Adding and Translating Languages in FFAIR

With FFAIR’s Localisation feature, you can give exhibitors, their agencies and the suppliers building their stands the event exhibitor manual in their own language. Exhibitors switch between languages using a language picker, marked with country flags, at the bottom left-hand menu on the platform.

Languages are added to each Show individually, as an in-app purchase. FFAIR translates the platform itself for you. Anything you’ve written - your tasks, Show Info, emails and so on — you translate using the built-in AI-translation tool, and then review and edit.

This article covers:

• Which languages are available
• Adding a language to your Show
• Setting your Default Show language
• What FFAIR translates for you
• What you can translate
• Using the Localisation section
• Translating your Show content with the AI-translation tool
• Email templates and Custom Emails
• What stays in English (UK)
• What your exhibitors will see
• Turning a language off

Which languages are available

English (UK) is the default language on every Show and is always included. You can add any of the following:

• English (US)
• French
• German
• Italian
• Dutch

Further languages are planned, based on customer requests.

Pricing:

• £150 per language, per Show (plus VAT)
• One-time payment — not a subscription
• This Show only — a language is available on the Show you add it to. To use the same language on another Show, add it to that Show as well.

Note: A language you’ve added stays available after your Show’s end date. Exhibitors can still view a completed Show in their language.

Adding a language to your Show

Any Organiser Admins and Show Admins can add a language.

1. Open Show Settings > Profile Settings > Show Languages. Click on the pencil icon to open the Language window. The window has two blocks, My languages and Add more languages. The Get Access button appears when you hover over a language.
   
   Here you’ll see your purchased languages, the languages available to add, and your Default Show language.

1. Click Get Access next to the language you want to add.
2. Check the purchase details — the pop-up shows the language you’ve chosen and the price (£150), and confirms that this is a one-time payment and that the language will only be available for this Show.
3. Click Confirm Purchase — A new browser tab opens to enable to purchase by card.
4. Look for the confirmation — Once the payment has gone through, the language is switched on straight away and the tab closes.

Once the language is activated:

• It appears in your Purchased Languages list.
• It’s added to the language picker in the Exhibitor’s Portal for this Show.
• Translation fields for that language appear in your Show content, ready for you to fill in.
• A purchase confirmation email is sent, with the subject “Your language purchase for [Show Name] is confirmed”. It includes the Show, the language, the invoice number and the purchase date.

Setting your Default Show language

Your Default Show language is the language your Show uses for exhibitors who haven’t chosen one yet, and for exhibitors whose chosen language isn’t available on your Show.

• To set it, use the Default Show language checkmark (“Set as default language for this Show”) next to the language you want. You’ll find this in the Language window, under My Languages, each enabled language has a round tick icon on the right. A blue tick marks the current default. Click the tick next to another enabled language to make it the default. Click the tick on the current default to go back to English (UK).
• English (UK) is the default unless you choose another language.

Your Default Show language is used for:

• Exhibitor invitations — the invitation link includes your Default Show language, and it’s pre-selected on the Sign-up and Login pages. If an exhibitor has already chosen a different language, the invitation won’t change it.
• Show emails — these are sent in your Default Show language, unless the exhibitor has chosen another language that’s available on your Show.
• First visits — exhibitors opening your Show for the first time see it in your Default Show language.
• The Standalone Show Info page — this is translated into the Show language included in the page’s link. If the link doesn’t include a language, the page shows in English (UK).

What FFAIR translates for you

The initial translation is handled by the AI-translation tool:

• Platform text in the Exhibitor’s Portal: buttons, field names, labels, pop-ups, tooltips, error messages, the calendar, and system pages such as Login, Sign-up and Maintenance mode.
• FFAIR’s standard email content for Exhibitor Invite, Due Task, Overdue Task and Task Submission emails, approval and rejection emails, refunds, bank transfers, payment reminders, certificates chat messages and password reset when you haven’t provided your own translation.
• Product Categories and Colours.
• Product image placeholders.
• Local map settings labels.

Note: Local map settings labels are now chosen from a dropdown of predefined options rather than typed in as free text. This applies in the Local Map Settings modal and the Edit Build/Persona Type modal. Each option comes with its translations, so the right label is shown in every language.

