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Abestanis edited this page Nov 1, 2020 · 4 revisions

How to edit an existing translation

To change an existing translation, you need to edit the main_xx.ts, dynamic_xx.ts and / or installer_xx.ts translation file of that language in the translations directory (e.g. main_de.ts). The xx represents the language tag of the language you want to change.

To edit these files you can use a text editor, but it is much easier to use the Qt Linguist. The Qt Linguist provides a graphical user interface for editing the translations. It will also show warnings for common problems, for example if the source text ends with a punctuation character and the translation does not.

Once you are done, you can add your Github username (and real name, if you want) to the translators file. All that is left to do now is to create a pull request with your changes to the Birdtray repository.

Read this to learn what to do after submitting the pull request.

⚠️ Things to watch out for when editing

  • If the original text contains a % followed by a number or one character, that is a marker (e.g. %1). When Birdtray displays the text, it will replace the marker with some other text. It is therefore important, that your translation also contains the marker. Also make sure that you don't accidentally added a space between the % and the number.
  • If the original text contains spaces at the beginning or the end, or if it contains new lines, you will most likely want to keep them. For example, the text <source> second delay</source> is preceded by a number when displayed, which is why the text starts with a space.
  • If the original text contains html (e.g. &lt;html&gt;&lt;head/&gt;&lt;body&gt;&lt;p&gt;), don't translate the html elements (e.g. head or body).
  • Specific to the installer_xx.ts:
    • If the original text contains a $ followed by a number or {XXX} where XXX represents some text, that is a marker (e.g. $3 or ${PRODUCT_NAME}). When the installer displays the text, it will replace the marker with some other text. It is therefore important, that your translation also contains the marker. Also make sure that you don't accidentally added a space after the $.
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