15 min read April 2026

Transl8 Documentation

Complete guide to AI-powered translation of Revit models across 34 languages. Transl8 scans your model for all translatable text — rooms, sheets, schedules, keynotes, parameter values, and more — then translates everything in a single batch using an AEC-domain-aware AI engine with built-in architectural glossaries.

Supported Revit Versions

• Revit 2022
• Revit 2023
• Revit 2024
• Revit 2025
• Revit 2026
• Revit 2027

Installation

What It Does

BIM and design teams routinely need to produce drawings in multiple languages — UK firms working in China, Italian studios delivering in the Middle East, Scandinavian offices producing documentation for Southeast Asian projects, or global organisations rolling out facilities across multiple regions. Currently this means days of manual work: finding every room name, sheet title, annotation, schedule header, and parameter value, then translating each one correctly using the right industry terminology. Transl8 automates the entire process with a single dialog.

Any Language to Any Language

Transl8 is not English-centric. Any of the 34 supported languages can be used as either the source or target language. Translate Italian to Chinese, French to Arabic, Japanese to German, or any other combination. The AI translation engine handles all language pairs natively. Built-in AEC glossaries are available for 36 language pairs, with the AI system prompt providing AEC-domain intelligence for all other combinations.

You can preview translations in multiple target languages before committing any changes. Switch between Spanish, Polish, and Japanese freely — each translation is cached in the per-project database and recalled instantly. Only when you click Apply is the translated text written into the model.

Regional Language Variants

Languages with significant regional differences are supported as separate entries with dedicated glossaries and AI prompt tuning:

Language	Code	Regional Differences
Spanish (Spain)	es	Aparcamiento, Ascensor, Aseo, Hormigón
Spanish (Latin America)	es-419	Estacionamiento, Elevador, Baño, Concreto
Portuguese (Portugal)	pt	Casa de Banho, Rés-do-Chão, Betão, Pavimento
Portuguese (Brazil)	pt-BR	Banheiro, Térreo, Concreto, Tubulação
Simplified Chinese	zh-Hans	Mainland China (PRC) conventions, GB/T terminology
Traditional Chinese	zh-Hant	Taiwan/Hong Kong conventions

AEC-Domain Intelligence

Generic translation tools produce incorrect results for architectural content. "Plant Room" gets translated as vegetation. "WC" gets a literal translation instead of the local equivalent. "Riser" becomes "something that rises" instead of a vertical services shaft. Transl8 uses an AI translation engine with AEC-specific system prompts and built-in glossaries that understand construction terminology, producing industry-standard translations that architects, engineers, and BIM teams actually use on real projects.

Four-Phase Translation Pipeline

Every translation request goes through four phases to maximise accuracy:

1. Glossary lookup — project and built-in glossary terms are applied first (instant, deterministic)
2. Translation memory — previously translated text is recalled from the per-project database (instant)
3. AI batch translation — only new, untranslated text is sent to the AI translation engine in optimised batches
4. Glossary override — after AI translation completes, glossary terms override any AI or memory results to ensure deterministic terminology for known terms. User-edited translations are never overridden.

Supported Element Types

Transl8 scans fourteen categories of translatable content, accessible via the category tabs along the top of the main dialog. When "All Categories" is selected, items are sorted alphabetically by category.

Category	What Gets Translated	Notes
Rooms	Room Name, Department, Occupancy, Comments, Finishes	Filters out unplaced rooms (Area = 0)
Areas	Area Name, Department, Comments	Area plan elements; also extracts Area Scheme names
Sheets & Title Blocks	Sheet Name, Revision Description, user parameters, title block label parameters	Excludes people's names and identifiers
Views	View Name, Title on Sheet	Excludes templates and sheet views
Text Notes	Full text content	Preserves formatting (bold, italic, underline)
Schedules	Schedule Name + column headings	Excludes titleblock revision and internal keynote schedules
Keynotes	Keynote text entries	Creates a translated copy; original never modified
Family Types	Type Name and Family Name	21 targeted categories including Doors, Windows, Furniture, Plumbing, MEP
Levels	Level Name	Translates the text portion of level names (e.g. "Ground Floor", "Roof Plan"); pure-numeric names like "+3.500" or "0.000" are skipped because they're elevations
Materials	Name, Description, Comments, Keywords, Mark	Only materials actually used in the model
Revisions	Description, Date, Issued To, Issued By	Pure numeric dates skipped; text dates translated
Dimensions	Override text on dimension segments	Only dimensions with user-applied text overrides
Parameters	Shared/project parameter string values + Project Information	Scans 34 categories; excludes parameters covered by other extractors
Global Parameters	String-valued global parameters	Project-wide parameters with text values

