LocCheck User Manual¶

This manual explains how to install LocCheck, scan your project, review localization issues, tune settings, and export reports.

What LocCheck does¶

LocCheck scans Unreal Engine localization data and presents the results in a practical review interface. It helps you answer questions like:

Which translations are missing?
Which entries are empty?
Which translations may break format placeholders or rich text tags?
Which strings may be too long for the UI?
Which keys are duplicated or named poorly?
Which entries may be unused?
Which Widget Blueprint text may be hardcoded?
Which fonts may be missing glyph coverage?
Which entries are approved, ignored, locked, or still waiting for review?

LocCheck is designed as a QA and table management tool. It does not automatically translate your game and does not replace Unreal Engine's localization tools.

Compatibility¶

Requirement	Details
Unreal Engine	5.5, 5.6, 5.7
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux
Plugin type	Editor-only
Runtime impact	None
External dependencies	None

Installation¶

Close Unreal Engine.
Create a Plugins folder in your project if it does not already exist.
Copy the full LocCheck folder into that Plugins folder.
Confirm that the plugin file exists here:

YourProject/Plugins/LocCheck/LocCheck.uplugin

Reopen your Unreal project.
If Unreal asks to rebuild modules, click Yes.
Open Edit > Plugins and confirm that LocCheck is enabled.
Restart the editor if Unreal asks you to.

Opening LocCheck¶

Open LocCheck from:

Tools > ECal Studios > LocCheck — Localization QA

You can also use the keyboard shortcut:

Ctrl + Shift + L

Quick start¶

Open the LocCheck window.
Click Quick Scan.
Wait for the scan to finish.
Review the Dashboard.
Open Tables to search and filter localization entries.
Select an entry to inspect it in the right panel.
Open Problems to focus only on flagged issues.
Export a report from Reports & Export.

Dashboard¶

The Dashboard is the summary page. It is best for a fast overview after each scan.

LocCheck dashboard

The Dashboard shows:

Area	What it means
Localization Health Score	A practical score from 0 to 100 based on enabled checks and issue severity.
Total Issues	All active issues found by the scan.
Critical Issues	Issues that are likely to affect players or release quality.
Warnings	Issues that should be reviewed but may not always block release.
Tables Scanned	Number of included localization tables found during the scan.
Culture Progress	Completion percentage and missing count for each target culture.
Top Fixes	Most common issue categories.
Preview Table	A small table of entries that need attention.

Understanding the health score¶

The health score is a review guide, not a guarantee. It helps you see whether the project looks clean based on the scanners currently enabled.

Score	Label	Meaning
90–100	Excellent	Localization looks clean based on enabled checks.
75–89	Good	Mostly healthy, with a few issues to review.
50–74	Needs Review	Several issues should be checked before release.
25–49	High Risk	Important localization problems are likely present.
0–24	Critical	Serious blockers or many unresolved issues are present.

By default, critical issues have the largest score impact, warnings have a smaller impact, and suggestions have the lightest impact. Ignored issues do not reduce the score.

Tables¶

The Tables tab is the main workspace for reviewing localization entries.

LocCheck tables

Use it when you want to browse everything LocCheck found, not only the problem list.

Search¶

The search box checks across:

Key
Source text
Namespace
Table name
Culture
Translation text
Issue messages

This is useful when you only remember part of a key, a UI label, or a translation string.

Filters¶

The filter row lets you narrow the table by:

Filter	Use it for
Table	Review a specific String Table.
Status	Show entries by review state, such as Unreviewed or Approved.
Severity	Focus on Critical, Warning, Suggestion, or clean entries.
Culture	Review issues for one target culture.
Problems Only	Hide clean entries and show only entries with active issues.

Click Clear to reset the table filters.

Selecting rows¶

Clicking a row opens that entry in the Inspector Panel on the right. The Inspector stays synced while you move through the table.

Problems¶

The Problems tab is focused on issue triage.

LocCheck problems

Use this page when you want to fix the most important items first.

The top cards show critical issues, warnings, and suggestions. The filter buttons let you switch between all issues or only a specific severity group.

When you select a problem, the right Inspector Panel shows the affected entry, translations, issues, character limit, and available actions.

Inspector Panel¶

The Inspector Panel appears on the right side of the plugin window. It gives you the details for the selected entry.

It can show:

Key
Table
Namespace
Source text
Per-culture translations
Missing/empty/long badges
Issue messages
Suggested fixes
Review status
Developer notes
Context notes
Character limit
Usage references
Quick actions

Review actions¶

Action	Use it when
Mark Approved	The entry has been reviewed and looks correct.
Needs Review	The entry should be checked later by you, QA, or a translator.
Ignore Issue	The selected issue is intentional or not useful for this project.
Copy Key	You want to find the same entry in Unreal or send it to someone.
Open Asset	You want to open a referenced asset directly from the result.

Character limits¶

Each entry can have a custom character limit. This is useful for UI elements such as buttons, HUD labels, short menu entries, and mobile-style layouts.

Set the character limit to 0 when the entry has no specific limit.

Usage Finder¶

The Usage Finder helps locate project assets that reference localization entries. This is useful when you know a key is problematic but you do not remember where it appears in the game.

Usage detection is based on project asset references and FText inspection. It is helpful, but dynamic runtime key construction may not always be visible to the scanner.

