multi-language - HELP!!!!
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I have a fairly small project (main window with about 6 dialogs) that I have built using VC6. Our marketing dept. has decided that we need to make it a multi-language app. He wants to be able to give a text file to someone and let them translate from the english text to their language and give the file back to us. Our program would then read in the translated text and replace each instance. It sounds like a real nightmare. Are there better ways to go about this? It's a technical app with references to things such as Ethernet switches, controllers, ... so I don't know if any of the auto-translation products would be able to handle it correctly. Also - how to people deal with the text field lengths (static boxes, group boxes, buttons, ...) when the translations end up needing more space? Thanks so much for any help you might be able to provide. Dave
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I have a fairly small project (main window with about 6 dialogs) that I have built using VC6. Our marketing dept. has decided that we need to make it a multi-language app. He wants to be able to give a text file to someone and let them translate from the english text to their language and give the file back to us. Our program would then read in the translated text and replace each instance. It sounds like a real nightmare. Are there better ways to go about this? It's a technical app with references to things such as Ethernet switches, controllers, ... so I don't know if any of the auto-translation products would be able to handle it correctly. Also - how to people deal with the text field lengths (static boxes, group boxes, buttons, ...) when the translations end up needing more space? Thanks so much for any help you might be able to provide. Dave
2 things : first technically, doing this is simple, create a resource DLL for each language and load it dynamically when the application starts; you will have to translate each version of the RC file; I don't think there's an easy way to make sure that each dialog layout is ok for each language but to test them. for example :
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m_hInstDLL = ::LoadLibrary(_T("English.dll"));
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AfxSetResourceHandle(m_hInstDLL);
...second, translation of technical terms should be precise, you should contract that to a professional.
Maximilien Lincourt Your Head A Splode - Strong Bad
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I have a fairly small project (main window with about 6 dialogs) that I have built using VC6. Our marketing dept. has decided that we need to make it a multi-language app. He wants to be able to give a text file to someone and let them translate from the english text to their language and give the file back to us. Our program would then read in the translated text and replace each instance. It sounds like a real nightmare. Are there better ways to go about this? It's a technical app with references to things such as Ethernet switches, controllers, ... so I don't know if any of the auto-translation products would be able to handle it correctly. Also - how to people deal with the text field lengths (static boxes, group boxes, buttons, ...) when the translations end up needing more space? Thanks so much for any help you might be able to provide. Dave
Hello, Earlier I have plans on releasing such translation system as commercial, but thought that nobody need it at the era of .Net :) I'm using it in my file comparison software (http://www.grigsoft.com/), you can check results. I can share it with you, to see how easy it can be included in new application. Please contact me personally at support--grigsoft.com Igor Green http://www.grigsoft.com/ - files and folders comparison tools
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I have a fairly small project (main window with about 6 dialogs) that I have built using VC6. Our marketing dept. has decided that we need to make it a multi-language app. He wants to be able to give a text file to someone and let them translate from the english text to their language and give the file back to us. Our program would then read in the translated text and replace each instance. It sounds like a real nightmare. Are there better ways to go about this? It's a technical app with references to things such as Ethernet switches, controllers, ... so I don't know if any of the auto-translation products would be able to handle it correctly. Also - how to people deal with the text field lengths (static boxes, group boxes, buttons, ...) when the translations end up needing more space? Thanks so much for any help you might be able to provide. Dave
There are some examples of multi-language applications on CP... just have a look at them. Don't try it, just do it! ;-)
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I have a fairly small project (main window with about 6 dialogs) that I have built using VC6. Our marketing dept. has decided that we need to make it a multi-language app. He wants to be able to give a text file to someone and let them translate from the english text to their language and give the file back to us. Our program would then read in the translated text and replace each instance. It sounds like a real nightmare. Are there better ways to go about this? It's a technical app with references to things such as Ethernet switches, controllers, ... so I don't know if any of the auto-translation products would be able to handle it correctly. Also - how to people deal with the text field lengths (static boxes, group boxes, buttons, ...) when the translations end up needing more space? Thanks so much for any help you might be able to provide. Dave
lynchspawn wrote: It sounds like a real nightmare. Indeed. lynchspawn wrote: Are there better ways to go about this? Yes. It involves changes to the project's .rc file. Search MSDN for internationalization articles. I realize you couldn't do this, but for my company's product, we create the initial DLL in English and then ship the DLL's source code to IBM for translation. They take that and create a DLL for each additional language. The customer then only gets the DLL for their locale. lynchspawn wrote: Also - how to people deal with the text field lengths (static boxes, group boxes, buttons, ...) when the translations end up needing more space? I increase their width by 65%. They might be a little too wide but that's better than being any too narrow.
"Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who put them into action are priceless." - Unknown
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lynchspawn wrote: It sounds like a real nightmare. Indeed. lynchspawn wrote: Are there better ways to go about this? Yes. It involves changes to the project's .rc file. Search MSDN for internationalization articles. I realize you couldn't do this, but for my company's product, we create the initial DLL in English and then ship the DLL's source code to IBM for translation. They take that and create a DLL for each additional language. The customer then only gets the DLL for their locale. lynchspawn wrote: Also - how to people deal with the text field lengths (static boxes, group boxes, buttons, ...) when the translations end up needing more space? I increase their width by 65%. They might be a little too wide but that's better than being any too narrow.
"Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who put them into action are priceless." - Unknown
Thank you very much for the replies. I will try to convince our marketing dept. that using a text file may not be the best way to go. Actually, I have to convince them - I'm a dead man if I can't ;).
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Thank you very much for the replies. I will try to convince our marketing dept. that using a text file may not be the best way to go. Actually, I have to convince them - I'm a dead man if I can't ;).
If it's a one-time endeavor, or a small-scale application, a text-file solution is not that bad. However, I would first try and convince them top do it right. Be prepared and bring lots of ammunition (e.g., references, examples) to the table.
"Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who put them into action are priceless." - Unknown