NC4 - E Team - R9.8 E Team Form Builder - Internationalizing Forms/Tabs

E Team's Form Builder supports foreign languages. Contact support@nc4.com for additional information if you have questions around your organization's language needs.

Custom form design is always performed using English, however, once a form/tab is generated, the Internationalize option may be used for supported languages. Forms that go thru this full process are then available when the user's system and browser language settings match that of the translated file designation. If a form has no available translation, it will continue to display to the user in English.

Internationalization of a form design is a multi-step process requiring download, translation, and upload. Please review all steps prior to performing a translation.

This section covers Internationalizing a design, updating an internationalized design, and translating your Form Properties file. Please refer to Custom Form View Configuration for internationalizing your custom forms views in E Team.

Internationalizing Form/Tab Designs

1. Navigate to Administration > Form Builder.
2. Locate the form/tab and click the icon in the Internationalize column to the right of the listing.
3. The Internationalize window opens for the selection made.  
   
   

The top of the screen contains properties files for all languages currently supported for that form. The first listing will always be Locale = Default which is always English.

1. Select the Download option associated with Locale = Default.
2. Your system File Download dialog displays. Save the file and provide to the individual(s) within your organization tasked to perform the actual file translation. This process extracts a copy of the .properties file used within the design. 
   
   When the translated file has been returned to you, repeat the steps (1-3) to access the above screen and continue to next step.
    
3. In Chose Local select the Locale (language) to be associated with the translated file downloaded in step 5 above, and retuned to you after translation.
4. In Language File use the Browse button locate the file on your drive.
5. Check the box for ISO-8859-1 encoding when applicable.
6. When done click on the Upload option.
   • The file is uploaded to Form Builder.
   • The locale selected will now display at the top of this window.
   • The Locale used is no longer an available option in the Choose Locale drop down.
     
     The custom form/tab is now available in the newly uploaded language when published AND both the user's system and browser language setting match that of the uploaded file. 
7. Select the Form Manager option at the top of your screen to return to Form Builder Managers main screen.

 

Updating Internationalized Designs

Users will often generate a custom form/tab only to update the design and make changes later based on the organization's needs. When a design that has been internationalized is updated, additional steps must be taken to update the internationalized version of that design.

1. Navigate to Administration > Form Builder.
2. Locate the form/tab and click the icon in the Update column to the right of the listing.
3. Update the form in English as usual. All properties files associated with this form will be updated when you select Finish to commit the changes.
4. Click the icon in the Internationalize column to the right of the listing.
5. At the top of the Internationalize window under Form Languages, select the Download option to the right of the previously translated version.
6. Provide the downloaded .properties file to your translation resource(s). The file will include all changes made in step 3 above. Translation will be needed for any new or changed items only.
   
   When the translated file has been returned, repeat the steps to open the Internationalize window for this design.
    
7. Before you can upload the updated .properties file you MUST delete the existing one. Select the Delete option associated with the Locale =  for the non-English form updated. A confirmation dialog be displayed.
8. Select OK to confirm the deletion. 
   • The window will refresh and the listing for the selected Locale is no longer present.
   • The Locale is again available in the Choose Locale drop down options list.
9. In Chose Locale select the language for the updated .properties file.
10. In Language File use the Browse button locate the file on your drive.
11. Check the box for ISO-8859-1 encoding when applicable.
12. When done click on the Upload option.
    • The updated file is uploaded to Form Builder.
    • The locale selected will again display at the top of this window.
    • The locale used is no longer an available option in the Choose Locale drop down.
    • The  listing for
      the Locale again displays in the Language Support window and the updated custom form
    • The updated custom form/tab changes will be visible to users set up for this language on create of a new forms instance or update of an existing instance.
13. Select the Form Manager option at the top of your screen to return to Form Builder Managers main screen.

Translating Properties File

The custom forms file that is downloaded for translation is known as a .properties file. The file contains all form attributes necessary to allow translation for a supported language. File translation should be done directly in Notepad. The file will look similar to this when opened in notepad:

All English values are listed to the left of an equal "=" symbol. The only data that should be translated are field labels, selection options that will be displayed to a user, i.e., those used in drop downs or with check boxes/radio buttons, and other section headers or help text.

All translation should be placed to the right of the equal "=" symbol. Do NOT alter any other data. Do not translate data that is not followed by the equal "=" symbol.

Translations use UTF-8 encoding by default but you may also upload ISO-8859-1 (Unicode) strings. Please note that UTF-8 is recommended for best results when viewing E Team read and print modes.