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Locale.readme
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Locale files
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The catalogs contained in the Locale directory are for use primarily with
Workbench 2.1 and 3.0. They are automatically copied to your system disk
by the installation scripts.
How to localize PowerData
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have also included the source code required to localize PowerData to any
language (standard CatComp catalog translation files). If PowerData is not
yet localized in your particular language, I would be most grateful for any
translation you can provide me with. However, you should probably contact
me first, so I can coordinate who's doing what.
The .ct format may not be particulary intelligible to you, if you are not a
programmer. However, all existing .ct translation files are included so
that you can see how it's done.
There are a few important points that you must observe when translating:
╖ Make clear, understandable translations. Your target is a user who
has no understanding whatsoever of programming lingo.
╖áTry translating EVERY english word. Use synonyms for the hard ones. For
example, use "reserve" or "get" in stead of "allocate". I'll allow some
rephrasing in the translation of the longest strings, but not too much.
╖ Leave words you have NO translation for, in english. For example, if you
have no translation for "hotkey", don't try translating "hot" and "key"
seperately, in desperation. Such attempts usually give meaningless
results (funny, but meaningless).
╖áCross-check with other .ct files if you have any doubts about what to
translate, and what to leave in english.
╖ Make sure gadget and other GUI related strings still fit when translated.
The strings with the following identifications MUST NOT be longer than
these specifications, or the GUI will turn out looking very strange:
MSG_EFF_<anything> up to 10 characters
MSG_BUF_<anything> - - 10 -
MSG_EFFECT_<anything> - - 10 -
MSG_GAD_TEMPPATH up to 14 characters
MSG_GAD_INCLUDE - - 14 -
MSG_GAD_EXCLUDE - - 14 -
MSG_GAD_SHOWWIN - - 14 -
MSG_GAD_ENABLE - - 14 -
MSG_GAD_DISABLE - - 14 -
MSG_GAD_EFFICIENCY - - 10 -
MSG_GAD_BUFFER - - 10 -
MSG_GAD_EFFECT - - 10 -
MSG_GAD_MATCHPATH - - 10 -
MSG_GAD_ALWAYSDECR - - 12 -
MSG_GAD_BUSYPTR - - 8 -
MSG_GAD_POPUP as short as possible, 7-8 chars
(just translate it to "Window" or "Show")
You must not make translations that exceed these specifications.
Abbreviate, if you have to.
╖áSome strings contain control information such as "%s" or "%ld". This
indicates that a string or number is to eventually appear at that
position, so you'll have to include this information in your translation
as well.
╖ A \n means "new line". Include this information in translated strings,
too. Keep lines approximately as long as they were originally.
Lastly, let me remind you that a complete translation requires not only the
program strings, but also the install script to be localized. Since this
requires some basic information on how The Installer works, I'd prefer if
you just translated all the english strings you can find in the script, and
put this translation into a seperate file. I will then insert the strings
at the correct positions.
As previously mentioned, translations are most welcome. I aim to have
PowerData 100% localized in all the standard languages -- and a few others,
if possible. I'm afraid I can't pay anyone for their trouble, but I do
offer a life time free upgrade service of PowerData to anyone who
contributes a translation. Good enough?
One important note: Do NOT release .catalog or .ct files on your own.
Mail translations to me. I will then incorporate it into the distribution
and give you proper credit in PowerData's manual. Further, I can't
coordinate anything if catalog files of all kinds of languages start
floating around.