Skip to main content
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index] [List Home]
[udig-devel] Direction needed for Translation of Online Help
The good news: I have exported the EN online help; and the process was easy! It was so easy I think other languages may want to use the same technique. The bad news: I am not quite sure what is best for translations, let me outline two alternatives.... 

Alternative A
- Translations can use non english page names, links done as [Erste Schritte] 
- Help pages is generated from the wiki for each language
- Help table of contents file generated from wiki parent/child structure
- The context associations must be translated, associating user interface widgets to pages in the target language
I think this option is easier; but since I am not translating this is not my call. You can probably ignore the context associations part (relying on eclipse F1 to do a search to locate a good page). 

Alternative B
- Translations use english page names, links done as [Erste Schritte|Getting Started] 
- Help pages genreated from the wiki (html only)
- Help table of contents file must be translated (see example below)
- The context associations work out of the box (this was the point of sticking with english names)
This is what we are doing right now, but perhaps it is not worth it since eclipse can now fake associations by using a dynamic search. 

Your feedback is really needed here, I need a decision before RC14 goes out.
Jody

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

HELP (this is the org eclipse.help.toc extention point)
Making online help consists of two steps:
- writing html pages (this is what we do in the wiki)
- writing a table of contents or "toc" file that acts as the index used on the left hand side of the help viewer. I have customized the confluence export script to generate the file from the page parent/child relationships (previous this took forever to do by hand). 

Example from plugin.xml

   <extension
         point="org.eclipse.help.toc">
      <toc
            extradir="html"
            file="toc.xml"
            primary="true">
      </toc>
   </extension>

Example from toc.xml:

<topic label="Editor" href="html/Editor.html">
    <topic label="Page editor" href="html/Page editor.html">
</topic>


HELP CONTEXT (this is the org.eclipse.help.contexts extention point)
There is one extra step that can be amazing if anyone gets the time:
- defining help context information, that binds specific user interface widgets to to a list of good web pages - this information is exact; right now we depend on the ability of the help system do a dynamic search (often from the view name) which is not exact 

Example from plugin.xml:

     <extension
         id="net.refractions.udig.project.ui.mapEditor"
         name="%context.name"
         point="org.eclipse.help.contexts">
      <contexts
            file="context/mapEditor.xml">
      </contexts>
   </extension>

Example from mapEditor.xml:

<contexts>
  <context id="general_context">
    <description>This is the Map editor.</description>
    <topic label="Map editor" href="html/Map editor.html"/>
<topic label="Map" href="html/Map.html"/> <topic label="Printing the current Map" href="udig/Printing the current Map.html"/> 
  </context>
  <context id="zoom_context">
<description>Use this tool to draw a rectangle indicating where you wish the Map view port moved to. You can zoom out using the second mouse button, 
    the scroll wheel offers immidate change of scale.</description>
<topic label="Zoom Tool" href="html/Map Editor.html#zoom"/> <topic label="Viewport" href="html/Viewport.html"/> 
  </context>
</contexts>

Back to the top