Translations

We use Crowdin for translations, and the intl package to load these at runtime.

Within our project we have the source strings - these are the key value pairs in the lib/l10n/intl_en.arb file.

Volunteers can add a new translation in their language corresponding to each such source key-value to our Crowdin project.

When a new source string is added, we run a GitHub workflow that

• Uploads sources to Crowdin - So any new key value pair we add in the source intl_en.arb becomes available to translators to translate.

Every monday, we run a GitHub workflow that

• Downloads translations from Crowdin - So any new translations that translators have made on the Crowdin dashboard (for existing sources) will be added to the corresponding intl_XX.arb.

The workflow also uploads existing translations and also downloads new sources from Crowdin, but these two should be no-ops.

Adding a new string

1. Add the key-value pair to lib/l10n/intl_en.arb

   Example:

   jsonCopy

   {
     "existingKey": "Existing translation",
     "newStringKey": "Your new string text"
   }
   

2. (optional) Add context or description to help translators:

   jsonCopy

   {
     "newStringKey": "Your new string text",
     "@newStringKey": {
       "description": "Context about where/how this string is used"
     }
   }
   

3. Run flutter gen-l10n to regenerate the localization files (or run flutter pub get which triggers this automatically)

4. Import the localization in your Dart file:

   dartCopy

   import "package:photos/generated/l10n.dart";
   

5. Use the string in your code:

   dartCopy

   AppLocalizations.of(context).newStringKey
   

6. Commit the changes and create a PR in which it is advised to tag at least one of the developers (i.e. laurenspriem)

7. During the next sync, the workflow will upload new source strings to Crowdin's dashboard, allowing translators to translate it.

Updating an existing string

1. Update the existing value for the key in the source intl_en.arb.
2. Commit the changes and create a PR in which it is advised to tag at least one of the developers (i.e. laurenspriem)
3. During the next sync, the workflow will upload new source strings to Crowdin's dashboard, allowing translators to translate it.

Deleting an existing string

1. Remove the key value pair from the source intl_en.arb.
2. Commit the changes and create a PR in which it is advised to tag at least one of the developers (i.e. laurenspriem)
3. During the next sync, the workflow will delete that source item from all existing translations (both in the Crowdin project and also from the other intl_XX.arb files in the repository).