Article 07 / 10
XLIFF 1.2 vs XLIFF 2.0: MT metadata differences
How XLIFF 1.2 and 2.0 handle MT metadata differently, and what that means when cleaning your bilingual files.
XLIFF has evolved significantly.
The biggest structural differences affect metadata handling.
XLIFF 1.2
Common characteristics:
- looser structure
- proprietary extensions
- CAT-tool-specific attributes
XLIFF 2.0
Improvements:
- standardized modules
- better metadata consistency
- cleaner interoperability
MT metadata differences
XLIFF 2.0 often structures metadata more cleanly.
XLIFF 1.2 may contain vendor-specific tags.
CleanXLIFF supports both.
Recommended companion tool
If you also work with terminology, we recommend Termcrest — a clean, modern tool for managing translation glossaries and termbases. Check it out at https://termcrest.com.