Creating a project: Custom fields
You can use optional settings within the Custom fields section while creating a project in XTM Cloud. An XTM Cloud Administrator enables the custom fields for Project Managers (for details, see Data – Custom fields – Project custom fields.
Using the Style guide custom field for the Intelligent Score feature
If you are using the Intelligent Score feature in a project, we strongly recommend using the Style guide custom field to improve the accuracy of LLM-generated translations. You can use it to provide AI with the right context, so it tailors its translations to the specific rules and requirements of the applicable domain. It is especially useful if the necessary terminology and translation memory (TM) records either do not exist or are very limited. The rules and instructions that you describe here will be used in the translation prompt sent to LLMs. We recommend that you write the Style guide in English.
You can use the Style guide custom field to:
give background information about your customer's company, product, and target market.
describe a customer's unique brand personality, tone, and voice (e.g., "Be helpful and friendly").
describe the target audience (e.g. “Youth & Young Adults (15–35). Trend-driven, style-conscious, highly influenced by culture and social media.”)
provide guidelines for grammar, written syntax (e.g., how dates should be written), stylistic preferences, and formality level (e.g., require the use of informal/neutral/formal style).
give language-/culture-specific information, instructions, and requirements regarding your translation into all or only selected target languages.
provide a general rule for using or avoiding specific terms. However, the terminology records from the XTM Cloud Terminology module or TermWeb will also be taken into account and take precedence over terms listed in the Style guide field. So, we recommend that you primarily use these resources to add new terms.
Important
If you are using your own LLM keys, a long Style guide instruction can incur additional costs. If you are using LLM licenses owned by XTM International, no additional AI words will be deducted from your allowance.
XTM Cloud will split the text entered in the Style guide field into a set of rules. Every subsequent text line is treated as a separate Style guide rule. Use line breaks to structure your instructions. For example, enter general comments in the first line, instructions referring to all languages in the second line, and then requirements for specific project target languages in the lines that follow.
You can use up to 20 Style guide rules, each up to 200 characters long.
Currently, XTM Cloud user interface does not validate the number of Style guide rules and the number of characters in each of them. We are now working on integrating a validation mechanism in the UI. In the meantime, we strongly recommend that you use external tools (e.g., a word counter in MS Word or Google Docs) to ensure your instructions do not exceed the limit. If the Style guide rules exceed the limits, LLMs will not generate a translation.
To avoid ambiguity, ensure that you write short and clear instructions. Ideally, use single sentences.
If language-specific rules conflict with the general rules, the LLM engine is prompted to prioritize the language-specific rule.
Warning
Due to the non-deterministic nature of LLMs, we cannot guarantee that they will always follow instructions completely. Nevertheless, we make every possible effort to continuously improve success rates.
Case 1
You are creating a translation project from Polish to German (Germany) and English (USA) for your customer. In the past, this customer requested multiple similar translations from Polish to German (Germany), so the translation memory (TM) and terminology in that language are quite rich. However, it is the first translation into English (USA) for this customer, so there is no TM or terminology yet. To ensure the best translation results when using the Intelligent Score feature, in the Style guide custom field, you can describe the customer's industry and provide all translation requirements for the English (USA) language.
So, in the Style guide custom field, you could write:
"The company is in the metallurgy industry and produces engine parts and braking systems for the automotive industry.
Do not translate the company name <<Metal na Medal>>.
In the translation, use industry-specific terms.
For English (USA): translate the term "tulejka główki korbowodu" as "small end bushing". "
Case 2
You are creating a translation project for a customer who has very rich TM and terminology resources. In that case, LLMs have enough background information to assess the customer's brand tone and voice and produce a consistent translation. However, for this project, the customer would like to change the communication style. For example, now, it is the Legal department instead of the Marketing department that needs help in localizing their content.
So, in the Style guide custom field, you could write:
"<<Metal na Medal>> is a Polish metallurgical firm. It manufactures automotive engine components and braking systems. The company needs an English (USA) translation of its sales contract.
Use the existing customer terminology.
Use formal legal language."
Case 3
You are creating a translation project for a new customer who has specific communication style requirements. For example, they require the use of the Oxford comma, short, simple sentences, and active voice, while avoiding passive voice and jargon, whenever possible. They also want device names to remain untranslated. Moreover, for the Japanese language, they would like periods to be translated in a specific way.
So, in the Style guide custom field, you could write:
"Use active voice. Prioritize natural language over literal translation. Avoid idioms, metaphors, jargon, and "just"/"simply". Use the Oxford comma. Simplify complex ideas and be culturally sensitive.
Write inclusively: avoid assumptions about gender, age, or ability.
Use 24-hour time format and metric units (m, kg, °C)
Avoid ampersands (&) unless part of a brand name.
Do not translate any device names for any target languages.
For Japanese, Use '。' instead of '.' for periods in Japanese text."
Case 4
You are creating a translation project for a US-based company. They need to translate their customer satisfaction survey into several European languages: German (Germany), French (France), Dutch (Netherlands), and Dutch (Belgium). Some rules are common for all of these languages, while others are language-specific.
So, in the Style guide custom field, you could write:
"Use formal language. Keep the tone professional.
Currency after the amount (e.g., 20 EUR).
Use commas as decimal separators (e.g., 2,5 EUR).
Use 24-hour time format and metric units (m, kg, °C).
For German (Germany): always use formal “Sie” when addressing customers. Quotation marks: „...”. Date format: DD.MM.YYYY.
For French (France): always use “vous” when addressing customers. Quotation marks: « ... » (with spaces). Date format: spelled-out or slash-separated (e.g., 15 avril 2024 or 07/11/2025).
For all Dutch variants: use ‘u’ when addressing customers. Quotation marks: “...”. Date format: DD.MM.YYYY or DD-MM-YYYY.
If there are contradictions between the information taken from terminology, the Style guide, TM entries or context strings, Intelligent Score uses the information from those sources in this order of importance:
Terminology – we make the strongest effort to enforce its use. So, ensure that the terminology is correctly linked to the project and that it contains the right terms.
Warning
Currently, we do not pass forbidden terms to the LLMs.
Style guide – we aim to follow its instructions closely, though with slightly less enforcement than for terminology.
TM matches/context segments (surrounding strings) – we provide this information to the LLMs as context, but we don’t enforce strict adherence, to avoid affecting other aspects of translation quality negatively.
Nevertheless, we prompt the LLMs to be guided and inspired by previous translations. For this reason, we strongly recommend that you keep your translation memory correct and up-to-date.
So, in the case of contradictions, terminology typically takes precedence over Style guide rules or TM suggestions and surrounding strings.