What Should Not Be Translated

Certain model content is intentionally excluded from translation because it serves as a reference identifier that must remain consistent across all language versions:

Content	Reason
Grid names (A, B, 1, 2, 3)	Structural reference identifiers
Numeric-only level names (e.g. "+3.500", "0.000")	Elevation values, not translatable text — skipped automatically. Named levels ("Ground Floor", "Roof Plan") are translated via the Levels category
Sheet numbers	Document identifiers — must match across all language editions
Room numbers	Spatial identifiers — referenced in fire strategies and FM systems
Door/Window marks	Element identifiers — cross-referenced in schedules
Drawn By / Checked By / Approved By	People's names — not translatable
Element IDs and GUIDs	System identifiers
File paths	System references

Translation Workflow

Translation Status Codes

Status	Colour	Meaning
Pending	Grey	Not yet translated
Translated	Green	Translation complete (from AI, glossary, or memory)
Glossary	Cyan	Matched from the built-in or user glossary
Memory	Blue	Recalled from translation memory
Stale	Amber	Source text changed since last translation
Applied	Dark green	Successfully written back to the model
Edited	Purple	User manually edited the translation in the preview grid

Glossary System

Built-In AEC Glossaries

Transl8 ships with 36 built-in AEC glossaries covering the most common language pairs in international practice. Glossaries are loaded automatically when the matching source-target pair is selected.

English Source Glossaries (33)

Each English-source glossary contains 549-551 AEC terms covering the target language. Supported targets include: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese (Portugal), Portuguese (Brazil), Italian, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Dutch, Polish, Czech, Romanian, Hungarian, Greek, Turkish, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovak, Bulgarian, Hebrew, Hindi, Thai, Vietnamese, Malay, and Indonesian.

Glossary Categories

Each glossary covers up to eleven categories:

• Architecture — Room names, circulation spaces, floor levels, specialist spaces
• Structure — Columns, beams, slabs, foundations, shear walls, reinforcement, precast elements
• MEP — HVAC systems, electrical distribution, fire protection, plumbing, air handling
• General — Drawing types (plans, sections, elevations), schedules, title block elements
• Healthcare — Treatment rooms, diagnostic suites, linear accelerator vaults, clean rooms
• Education — Classrooms, laboratories, lecture halls, libraries, sports facilities
• Hospitality — Guest rooms, lobbies, restaurants, conference centres
• Retail — Shop floors, stockrooms, fitting rooms, food courts
• Materials — Concrete, steel, timber, insulation, waterproofing, finishes, cladding
• Data Centre — Server rooms, cooling, UPS, cable management, access flooring
• NBS Specifications — Specification clause descriptions and headings

User Glossaries

Users can create project-specific or firm-wide glossaries for any language pair. User glossaries can be placed in:

• %LocalAppData%\AUTOM8LABS\Transl8\Glossaries\ — default user glossary folder
• Any additional folders configured in Settings (network drives, project folders)

Glossaries are XLSX files — Excel preserves multi-line TextNote content via native cell line breaks, so glossaries round-trip cleanly through review and editing. The language pair is read from the Metadata sheet if present, or inferred from the filename (e.g. firm-glossary-en-zh-Hans.xlsx).

User glossary entries override built-in terms when there's a conflict. Glossaries are reloaded automatically whenever the Transl8 dialog is opened and on every model scan, and only files whose last-write timestamp has changed are reparsed so large glossary folders don't slow down re-scans.

