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.
+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.
+The help files, at this point, are divided into functional areas. Each .hlp
+file represents a different functional block of how the program looks to the
+user.
-I put each sentance on a line of its own because I thought it might make
-it easier to translate. 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 wil be used
-All over the world and in many different environments so local language dialects might
+Hopefully as SquirrelMail gets 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.
+File Structure
+==============
-All translated files should be placed under the hlp directory.
-Under the hlp directory create another directory. This directory MUST be named
-to the two letter standard abbreviation for the language. English is "en" and
-Spanish would be "sp" for example.
+All translated files should be placed under the help directory. Under the
+help directory create another directory. This directory MUST be named in the
+two letter standard abbreviation for the language. English is "en" and Polish
+would be "pl" for example.
-The help files are written in the following format:
-<P>
-<A NAME=some_name></A>
-<H1>Some Head</H1>
-Some text on some subject.
-</P>
+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>
-<P>
-<A NAME=some_name></A>
-<H3>Some Head</H3>
-Some text on some subject.
-</P>
+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 each of these tags, there can be any combination of any of the following
+tags: <title>, <description>, <summary>. Here is an example:
-This is important because the left menu is dynamically built from what is inside the .hlp files.
-All <A NAME></A>, <H1></H1>, and <H3></H3> tags MUST be on a line by themselves.
-No modifiers may be used for the <A> anchor tags. Modifiers other than the NAME modifier
-Will result in the additional modifier's inclusion in the left menu.
-Any other tags used such as <H4> will be ignored. I am currently working on making all the
-headers which are already listed in the po file translate automatically. We'll see how this goes.
-This will not work for files like FAQ.hlp and Basic.hlp which are not in the main program.
+ | <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>
-At the current time no logic is in place to check if help is written on a certain subject.
+Translating
+===========
+
+To translate, just copy all the .hlp files from help/en into the new directory
+that you created for this language (i.e. help/pl). You only need to translate
+what is between 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!!
projects / squirrelmail.git / blobdiff