Editing the resource (.resx) files

For each component, there exists a set of files that support the various languages. The country or region code distinguishes the filenames.

With the exception of the language-neutral set of files (cormsgs.resx, cocmsgs.resx, and coimsgs.resx) that serve as the default files, each file follows the following naming convention:

componentcodemsgs.languagecode.resx

You can change strings, not icon or graphic resources.

When changing text strings, consider the string length. The width of fields were created using the existing strings. Significantly increasing string length may result in some strings getting truncated in some of the dialog boxes.

The resource file contains metadata and comments that can help you determine when and where strings are used in the software.

Important: To edit XML resource files, use an XML editor. It is important to preserve the Unicode encoding and format, including white space. Simple text editors will likely corrupt the files. A validating XML editor ensures that the contents of the files are well formed and valid. Modify only string information. Do not change other information in the files.

Procedure

  1. Install the IBM® Cognos® Office components locally to a workstation.

    This gives you access to the resource files.

  2. Locate the resource files.

    If you install locally and accept all the defaults, they are found in the following location:

    [installation directory]\Program Files\IBM\cognos\Cognos for Microsoft Office\resources

  3. In an XML Editor, open the componentcodemsgs.languagecode.resx file.

    Use an editor such as Visual Studio or XMLSpy to change the branding details or to translate strings into another language.

    If you are creating new language files, follow the naming convention by inserting the 2 or 5-character language code into the middle of the file name. For example, if you add a Romanian language file for IBM Cognos for Microsoft Office, you would save it as cocmsgs.ro.resx.

  4. Save the file.
  5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for each component file associated with the language that you want to translate.

Results

The updated resource files are now ready to be compiled.