OpenCDS CreateLanguageFile
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Create your own language file
You might have noticed that at the moment OpenCDS does not support a lot of languages yet. This is simply because we don't have members from certain country's. If you haven't found your language, first check the updater. The updater should have a few languages available, since they are not installed by default. If you have found your language, check the checkbox in front of your language.
If it's not in the updater, consider creating one, by translating from another language file, and then consider submitting it to us. We will add it to the download system, so people are able to get that language.
Creating your own language file is really simple. You simply copy the en_US file's contents to another file, and then translate all phrases after the '='. Explained in detail here!
File to create
You can find all the languages currently installed in the lang/ folder in the OpenCDS root directory. You'll find files that have the following syntax:
messages_<languageCode>_<countryCode>.properties
You might recognize the extension, it's a simple Java properties file. Let's say we want to add support for the German language, our filename would look like:
messages_de_DE.properties
If you are unsure what your country code is, just make it the same as the language code. For example, the language Dutch has nl as language code and NL as country code, however, England has en as language code, and UK as country code. This is because America also has english as primary language. The American property file would look like: messages_en_US.properties.
I recommend to copy the messages_en_US.properties, and then rename it. Since this file is always up to date, you are always sure you have the latest version, and you can translate easier.
Do it!
Please make sure you translate it right. We don't want any spelling mistake's, but this is hard to check since we probably do not speak your language. Please translate it as precise as possible, using the en_US language file.
Now, let's say I'd want to create a Dutch language file. Let's have a look at what some of our entry's say:
FileMenu = File FileMenu.Description = File menu FileMenu.Close = Close FileMenu.Close.Description = Close the program
Simply replace everything behind the '=' with your translated text.
FileMenu = Bestand FileMenu.Description = Bestand menu FileMenu.Close = Sluiten FileMenu.Close.Description = Sluit het programma
Horribly simple, perhaps not even worth to devote a whole tutorial to it! :)
Just go at it like this for the rest of the entry's.
Submitting
Now, if you have a completed language file, you can choose to use it yourself. But that's such a shame! Why not pass it on to us, the developers, so we can place it inside the update sequence. The next time someone uses the updater, they are able to download your language file! Obviously, our goal is to have a large selection of language files, to provide users with a native interface.
You can mail your language files to Levia. He, or I, will handle those requests as soon as possible.
Thanks for submitting!