Exporting the Project Glossary

Use the Export Glossary button to save the current translations as a multi-sheet Excel (.xlsx) review workbook:

• Glossary sheet (master) — every translated term, deduplicated by category + property + source, with columns for Occurrences, Category, Property, Sheets, Views, Source, Translation, and Context
• One tab per category — separate sheets for Rooms, Sheets, Views, TextNotes, Schedules, Levels, Dimensions, etc. so reviewers can focus on one element type at a time
• Sheets / Views context — TextNote rows include the sheet and view names where each note appears (e.g. "S-101, S-102") so reviewers understand the context before editing. The TextNote tab is sorted by Sheet → View → Source so all "EXIT" notes on S-101 cluster together
• Metadata sheet — language pair and export timestamp
• Stable row order — identical source items appear on the same row number across every language export, so reviewers can place en→fr and en→zh files side-by-side and compare row-for-row

The exported workbook follows the same XLSX layout Transl8 reads as a user glossary. To feed reviewer edits back into the model, drop the edited file into the user glossary folder (%LocalAppData%\AUTOM8LABS\Transl8\Glossaries\ or any folder configured in Settings) — on the next scan, glossaries are reloaded automatically and reviewer terms take priority over AI and memory translations.

Common AEC Corrections

The AI system prompt includes explicit corrections for frequently mistranslated terms:

English Term	Correct Translation	Common Mistake
Plant Room	Mechanical/services room	Vegetation room
WC	Local toilet/washroom equivalent	Literal "water closet"
Riser	Vertical services shaft	"Something that rises"
FFL	Finished Floor Level	Literal translation
DPC	Damp Proof Course	Literal translation
Soffit	Underside of element	Generic "bottom"
Cill / Sill	Window sill	Literal translation

Translation Memory

Transl8 maintains a per-project translation memory. The storage location is determined automatically based on the model type:

Model Type	Memory Location	Shared?
Local file	{ModelDir}\Transl8\{ModelName}.memory.json	N/A (single user)
Workshared (file server)	{CentralModelDir}\Transl8\{CentralModelName}.memory.json	Yes — all users share one cache
Cloud (ACC / BIM 360)	%LocalAppData%\AUTOM8LABS\Transl8\CloudProjects\{projectGuid}\{modelGuid}\memory.json	No — per-user, but stable across sessions
Unsaved model	%LocalAppData%\AUTOM8LABS\Transl8\Memory\_unsaved\{ModelName}.memory.json	N/A (save project to persist)

Two files are written per model:

• {ModelName}.memory.json — forward/reverse translation cache keyed by source text and target language
• {ModelName}.memory.applied.json — per-element audit trail with element IDs, property names, source text, applied translation, target language, translation source, and timestamp

The cache is created lazily on first write, so simply opening the dialog on a network drive does not create a Transl8 folder. Older databases named memory.db are automatically migrated to the new model-named layout on first scan.

For workshared models on a file server, the cache is placed next to the central model (not the local copy), so all team members with Transl8 share the same translation memory — Alice's translations are available to Bob immediately, no duplicate API calls.

For cloud models (ACC/BIM 360), the cache path is derived from the stable cloud project and model GUIDs, so it persists across sessions even if Revit clears the collaboration cache.

Previously translated text is automatically recalled on subsequent scans, so you never pay to translate the same text twice. The memory persists across sessions and is specific to each source-target language pair.

Multi-Language Translation

Transl8 treats the current model text as the source language. Translation is a two-step process: Translate (preview) and Apply (commit). This separation enables powerful multi-language workflows.

Preview multiple languages before committing:

1. Open an English model and set target to Spanish — click Translate — translations cached in the database
2. Switch target to Polish — click Translate — Polish translations cached alongside the Spanish ones
3. Switch target to Japanese — click Translate — Japanese translations also cached
4. Switch back to Spanish — translations recalled instantly from the database (no API call, no cost)

At this point the database holds translations for all three languages against the English source text. The model itself is unchanged — still in English. You can compare languages, review, edit, and only apply when you're satisfied.

Apply commits the language:

1. Click Apply with Spanish selected — model text becomes Spanish
2. Spanish is now the source language for any future translations
3. If you later need French, Transl8 translates from Spanish (the current model text) to French

Storage Format

All Revit versions (2022-2027) use a single human-readable JSON format for translation memory. The JSON files can be inspected, diffed, and version-controlled alongside the project if needed.

If the project directory is read-only (e.g. a locked-down central model folder), memory creation fails silently and the dialog continues to work without the recall benefit — translations still complete, they just won't be cached for next time.

