Translations

Overview

Translations allow you to provide menu items, descriptions, and custom content in multiple languages. Translate your menu for international customers.

Key Purpose: Translate menu content for multiple languages.

Purpose

This page lets you view, edit, and auto-translate the names and descriptions of menu items, categories, modifiers, display groups, variant groups, and loyalty rewards into every configured language.

Key Concepts

Translation Entities: The system supports translating six entity types: Item, DisplayGroup, VariantGroup, Category, Modifier (ModifierGroup), and Loyalty rewards, each resolved via TranslationEntities enum.
Default vs. Translating Language: Every translatable field stores a default value plus per-language overrides (e.g., details.default.name and details.fr.name); the default is the source text.
Google Cloud Translate: Auto-translation uses the Google Cloud Translate V2 API via a TranslateClient initialized with the CLOUD_TRANSLATION_API_KEY environment variable.
Incompleteness Detection: The LanguageService.checkTranslation method queries each entity repository for records where the translated name is null, empty, or missing for a given language.
Paginated Data Table: Translations are browsed via a paginated pipeline that adds computed fields (default_name, translating_name, etc.) and supports sorting and search by default name.

Actions

Translate Individual Entity

Select an item, category, or modifier and enter or edit the translation for a specific language; both name and description fields are translatable.

Auto-Translate Missing Content

Trigger the auto-translate function to generate draft translations for all entities that are missing a translation in one or more target languages.

Review Translation Status

View a per-language completeness overview showing how many entities still need translations, broken down by entity type.

Bulk Browse and Edit

Use the paginated translation data table to filter by entity type and language, then edit translations inline.

Location

Backoffice Route: /settings/translations
Backend Controller: app/Http/Controllers/Api/TranslationController.php
Vue Component: src/views/settings/TranslationsComponent.vue

What Can Be Translated

Field	Translatable
Item Name	✓
Item Description	✓
Item Notes	✓

Field	Translatable
Category Name	✓
Category Description	✓

Modifiers

Field	Translatable
Group Name	✓
Option Name	✓

Custom Content

Field	Translatable
Welcome Message	✓
Footer Text	✓
Receipt Header	✓
Receipt Footer	✓

Translation Fields

Source Language

Property	Value
Field ID	`source_language`
Label	Source Language
Type	Select
Default	Default language

Description: The original language of your content.

Target Languages

Property	Value
Field ID	`target_languages`
Label	Translate To
Type	Multi-select

Description: Languages to translate content into.

Translation Status

Property	Value
Values	translated, pending, missing

Description: Status of each translation.

Statuses:

Translated: Translation complete
Pending: Needs review
Missing: No translation yet

Translation Interface

Item Translation View

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Margherita Pizza                                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Name                                                    │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ 🇳🇱 NL: Margherita Pizza                      ✓    ││
│ │ 🇬🇧 EN: Margherita Pizza                      ✓    ││
│ │ 🇩🇪 DE: Margherita Pizza                      ✓    ││
│ │ 🇫🇷 FR: Pizza Margherita                      ✓    ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
│                                                         │
│ Description                                             │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ 🇳🇱 NL: Verse mozzarella, tomaat, basilicum   ✓    ││
│ │ 🇬🇧 EN: Fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil       ✓    ││
│ │ 🇩🇪 DE: Frischer Mozzarella, Tomate, Basilikum ✓   ││
│ │ 🇫🇷 FR: Mozzarella fraîche, tomate, basilic   ✓    ││
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Auto-Translation

Enable Auto-Translate

Property	Value
Field ID	`auto_translate`
Label	Auto-Translate
Type	Toggle
Default	false

Description: Automatically translate new content using AI.

Business Logic:

Uses AI translation service
Creates draft translations
Should be reviewed for accuracy

Auto-Translate Provider

Property	Value
Field ID	`translation_provider`
Label	Translation Service
Type	Select
Options	azure, google, deepl

Description: Which translation service to use.

