NATIVE INTERNATIONALIZATIONWITH JOOMLA! 3
Ron van Schaik@Ron_v_S
August 15, 2014
About Me:
en-CA
nl-NL
en-US
en-GB
JOOMLA!=
ALL TOGETHER
MULTI-LINGUAL REPRESENTS THIS LIKE NO OTHER FEATURE
GOALS OF THE PRESENTATION
• Steps to implementing multilingual for Joomla! 3
• Understanding what each functions does and why we need it
• Identifing and fixing common problems
• Tips on managing translations
• Working with Templating Systems
STEP 1Publish the Multilingual Status Admin Module
How?
1. Extensions 2. Module Manager 3. Select Adminis-
trator 4. Search for Lang 5. Publish
Why?
This is your guideto help youtroubleshoot issues
WHAT WENT WRONG?If you cannot find it, you forgot to select
Administrator
STATUS AFTER STEP 1Check the Multilingual Status at the bottom of
your Joomla! 3 Administrator
STEP 2Publish the Language Filter Plugin
How?
1. Extensions 2. Plugin Manager 3. Search for Lang 4. Publish the Lan-
guage Filter
Why?
This enables multilin-gualfeatures including thenavigation and defaultlanguage URLs
WHAT WENT WRONG?Not much, but there may be preferences.
- often site owners prefer not to have the site code in the default URL, it is set here.
- Some SEF Components may require this to remain disabled.
STATUS AFTER STEP 2Yeah we have a Multilingual Site - and nothing
works!
STEP 3Publish the Language Switcher Module
How?
1. Extensions 2. Module Manager 3. New4. Language Switcher
Why?
Nothing to switch yet, buthey, may as well get'r done while we're doing modules and plugins.
Decide how the switcherwill display the lan-guages.
WHAT WENT WRONG?
As with any module, make sure that it is published to an appropriate position and assigned to menus.
STATUS AFTER STEP 3We removed one of the notifications
STEP 4Install additional languages from over 50 offically
supported languagesHow?
1. Extensions 2. Language Manager
3. Install Language4. Search for desired
language5. Click the Install
button (not the link)
6. Repeat for eachlanguage
Why?
The languages need to beinstalled before they can be activated. This installs allthe core feature's lan-guagefiles.
WHAT WENT WRONG?
This is pretty straightforward, nothing went wrong but often this is where people get stuck....
Make sure to proceed to Step 5 - Publish Content Languages
STEP 5Activate Content Languages
How?
1. Extensions 2. Language Manager
3. Select Content
fromthe left menu
4. New5. Enter Required info
for each langauge
Why?
The installed languagesadd language support inadmin and front end.
Now we need to definewhat languages can be inthe site's content.
WHAT WENT WRONG?Most commonly the Language Tag is incorrect.
This will result in the language not being enabled in the language switcher. It will be available in all
other areas.
FIX LANGUAGE TAGSelect the language with the notification in
Language Manager - Content, and correct the Language Tag
STATUS AFTER STEP 5Additional languages appear, but not completed.
STEP 6Create a "Main Menu" for each language
How?
1. Menus2. Menu Manager 3. New Menu4. Repeat for each
Language (includ-ing one for "All")
Why?
Every language is re-quired to have a default or "Home" menu item, including thecommon "All".
However, there can only be one default item per menu, so you need a menu foreach language.
MENU CREATION PRO TIP
When creating the menus, create one for the language "All".
Your current "Home" will become the "Home" for the default language. In fact, all the items in the current menu will likely be changed from "All" to
the default language"
Doing this will save a lot of time, since all modules etc. will already be assigned properly.
WHAT WENT WRONG?
Often the "All" menu item has not been created.
Remember that you need a menu for each language as well as for "All" so that they can each
recive a default menu items as per Step 7.
STATUS AFTER STEP 6Nothing has changed, we have created the
menus, but not yet the required "Home" or default menu items.
DEFAULT MENU ITEMPRO TIP
When creating the initial Home/Default menu items, you will not likely have any actual
translated content yet.
An easy way to create an appropriate Default item for each language is to select the Articles - Featured Articles Menu Item Type. You can change this later if it is not appropriate, but it
does not depend on content having been translated already, and it is commonly used as a
homepage anyway .
STEP 7Create a "Home" or default menu item for each
languageHow?
1. Menus2. Select A lan-
guage's "Main Menu"
3. Add New Menu Item
4. Select the Lan-guage of the item
5. Set "Default Page" to Yes
Why?
Every language is re-quired to have a default or "Home" menu item, including thecommon "All".
STATUS AFTER STEP 7Success - we have created a multilingual site!
Now - time to translate.
7 STEPS TO CREATING A MULTILINGUAL JOOMLA 3 SITE
1. Publish the Multilingual Status Admin Module
2. Publish the Language Filter Plugin
3. Publish the Language Switcher Module
4. Install Additional Languages
5. Activate Content Languages
6. Create Menus for each language (including All)
7. Create a Home/Default Menu item for each language (including All)
TRANSLATION WORKFLOW
1. Translate the Menu Modules
2. Translate Categories
3. Translate Articles
4. Translate Menu Items
5. Translate Modules
The order you translate is the same logical order in which you build a
standard site.
JOSETTA TRANSLATION MANAGER
1. Collaborative front end translation submission
2. Little or no Joomla knowledge required
3. Original visible while translating
4. Automatically assigns proper item/menu associations
5. Completion monitoring
6. K2 Support (Easy Integration for Developers)
7. Advanced ACL (Pro)
8. Machine Translation Guidance (Pro)
Simplifies the management of core Joomla TranslationJosetta does not change Joomla features or functionality.
TRANSLATION NOTES
1. When converting a standard site to a multilingual site, items that used to belong to language "All" generally will be changed to the default language.
2. "All" means I want this visible at all times and not translated. In general a fully translated multi-lingual site only has the "Home All" menu item associated with the Language "All"
3. If there will be more than one version of a language, include the full language tag (fr-CA, fr-FR) in the URLs
4. Use Joomla 3's advanced ACL to set the permission of the Content Language in order to provide access to translators and admins until the Language has been sufficiently translated to be published publicly
5. Use a translation manager such as Josetta to provide simplified access and management of core content translation
6. Read a good book like Steve Burge's Joomla 3 <Explained>
7. Be part of the community, participate online and attend events if possible.
There are some ways to save time and avoid trouble
RESOURCES
• Joomla 3 Translation Community: http://community.joomla.org/translations/joomla-3-translations.html
• Josetta Products Page - getting started manual has setup for core language support: http://anything-digital.com/josetta/the-translation-manager-for-joomla.html
• OSTraining - J1.7 core multilingual setup: https://www.ostraining.com/blog/joomla/multi-language-sites-in-joomla-17/
• Thanks to CloudAccess for providing free Joomla Demo Installs anyone can use, and which were used during the presentation. http://demo.joomla.org/
NATIVE INTERNATIONALIZATIONWITH JOOMLA! 3
Ron van Schaikwww.anything-digital.com
@Ron_v_S
August 15, 2014