Font Validation

Revit displays placeholder boxes when the assigned font doesn't support the target language's character set. Before applying translations, Transl8 validates that the required fonts are installed:

Language	Required Fonts	Fallback
Simplified Chinese	SimSun, Microsoft YaHei	Arial Unicode MS
Traditional Chinese	MingLiU, Microsoft JhengHei	Arial Unicode MS
Japanese	MS Gothic, Yu Gothic	Arial Unicode MS
Korean	Malgun Gothic, Batang	Arial Unicode MS
Arabic	Arial Unicode MS, Simplified Arabic	Arial Unicode MS
Thai	Leelawadee UI, Tahoma	Arial Unicode MS
Hindi	Nirmala UI, Mangal	Arial Unicode MS
European & Latin-script	Segoe UI, Arial	No validation needed

Supported Languages

All 34 languages work as both source and target in any combination — giving 1,122 possible language pairs. Every English target pair has a dedicated AEC glossary with 549-551 terms.

Language	Code	RTL	Glossary
English	en	No	Source language
Simplified Chinese	zh-Hans	No	549 terms
Traditional Chinese	zh-Hant	No	551 terms
Arabic	ar	Yes	549 terms
Japanese	ja	No	549 terms
Korean	ko	No	551 terms
French	fr	No	549 terms
German	de	No	549 terms
Spanish (Spain)	es	No	551 terms
Spanish (Latin America)	es-419	No	551 terms
Portuguese (Portugal)	pt	No	551 terms
Portuguese (Brazil)	pt-BR	No	551 terms
Italian	it	No	549 terms
Vietnamese	vi	No	551 terms
Thai	th	No	551 terms
Hindi	hi	No	551 terms
Danish	da	No	551 terms
Dutch	nl	No	551 terms
Swedish	sv	No	551 terms
Norwegian	nb	No	551 terms
Finnish	fi	No	551 terms
Polish	pl	No	551 terms
Czech	cs	No	551 terms
Romanian	ro	No	551 terms
Hungarian	hu	No	551 terms
Greek	el	No	551 terms
Turkish	tr	No	551 terms
Ukrainian	uk	No	551 terms
Croatian	hr	No	551 terms
Slovak	sk	No	551 terms
Bulgarian	bg	No	551 terms
Hebrew	he	Yes	551 terms
Malay	ms	No	551 terms
Indonesian	id	No	551 terms

Keynote Translation

Keynotes in Revit are stored in an external text file, not in the model itself. Transl8 handles this differently from other element types:

1. Scan — Reads the keynote table file referenced by the model and extracts all text entries
2. Translate — Translates keynote text through the same four-phase pipeline
3. Apply — Creates a new translated keynote file alongside the original (e.g. Keynotes_NBS.txt becomes Keynotes_NBS_sv.txt), then re-links the Revit model to the translated file. The original file is never modified.

Worksharing Support

Transl8 is designed for multi-user workshared environments:

• Element ownership — Before modifying any element, Transl8 checks ownership via WorksharingUtils. Elements owned by another user are skipped automatically.
• Detailed skip reporting — When elements are skipped, the results show a breakdown: how many were owned by other users (and which users), how many were deleted in the central model, etc.
• Shared translation memory — For workshared models on a file server, translation memory is stored next to the central model so all team members share one cache. Because the cache is a plain JSON file it is readable by any Revit version (2022-2027) opening the same model.
• Cloud model support — ACC and BIM 360 models use a stable local path derived from the cloud project and model GUIDs, so translation memory persists across sessions even if Revit clears the local collaboration cache.

Multi-User Workflow

When multiple team members have Transl8 installed and are working in the same workshared model:

1. Each user's translations are cached in the shared translation memory
2. When User B scans after User A has translated, User B sees those translations from memory instantly
3. Elements owned by other users are skipped during Apply, with clear reporting of which users own which elements
4. After syncing to central, all translations are visible to all users

Configuration

Settings

The Settings tab is grouped into the following sections:

• Interface Language — The dialog UI matches the Revit locale by default (open Revit in French and Transl8 opens in French). It can be switched independently of the translation source/target at any time, and the choice is remembered across sessions.
• Translation Defaults — Pick the default source and target language pre-selected when the dialog opens. Useful when you mostly work between the same two languages.
• Font Handling — Automatically switch fonts for target language compatibility. When enabled, TextNote fonts are swapped to a compatible font during Apply if the current font doesn't support the target language's characters (prevents the □□□ box-character rendering in Revit).
• Translation Cache — Shows the cache location for the active project (one cache file per Revit model) and provides a Clear Translation Cache button to wipe per-project memory if you want to re-translate from scratch.
• Glossary — Shows the default user glossary folder and lets you add additional folders (e.g. a network drive shared by the team, or a per-project folder). Use Add Folder, Remove Selected, and Open User Folder to manage where Transl8 looks for user/firm glossaries.