Hardcoded Text¶

The Hardcoded Text tool scans common Widget Blueprint text fields that may not be using the localization system.

It currently focuses on common UI text properties such as:

TextBlock
RichTextBlock
EditableText
EditableTextBox

It can also flag placeholder-style labels such as Text Block, Button, New Text, or TODO.

Hardcoded text results should be reviewed manually. Some editor-only labels or development-only widgets may be intentional.

Reports & Export¶

The Reports page lets you choose what to include and export a review-ready report.

LocCheck reports and export

Export formats¶

Export	Best for
Markdown	GitHub, documentation, internal QA notes, and readable handoff.
HTML	A polished visual report for teammates, clients, or review folders.
CSV	Spreadsheets, external QA workflows, filtering, and issue tracking.
Table Split Plan	Reviewing large string tables and possible table reorganization.
Review Status	Exporting status, issue count, severity, and character limits for planning.

Include options¶

You can choose which categories are included in the exported report:

Missing translations
Broken placeholders
Duplicate keys
Long text risks
Hardcoded text risks
Naming issues

Output folder¶

By default, reports are saved under:

Saved/LocCheck/Reports

You can change the output folder from the Reports page or from the plugin settings.

Settings¶

The Settings page controls how LocCheck scans and reports your localization data.

LocCheck settings

Cultures¶

Setting	Description
Source culture	The reference culture, commonly `en`.
Target cultures	Cultures LocCheck should scan, such as `de`, `es`, `fr`, or `ja`.

LocCheck can auto-detect cultures from generated localization files. If auto-detection finds stale or unwanted cultures, set target cultures manually.

Content paths¶

Use include and exclude paths to control where LocCheck searches for string table assets and localization references.

This is useful when you want to exclude test folders, old content, plugin folders, or experimental UI.

Text length rules¶

LocCheck can flag translations that are much longer than the source text. This helps catch text that may overflow UI layouts.

Rule	Description
Long text ratio threshold	Flags translations longer than the source by a configured ratio.
Long text absolute delta	Flags translations that exceed the source by a fixed number of characters.
Per-entry character limit	Entry-specific limit set in the Inspector Panel.

Naming rules¶

Naming checks help keep localization keys readable and searchable.

Depending on your settings, LocCheck can flag:

Keys with spaces
Generic unnamespaced keys
Placeholder-style keys
Keys that do not match required prefixes

Scanner toggles¶

Each scanner can be enabled or disabled. Disable a scanner when it is not relevant for the current project or when you want a faster focused scan.

Unused entry ignored namespaces¶

Unused entry scanning can create false positives for keys that are constructed dynamically at runtime. Add known dynamic namespaces here so LocCheck does not keep flagging them.

Recommended review workflow¶

Run a scan.
Fix Critical missing and empty translations first.
Review broken placeholders and rich text tags before release.
Check long text risks for UI elements with tight space.
Review hardcoded UI text in Widget Blueprints.
Use Needs Review for entries that require a translator or designer decision.
Mark verified entries as Approved.
Ignore intentional false positives.
Export a report for your records.
Re-scan after fixes.

Troubleshooting¶

No entries appear after scanning¶

Make sure your project contains String Table assets or generated localization files. If your project has no localization data yet, LocCheck may not have anything meaningful to display.

Target cultures look wrong¶

Auto-detection may find cultures from generated or stale localization files. Open Settings and manually set the target cultures you want, for example:

de, es, fr, ja

The unused entry scanner reports entries that are actually used¶

This can happen when your project builds localization keys dynamically through code or data. Add the relevant namespace to the ignored namespace list, or ignore the specific issue if it is intentional.

The font glyph scanner does not report anything¶

The scanner needs imported UFontFace assets to inspect character coverage. Import your game fonts as Font Face assets and scan again.

The scan is slow¶

Large projects can take longer, especially with deep reference checks, hardcoded text scanning, and glyph checks enabled. Disable scanners you do not need for the current pass, then run another scan.

A report does not export¶

Check that the output folder exists and that Unreal has permission to write to it. Try selecting a simple folder such as your project Saved folder or your desktop.

LocCheck focuses on common Widget Blueprint text fields. Custom widgets, custom C++ Slate UI, or runtime-generated text may need manual review.

FAQ¶

Does LocCheck translate my game?¶

No. LocCheck does not translate text. It helps you find and review localization issues in your existing Unreal project.

Does LocCheck change my localization data?¶

Normal scans are review operations. LocCheck reads and reports what it finds. Review data such as statuses, notes, ignored issues, and character limits is stored separately in Saved/LocCheck/ReviewData.json.

Can I use it before my game is fully localized?¶

Yes. LocCheck is useful early because it can show what is missing and help you plan localization work.

Does it work with huge string tables?¶

Yes, LocCheck is built with large table review in mind. Use search, filters, Problems Only, table filters, and export reports to make large sets easier to manage.

Is the health score a certification?¶

No. The score is a practical review guide. A high score means LocCheck found fewer problems based on enabled scanners, but you should still review important text manually.

Does it affect packaged builds?¶

No. LocCheck is an editor-only plugin and has no runtime impact.

Support¶

For help, email [email protected].

Please include:

LocCheck version
Unreal Engine version
Windows, macOS, or Linux version
What you were doing when the issue happened
Screenshots if useful
Relevant Output Log lines containing LogLocCheck