Translations

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Overview

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Why Translate ImageGlass?

• Make the software accessible to users who don’t speak English
• Help grow the community in your language region
• Gain recognition as a contributor to an open source project
• Improve your translation skills with a real-world project

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Getting Started with Crowdin

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1. Create a Crowdin Account

1. Visit the ImageGlass Crowdin page
2. Click Sign Up to create a free account
3. Verify your email address

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2. Join the ImageGlass Project

1. Go to ImageGlass on Crowdin
2. Click Join to become a translator
3. Select your language(s)

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3. Start Translating

1. Select your language from the list
2. Click on a file to start translating (usually the main application file)
3. Translate strings in the Crowdin editor
4. Click Save to submit your translations

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Available Languages

• Arabic (Egypt)
• Armenian
• Bulgarian
• Catalan
• Chinese Simplified
• Chinese Traditional
• Croatian
• Czech
• Danish
• Dutch
• Finnish
• French
• German
• Greek
• Hebrew
• Hungarian
• Indonesian
• And many more…

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Translation Guidelines

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General Principles

1. Be consistent - Use the same translations for recurring terms
2. Be concise - UI space is limited, keep translations short
3. Be natural - Translate meaning, not just words
4. Be accurate - Ensure technical terms are correct
5. Use glossary - Check Crowdin glossary for standard terms

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Context is Important

• Screenshots - Show where the text appears
• String keys - Indicate the purpose (e.g., FrmMain.MnuCopyPath)
• Comments - Additional context from developers

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Common Translation Patterns

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Menu Items

// English
"FrmMain.MnuPrint": "Print..."

// Keep the ellipsis in your translation
"FrmMain.MnuPrint": "إطبع…" // Arabic

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Keyboard Shortcuts

// English
"Shortcut.NextImage": "Ctrl+Right"

// Keep shortcuts in English
"Shortcut.NextImage": "Ctrl+Right" // All languages

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Placeholders

// English
"Error.FileNotFound": "File '{0}' not found."

// Preserve the {0} placeholder
"Error.FileNotFound": "Fichier '{0}' introuvable." // French

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Technical Terms

• File formats: JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP (usually not translated)
• Technical features: Zoom, DPI, RGB (check conventions in your language)
• Brand names: ImageGlass, Windows (never translate)

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Quality Checklist

• Translation is grammatically correct
• Translation fits the UI context
• Placeholders are preserved
• Keyboard shortcuts are unchanged
• Punctuation matches UI conventions
• Technical terms are accurate
• Tone is appropriate for the context

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Language Pack Structure

Setup/Assets/Language/
├── Arabic, Egypt.iglang.json
├── French.iglang.json
├── German.iglang.json
└── ...

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Language File Format

{
  "_Metadata": {
    "Code": "ar-SA",
    "EnglishName": "Arabic",
    "LocalName": "الاسم المحلي للغة",
    "Author": "sysy1413",
    "MinVersion": "9.3"
  },
  "Items": {
    "FrmMain.MnuCopyPath": "نسخ مسار الصورة",
    "FrmMain.MnuPrint": "إطبع…",
    "_.ImageOrderBy._Extension": "ملحق",
    // ... more translations
  }
}

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Metadata Fields

• Code: Language code (e.g., en-US, fr-FR, de-DE)
• EnglishName: English name of the language
• LocalName: Name in the native language
• Author: Translator’s name/username
• MinVersion: Minimum ImageGlass version supporting this language pack

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Testing Your Translations

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In Crowdin

1. Translate some strings
2. Use the preview to see your translations in context
3. Adjust as needed

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In ImageGlass (Advanced)

1. Download your translation from Crowdin:
   • Go to your language
   • Click Download
   • Save as <LanguageName>.iglang.json
2. Install ImageGlass on your system
3. Add your language file:
   • Navigate to ImageGlass installation folder
   • Go to Language subfolder
   • Copy your .iglang.json file there
4. Select your language:
   • Open ImageGlass
   • Go to Settings > Language
   • Select your language from the dropdown
   • Restart ImageGlass
5. Test the UI:
   • Check all menus and dialogs
   • Look for text that doesn’t fit
   • Verify translations make sense in context

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Updating Existing Translations

1. Check for new strings:
   • Crowdin highlights untranslated strings
   • Look for strings marked as “New”
2. Review changed strings:
   • Crowdin marks strings that have changed in the source
   • Update your translation to match
3. Review existing translations:
   • Other translators may suggest improvements
   • Vote on suggestions or propose your own

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Translation Workflow

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For Translators

1. Translations are submitted on Crowdin
2. Translations are reviewed by language moderators (if applicable)
3. Approved translations are automatically synced to GitHub
4. Translations are included in the next ImageGlass release

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Release Cycle

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Advanced: Language Pack Development

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Key Naming Convention

<FormName>.<ControlName>[._PropertyName]

• FrmMain.MnuFile - Menu item on main form
• FrmSettings.Nav._Viewer - Navigation item in settings
• _.Metadata._FileLastAccessTime - Global metadata string

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Special Prefixes

• _ (underscore) - Global strings not tied to a specific form
• _Tooltip - Tooltip text for a control
• _Description - Description or help text
• _Error - Error message

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Creating a New Language Pack

1. Copy the English template:
   • Download the English language file from Crowdin
   • Save with your language name
2. Update metadata:
   {
     "_Metadata": {
       "Code": "your-language-code",
       "EnglishName": "Your Language",
       "LocalName": "Nome na língua nativa",
       "Author": "YourName",
       "MinVersion": "9.4"
     },
     "Items": {
       // Your translations
     }
   }
   
3. Translate all items
4. Test the language pack
5. Submit to Crowdin or create a pull request on GitHub

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Becoming a Language Moderator

• Review and approve translations
• Manage translation consistency
• Help onboard new translators

1. Contribute quality translations consistently
2. Show understanding of translation guidelines
3. Contact the project maintainer via Discord or email

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Recognition

• Language pack metadata (Author field)
• ImageGlass contributors page
• Crowdin project page

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Getting Help

1. Crowdin discussions - Ask in the language-specific discussion
2. ImageGlass Discord - Join the Discord server
3. GitHub issues - Create an issue for translation-related bugs
4. Email - Contact [email protected]

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Translation Statistics

• Visit the ImageGlass Crowdin project
• View overall progress and language-specific completion rates

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Contributing Translations to Development

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For Developers

1. Add English strings to the source code
2. Update language templates in Setup/Assets/Language/
3. Sync with Crowdin so translators can add translations
4. Document the context - Add comments in code or Crowdin

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Pull Request Checklist

• English strings added to appropriate locations
• String keys follow naming conventions
• Context provided for translators
• Language template files updated
• PR description mentions new translatable strings

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Thank You!

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Next Steps

• Join ImageGlass on Crowdin
• Getting Started - Set up development environment
• Contributing Guide - Other ways to contribute