Goal: Export translations from your Shopify store into a spreadsheet, edit them, and import them back into Altera, using the along with Matrixify-format sheets for products, orders, and other store data. If you've built a workflow around Matrixify-format spreadsheets, you can keep that workflow and add translations on top without switching tools or learning a second file format.

Altera reads and writes the spreadsheet format for every supported data type, so a translation file lives alongside your product file in the same workflow. You can even bundle multiple sheets - say, Products plus Translations - into a single XLSX upload, and Altera will process them together.

Video walkthrough: Watch the 4-minute video

Prerequisites:

You have Altera installed on your Shopify store
You have languages set up in your Shopify store (Settings > Languages)

Step 1 - Create a New Export

In the Altera app, click New Export.

Step 2 - Select Translations

Under the Select Data section, click on Translations.

Step 3 - Configure Export Options

Select the language you want to export (e.g., French) from the dropdown menu. You can also apply filters, such as Product Status or Product Tag, to export specific items if needed.

Step 4 - Download the Export File

Click Start Export. Once the export is complete, click Download Output to save the Excel or CSV file to your computer.

Step 5 - Edit Translations in the Spreadsheet

Open the downloaded file. The file uses Shopify's native translation format (the same format the Shopify admin imports), with a few extra helper columns added by Altera. Each row covers one field in one locale, with identifier columns at the front and content columns at the back.

Key columns:

Type: The resource type being translated (e.g., PRODUCT, COLLECTION, METAFIELD).
ID / Identification / Handle: Resource identifiers. Any one of these is enough to identify the resource on import. The Identification column matches Shopify's native translation format, so the same file also imports directly through Shopify admin.
Parent Type / Parent Handle: For nested items like product options or metafields, these show the parent resource so you can see at a glance what you're translating.
Field: The specific field being translated (e.g., title, body_html).
Locale: The target language code (e.g., fr).
Default content: The source text in your store's primary language.
Translated content: Where you add or edit the translation.

Add your translations to the Translated content column and save the file.

Step 6 - Import the Translations

Back in Altera, click New Import. Upload your edited file.

Step 7 - Start the Import

Review the file analysis. The app may show a warning for new features; verify your data is correct. Click Start Import.

Outcome

Your translations are now updated in Shopify. You can verify this in the Shopify Admin or using the Translate & Adapt app.

Combining Translations with Other Matrixify-Format Imports

You can bundle a translations sheet into the same XLSX workbook as your existing Matrixify-format Products, Collections, Metaobjects, or other sheets. The translations sheet is compatible with Shopify's Translate and Adapt app and the other sheets keep their familiar Matrixify-format layout.

To do this:

Run separate exports for each data type you want to bundle (for example, a Matrixify-format Products export and an Altera Translations export).
Open the exported files in Excel or another spreadsheet tool, and copy each sheet into one combined XLSX workbook. Name each sheet after its data type (Products, Translations, etc.) so Altera recognises them.
Upload the combined file as a single import. Altera processes the sheets in the correct dependency order - products first, then their translations - so the translation rows can match to the products you just imported.

This is especially useful for store migrations and for bulk creating new products with their translations in one step.

Market-Scoped Translations

Shopify Markets allow you to have different translations for different markets. For example, you might want different French translations for a France market versus a Canada market.

To export market-scoped translations, add a Market filter when configuring your export. This will export only the market-scoped translations for that market, and only for languages enabled on that market. Select All Markets to export market-scoped translations for every market at once. To get both global and market-scoped translations, run two exports: one without a market filter (global) and one with the market filter.

To import market-scoped translations, add a Market column to your spreadsheet. Enter the market name (e.g., "Belgium") for rows that should be scoped to a specific market. Leave the Market column empty for global translations that apply to all markets.

The Market column accepts market names, numeric IDs, or full Shopify GIDs.

Example

Type	Identification	Handle	Parent Type	Parent Handle	Field	Locale	Market	Default content	Translated content
PRODUCT	8079393226938	my-product	PRODUCT	my-product	title	fr		My Product	Mon Produit
PRODUCT	8079393226938	my-product	PRODUCT	my-product	title	fr	Belgium	My Product	Mon Produit Belge