---
title: "Why can't my translation ID end with a '.'?"
description: "IDs cannot end with a period because periods are used as separators for defining a namespace hierarchy, but you can switch to a plaintext keys format to allow periods at the end of IDs."
canonical: "https://www.codeandweb.com/babeledit/knowledgebase/id-must-not-end-with-separator"
product: "babeledit"
source: "html"
---

# Why can't my translation ID end with a '.'?

BabelEdit uses the period (.) as a separator to split translation IDs and display them as a tree, as explained [here](https://www.codeandweb.com/babeledit/documentation/frameworks/json.md#flat-json). Therefore, having a '.' at the end of an ID is not allowed.

If you're not using periods in IDs to represent a namespace hierarchy, you can change the format in **Configuration** → **Format** to "JSON with plaintext keys, flat view". This lets you use IDs like "Name of the project." with a period at the end.

## Structured data

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "TechArticle",
  "headline": "Why can't my translation ID end with a '.'?"
}
```