As much as I hate making changes this late in the game, I've decided that I really need to modify how languages are added to FeedDemon. These changes are necessary in order to simplify installing new languages, both for end users and for translators (not to mention myself!).
Starting with RC3 (coming next week), all displayed strings will be contained in one XML file per language rather than three, and each language file will be stored directly in the Data\Lang folder rather than in a subfolder of it. FeedDemon language files will be named after their language, with the extension .FDLANG (ex: English.fdlang, Spanish.fdlang, etc.).
If you've translated FeedDemon into another language, you can simply copy the text from the three older files (const.xml, dialogs.xml and forms.xml) and paste them into your new FDLANG file.
Note that several strings have changed in RC3, so additional translating will be necessary after creating your FDLANG. To help with this, I've uploaded my English language file for RC3. Each new/modified/deleted string has been marked in this file with an "RC3" comment, so simply search for "RC3" to locate changes.
If anyone would like to create an FDLANG prior to the release of RC3, let me know by posting a comment here once the translation is completed, and in your post please state whether I have your permission to include your FDLANG with the RC3 install.
BTW, be sure to save your FDLANG as UTF-8 if you use accented characters - otherwise, the accents may not appear in FeedDemon's UI!
Hi Nick,
I´ll create the Spanish and Galician FDLANG tomorrow, and you have my permission to include my FDLANGs with the RC3 install.
Martín Fernández.
Posted by: Martín Fernández | Friday, October 31, 2003 at 03:40 PM
This is Jedi speaking. I'll made zh-tw and zh-cn (Chinese) FDLANG in 24 hours. And yes, please put them in RC3. :)
Posted by: Jedi | Friday, October 31, 2003 at 10:28 PM
A very minor point, but would it be worth adopting the same naming conventions as is used by Java's resoruce bundles? They allow for languages (e.g. English) and variants within the languages (e.g. UK English, US English). Quiye probably overkill for you, but to get an idea for how it works check out this overview: http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/Intl/ResourceBundles/
Oh, and I just noticed - in FeedDemon RC1 your URL text box doesn't seem to appear (windows 2000) - I'm posting this comment from Firebird.
Posted by: sam newman | Monday, November 03, 2003 at 06:26 AM
Hello!
French and Italian language files will be available on ftp.publipress.com/feedemon/ soon after RC3 is published.
Nick, you will be most welcome to include them in this or any future release of FeedDemon, but I'll wait to be able to test them on RC3 before making them available, just to be sure everything is OK with the fdlang file. After all it's your good name (and a little of mine, since you are so nice as to give translators credit, thanks!) that is on the game! ;o)
BTW, thanks for the tip on UTF-8, I was getting crazy with those diacritic characters...
Best regards
--
Serge K. Keller
Posted by: Citizen K (Serge K. Keller) | Monday, November 03, 2003 at 11:14 AM
I'm considering translating FeedDemon depending on the type of license that will be applied to my work..
Could you please explain what type of license are you planning for feeddemon?
thanks.
Posted by: JP | Monday, November 03, 2003 at 12:46 PM
FeedDemon will be released as commercial software (shareware), so the license would be a somewhat typical EULA.
Posted by: Nick Bradbury | Monday, November 03, 2003 at 01:56 PM