How-to: Efficiently Translate UI

Now you have selected a translation tool, how do you efficiently translate your application?

Steps to Take

Of course this depends on the way you have organized your development, but grosso modo I think it should be like this:

1. Make sure your code (i.e. C/SIDE objects) comply to the following:
   • code base is ENU
   • no captions have been created except for
     • text constants
     • unbounded form/page/report controls
2. Any Caption (ENU) for text constants and unbounded controls, and Name property should be based on standard/standardized terminology.
3. Let a tool create the non existent (ENU) captions, both Translation Tool (To-Increase) and Object Manager (IDYN) can do this for you, but you might also use the good old make-ml.
4. If the first automatic translation run has finished and you need to swith to manually translate captions be sure to rerun automatic translation frequently.

Arguments

1. As tools can help you create captions your developers can save time as they do not need to take care of that (and hopefully also make less mistakes). The value of Name property will be the source to all missing ENU captions.
2. Using standard (i.e. based on standard NAV) and standardized (i.e. add-on specific) terminology will enable automatic translation of (recurring) captions.
3. Reruning automatic translation will capture your add-on specific terms that could not be (automatically) translated based on standard NAV, but that exist in your add-on multiple times.

BTW

Making this translation process a standard part of your development will also give you the possibility to review the terminology of your add-on.