Overview
A Checklist can be offered in several languages, so a diverse workforce completes the same Checklist in their own language. Each Checklist has one Primary Language and any number of Secondary Languages; you write the translations yourself in the translation tool.
At a glance |
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Who can do this | Translate: Super Users, a Role with Checklists › Translate (or Modify), or a Translator, Editor or Administrator of the permission folder. Languages: anyone who can edit the Checklist. |
Where | Checklists › a Checklist › Translate. Languages: Edit › Languages. |
Works on | Backend (web) to translate. Translations show in the Mobile app. |
Availability | All organizations |
💡 Why this matters: A check answered in a second language is only reliable if the wording is right. Keeping the translations on the Checklist itself, rather than relying on staff to interpret, keeps every language version asking exactly the same thing.
How Checklist languages work
Primary Language — set when the Checklist is created. Every text must exist in it.
Secondary Languages — the extra languages you add. Any text you leave untranslated falls back to the primary language, field by field.
Mobile app — Users see the Checklist in their Preferred Language (in their app profile) if the Checklist has it, otherwise in its primary language. While completing it, they can switch with Select Language in the Checklist menu, which lists the Checklist's languages.
RideOps — always shows the Checklist in its primary language.
No automatic translation — you enter every translation, so content is vetted before it goes live. Tools such as Google Translate or DeepL, or a professional service, can help with a first draft.
Add a secondary language
1. Open the Checklist editor
Go to Checklists, select the Checklist and click Edit.
2. Choose the languages
In the Languages panel, open Secondary Languages and select every language you want to add. The primary language isn't offered here.
3. Save
Save the Checklist. The new languages are now available in the translation tool.
Translate with the translation tool
1. Open the translation tool
Go to Checklists, select one Checklist and click Translate. You translate one Checklist at a time.
2. Choose the languages
In Translate to, choose the language you're writing. In Translate from, choose the language to show alongside for reference. Only the Checklist's primary and secondary languages are listed.
3. Fill in the translations
Under General, translate the Title and Explanatory text. Under Pages, translate each Page name and, for every element, the question, its explanatory text, Select options and Select Question Group lines, Smiley option texts and N/A answer text, and Text elements. Use Next Page to move through the pages. Images aren't translated.
4. Save
Click Save. Switching Translate to before saving discards your unsaved changes. When you translate into the primary language, every field is required.
Remove or change languages
To remove a secondary language, deselect it in Secondary Languages and save. Mobaro asks you to confirm with Proceed.
🛑 Critical: Removing a secondary language and choosing Proceed deletes every translation saved for that language on the Checklist. Adding the language again doesn't bring them back; you'd have to translate the Checklist again.
The primary language can't be changed in the editor. Instead, go to Checklists, select one Checklist and click Change primary language, then pick the language under Choose a new primary language. Any text missing in the new primary language is copied from the old one, and the old primary language becomes a secondary language, so its texts are kept. This needs edit access to the Checklist.
Best practices
Write and finalise the Checklist in its primary language before translating, so you translate each text once.
Have a fluent speaker review each translation in the translation tool, with the primary language as Translate from.
After you change questions or options, open the translation tool again: new or edited texts show in the primary language until translated.
Give translators a Role with Checklists › Translate, or make them Translators of the permission folder, rather than full edit access.
Frequently asked questions
Can staff choose which language they see the checklist in?
Yes. The app uses their Preferred Language if the Checklist has it. While completing a Checklist, they can switch with Select Language in the Checklist menu, which lists the Checklist's primary and secondary languages.
Can I change the primary language, for example on a copied checklist?
Yes. Select the Checklist in Checklists and click Change primary language. Texts missing in the new primary language are copied from the old one, so translate them afterwards. The old primary language stays on as a secondary language.
I translated the checklist, but page titles still show in the original language. Why?
Each Page name is translated separately under Pages in the translation tool. Any field left empty shows in the primary language. Fill in the page names, save, and let the app update its data.
Can I add or remove a language on several checklists at once?
No. Languages are set per Checklist in the editor, one Checklist at a time. Removing a language deletes its translations on that Checklist.
How can I check a translation is correct before staff use it?
Open the translation tool with the primary language as Translate from to compare side by side. You can also open the Checklist in the app and switch language with Select Language.