Validation features for software localization
Sisulizer has implemented a wide range of validation features. Sisulizer’s validation can detect minor flaws in translation and will also automatically correct them for you.
Why is it important to validate your localization? Some not fixed issues e.g. incorrect placeholders can even cause exceptions in localized application and user couldn’t use localized version until these bugs are fixed. Sisulizer’s validation features help to identify and solve these issues.
Because validation is such an important and extended issue, you find it as own main menu entry in Sisulizer’s menu bar:
You can even validate resource of your source files via “Validation” menu -> “Validate Original”. With “Validate Original” you can detect bugs in your translation source, but you can’t fix it. However, you can send a Sisulizer report with list of bugs to your developer or boss and win his appreciation.
In this article I describe validation features for translations only. If you click on “Validate Translations”in “Validation” menu, Sisulizer opens “Validate Translations” dialog.
Validation dialog
Here in “Types” tab you can select appropriated validation types and execute validation operation. You can also save set of your validations for future use. This feature was implemented to build 300 and it is described in the validation improvements article on our blog. You can select here the following types of validations:
- Duplicate translation
- Empty translation
- Incorrect spelling
- Invalid character width
- Invalid script
- Missing translation
- Translation is all spaces
- Duplicate form hotkey
- Duplicate menu hotkey
- Duplicate menu short cut
- HTML comments
- HTML tags
- Inconsistent format string
- Inconsistent hotkey
- Invalid amount of new lines
- Invalid amount of tabs
- Invalid amount of vertical bars
- Invalid amount of white spaces
- Invalid hotkey character
- Invalid hotkey position
- Missing colon
- Missing exclamation
- Missing question
- Missing symbol
- Missing symbol
- Missing vertical bar
- Possibly extra format string
- Required string
- Clipped Text
- Control out of client
- Moved control
- Overlapping controls
- Resized control
- Totally moved control
- Totally resized control
- Unknown component
All above items are for “Validate Translation” feature, but of course, grouping is also available for “Validate Original” feature:
- Translation
- Formatting
- Control
On the right side of validation dialog are buttons for selecting all items from a selected category. When you click on specified category button, Sisulizer automatically checks all items belonging to this category.
In “Automatic Fixes” tab you can select items for automatic correction. When you select for example “Missing period” option, Sisulizer automatically fixes all items with missed periods without your intervention during validation operation.
Validation Results pane
You can find this pane in bottom part of Sisulizer’s main window. Here you can see results of validation operation, fix bugs, exclude selected items from next validation or save results to report. On below screenshot you can see example results of validation operation with two issue:
- Missing periods: User interface designers mark menu entries with three periods, if they open a dialog box. The translation does not have the three periods. Original string (with periods) and his translations (without period) in translation sheet are indicated by red arrow on screenshot.
- Inconsistent hotkey: The original is a menu entry and has a hotkey assigned. In this case, if the user opens the menu end presses <Ctrl+T> on his keyboard, this menu entry will be activated. The translation is missing such a hotkey.
When you select row in Validation results pane, Sisulizer automatically shows string with this issue in translation sheet and you can see context of selected issue and optionally fix it directly in sheet. Additional Sisuliser always displays in “Description” column descriptions of issues and hints for fixing it (for example available hotkey for duplicate hotkey issue). For fixing selected issue, click on “Fix” item in row in Validation results pane or click on appropriated button of pane toolbar. Below is screnshot with fixed first item from our example:
… and result in translation sheet:
When you want to exclude selected item from next validation (for example your original contains period, but you don’t want to use this period in your translation), select this item in validation pane and next click on “Excluded translations” button on pane toolbar. Of course, you can later include this item again for validation.
Hint
I recommend after fixing of selected issues validate again your project via “Validate again” in “Validation” menu or via button with this same name on toolbar of Validation result pane just in case. It always use settings from previous performed and allows you check if all issues were fixed.
Janusz
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That is a nice long list of validations for software localization!