Introduction
The NA resources contain all the text, documents, images and videos used in the NA project. For more information see the “Understanding NA Resources” article.
Using these resources, you can make your NA project work in multiple languages without the need to redevelop your project.
This article shows how to add new languages and translate your project.
Viewing and Adding Languages
Language settings are located under the Configurations and Setup menu in the project window. A new project has just a default language configured (See ‘Understanding The Role Of The Default Language on The NA’ article for more details); this default language can be set to any language.
The start-up language is the language the HMI loads when switched on. This can be changed to be different to the default.
New languages are added using the + button. When you add a new language, you have a number of things to set:
- • Project Resources are the language you want the user to see and use. This is selected from a dropdown list of all the possible languages that WEC7 lists (137)
- • System Resources are the language used in areas not specific to the project such as error messages, pop up keyboards and decimal separation (dot/comma). The NA supports nine system languages.
- • Transfer to device. Not all languages need to be transferred to the device, this can be of use if there are lots of videos or pictures in the project which could use too much space on the HMI.
The ‘Trash’ button can be used to delete a language. Note: this will delete any translations that have been added for that language.
Translating Resources
Each resource can have alternative translations for each language. Using a central library of resources makes it easier to use professional translator as all resources are in the same place, corrections and changes are easy and quick to implement.
The General Strings in the Resource Table can be exported to a file that can be sent to an external company for translating. The resulting translated file can be imported back into Sysmac Studio.
Alarm strings (both message and detail) can be translated. Again it is possible to export the tables and translate in excel.
Any resources that are not translated will always be shown in the default language.
Images, Videos and Documents
Clicking in each cell in the images, documents or videos allows the user to click a button that shows a file open dialog. A different file can be selected for each language. As with all resources if you don’t supply an alternative, the default will be used.
Viewing Different Translations on a page
When viewing the pages, it is possible to check how other languages will appear on the page. Using the language drop, select a different language. This enables the developer to:
- • Check the translations fit the space
- • Confirm translations look correct with the layout
Actions & VB
There are standard functions in the NA that can be used to change the language during the runtime. Actions can be used to get and set the current language. This could be associated with a dropdown box, or a button.
The option to ‘Persist’ ensures that, when the NA is restarted, the chosen language will be loaded automatically.
In addition two VB methods can be used to change the language:
GetLanguage(ReturnString) – Gets the current language
SetLanguage(Language) – Sets the current language
Note that both of these functions use a 2-2 code e.g. en-GB. For more information on the language codes in .NET see the following MSDN page:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms533052(v=vs.85).aspx
