How to Localize Fonts

In a VPME application, forms and controls that display proportional text have a default FontName property value of “Arial” and a default FontSize property value of “9”. Controls that display data require non-proportional text, and accordingly, their default FontName property value is “Courier New” while the default FontSize property value is also “9”.

Sometimes the default VPME fonts are not appropriate for a particular language or may not even be available on computers that run in a particular language. If that’s the case, you can use the String and String Translations records to localize the fonts.

Ø To localize (translate) an application font

1.   String Manager: Open the String Manager from your application’s Admin menu.

2.   New: Click the New toolbar button. VPME adds a blank record.

3.   String ID: In the String ID text box, enter “FontName,FontSize” (without the quotes) where FontName is the value of the FontName property that you want to localize and FontSize is the value of the FontSize property to be localized.

·       For example, you would enter “Arial,9” (without the quotes) to localize the font on forms and controls with a FontName of Arial and a FontSize of 9.

4.   Use ID: If you are localizing the font for an object that has a value in its i_cUse_ID property, enter that value in the Use ID text box.

·       As its name implies, the Use Id field lets you identify the usage of the string. The Use ID lets you create alternative translations for the same string. See the preceding section for the details on how to use the Use ID.

5.   Comments: Enter any comments you may have about the font or its usage. Optional.

6.   Locations: If you like, enter the locations in your application where the font is used. Optional.

7.   Save: Click the Save toolbar button.

8.   Repeat for Each Use ID: Repeat steps 2 to 7 to create a String record for each i_cUse_ID property value associated with an object that needs the same font localized.

·       For example, if you have forms that use Arial,9 and if you have set unique i_cUse_ID property values for, say, three of the forms, you would need to create four String Records to localize the Arial,9 font for the forms. One String record would have a blank Use ID for the forms with a blank i_cUse_ID property, and the other three String records would have the unique i_cUse_ID property values.

9.   String Translations: After you have created all the String records you need for the font and associated Use ID’s, select one of the String records you created on the String Manager form. Click the Translations button. VPME displays the String Translations form filtered to the String record displayed on the String Manager form. For each language for which you need to localize the font, enter “FontName,FontSize” (without the quotes) in the Translated String box where FontName is the name of the font that you want to use for the language and FontSize is the size of the font for the language.

10. Repeat for Each String Record: Repeat step 9 for each String Record that you created in steps 2 to 7.

The String record you create are stored in the Strings table, and String Translations records are created in the Strings Translations table for each language in your application.

Windows Font Localization

The Display Properties window in Windows controls the font of other items in an application.

·       Tooltips: The Tooltip item setting controls the font of tooltips.

·       Active Title Bar: The Active Title Bar item setting controls the font of the application window (_SCREEN) caption and form captions.

Tip: The Inactive Title Bar item setting is automatically set when you select an Active Title Bar setting.

More:

How to Localize Report Fonts