Business Logic

Translation Storage

Item: Margherita Pizza
├── name: "Margherita Pizza" (default: NL)
├── name_en: "Margherita Pizza"
├── name_de: "Margherita Pizza"
├── name_fr: "Pizza Margherita"
├── description: "Verse mozzarella..." (default: NL)
├── description_en: "Fresh mozzarella..."
├── description_de: "Frischer Mozzarella..."
└── description_fr: "Mozzarella fraîche..."

Translation Display

Customer selects language
        │
        ▼
For each text field:
├── Translation exists for language?
│   └── Yes → Show translation
│
└── No → Show default language text

Bulk Translation

Select items to translate
        │
        ▼
Select target languages
        │
        ▼
For each item:
├── Auto-translate (if enabled)
└── Mark as pending review
        │
        ▼
Review and approve translations

Customer Impact

Online Ordering

Menu items in selected language
Descriptions in selected language
Category names in selected language
Modifier options in selected language

Kiosk

Same as Online Ordering
All UI text translated

Receipts

Item names in receipt language
Custom text translated

Relations

Depends On

Languages: Which languages are enabled
Menu Items: Content to translate
Categories: Content to translate
Modifiers: Content to translate

Affects

Online Ordering: Displayed content
Kiosk: Displayed content
Receipts: Printed content

Business Rules

Auto-translation uses Google Cloud Translate V2 and requires a valid CLOUD_TRANSLATION_API_KEY environment variable; if the key is missing, auto-translate calls will fail.
Translations are stored inside the entity's details object as per-language keys (e.g., details.fr.name); if a language key is missing or empty, the system falls back to details.default.
The translation data table supports pagination, sorting by any computed field, and search by default name, using MongoDB aggregation pipelines with $addFields.
Translatable entities include Items, DisplayGroups, VariantGroups, Categories, ModifierGroups, and Loyalty rewards; Notifications and Receipts are planned but not yet implemented in the translation pipeline.
Child translations (e.g., individual modifiers within a ModifierGroup, or rewards within a Loyalty program) are fetched via the parent's relationship methods and include both default and translating-language values.

FAQs

"Which translation provider does the system use?" Google Cloud Translate V2 by default; the API key is configured via the CLOUD_TRANSLATION_API_KEY environment variable.
"Are auto-translations final?" No, auto-translations are generated as drafts and should be reviewed manually for accuracy, especially for food and restaurant-specific terminology.
"What happens if a translation is missing for a language?" The system falls back to the default language text, so the customer still sees content but in the source language.
"Can I translate receipt text here?" Receipt header and footer text are translated automatically via the Receipt Settings page when you save changes; they are not yet part of the translation data table pipeline.
"How do I know which translations are incomplete?" The translation status overview checks each entity type per language and flags any records where the translated name is null, empty, or missing.

Troubleshooting

Problem: Translation not showing

Causes:

Translation not entered
Language not enabled
Cache issue

Solutions:

Add translation
Enable language in settings
Clear cache

Problem: Wrong translation showing

Causes:

Translation incorrect
Wrong language detected
Fallback to wrong language

Solutions:

Update translation
Check language detection
Verify fallback settings

Problem: Auto-translate not working

Causes:

Auto-translate disabled
API key missing
Service unavailable

Solutions:

Enable auto-translate
Configure API credentials
Check service status

Examples

json

{
  "item": {
    "id": "item-123",
    "name": "Margherita Pizza",
    "name_en": "Margherita Pizza",
    "name_nl": "Margherita Pizza",
    "name_de": "Margherita Pizza",
    "name_fr": "Pizza Margherita",
    "description": "Fresh mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes, basil, extra virgin olive oil",
    "description_nl": "Verse mozzarella, San Marzano tomaten, basilicum, extra vierge olijfolie",
    "description_de": "Frischer Mozzarella, San Marzano Tomaten, Basilikum, natives Olivenöl extra",
    "description_fr": "Mozzarella fraîche, tomates San Marzano, basilic, huile d'olive extra vierge"
  }
}

Category Translations

json

{
  "category": {
    "id": "cat-456",
    "name": "Starters",
    "name_nl": "Voorgerechten",
    "name_de": "Vorspeisen",
    "name_fr": "Entrées",
    "description": "Begin your meal with our delicious starters",
    "description_nl": "Begin uw maaltijd met onze heerlijke voorgerechten",
    "description_de": "Beginnen Sie Ihre Mahlzeit mit unseren köstlichen Vorspeisen",
    "description_fr": "Commencez votre repas avec nos délicieuses entrées"
  }
}

