Specific Localization Concerns

Localizing Resources

The developer may find that he or she wants to localize resources (such as license agreements, side panels, billboards, and custom icons) for specific countries. This is possible in InstallAnywhere. Actions such as the License Agreement panel and LaunchAnywhere serialize the paths and filenames to their resources and their dynamic strings to the locale files. The developer can then change these paths and the filenames. For example, to localize the license agreement, do the following:

Localizing Custom Installer Labels

Custom labels that match the installer panels are not automatically localized. To match labels, do the following:

Localizing Custom Code

The InstallAnywhere API provides a simple means for localizing custom code actions, panels, and consoles. Here's an example of how to localize a java.awt.Label inside a custom code panel. The custom code panel's setupUI method should resemble

public boolean setupUI(CustomCodePanelProxy ccpp)
{
Label myLabel = new Label();
myLabel.setText(ccpp.getValue(MyCustomCodePanel.myLabel)));
}

The CustomCodePanelProxy, InstallerProxy, CustomCodeConsoleProxy, and UninstallerProxy classes provide access to the getValue method, which takes a string as a parameter representing the key portion of the key/value pair as defined in InstallAnywhere's international resource files. Developers can create any name for the key that they would like, as long as it doesn't conflict with previously defined keys. Developers can even use a preexisting key to obtain a string that has already been translated in InstallAnywhere's resource files.

To make the new locale keys exist in every installer project, update the static text. To make them exist only in the current project, update the dynamic text. The dynamic text is regenerated every time the developer saves, so update the files every time the project is changed. This is another good reason to have the installer design done before starting the localization process.

Best Practices for Localizing

Complete the installer design before translating the locale files. Changes to the installer design can affect the layout and content of the locale files. Changes to these files may require costly retranslation work.

Stick with the default text whenever possible. All default text is already translated, saving the team time and effort.

Test the installers on systems running in the foreign locale. This will help shake out any errors where the proper strings are not translated in the locale files.

Make sure every resource referenced in the locale files is included in the installer. This is especially true for license agreements, readme's, and other commonly translated documents.

InstallAnywhere's comprehensive locale support is just one of the features that stand out from other deployment solutions. InstallAnywhere Enterprise Edition offers support for 29 different locales, both single-byte “Western” locales and double-byte locales. Nearly every text string in your InstallAnywhere installer project can be localized, and translations of all of InstallAnywhere's default text are already provided.

Changing Localized Text

It's not necessary to change the localized text in the installer unless one of the following is true:

• You've added or modified installer items that are displayed to the end-user during installation (new components, features, license agreements, important information notes, and so on) that don't have default translations.

• You would like to modify the provided default translation.

• You are using actions that return install panels (such as the Choose Folder panel or Get Password panel).

Modifying Localized Text

For example, if you want to specify a custom license agreement for French, edit the custom_fr file.

Changing Default Translations Provided in Language Packs