Protected Terms: Keep Brand and Technical Words Untranslated
Make sure brand names, product names, and technical terms stay consistent in every language. With String Catalog’s new Protected Terms (Glossary) feature, you can prevent sensitive words from being translated during localization.
Protect brand names, product names, and other sensitive words during localization. Add them as Protected Terms, and String Catalog will preserve them in every translation.
What Are Protected Terms?
Protected Terms are words or phrases that remain unchanged through translation. For example, if you protect Brand, it stays Brand across all languages.
Key features:
- Whole-word only: no partial matches inside bigger words.
- Punctuation aware: matches around commas, quotes, parentheses, etc.
- Case sensitivity: toggle per term.
- Multi-word support: works with phrases too.
Where To Find It
- In your project, go to Protected Terms.
- Direct URL pattern:
/projects/{project}/glossary.
Managing Terms
- Add: Click Add Term, enter the word or phrase, choose Case Sensitive if needed, and optionally add notes for team context.
- Edit: Click Edit beside a term to update it.
- Delete: Click Delete (confirmation required).
Notes:
- Terms are unique per project; duplicates aren’t allowed.
- Lists are ordered for quick scanning, with pagination for large glossaries.
How Matching Works
- Mode: whole-word only.
- Case: off by default, enable per term if required.
- Punctuation: terms match even next to punctuation.
Example with a protected term Brand:
- ✅ Matches:
Brand,Brand’s,"Brand" - ❌ Doesn’t match:
Branding,offBrand
Re-Localize Impacted Strings
When you add or change protected terms, some base-language strings may be impacted. You’ll see a banner showing the number of affected strings, with two options:
- Update impacted localizations → re-localizes only the impacted content.
- Update and open PR → re-localizes and opens a pull request.
After starting, you’ll be taken to the project’s setup/progress page to monitor the update.
Requirements:
- Active subscription.
- At least one active non-base language.
- Recent protected term changes affecting base strings.
Best Practices
- Use exact brand spellings; enable case sensitivity if case matters legally or stylistically.
- Protect whole terms or phrases, not fragments.
- Add notes so collaborators understand why a term is protected.
- Review PRs carefully before merging updates.
FAQs
Does it match inside words?
No. A protected term won’t trigger inside Branding or SuperBrand.
Can I protect multi-word names?
Yes, phrases are supported.
Why don’t I see “Re-localize impacted strings”?
You may not have an active subscription, target languages, recent term changes, or any impacted strings.
Who can manage terms?
Project users with update permission.