Modifier Translations

json

{
  "modifier_group": {
    "name": "Size",
    "name_nl": "Grootte",
    "name_de": "Größe",
    "name_fr": "Taille",
    "options": [
      {
        "name": "Small",
        "name_nl": "Klein",
        "name_de": "Klein",
        "name_fr": "Petit"
      },
      {
        "name": "Medium",
        "name_nl": "Medium",
        "name_de": "Mittel",
        "name_fr": "Moyen"
      },
      {
        "name": "Large",
        "name_nl": "Groot",
        "name_de": "Groß",
        "name_fr": "Grand"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Translation Status Overview

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
              TRANSLATION STATUS
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Menu Items (45 total)
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
🇳🇱 Dutch:    45/45 (100%) ████████████████████ Complete
🇬🇧 English:  45/45 (100%) ████████████████████ Complete
🇩🇪 German:   38/45 (84%)  ████████████████░░░░ 7 missing
🇫🇷 French:   32/45 (71%)  ██████████████░░░░░░ 13 missing

Categories (8 total)
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
🇳🇱 Dutch:    8/8 (100%)   ████████████████████ Complete
🇬🇧 English:  8/8 (100%)   ████████████████████ Complete
🇩🇪 German:   8/8 (100%)   ████████████████████ Complete
🇫🇷 French:   8/8 (100%)   ████████████████████ Complete

Modifiers (24 total)
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
🇳🇱 Dutch:    24/24 (100%) ████████████████████ Complete
🇬🇧 English:  24/24 (100%) ████████████████████ Complete
🇩🇪 German:   20/24 (83%)  ████████████████░░░░ 4 missing
🇫🇷 French:   18/24 (75%)  ███████████████░░░░░ 6 missing

[Auto-Translate Missing] [Export] [Import]

Translation Best Practices

Consistency: Use consistent terminology
Context: Consider food/restaurant context
Length: Keep translations similar length
Review: Always review auto-translations
Updates: Update translations when source changes

Translations ​

Overview ​

Purpose ​

Key Concepts ​

Actions ​

Translate Individual Entity ​

Auto-Translate Missing Content ​

Review Translation Status ​

Bulk Browse and Edit ​

Location ​

What Can Be Translated ​

Menu Items ​

Categories ​

Modifiers ​

Custom Content ​

Translation Fields ​

Source Language ​

Target Languages ​

Translation Status ​

Translation Interface ​

Item Translation View ​

Auto-Translation ​

Enable Auto-Translate ​

Auto-Translate Provider ​

Business Logic ​

Translation Storage ​

Translation Display ​

Bulk Translation ​

Customer Impact ​

Online Ordering ​

Kiosk ​

Receipts ​

Relations ​

Depends On ​

Affects ​

Related Features ​

Business Rules ​

FAQs ​

Troubleshooting ​

Problem: Translation not showing ​

Problem: Wrong translation showing ​

Problem: Auto-translate not working ​

Examples ​

Menu Item Translations ​

Category Translations ​

Modifier Translations ​

Translation Status Overview ​

Translation Best Practices ​

Translations

Overview

Purpose

Key Concepts

Actions

Translate Individual Entity

Auto-Translate Missing Content

Review Translation Status

Bulk Browse and Edit

Location

What Can Be Translated

Menu Items

Categories

Modifiers

Custom Content

Translation Fields

Source Language

Target Languages

Translation Status

Translation Interface

Item Translation View

Auto-Translation

Enable Auto-Translate

Auto-Translate Provider

Business Logic

Translation Storage

Translation Display

Bulk Translation

Customer Impact

Online Ordering

Kiosk

Receipts

Relations

Depends On

Affects

Related Features

Business Rules

FAQs

Troubleshooting

Problem: Translation not showing

Problem: Wrong translation showing

Problem: Auto-translate not working

Examples

Menu Item Translations

Category Translations

Modifier Translations

Translation Status Overview

Translation Best Practices