Screenshot Localization
Your screenshots carry text — headlines and captions rendered directly into the image. Screenshot Localization reads that text off each screenshot, translates it into your target languages, and re-renders a localized copy of the screenshot with the translated text in place. The background, layout, and device frame stay as they were; only the words change.
Before you start
Section titled “Before you start”- You need the editor role on the project, and a plan that includes localization. See Plans and entitlements.
- Set your Target Languages first. Localization runs into the languages you’ve enabled, translating from your primary language.
- You need existing screenshots to localize. The feature works on rendered screenshot images, not on a design file.
What gets localized
Section titled “What gets localized”Apptonomy detects the text on each screenshot and localizes only the significant text — headlines and captions. It deliberately skips device-interface chrome: the status-bar clock, battery percentage, AM/PM, and signal indicators (LTE, 5G, WiFi) are left untouched, so a localized screenshot doesn’t end up with a “translated” clock.
Screenshots with no significant text are passed through unchanged.
How it works
Section titled “How it works”For each screenshot and each target language, Apptonomy:
- Reads the text off the image.
- Translates the significant text into the target language, respecting your translation voice and target-language hints.
- Re-renders the screenshot with the translated text painted back into the same position, preserving the original background, layout, and mockup.
- Quality-checks the result — it re-reads the localized image, confirms the expected translated text is present, and measures how far the text moved. Each localized screenshot gets a quality score, and low-confidence results are flagged.
The output is a localized screenshot per target language, stored against your listing revision.
Localization status
Section titled “Localization status”Each language’s screenshot localization carries a status:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | Queued, not started |
| In progress | Localization running |
| Completed | All screenshots localized and passed quality checks |
| Partial | Some screenshots localized cleanly; others were flagged |
| Failed | Localization could not be completed |
Individual screenshots that need a closer look are flagged with a reason — for example, missing text, a text-render problem, significant layout drift, low text-detection confidence, a fallback render, or an RTL layout. Treat Partial as “most of this language is done, but review the flagged screenshots.”
Verify it worked
Section titled “Verify it worked”- The target language’s status reads Completed (or Partial with a short list of flagged screenshots).
- Each localized screenshot shows the translated headline in the same position as the source, with the background and device frame intact.
- Review any flagged or RTL screenshots before publishing.
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”Some screenshots came back flagged
Section titled “Some screenshots came back flagged”A Partial status means the run finished but some screenshots didn’t meet the quality bar — the text may have shifted, been hard to read back, or fallen back to a simpler render. Review each flagged screenshot and, where needed, fix the source screenshot text or supply a cleaner source image, then localize again.
A screenshot’s text wasn’t translated
Section titled “A screenshot’s text wasn’t translated”Only significant headline and caption text is localized; small text and interface chrome are skipped by design. If a caption you expected to be translated was left alone, it was likely below the size threshold or matched an interface-chrome pattern. Make the caption a first-class headline in the source screenshot.
Related
Section titled “Related”- Target Languages — choose the languages screenshots are localized into
- Translation Workflow — localize your listing text fields
- Screenshot Engine — scores screenshot effectiveness
- How Listing Localization Works — how each store selects a shopper’s language