What you can translate

Your own content can be translated in these areas:

Using the Localisation section

Each of the forms above has a Localisation section, which works like this:

• One row per language on your Show, each with the language’s flag and name, a translation box, and an AI translation action. Only the languages added to this Show are listed.
• English (UK) is always the original. The text in the main field is what gets translated, and what exhibitors see if there’s no translation.
• Translations are optional — you can save the form without filling them in.
• It opens when there’s work to do — if some (but not all) translations are filled in, the section opens automatically. If they’re all empty or all complete, it stays closed. You can open or close it yourself at any time.
• Forms with several Localisation sections have an Expand settings / Collapse settings action to open or close them all at once.

Translating your Show content with the AI-translation tool

1. Write your content in English (UK) first. The AI translation actions stay unavailable until the English (UK) field has content.
2. Translate it — use the AI translation action in a language’s box to translate into that language, or use Auto-fill all to translate into every language on your Show at once.
3. You can regenerate previous translations. If the box already has text, the overwrite confirmation appears each time. The new version replaces the old one, and the old one can’t be restored. There is also a Clear all button which removes all the AI-translated text.
4. Review and edit — AI translations are fully editable, so you or a colleague can adjust the wording. If you utilise a language professional, you can add them as a FFAIR user to complete this task.
5. Save the form.

Note: The AI-translation tool gives you a fast first draft. Asking a native speaker on your team, or a local language resource, to review it helps your manual read naturally rather than feel translated.

A few things to know about AI translations:

• Existing translations aren’t overwritten without asking. If a box already has text, you’ll see: “This translation already contains content. Are you sure you want to replace it with the AI-generated version?”
• Variables stay as they are. Placeholders such as <First Name>, <Task Title> and <Show Name> stay in English and keep working after translation.
• Formatting is kept. Paragraphs, lists, links, bold and italic text carry over.
• Embedded content stays in place. Images, iFrames and links in Task Descriptions and Show Info Articles aren’t translated or changed, and stay in the same position.
• If something goes wrong, you’ll see “Unable to generate translations at this time. Please try again.” Any text already in the box is left as it was.

Email templates and Custom Emails

• Preview in each language — the email preview lets you switch language, so you can check the translated version, with its variables, before anything is sent.
• Custom Emails sent from Custom Reports go to each recipient in their chosen language. If there’s no translation for that language, they receive the English (UK) version.

What stays in English (UK)

Some parts of FFAIR aren’t translated:

• PDFs, including invoices, credit notes and task certificates.
• Supplier content in the Shop — product names, tags, descriptions, product option names and fees.
• Shop search, which runs in English (UK) only. (Show Info search runs in the exhibitor’s chosen language.)
• The Embedded Show List.

Bulk-upload translations are not possible. Content you add from your Libraries brings its translations with it. If you’re looking to ask a language professional or local team member to review the translations, we recommend adding them as a FFAIR user to your account (free) and editing directly within the Language function.

What your exhibitors will see

• A language picker at the bottom-left of the platform, marked with country flags. Inside your Show, it only appears once you’ve added at least one extra language to that Show. The picker will only show the languages offered. If there are no additional languages added by the organiser, the picker isn’t shown.
• An instant switch — when an exhibitor picks a language, the platform updates straight away, and FFAIR remembers their choice.
• Your Default Show language as a fallback — if an exhibitor has chosen a language your Show doesn’t offer, they’ll see your Show in your Default Show language. When they leave your Show, their own choice comes back.
• Platform text translated by FFAIR — buttons, labels, messages and system pages are translated for you. Your own content (tasks, Show Info and so on) appears in the exhibitor’s language once you’ve added translations.
• Login, Sign-up and Show List pages are always available in every supported language, whatever you’ve added to your Show.

Turning a language off

You can turn off a language you’ve added to your Show.

• You’ll be asked to confirm: “Are you sure you want to turn off language? Choose Submit to continue, or Cancel. You’ll then need to click Submit in the Language window to save the change.
• Once it’s off, the language is removed from the language picker for this Show, and any exhibitors using it are switched to your Default Show language.
• Your purchase stays active, so you can turn the language back on later.
• If it was your Default Show language, your default goes back to English (UK).
• English (UK) can’t be turned off.

⚠️ Important: Before turning off a language, remember that exhibitors using it will be moved to your Default Show language straight away.

Questions? Contact support@ffair.io