Translation tables enable visual designers to publish a
single visual dashboard that can be viewed in multiple languages.
About this task
When content developers create a dashboard, button captions,
labels, tooltips and other embedded text is entered directly into
the property values of the dashboard objects. Using translation tables,
content developers can supply alternate versions of this entered text,
to be displayed when the user is in a different locale. For example,
a Japanese developer can elect to author a new dashboard in Japanese
but then also include translation tables for German and French, each
of which will be used when the dashboard is viewed under German and
French locales.
Every new dashboard is created with a default
translation table. The default translation table provides the collection
of supplied text that has been added directly within the property
values of the components that make up the dashboard. The contents
of the default translation table will be used, unless there is an
alternate text value available in a translation table that is more
appropriate for the current locale. Consider the following example:
- A dashboard is authored in Japanese and includes seven text strings.
- The dashboard developer decides to include a German translation
table, providing German translations for three of the seven original
text strings. The developer also adds a French translation table,
providing translations for all seven strings.
- When the dashboard is viewed in Japan, all seven original text
values are displayed. When viewed in Germany, the three translated
strings are used, along with the four original Japanese strings.
When viewed in France, the seven French translated strings are used.
When viewed in Italy, the Japanese strings are used.
Any number of translation tables can be added to a dashboard
project, each of which is associated with a specific language. Although
it is possible to directly edit the strings within the translation
table editor, the application also provides a means of exporting and
re-importing translation tables, allowing content developers to perform
the translation using external tools and applications.
- From the Project Explorer view,
expand the Globals node for the dashboard.
Right-click the Translation Tables node. Select Insert
New Table from the pop-up menu. The New Translation
Table wizard opens.
- Select a language from the Language drop-down
list. The language that you select will be used as the new translation
table name.
Only one translation table can be defined for
a given language. If a translation table already exists for a selected
language, an error message will appear over the pull-down menu.
- Click Finish.
The New
Translation Table wizard closes, and the Edit
Translation Table window opens.
- The new translation table is populated with the contents
of the default translation table. An object's text property value
ID is listed in the ID cell of the translation
table. The text that has been defined for the object's text property
value is listed in the Text cell of the translation
table.
- Using the check boxes on the left, clear the check box
that is associated with each ID that will be excluded from translation.
Only the values for the IDs that remain checked will be translated.
Dashboard designers will recognize which values should be translated.
Some text values such as company names do not need translating so
they should be excluded. Some text property values are not simply
strings but calculated (displayed in the text cell with an = sign).
If these objects include string values, they should be included for
translation. When an object ID is disabled in a translation table,
the corresponding value in the default translation table will be used
(text values will be in the original language used to create the dashboard).
You can use the Enable icon to enable one or
more objects if they have been disabled.
- You can choose to translate the strings within the Edit
Translation Table window. You can also export the strings
for translation to a file. To export the strings to a file, select Export.
An operating system specific Save window
opens.
- Browse to the directory where you will save the file and
click Save.
The file name can be
different from the language under which the translated table will
be saved. Make the file accessible to the translators.
- The following is an example of how the strings appear in
the exported file:
TestDashboard.Level1.Label10.Text=Current
Assets. Translators will translate only the actual text in
the string and not the syntax of the object ID. This text appears
to the right of the equal sign (=). In the example, only Current
Assets should be translated.
- When the translation is complete, you will upload the file.
From the Project Explorer, right-click the
translation table that you will be uploading, select Edit
Table from the pop-up menu. Click Import.
An operating system specific Open window opens.
- Navigate to the translated file and click Open.
The new changes are shown in the Text column
of the Edit Translation Table window.
- Click OK.
The new
translation table is saved and its corresponding language is listed
under the Translation Tables node for the visual
dashboard.
- In the Properties view of the active
visual dashboard, specify the Default language of
the dashboard.
Valid options include:
- Auto: The native language of the machine
on which QMF for Workstation was
installed.
- Default: The original language used to
create the visual dashboard content.
- If any translation tables have been created for the selected visual
dashboard, their corresponding languages will also be listed as default
language options.