What is an Adobe XD localization workflow?

Last reviewed: September 1, 2026

How do you hand off Adobe XD artboards and prototypes for translation without a native plugin?

Without a plugin, the handoff runs through Smartling's general file-upload path instead of a design-tool-specific one.

• Export the copy - pull UI text, artboard labels, and prototype microcopy out of the XD file as a CSV or JSON export, since Smartling accepts both formats natively alongside XML, YAML, and HTML.
• Upload directly to Smartling - this mirrors the "export to JSON, upload manually" pattern Smartling's own Illustrator and Photoshop plugins already use when a live plugin connection isn't in play.
• Attach context manually - since there's no plugin capturing the artboard automatically, attach a screenshot or exported spec alongside the file so translators aren't working from bare strings.
• Translate through the standard CAT Tool path - the uploaded content flows through the same translation memory, glossary, and AI translation options Smartling applies to every other file type.
• Re-import and hand off - download the completed translations and either paste them back into XD manually or pass them straight to development if the screens are already past the design stage.

Adobe XD localization workflow: what the numbers say

How do you keep glossary and terminology consistent across Adobe XD designs?

Terminology in an Adobe XD workflow is managed the same way it is for any uploaded file: through Smartling's Terminology Directory.

1. Build the glossary once - approved terms and their translations live in Smartling's Terminology Directory, independent of which file type or design tool the source text came from.
2. Apply Glossary Term Insertion - Smartling can automatically insert approved glossary terms into machine translation output before a human ever reviews the string.
3. Layer in style guide rules - brand voice and tone rules apply alongside the glossary, so XD-sourced UI copy gets the same terminology treatment as web or app content.
4. Review and update centrally - because the glossary isn't tied to a specific plugin, updates made for web or app strings carry over automatically to the next Adobe XD file upload.

This workflow fits teams that...

• Still maintain an active Adobe XD file library and aren't ready to migrate design work to another tool yet.
• Need to translate design-file UI copy occasionally, alongside a larger volume of web, app, or document content already running through Smartling.
• Are comfortable with a short manual export/import step in exchange for reusing the same glossary, translation memory, and quality review as the rest of their content.
• Have a designer or PM who can own attaching artboard context manually, since that step isn't automated without a plugin.

Quand ce n’est peut-être pas la bonne priorité

• Teams that need a live, in-tool translation preview the moment copy changes — that experience exists in Smartling's Figma and Sketch plugins, not in an XD file-upload workflow.
• Teams already planning to migrate off Adobe XD internally: since Adobe has XD in maintenance mode and Smartling maintains an active native plugin for Figma, it's often more efficient to prioritize that migration and plugin setup over building a long-term workaround for a tool Adobe itself is deprioritizing.

Evaluation checklist: questions to ask before you build this workflow

Does your team still have an active Adobe XD file library, or is a migration to another design tool already underway?
If migration is already planned, it may be faster to set up Smartling's native Figma plugin now rather than build a manual XD process you'll retire soon.

How much of your product's UI copy actually lives inside XD artboards versus downstream code strings?
If most of the real translation volume is already in code, the XD file-upload step may only need to run occasionally rather than as a continuous pipeline.

Who owns capturing and attaching visual context for translators?
Without a plugin, no one captures an XD artboard screenshot automatically — assign that step explicitly or translators will be working from bare strings.

Will your right-to-left locales need artboard-level layout changes, or only text translation?
Smartling can translate and correctly render RTL text, but mirroring an XD artboard's layout is a design task that happens inside Adobe XD itself, not something the translation workflow automates.

How does Smartling handle the parts of this workflow it can support directly?

Smartling's advantage for Adobe XD content isn't a plugin — it's that the exported copy lands in the same system already handling a team's other content types. Once UI copy is uploaded as CSV or JSON, it moves through Smartling's Terminology Directory for glossary enforcement, AI Adaptive Translation Memory for reusing 50%-99.9% matches on repeated strings, and LQA Agent, which scores translations against the MQM (Multidimensional Quality Metrics) framework before a job is marked complete.

For teams whose design work is shifting away from Adobe XD, Smartling's native Figma Design Plugin lets designers submit pages and frames for translation directly from Figma and review results without leaving the tool — including a pseudo-translation preview (available in Smartling's Sketch plugin) that shows how translated text length will affect a layout before a translator ever touches it. Neither capability is available for Adobe XD today, since there's no native plugin, but they're a realistic next step for teams already reconsidering their design tool.