Thank you for contributing translations to Droidspaces! This guide will help you translate the app into your language.

As a translator, you only need access to these two files:

• values/strings.xml - All text strings used in the app
• values/plurals.xml - Plural forms (if present)

You need to know your language's ISO 639-1 code. Common examples:

• English: en (default, no directory needed)
• Spanish: es
• French: fr
• German: de
• Japanese: ja
• Chinese (Simplified): zh-rCN
• Chinese (Traditional): zh-rTW
• Arabic: ar
• Hindi: hi
• Russian: ru
• Sinhala: si
• Tamil: ta

Where to find language codes:

• ISO 639-1 Language Codes, Link 2
• Android Locale Codes
• For region-specific variants: {language}-r{REGION} (e.g., zh-rCN, zh-rTW)

1. Create a directory named values-{language_code}:

   • For Spanish: values-es
   • For French: values-fr
   • For Japanese: values-ja
   • etc.

2. Copy the English files into your new directory:

   • Copy values/strings.xml → values-{language_code}/strings.xml
   • Copy values/plurals.xml → values-{language_code}/plurals.xml (if it exists)
   • Important: After copying, remove app_name and app_version strings from your translated strings.xml file - these are unified to the main file and must not be included in translations!

Open your copied strings.xml file and translate all the text content. Keep everything else exactly the same!

Example:

<!-- English (values/strings.xml) -->
<string name="welcome_title">Welcome to Droidspaces</string>
<string name="get_started">Get Started</string>

<!-- Spanish (values-es/strings.xml) -->
<string name="welcome_title">Bienvenido a Droidspaces</string>
<string name="get_started">Comenzar</string>

Important Notes:

• Keep "Droidspaces" untranslated in all languages - it's the project name and should remain as "Droidspaces" everywhere.
• Do NOT add app_name and app_version to your translated XML files - These strings are unified to the main values/strings.xml file. You must completely remove them from your translated files - do not include them at all!

Submit your translated files via:

• Create a Pull Request
• Issue with attached files
• Or contact the maintainer directly

1. Keep all name attributes identical

   • The name="..." part must match exactly between English and your translation
   • Only translate the text content inside the tags

2. Preserve formatting placeholders

   • Keep %1$s, %1$d, %2$s, etc. exactly as they are
   • These are replaced by the app with actual values
   • Example:

     <!-- English -->
     <string name="container_status">Container %1$s is %2$s</string>
     
     <!-- Your translation (correct) -->
     <string name="container_status">Container %1$s ist %2$s</string>
     
     <!-- WRONG - don't change placeholders! -->
     <string name="container_status">Container %s ist %s</string>

3. Use UTF-8 encoding

   • Ensure your XML file starts with: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   • This is required for special characters (accents, non-Latin scripts, etc.)

4. Translate plurals.xml correctly

   • If plurals.xml exists, translate all <item> entries
   • Keep the quantity attributes (one, other, few, many, etc.)
   • Your language may have different plural rules than English

1. Don't change string names - The name="..." attribute must stay identical
2. Don't change placeholders - Keep %1$s, %1$d, etc. exactly as they are
3. Don't translate "Droidspaces" - Keep the project name "Droidspaces" as-is in all translations
4. Don't add app_name and app_version to your translated XML files - These strings are unified to the main values/strings.xml file. You must completely remove them from your translated files - do not include them at all!
5. Don't remove strings - Translate all strings, even if some seem unused (except app_name and app_version - these must be completely omitted from translated files)
6. Don't add new strings - Only translate existing ones
7. Don't change XML structure - Keep the same format and comments

After translation, your files should look like:

res/
├── values/              # English (default)
│   ├── strings.xml
│   └── plurals.xml
├── values-es/           # Spanish
│   ├── strings.xml
│   └── plurals.xml
├── values-fr/           # French
│   ├── strings.xml
│   └── plurals.xml
└── values-ja/           # Japanese
    ├── strings.xml
    └── plurals.xml

1. Context matters - Read comments in the XML file for context
2. Be consistent - Use the same translation for the same English term throughout
3. Ask questions - If something is unclear, ask the maintainer

• If you don't translate a string, the app will show English text (fallback)
• This won't crash the app, but users will see mixed languages

• Use proper Unicode characters for your language
• Ensure your text editor saves files as UTF-8
• Test that special characters display correctly

• Different languages have different plural rules
• English uses: one and other
• Some languages need: one, few, many, other
• Research your language's plural rules and add all necessary forms

If you have questions or need help:

1. Check this guide first
2. Look at existing translations for examples
3. Contact the project maintainer

Thank you for helping make Droidspaces available in more languages! 🌍