How to translate the IBP user interface to your own language

IBP allows you to translate the reports and the IBP user interface to your own language. This allows you to offer search engine optimization services in your native language in your country.

You don't have to be a programmer to translate IBP to your native language.

This page is intended to be a general guideline for IBP translators without dealing with the specifics of any given language. Before starting a translation, it is advisable to become familiar with IBP, its features, options and possibilities.

Table of Contents

1. Terms and tools
2. Translating
3. How to translate IBP
4. Available translations

1. Terms and tools

In the translation process you must deal with two kind of files with the extensions '.po' and '.mo'.

The PO file, where the letters "PO" stand for Portable Object, is meant to be read and edited by humans: the translators. The PO file contains all the texts that must be translated.

The MO file, where "MO" stands for Machine Object, is meant to be read by IBP.

poEdit is the translation software program which converts PO files, that you can edit, to MO files, that can be read by IBP.

poEdit ist available in many different languages and it's completely free. You can download poEdit from here. It can even create a catalog of the already translated texts and automatically re-use them for frequent phrases.

2. Translating

In the translation process there are two languages involved: the source language and the target language. When translating IBP, English is the source language. For a successful translation it is required that you are "perfect" in the target language - which is supposedly your mother tongue.

It is useful to take a look at the most commonly used software packages translated into your language in order to use the same expressions for similar commands and buttons. In this way everybody will understand your translation.

When translating phrases or sentences it is a good idea to go by the meaning (instead of translating word by word). Once you have understood the precise meaning of the phrase or sentence in English, forget the words and use a phrase in your own language . Construct a sentence that conveys the meaning (the idea) of the original and sounds natural in your language.

Another issue coming up often during translations is the use of the formal or informal language. In many languages there are different forms, for example the German "du" vs. "Sie", or French "tu" vs. "vous". Check which one is mainly used in other translations - or what is culturally accepted in your language. As IBP is a commercial software program, please use the formal language wherever possible.

Some English texts in the PO file does not seem to make sense, for example "1.20", "xxx", "-", or ">>". Just keep these characters as they are and do not translate them.

Many texts contain an ampersand character ("&"). The ampersand specifies the accelerator key. For example, the text for the File menu is "&File" so that you can press Alt + F in the IBP main window to access the File menu. As it is very time consuming to test which accelerator keys have already been specified for the same window, you can choose to not use accelerator keys at all.

3. How to translate IBP

1. Download the latest version of POedit. Change the settings of poEdit (File > Preferences) to enable the option "Automatically compile .mo file on save".
   
   
   
   
2. Contact us and we'll send you the latest PO file for your language.
   Open the file with poEdit. First, change the file properties (Catalog > Settings), enter your name and email address, the correct language and country and be sure that the selected encoding is UTF-8. The other options are not relevant.
   
   
   
   Now save by clicking the grey disc symbol or by selecting the menu command File > Save. Everytime you save your changes, a .mo file will be generated.
   
   
3. Copy the English language file. Locate the "IBP 9" directory on your hard disk (the directory to which you installed IBP). There is a sub-directory named "locale" that contains several two-letter named sub-directories. The two letters are the ISO-639 code for each language.
   
   For example, the German language file is stored in the sub-directory "IBP 8\locale\de\LC_MESSAGES", the Spanish language file is stored in "IBP 8\locale\es\LC_MESSAGES", etc.
   
   Look up your two-letter language ISO code, and create the corresponding sub-directories. For example, if you want to create the Danish translation (ISO code "dk"), create the sub-directories "IBP 9\locale\dk\LC_MESSAGES".
   
   Quit poEdit and copy the downloaded file "default.po" (and "default.mo" if available) to the new "LC_MESSAGES" directory.
   
   
   
   
4. Translate the .po file. Before translating the default.po file, quit IBP. Then open the "default.po" in poEdit and start translating. Don't forget to save once in a while.
   
   You might want to read the poEdit help file to learn how poEdit can speed up the translation process for you. To open the poEdit help file, select the menu command Help > Contents in poEdit.
   
   
   
   Tip: In poEdit, enable the menu command "Show automatic comments window" in the View menu. This will give you an idea where the individual texts are used in IBP.
   
   
5. Test your translation. When you have translated some texts, test it with the IBP application. Launch IBP and select the target language in the File menu.
   
   Check if the translated texts fit the buttons and shorten them if needed. Check if the translation is clear in the context. Check for spelling mistakes and proper capitalization.
   
   
6. Send your translation to us. When you have translated some texts, please send your translation to support@Axandra.com with the subject "IBP translation". It's enough to send us the "default.po" file that contains your translations.

Remember: You don't have to translate all texts before sending the translation. Every little bit helps provided the translation is grammatically correct, has no spelling mistakes and fit the buttons.

4. IMPORTANT LIMITATIONS!