The projects created in WINDEV, WEBDEV or WINDEV Mobile can be multilingual projects. In this case, all the messages found in the project (windows, pages, reports or controls) must be translated into the different languages.
A project can be translated according to several methods:
- The different elements found in your project can be translated one by one. This translation is entered in the "Details" tab of the description window of the created elements.
This translation can be easily performed via the "Translate" button 
. The "Translate" button translates a selected input area according to the preferences defined in the options of the product used. Reminder: To configure the desired options, go to the "Home" pane, "Environment" group, expand "Options" and select "General options of WINDEV/WEBDEV/WINDEV Mobile". This solution is suitable for small-size applications only, and it can quickly become cumbersome. - You can use WDMSG. This tool is used to extract all the messages that can be translated or corrected in your project. Once translated, these messages can be reintegrated by WDMSG.
WDMSG is an optional tool of WINDEV, WEBDEV and WINDEV Mobile. If you do not own WDMSG, contact the PC SOFT sales department or visit www.windev.com.
The extraction creates an "Extraction file" containing all the messages, captions of controls, ... This file can be:
- a text file,
- an HFSQL data file,
- a WDMSG file (recommended format, proposed by default).
If the extraction file is an HFSQL data file or a WDMSG file, the different elements of this file will have to be translated with WDTRAD. WDTRAD is a powerful translation tool based on the use of a dictionary.
If you already own a dictionary issued from a translation software (also called "Translation memory"), this dictionary can be used with WDTRAD. This allows you to take advantage of all the features of WDTRAD.
If the extraction file is a text file, the different elements of this file can be:
- translated directly or by a translation tool.
- checked by a spelling checker.
- modified to standardize messages, captions, etc.
When translating or correcting the messages from the extraction file, the format of this file (specific to WDMSG) must not be modified. Any change in the format of this file would prevent the reintegration of the various messages and elements translated or corrected.
WDMSG can also be used to:
- extract messages added or modified since the last extraction. With this feature, you will no longer forget any messages. You can then translate and reintegrate these messages into your project.
- compare the project messages between two languages. This feature identifies any possible errors (e.g., same text in both languages, or missing translations). You can then fix the different problems and reintegrate the modified messages into your project.
See
Using WDMSG for more details.