[squirrelmail.git] / doc / translating_help.txt

Translating the help files.
===========================

I have tried to write the help files in plain english with good grammer.
Since English is not my strong point you probably can't tell, but I hope it 
helps.

The help files, at this point, are devided into functional areas.
Each .hlp file represents a different functional block of how the program looks 
to the user.

Hopefully as SquirrelMail is more widely used, 
non-english translations will be used to make other non-english translations.
You might want to keep this in mind when writing yours. Remember that these will
be used all over the world and in many different environments so local language 
dialects might confuse someone else. 

File Structure
==============

All translated files should be placed under the help directory.  Under the help 
directory create another directory. This directory MUST be named to the two letter 
standard abbreviation for the language. English is "en" and Polish would be "pl" 
for example.

The help files are written in a basic xml format.  Don't worry, XML isn't hard
at all.  All it does is contain values inside tags like <start> and </start>.
For these help files, the tags must be on their own line like this:
   <tag>
      Value for this tag
   </tag>

There are two types of main tags: <chapter> and <section>.  There can be only 
one <chapter> tag in a .hlp file.  However, there can be many <section> tags.
Inside both of these tags, their can be any combination of any of the following
tags:  <title>, <description>, <summary>.  Here is an example:

                     | <chapter>
 The title can only  |    <title>
 be one line long    |       My first chapter   
                     |    </title>
 Summary may be many |    <summary>
 lines, but is short |       Just a brief summary
                     |    </summary>
                     |    <description>
 Description can be  |       This is a more detailed description that
 very long.  It is   |       can span many lines.  Usually this is the 
 the main part of    |       bulk of the help section or chapter description.
 the help section.   |    </description>
                     | </chapter>


Translating
===========

To translate, just copy all the .hlp files from help/en into your new directory
that you created for this language (i.e.  help/pl).  You only need to translate
what is inbetween the tags.  Do not translate the actual tags such as <chapter> 
or <summary>.  The tag names need to remain in English.  You should only translate
the text between tags.

Often there may be other HTML tags such as <b> for bold or <a href...> to make
a link.  If you see any of these tags, just leave them and don't translate
them either.  Only what is contained inside them if needed.

That should be all!!
Commit	Line	Data
	1	Translating the help files.
	2	===========================
	3
	4	I have tried to write the help files in plain english with good grammer.
	5	Since English is not my strong point you probably can't tell, but I hope it
	6	helps.
	7
	8	The help files, at this point, are devided into functional areas.
	9	Each .hlp file represents a different functional block of how the program looks
	10	to the user.
	11
	12	Hopefully as SquirrelMail is more widely used,
	13	non-english translations will be used to make other non-english translations.
	14	You might want to keep this in mind when writing yours. Remember that these will
	15	be used all over the world and in many different environments so local language
	16	dialects might confuse someone else.
	17
	18	File Structure
	19	==============
	20
	21	All translated files should be placed under the help directory. Under the help
	22	directory create another directory. This directory MUST be named to the two letter
	23	standard abbreviation for the language. English is "en" and Polish would be "pl"
	24	for example.
	25
	26	The help files are written in a basic xml format. Don't worry, XML isn't hard
	27	at all. All it does is contain values inside tags like <start> and </start>.
	28	For these help files, the tags must be on their own line like this:
	29	<tag>
	30	Value for this tag
	31	</tag>
	32
	33	There are two types of main tags: <chapter> and <section>. There can be only
	34	one <chapter> tag in a .hlp file. However, there can be many <section> tags.
	35	Inside both of these tags, their can be any combination of any of the following
	36	tags: <title>, <description>, <summary>. Here is an example:
	37
	38	\| <chapter>
	39	The title can only \| <title>
	40	be one line long \| My first chapter
	41	\| </title>
	42	Summary may be many \| <summary>
	43	lines, but is short \| Just a brief summary
	44	\| </summary>
	45	\| <description>
	46	Description can be \| This is a more detailed description that
	47	very long. It is \| can span many lines. Usually this is the
	48	the main part of \| bulk of the help section or chapter description.
	49	the help section. \| </description>
	50	\| </chapter>
	51
	52
	53	Translating
	54	===========
	55
	56	To translate, just copy all the .hlp files from help/en into your new directory
	57	that you created for this language (i.e. help/pl). You only need to translate
	58	what is inbetween the tags. Do not translate the actual tags such as <chapter>
	59	or <summary>. The tag names need to remain in English. You should only translate
	60	the text between tags.
	61
	62	Often there may be other HTML tags such as <b> for bold or <a href...> to make
	63	a link. If you see any of these tags, just leave them and don't translate
	64	them either. Only what is contained inside them if needed.
	65
	66	That should be all!!