Usage Tips

• Single undo. The entire apply operation is wrapped in a single Revit transaction. One Ctrl+Z reverts all translations.
• Save before applying. While single-undo is supported, saving beforehand gives you an extra safety net for large translation batches.
• Selection mode. Select elements in Revit before opening Transl8, then enable "Selected Elements Only" to translate just those items instead of the entire model.
• Glossary-driven review. Use Export Glossary to share a multi-sheet Excel workbook with reviewers. Save the edited file into the user glossary folder so reviewer terms are picked up automatically on the next scan, with priority over AI and memory translations.
• Regional variants matter. If you're working on a project in Brazil, select "Portuguese (Brazil)" not "Portuguese (Portugal)". The AEC terminology differences are significant.
• Preview multiple languages. Before applying, switch the target language and click Translate to cache translations for several languages. Switch between them freely — cached translations are recalled instantly.
• Keynote files. When translating keynotes, a new translated file is created alongside the original. The original is never modified. Reverting re-links back to the original file.

Licensing

Free Download

Transl8 is free to download and install. Without an active Pro licence you can:

• Open the dialog from the ribbon and explore the full UI in your preferred interface language
• Scan the model and browse all 14 element categories
• Inspect existing glossary matches and translation memory hits
• Configure source/target languages, default categories, font options, and glossary folders

The Translate action and applying translations to the model require a Pro licence.

Pro Licence

A Pro licence unlocks:

• Translate any number of items via the AI translation engine
• Apply translations back to the model in a single Revit transaction
• Export Glossary to a multi-sheet Excel review workbook
• Worksharing-aware Apply with detailed ownership reporting
• Priority email support

Pricing scales with team size — from single-seat studios to enterprise rollouts. Request a tailored quote.

Troubleshooting

Transl8 doesn't appear in Revit

If Transl8 is not visible under the Add-Ins tab:

• Ensure Revit was completely closed during installation
• Verify the installation folder contains the required files
• Try reinstalling Transl8 with administrator privileges

Translate button is disabled

The Translate button is gated behind an active Pro licence. Click Manage Licence at the bottom-left of the dialog to check your current licence status. If your licence has expired, your existing translation memory and glossaries remain intact — you only need to renew to translate new items.

Placeholder boxes after applying translations

Revit displays placeholder boxes when the assigned font doesn't support the target language's character set. Before applying:

• Watch for the font validation warning banner — it lists missing fonts with recommended replacements
• Install any flagged fonts, or enable Auto Font Switch in Settings to automatically swap to a font that supports the target script
• You can also set a Font Override in Settings to force a specific font instead of auto-detection

Glossary edits aren't taking effect

Glossaries are reloaded automatically when the dialog is opened and on every model scan. Only files whose last-write timestamp has changed are reparsed:

• After editing a glossary file, click Scan Model to force a refresh
• Verify the file is in %LocalAppData%\AUTOM8LABS\Transl8\Glossaries\ or any folder configured under Settings
• Check the language pair matches — derived from the Metadata sheet (XLSX) or filename (e.g. aec-en-fr.csv)

Translation memory isn't being created

If the project directory is read-only (a locked-down central model folder, for example), memory creation fails silently and the dialog continues to work without the recall benefit. Translations still complete, they just won't be cached for next time. To enable caching, ensure the project folder is writable, or set a Memory Folder Override in Settings to point at a writable location.

Elements skipped during Apply

On a workshared model, Transl8 automatically skips elements owned by another user instead of failing the whole apply. After Apply finishes, an ownership report lists which elements were skipped and who owns them. Ask the relevant teammates to relinquish those elements (or close the model) and re-run Apply for just the remaining items.

Log files

Transl8 writes detailed logs to:

Include these logs when contacting support so we can diagnose translation, font, or licence issues quickly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Changelog