In a previous software localization blog post,
we discussed Wordbee's ability to parse and process PO files for translation
and localization. Today, we will introduce the translation of the .resx
file.
What is a .RESX file?
The .Net resource (.resx) file consists of the
monolingual file format used in the Microsoft.Net application. They
contain menus, dialogs, error messages, other description strings, and dialog
resizing.
The syntax of the .resx resource file format
consists of XML entries that specify objects and strings within the XML
tag. Entries in the resource are described by <data> and
<value> pairs.
Here is an example of a .resx file:
Comments
are added to the string using the optional <comment> field. Comments
provide a description of the message text and more context. End users do
not see comments, so no translation is required. When you create
translation specifications, budgets, and timelines, they are removed from the
word count.
Here
is an example of a commented .resx file:
Benefits of .RESX localization on the Wordbee
platform
When Wordbee parses the .resx file, it only
displays the "value" text for each entry to the
translation. Wordbee will extract all the value text and display it in the
editor for translation. As a result, translators can translate strings in
a user-friendly environment without worrying about inadvertently missing or
destroying any XML code. Here is an example of .resx content:
Note that Wordbee keeps the strings in the
same order as they appear in the .resx file. If strings are
interdependent, their interdependencies are not lost. This can be very
useful in future updates using text in the translation memory, especially the
110% matching feature provided by Wordbee.
By hiding all the XML code and properly
training the translator how to handle the variables, the translated .resx file
can be exported after the translation is complete without any coding
errors. This saves a lot of testing and debugging time. However, if
the translator can view the comments in protected mode for their reference, it
would be great. This will help them better understand the context of short
strings for a more accurate and faster translation.
If there is a string length limit on the
dialog or menu (which may occur due to limited screen space), the QA inspector
in Wordbee can be configured to warn the translation when its suggested
translation text length exceeds the allowed limit. By.
.RESX file localization challenges
Wordbee provides limited control over the text
to be translated. Since most .resx file variables (in {0} and {1} formats)
are embedded in the Value string, translators must be careful not to
inadvertently remove them. Therefore, you should train translators to
handle variables correctly, making sure they are placed in the correct location
in each string.
Wordbee does offer the option to exclude the
entire value of the content from the translation. It can look up regular
expressions and mark the found expression as a non-translatable segment.
After translating .RESX files
.resx files are usually associated with forms
and dialogs. After translation, the size of the translated string will
increase or decrease. Therefore, extra effort is required outside of
Wordbee to adjust the size of the dialog or abbreviated text to fit the buttons
and labels of the form components.
As mentioned earlier, if the Wordbee QA is
pre-configured to warn translators when this happens, the translator makes
these changes before submitting the translation to the engineering
team. This will ensure that the correct abbreviated translations are
stored in Wordbee's translation memory for future version
updates. However, we recommend that engineering inspection steps be
performed outside of the Wordbee platform. This is to ensure that all
translated text meets the size limits set by the localization translation.
Convert .RESX strings to vocabulary
Wordbee has released a new terminology
management tool that is useful for translating software applications and their
supporting documentation, such as online help, reference manuals, user guides,
and tutorials.
For software applications, it is important
that translators maintain consistency between the translation of the software
user interface and its supporting materials. This will simplify the use of
applications by international end users and facilitate learning of the software.
For example, you don't want the user interface
strings mentioned in the online help to be different from the way they are
displayed in the running software.
To maintain consistency, translators need to
use all user interface terms and strings correctly throughout the product line.
