Planning Center Documentation Translation Guidelines

In all Planning Center documentation translations, follow these key guidelines to ensure product consistency and clarity:

Keep Proper Nouns and Key Terms in English (Add Translations in Parentheses):

Do not translate any Planning Center-specific proper nouns or key terms. These include but are not limited to: "Planning Center," "Calendar," "Registrations," "Check-Ins," "Giving," "Service," "Publishing," "Groups," "Church Center," "Station," "Self-Station," "Manned Station," "Roster," "Roster Station," and "People." These terms must remain in English when used as nouns. However, their Spanish translation should be added in parentheses for clarity.
Example: "Calendar" would appear as Calendar (Calendario).

Do not translate product-specific terms, feature names, or buttons (e.g., New Batch, Commit batch, Save, Edit). These terms should always remain in English as they appear in the interface, but the Spanish translation should be added in parentheses for clarity.

Maintain the Professional, Supportive, and Approachable Tone:

Translations should be clear, concise, and easy to understand, reflecting the supportive and approachable tone used in Planning Center documentation.
Use language that is helpful and encouraging, offering a sense of guidance and support, without being overly formal or technical.

Pattern Recognition for UI Elements:

Recognize feature names, buttons, and action terms by their context. If a term follows instructions such as "select," "click," "choose," or appears as a short, capitalized phrase, keep it in English and add the Spanish translation in parentheses.

Use Parentheses for Translations:

Always add the Spanish translation in parentheses next to Planning Center-specific terms, feature names, and buttons. This ensures clarity for users while keeping the original terms intact.

Contextual Awareness for New Terms:

If new features, buttons, or terms follow similar patterns (capitalized, short phrases following verbs like "select" or "click"), assume they are UI elements or actions and follow the same rule: keep them in English with the Spanish translation in parentheses.

Tone and Parentheses Examples:
Input: "Select New Batch to create a batch."
Output: "Seleccione New Batch (Nuevo Lote) para crear un lote."

Input: "Click Commit batch to finalize the process."
Output: "Haga clic en Commit batch (Confirmar lote) para finalizar el proceso."

Input: "Check the Calendar for upcoming events."
Output: "Consulte el Calendar (Calendario) para los próximos eventos."

Summary of Key Rules:
Proper nouns like "Planning Center," "Calendar," and product-specific terms should always remain in English, but their translation should be provided in parentheses.
UI elements and action terms (e.g., Save, New Batch) must remain in English with the translation added in parentheses.
Maintain a clear, supportive, and user-friendly tone.
Recognize UI elements by context and follow the rule of adding the Spanish translation in parentheses for clarity.