Multi-language Support

In order to accommodate the needs of your diverse attendees, your app can be configured to support multiple languages.

Most interfaces within the app have some ability to display multiple languages. Non-editable interface elements, such as (default) component names, button text, and headings, have predefined translations for most or all language options. Editable content may support multiple languages depending on what it is. For example, the title and body text of an announcement support multiple languages, but the name and email address of an attendee do not.

As a rule, images do not support multiple languages. Wherever you define graphical content to be displayed in the app, that content displays regardless of what language is selected by the attendee.

Requirements

Multi-language support has no prerequisites and is available to all apps. It is not a component but rather an intrinsic to the app software, so it does not need to be added to the app.

How it works

What you need to do

Select which languages your app will support

You must define which languages the app supports when first defining the event, but you can modify the selection at any time before you publish the app. One of the languages you select must also be set as the app's default language—the language that displays when no translations are available or the device OS language is not supported.

Your app can support any of the following languages:

Define multilingual content using the App Manager interface

You can define multilingual content using the various component-specific content management interfaces. Typically this is a matter of defining the content in the default language, then selecting each other language option in turn and defining the translations within the same interface. All fields are active when defining content for the default language, but only fields that support multiple languages are active when one of the other language options is selected.

A field that is missing one or more translations is indicated with a missing translation icon . When the content management interface contains multiple tabs, the number of fields in a given tab that still require translation is indicated by a number in red beside the tab title .

Define multilingual content using .xls files

If you have a lot of translations to define, you may find it easier to define multilingual content using .xls files. The process is essentially identical to defining default language content using .xls files, but be sure to define the default language data first and use it as a template when defining translations. This will help to avoid accidentally overwriting data that does not support multiple languages.

1. Define the default language content for a component using the App Manager interface or .xls files.
2. Download the default language content as an .xls file.
3. Modify only the fields requiring translation.
4. Upload the data again under a different language.

What happens in the app

Opening the app for the first time

When an attendee first opens the app, the app checks which language is currently being displayed on the device OS. If the app has that language as an option, the app displays in that language. Otherwise, the app displays in its default language.

For example, imagine you create an app with English as the default language, and includes French and Chinese (simplified) as additional language options. An attendee opening the app for the first time would see the app in English, unless the device they used to open it displayed the OS in French or simplified Chinese, in which case the app would display in French or simplified Chinese respectively.

Selecting a language

If your app supports multiple languages, the attendee can select which one to display using a drop down list in their app settings. Attendees access their app settings by touching the cog icon on the main menu, or through the My Profile component if it is enabled.

Unavailable and undefined translations

If a given field supports multiple languages, but no translation has been defined for the language the attendee is displaying, the information displays in the default language.