How to Translate the User Manual of the Semi-Automatic Classification Plugin to Your Language



In this post, I am going to illustrate how you can contribute to the translation of the User Manual of the Semi-Automatic Classification Plugin to your language.
The User Manual of the Semi-Automatic Classification Plugin is available in English, and it is written in reStructuredText as markup language (using Sphinx), therefore it is possible to easily translate the user manual to any language.


There are two ways of translating the User Manual:
  1. using the free online service Transifex;
  2. using the gettext .po files.

The following guide illustrates the main steps for the translation.


1. Translation using the free online service Transifex

This is probably the easiest way to translate the manual using an online service.

1.1. Transifex free registration

Go to the Transifex login page. The registration is free, and you can also sign in using your Google or Facebook account.

1.2. Join the Semi-automatic Classification Manual project

Go to the page https://www.transifex.com/projects/p/semi-automatic-classification-manual/ .
Select your language and click the button Join team. If your language is not listed, click the button Request language.

1.3. Translation

The translation is performed through an online application, which shows you each sentence in the original English version, and a text editor allows for the translation to your language.


2. Translation using the gettext .po files

This translation method allows you to work offline on your computer.

2.1. Download the translation files

and download the .po files of your language (you can add your language, if it is not listed), or if you are familiar with GitHub you can fork the repository.
Every file .po is a text file that refers to a section of the User Manual.

2.2. Edit the translation files

Now you can edit the .po files. It is convenient to edit those file using one of the following programs:
for instance Poedit for Windows and Mac OS X, or Gtranslator for Linux or OmegaT (Java based) for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X.
These editors allow for an easy translation of every sentence in the User Manual.
A screenshot of Gtranslator used for the translation of the Semi-Automatic Classification Plugin's User Manual

Every item in the list must be translated.
Please, notice that some sentences are in reStructuredText, therefore you should maintain this structure. Please read this introduction before editing the files. For instance |br| should be translated as |br| in every language.

2.3. Send the translation files

After you have edited the .po files you can create a pull request in GitHub or just send me the edited files.


The result of your work will be a pdf version and an online version of the manual in your language.
Many thanks to all the people who would like to contribute to the User Manual translation.
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