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Meridix uses a modified approach based on the default localization support in Microsoft.NET using RESX resource files. The RESX files are XML files in with a specific format scheme and each group of resources (translations) consists of a base file with the default and fallback language which in Meridix is English and additional translated files for different languages.
This means that if a localizable string can not be found in the currently selected language pack (ex: Swedish or Danish) the default English resource is used instead as a fallback value.
A resource files contains a key and a value and an optional comment that is only used during development the translation to help the translator and is not used by the application.
Read more about the RESX file format here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ekyft91f%28v=vs.80%29.aspx
The combination of the Resource file path with the key makes up a resource value. Ex: ResourceSets/ui/pages/Login.aspx.resx contains a key named lbnLoginResource1.Text which is used for the text on the login button on the login page.
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Since the translations are stored in a known standardized format there are several ways how they can be translated. The simplest but maybe not the most efficient solution is to export all the values to an a Excel file and work with the keys and translations there. But there are several other open source tools that can assist the translator while translating the information as well as helping to create with the creation of files for a new languagelanguages.
Tool: Excel
The simplest way to working with the resources is to get the list and work with the values there. When the translation process is complete the Excel file is sent back to Meridix that reintegrates the translated values to the RESX files.
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Tool: Zeta resource editor
A An open source (free) tool that Meridix uses internally is the Zeta resource editor found at http://www.zeta-resource-editor.com. This tool provides great assistance when working with the RESX files, Meridix also has specific solution files defined for the tool that groups the resources so that information that is visible to end users (non admin) are grouped in a way that lets a translator work with a specific part of the system in isolation in cases where the complete UI should not be translated.
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And if you expand the End user section the resources is displayed per RESX file sets (base + ex: sv and dk files)
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Tool: SimpleResxEditor
Another open source (free) tool is SimpleResxEditor found at http://code.google.com/p/simpleresxeditor/ which also works with the RESX files directly. But this tool only allows the translator to work with only one resource set at a time.
