.</li>
<li>Open the contact page: all field labels, placeholders, options and the submit button are English.</li>
</ol>
<h3 id="summary-proposed-resolution">Proposed resolution</h3>
<p>Expose element texts to locale, e.g.
- a config schema per translatable element property (like Webform's own translation manager already knows), so locale can translate <code>#title</code>, <code>#placeholder</code>, <code>#options</code> labels, <code>#submit__label</code> etc. individually, or
- a locale integration that translates element texts from the string database when a webform is created from config.</p>
<h3 id="summary-remaining-tasks">Remaining tasks</h3>
<p>Discuss the approach.</p>
<h3>Additional information</h3>
<p>Workaround in <code>dcle</code> (<code>WebformElementsTranslator</code>): translates the element texts one by one and writes the YAML back; option keys are kept.</p>