# Appendix 3: Translating XOOPS to Local Language XOOPS 2.7.0 ships with English language files only. Translations into other languages are maintained by the community and distributed through GitHub and the various local XOOPS support sites. ## Where to find existing translations * **GitHub** — community translations are increasingly published as separate repositories under the [XOOPS organization](https://github.com/XOOPS) and on individual contributors' accounts. Search GitHub for `xoops-language-` or browse the XOOPS organization for current packages. * **Local XOOPS support sites** — many regional XOOPS communities publish translations on their own sites. Visit and follow the links to local communities. * **Module translations** — translations for individual community modules typically live next to the module itself in the `XoopsModules25x` GitHub organization (the `25x` in the name is historical; modules there are maintained for both XOOPS 2.5.x and 2.7.x). If a translation for your language already exists, drop the language directories into your XOOPS install (see "How to install a translation" below). ## What needs to be translated XOOPS 2.7.0 keeps language files next to the code that consumes them. A complete translation covers all of these locations: * **Core** — `htdocs/language/english/` — site-wide constants used by every page (login, common errors, dates, mail templates, etc.). * **Installer** — `htdocs/install/language/english/` — strings shown by the installation wizard. Translate these *before* running the installer if you want a localized install experience. * **System module** — `htdocs/modules/system/language/english/` — by far the largest set; covers the entire admin Control Panel. * **Bundled modules** — each of `htdocs/modules/pm/language/english/`, `htdocs/modules/profile/language/english/`, `htdocs/modules/protector/language/english/`, and `htdocs/modules/debugbar/language/english/`. * **Themes** — a handful of themes ship their own language files; check `htdocs/themes//language/` if it exists. A "core only" translation is the minimum useful unit and corresponds to the first two bullets above. ## How to translate 1. Copy the `english/` directory next to it and rename the copy to your language. The directory name should be the lowercase English name of the language (`spanish`, `german`, `french`, `japanese`, `arabic`, etc.). ``` htdocs/language/english/ → htdocs/language/spanish/ ``` 2. Open each `.php` file in the new directory and translate the **string values** inside the `define()` calls. Do **not** change the constant names — they are referenced from PHP code throughout the core. ```php // Before: define('_CM_COMDELETED', 'Comment(s) deleted.'); define('_CM_COMDELETENG', 'Could not delete comment.'); define('_CM_DELETESELECT', 'Delete all its child comments?'); // After (Spanish): define('_CM_COMDELETED', 'Comentario(s) eliminado(s).'); define('_CM_COMDELETENG', 'No se pudo eliminar el comentario.'); define('_CM_DELETESELECT', '¿Eliminar también todos sus comentarios secundarios?'); ``` 3. **Save every file as UTF-8 *****without***** BOM.** XOOPS 2.7.0 uses `utf8mb4` end-to-end (database, sessions, output) and rejects files with a byte-order mark. In Notepad++ this is the **"UTF-8"** option, *not* "UTF-8-BOM". In VS Code it is the default; just confirm the encoding in the status bar. 4. Update the language and charset metadata at the top of each file to match your language: ```php // _LANGCODE: es // _CHARSET : UTF-8 // Translator: Your Name ``` `_LANGCODE` should be the [ISO 639-1](https://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/code_list.php) code for your language. `_CHARSET` is always `UTF-8` in XOOPS 2.7.0 — there is no longer an ISO-8859-1 variant. 5. Repeat for the installer, the System module, and any bundled modules you need. ## How to install a translation If you obtained a finished translation as a directory tree: 1. Copy each `/` directory into the matching `language/english/` parent in your XOOPS install. For example, copy `language/spanish/` into `htdocs/language/`, `install/language/spanish/` into `htdocs/install/language/`, and so on. 2. Make sure file ownership and permissions are readable by the web server. 3. Either select the new language at install time (the wizard scans `htdocs/language/` for available languages) or, on an existing site, change the language in **Admin → System → Preferences → General Settings**. ## Sharing your translation back Please contribute your translation back to the community. 1. Create a GitHub repository (or fork an existing language repository if one exists for your language). 2. Use a clear name such as `xoops-language-` (e.g. `xoops-language-es`, `xoops-language-pt-br`). 3. Mirror the XOOPS directory structure inside your repository so files line up with where they get copied: ``` xoops-language-es/ ├── language/spanish/(files).php ├── install/language/spanish/(files).php └── modules/system/language/spanish/(files).php ``` 4. Include a `README.md` documenting: * Language name and ISO code * XOOPS version compatibility (e.g. `XOOPS 2.7.0+`) * Translator and credits * Whether the translation is core-only or covers bundled modules 5. Open a pull request against the relevant module/core repository on GitHub or post an announcement on so the community can find it. > **Note** > > If your language requires changes to the core for date or calendar formatting, include those changes in the package as well. Languages with right-to-left scripts (Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Urdu) work out of the box in XOOPS 2.7.0 — RTL support was added in this release and individual themes pick it up automatically. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://xoops.gitbook.io/xoops-installation-guide/appendixes/appendix-3-translating-xoops-to-local-language.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.