Multilingual Applications

7/7/2006

I am starting to see more and more applications which offer localization. It is important that more and more vendors realize that not everyone is fluent in English. However when localizing software there are some simple yet very important steps to take. I have presented whole sessions on this, however today I want to address just a single point.

Do not assume the language -
let the user choose.

I recently installed a driver update to my system to fix some serious problems with hardware. The vendor has now localized the driver, install, and the software for working with the hardware. This is a major vendor by the way, not a small shop. However, the software never asks me what language to use, and has no function for changing the language after install. It merely checks the default code page of my machine, or some other information and goes off in that language. However many users have a default code page set because older software for foreign languages does not work correctly if the default code page is not set. English has a magic way of always working and setting the default code page does not affect English. So millions of people worldwide have an alternate code page set to run language learning software, or other software. In many cases administrators also need to work on multi-lingual systems.

So now I have software that has chosen another language, installed, and is running. Fortunately I am able to navigate through most of it. But the point of this blog - be smart, but do not try to be too smart. If you are going to localize, ask the user first. In fact look for language settings and if you find them ask the user if they want to use them and default the selection to this language, but do not just force the user to this and run off freely. Second point - allow language changes at runtime or via an easy configuration tool. A user should not need to reinstall your software to change the user interface language.

Good Examples?

Skype is a very good example of how to handle localization. During install it detects which language might be appropriate. It then asks me which language I want to use for both the installation, and for the program. It defaults to this language but allows me to change it. After installation, by simply clicking Tools, Change Language, and then a language I can easily change the user interface to any language I desire.

It is so simple, it makes you wonder why not everyone can take this small step.

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