Add header link to help for translations/localisation

[marcuspollio]

Hi ! Here is a small update to header.php to include a link for people interested to help in translations/localisation.

The change included in this first commit is a link to the FreeCAD wiki page that has some informations about translations in FreeCAD overall (rather than a direct link to Crowdin).

Another option to discuss, proposed by @kaktusus, is to create a new page for the website, as a welcome place for new translators that could provide an in-depth description of the translation of various aspects of the FreeCAD ecosystem (GUI, docs, manual, Wiki, website, etc.), first in general and then in more detail.

What do you think ?

Note that this PR is the 2nd attempt and replaces the previous one of yesterday XD (sorry for the noise, still learning...)

[yorikvanhavre]

Excellent! I'll just wait for you to remove the "Draft" status and we can merge.

Of course we could turn this into a page on this site, but the wiki is still our main documentation tool, and things should go as much as possible there I think.

[kaktusus]

Of course we could turn this into a page on this site, but the wiki is still our main documentation tool, and things should go as much as possible there I think.

I had a small introduction in mind. Such a first contact general outline and not much information. :bulb:

I am just now working on a short text for review. :wink:

[kaktusus]

WELCOME. If you've come this far, it means that FreeCAD is more than just a work tool for you. Obviously you are already on the next step, or curiosity brought you here (nice). If it makes you happy, you can contribute and become a member of the interpreter community. FreeCAD's graphical user interface is currently being translated into 72 languages from around the world. A separate task is the translation of FreeCAD's Wiki documentation. However, these two tasks are closely intertwined, and you must ensure that the translations are consistent. After all, the documentation is supposed to describe the graphical interface of the program.

Here you will quickly learn how to become a member of the translator community in each of the areas presented.

1. GUI translation for FreeCAD is done on Crowdin [link - https://crowdin.com/project/freecad]. So create an account to become a translator. The next step is to join the FreeCAD project. The project manager will process your request. Crowdin has a certain hierarchy that you should become familiar with [link - https://support.crowdin.com/modifying-project-participants-roles/]. Its interface is extensive and allows you to work comfortably, track results and view statistics. Each user can also customize the appearance of the web interface and the way strings are displayed. It is also possible to work locally without using the web editor. Some nationalities have formed teams of translators to improve the quality of translations, share insights, and support each other. Such communication is very positive and welcome even in the international field. Teamwork is more fruitful.

2. Documentation translation for FreeCAD is done on the wiki platform. To become a documentation translator, create an account on the FreeCAD forum and follow the guidelines from this post [link - https://forum.freecad.org/viewtopic.php?style=4&t=6830]. The Wiki has a number of special pages to help track progress and provide access to specific information about documents, the translator community, or various statistics and summaries. These are sometimes very helpful, for example when looking for documents that need translation updates.

All of this can be explored as you embark on a new adventure as you enter this interesting world.

The standard place for international translators to communicate is the FreeCAD forum. Translators have their own corner [link - https://forum.freecad.org/viewforum.php?style=4&f=45]. Discussions also take place in the subforums of individual nationalities. The Crowdin platform also has chat functionality, but it is not very popular with everyone.

Some useful links:

General manifesto with basic and practical information for the wiki - https://wiki.freecad.org/WikiPages Introduction to Crowdin for translators - https://support.crowdin.com/online-editor/

If you are a newcomer, start by working with active translators of your nationality in the area you are interested in. Have fun and enjoy your time among the cool people building the international FreeCAD community.

:wink:

this is how I see it ... for this I have some pictures prepared :smile:

[marcuspollio]

Hi @yorikvanhavre ! Thanks for having a look.

If it's ok, I ping @chennes too as he commented on the previous PR and he's maintainer for translations as per the Handbook. I'm obviously ok with whatever decision you guys take.

I think @kaktusus 's proposal is valuable and could help, after a bit of back and forth, to update the wiki's corresponding page.

Also, a broader question unrelated: as this is my first PR, for the next times (small modifications here and there, for the website or FreeCAD), should I first create an issue with design and then PR (à la Blender), or a post in the forum under PR, or ping the related maintainer in chat, or directly post the PR here as for this one ? I did not find a best practice advice in the Handbook or elsewhere.

[kaktusus]

It is worth ensuring that you can add a language code to the link at the end. In other words, so that the link can be translated.

I started a topic in the translators' forum regarding a small note on the home page: https://forum.freecad.org/viewtopic.php?style=4&t=81627

[marcuspollio]

I'm not sure if I must update "lang/homepage.pot" as well ? Some strings belonging to header.php are mentioned in this .pot file ("How to help", "Donate / Sponsor", "Report a bug", "Make a pull request") and some are not mentioned ("Jobs and funding", "Contribution guidelines", "Developers handbook").

Edit: After checking, commit eb529dd did also only add the links to the php file. The translation for these strings was added in commit 1cae871 with the changes from Crowdin. So I guess this PR is ok now ?

[kaktusus]

links "without translation":

1. Features page

   • https://wiki.freecad.org/Feature_list
   • all links to "Release Notes xx" pages

2. Downloads page

   • https://wiki.freecad.org/Std_AddonMgr this link also needs to be updated
   • link mentioned by David https://wiki.freecad.org/Release_notes_0.21

[yorikvanhavre]

@kaktusus I think there are too many different issues in this PR now, I'd prefer to first merge this one then make separate PRs for the other subjects.

@marcuspollio no need to update the .pot files. We do that manually from time to time anyway...

Regarding PRs, ideally we ask for PRs to solve a particular issue, which should have been opened before. But it's not always adequate and when it's small like this one, you can skip that step and just make the PR.

[kaktusus]

I understand it is a question of organisation. Now it's starting to get messy.