Start translation

Use this API to start a translation request with the Document Translation service. Each request can contain multiple documents and must contain a source and destination container for each document.

The prefix and suffix filter (if supplied) are used to filter folders. The prefix is applied to the subpath after the container name.

Glossaries / Translation memory can be included in the request and are applied by the service when the document is translated.

If the glossary is invalid or unreachable during translation, an error is indicated in the document status. If a file with the same name already exists in the destination, the job will fail. The targetUrl for each target language must be unique.

Request URL

Send a POST request to:

POST https://<NAME-OF-YOUR-RESOURCE>.cognitiveservices.azure.com/translator/text/batch/v1.0/batches

Learn how to find your custom domain name.

Request headers

Request headers are:

Request Body: Batch Submission Request

Inputs

Definition for the input batch translation request.

inputs.source

Source of the input documents.

inputs.storageType

Storage type of the input documents source string.

inputs.target

Destination for the finished translated documents.

Example request

The following are examples of batch requests.

Translating all documents in a container

{
    "inputs": [
        {
            "source": {
                "sourceUrl": "https://my.blob.core.windows.net/source-en?sv=2019-12-12&st=2021-03-05T17%3A45%3A25Z&se=2021-03-13T17%3A45%3A00Z&sr=c&sp=rl&sig=SDRPMjE4nfrH3csmKLILkT%2Fv3e0Q6SWpssuuQl1NmfM%3D"
            },
            "targets": [
                {
                    "targetUrl": "https://my.blob.core.windows.net/target-fr?sv=2019-12-12&st=2021-03-05T17%3A49%3A02Z&se=2021-03-13T17%3A49%3A00Z&sr=c&sp=wdl&sig=Sq%2BYdNbhgbq4hLT0o1UUOsTnQJFU590sWYo4BOhhQhs%3D",
                    "language": "fr"
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Translating all documents in a container applying glossaries

Ensure you have created glossary URL & SAS token for the specific blob/document (not for the container)

{
    "inputs": [
        {
            "source": {
                "sourceUrl": "https://my.blob.core.windows.net/source-en?sv=2019-12-12&st=2021-03-05T17%3A45%3A25Z&se=2021-03-13T17%3A45%3A00Z&sr=c&sp=rl&sig=SDRPMjE4nfrH3csmKLILkT%2Fv3e0Q6SWpssuuQl1NmfM%3D"
            },
            "targets": [
                {
                    "targetUrl": "https://my.blob.core.windows.net/target-fr?sv=2019-12-12&st=2021-03-05T17%3A49%3A02Z&se=2021-03-13T17%3A49%3A00Z&sr=c&sp=wdl&sig=Sq%2BYdNbhgbq4hLT0o1UUOsTnQJFU590sWYo4BOhhQhs%3D",
                    "language": "fr",
                    "glossaries": [
                        {
                            "glossaryUrl": "https://my.blob.core.windows.net/glossaries/en-fr.xlf?sv=2019-12-12&st=2021-03-05T17%3A45%3A25Z&se=2021-03-13T17%3A45%3A00Z&sr=c&sp=rl&sig=BsciG3NWoOoRjOYesTaUmxlXzyjsX4AgVkt2AsxJ9to%3D",
                            "format": "xliff",
                            "version": "1.2"
                        }
                    ]

                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Translating specific folder in a container

Ensure you have specified the folder name (case sensitive) as prefix in filter – though the SAS token is still for the container.

{
    "inputs": [
        {
            "source": {
                "sourceUrl": "https://my.blob.core.windows.net/source-en?sv=2019-12-12&st=2021-03-05T17%3A45%3A25Z&se=2021-03-13T17%3A45%3A00Z&sr=c&sp=rl&sig=SDRPMjE4nfrH3csmKLILkT%2Fv3e0Q6SWpssuuQl1NmfM%3D",
                "filter": {
                    "prefix": "MyFolder/"
                }
            },
            "targets": [
                {
                    "targetUrl": "https://my.blob.core.windows.net/target-fr?sv=2019-12-12&st=2021-03-05T17%3A49%3A02Z&se=2021-03-13T17%3A49%3A00Z&sr=c&sp=wdl&sig=Sq%2BYdNbhgbq4hLT0o1UUOsTnQJFU590sWYo4BOhhQhs%3D",
                    "language": "fr"
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Translating specific document in a container

• Ensure you have specified "storageType": "File"
• Ensure you have created source URL & SAS token for the specific blob/document (not for the container)
• Ensure you have specified the target filename as part of the target URL – though the SAS token is still for the container.
• Sample request below shows a single document getting translated into two target languages

{
    "inputs": [
        {
            "storageType": "File",
            "source": {
                "sourceUrl": "https://my.blob.core.windows.net/source-en/source-english.docx?sv=2019-12-12&st=2021-01-26T18%3A30%3A20Z&se=2021-02-05T18%3A30%3A00Z&sr=c&sp=rl&sig=d7PZKyQsIeE6xb%2B1M4Yb56I%2FEEKoNIF65D%2Fs0IFsYcE%3D"
            },
            "targets": [
                {
                    "targetUrl": "https://my.blob.core.windows.net/target/try/Target-Spanish.docx?sv=2019-12-12&st=2021-01-26T18%3A31%3A11Z&se=2021-02-05T18%3A31%3A00Z&sr=c&sp=wl&sig=AgddSzXLXwHKpGHr7wALt2DGQJHCzNFF%2F3L94JHAWZM%3D",
                    "language": "es"
                },
                {
                    "targetUrl": "https://my.blob.core.windows.net/target/try/Target-German.docx?sv=2019-12-12&st=2021-01-26T18%3A31%3A11Z&se=2021-02-05T18%3A31%3A00Z&sr=c&sp=wl&sig=AgddSzXLXwHKpGHr7wALt2DGQJHCzNFF%2F3L94JHAWZM%3D",
                    "language": "de"
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Response status codes

The following are the possible HTTP status codes that a request returns.

Error response

Examples

Example successful response

The following information is returned in a successful response.

You can find the job ID in the POST method's response Header Operation-Location URL value. The last parameter of the URL is the operation's job ID (the string following "/operation/").

Operation-Location: https://<NAME-OF-YOUR-RESOURCE>.cognitiveservices.azure.com/translator/text/batch/v1.0/operation/0FA2822F-4C2A-4317-9C20-658C801E0E55

Example error response

{
  "error": {
    "code": "ServiceUnavailable",
    "message": "Service is temporary unavailable",
    "innerError": {
      "code": "ServiceTemporaryUnavailable",
      "message": "Service is currently unavailable.  Please try again later"
    }
  }
}

Next steps

Follow our quickstart to learn more about using Document Translation and the client library.