2026007 - Show language-agnostic SelectTranslations context menu item when the source and target languages are the same

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Firefox :: Translations, enhancement)

Description

[Erik Nordin [:nordzilla]]

Description

Currently, in the Select Translations UX flow, when the source language and the target language are the same, the context menu still displays our language-specific message: "Translate Selection to { $language }"

This can be somewhat confusing to first-time users, who may not realize that they can change the target language once the panel opens.

They may be on an English page, and see the menu item say, "Translate Selection to English" and think, "why would I want to do that?" Then, they never engage with the Select Translations Panel.

Instead, we could display our language-agnostic message: "Translate Selection…"

Even though the panel may still open to an English-to-English passthrough Translation, the user won't be confused at the message in the context menu, and hopefully it is clear once the panel opens that they can choose a new target language.

Dasha, what do you think of this UX improvement? The Fluent strings already exist, so we wouldn't need any special approval on the copy.

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tl;dr

If the context for the selected-text translation were to result in a same-language translation: "English to English," "Spanish to Spanish," etc., then it might be better to show the "Translate Selection…" text rather than "Translate Selection to { $language }" to prevent confusion and increase engagement.

Comment 1

[Erik Nordin [:nordzilla]]

I've discussed this with Dasha in Slack, and we would like to move forward with this improvement.

I also think that this would make for a Good First Bug for someone to try, so I am marking it as such and assigning myself as a mentor.

Comment 2

[Pranjali Srivastava]

I would like to work on this. Can I send a patch ?

Comment 3

[Erik Nordin [:nordzilla]]

Hi,

Yes, any new contributor is welcome to work on this.

Comment 4

[Pranjali Srivastava]

OK, I am sending a patch for this

Comment 5

[Pranjali Srivastava]

Attachment: Bug 2026007 - Use generic select-translations label when detected and target languages match

Comment 6

[Pulsebot]

Pushed by [e-mail]:
https://github.com/mozilla-firefox/firefox/commit/4f8a45fd432e
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/autoland/rev/1e1f7c2eb06b
Use generic select-translations label when detected and target languages match r=nordzilla,translations-reviewers

Comment 7

[Sandor Molnar[:smolnar]]

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/1e1f7c2eb06b

Comment 8

[Erik Nordin [:nordzilla]]

Hey Pranjali,

Congratulations on landing this bug.

Please feel free to join the conversation on Matrix in the #Firefox Translations.

Instructions on how to join Mozilla's Matrix server can be found here:

• https://wiki.mozilla.org/Matrix:Join

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Comment 9

[Pranjali Srivastava]

Hi Erik,

Thank you so much for the kind words and support. I really appreciate it.

I have already joined the Matrix room and look forward to being part of the conversation there.

Thanks again!