Resource Editor: 5.2 Translating Text: Translating With ResEdit

GEOS SDK TechDocs

5.1 Translating Via an ASCII File

6 Creating a Translated Geode

After selecting a localization (.vm) file to translate, the Resource Editor will then load the information from this file and the corresponding geode into an untitled Translation File saved into the DOCUMENT directory. The file will be displayed in two views. The left portion of the screen is the Source File, while the right portion is the Translation File. When the file is first opened, the two sides look the same, since no translations have yet been made.

The Resource Editor brings up all the strings or bitmaps which need to be translated, regardless of their context. The only way you will be able to be completely sure that the translation is accurate is to perform the translation and then actually run the translated executable (to be discussed later) and see how the translations appear in the program.

Translating a Text String

Click on any text string in the right portion of the screen. The blinking text editing cursor should appear, and you will be able to edit the text in the right screen to reflect the changes necessary for the local language. The text in the left portion of the screen acts as a guide and will not change.

At the bottom of the main screen, there are three fields which may have important information about how you should translate the selected chunk.

• The Minimum and Maximum Length fields show the size limits on the number of characters that the selected chunk may have.
• The Instructions field shows special characteristics of the selected chunk, or may give a context where the specific chunk appears.

If there is nothing in these fields, there are no constraints on the size or content of the translation.

Changing a Mnemonic

This is the character the user will use when navigating the translated geode's UI with keyboard navigation. Only Text Monikers may have mnemonics. The mnemonic should be either a character which occurs in the moniker, the keyword ESC or the keyword NIL (which signals that there is no mnemonic).

You must be careful not to assign the same mnemonic to two monikers whose gadgets are both in the active window at the same time. If there is such a conflict, only one of the two gadgets will be activated by this mnemonic. When you have created the translated executable, you should check that there are no conflicting mnemonics, and change any which are found to overlap with others at the same level.

To choose a different mnemonic, use the Mnemonic gadget in the upper-right area of the ResEdit window. Use the up- or down- buttons to choose a letter from the text moniker, or type in your letter of choice. If you choose a letter which does not occur in the text moniker, it will appear in parentheses.

Changing a Keyboard Shortcut

Keyboard shortcuts, also known as keyboard accelerators, are key combinations which may be used to activate a piece of UI gadgetry. For instance, Ctrl-S is a common keyboard shortcut for activating the Save item under the File menu.

In ResEdit, keyboard shortcuts are displayed when there is a chunk of type Object that has a shortcut. The shortcut will appear as something like "(Physical Ctrl p)".

To translate the shortcut, press the Shortcut... button at the top center of the ResEdit window. This will bring up a dialog box allowing you to specify that there should be no shortcut, or to specify a keyboard combination for a translated shortcut.

The following modifier keys are available: Alt, Shift, Ctrl. The Physical option specifies that Num Lock and Caps Lock states are disregarded when matching the shortcut character.

Translating a Graphic

You may wish to translate a graphic. For example, a calendar application written for an English-speaking audience might have an icon depicting a desk calendar displaying the date "Apr 7"--but in a foreign language, "Apr" might not be anything a customer would see on a calendar.

To translate a graphic:

1. Copy the graphic to be translated--select the displayed graphic in ResEdit, and choose Copy from the Edit menu.
2. Start up the GeoDraw graphics editor program, creating a new GeoDraw document if necessary.
3. Paste the graphic into the GeoDraw document--choose Paste from GeoDraw's Edit menu.
4. Edit the bitmap, being careful not to change the dimensions of the bitmap.
5. When you are done editing the bitmap, select the bitmap with the arrow tool, and choose Copy from GeoDraw's Edit menu.
6. Return to the ResEdit application, select the graphic to translate, and choose Paste from ResEdit's Paste menu.

Choosing a Chunk

ResEdit will display the chunks of one resource at a time. To translate all the chunks in a geode, you'll need to work with chunks from several resources.

There are several ways to choose a different resource.

• Type Ctrl-> (Ctrl-greater) to move to the next resource or Ctrl-< (Ctrl-less) to move to the previous resource.
• Click on Next Resource/Previous Resource in the Utilities menu.
• Click on the Resource pop-up list in the upper left corner of the screen and choose any resource.

Within a resource, there are several ways to select a chunk to edit.

• Use the mouse to click on any chunk.
• Type Ctrl-.(Ctrl-period) to move to the next chunk or Ctrl-, (Ctrl-comma) to move to the previous chunk.
• Click on Next Chunk or Previous Chunk in the Utilities menu.
• Click on the Chunk pop-up list in the upper left corner of the screen and choose any chunk.

GEOS SDK TechDocs

5.1 Translating Via an ASCII File

6 Creating a Translated Geode