Skip to main content
OCLC Support

Localization

  1. Last updated
  2. Save as PDF
Learn how to set language options, modify the website interface language files, and upload a custom website interface language file using the Localization section of the Website Configuration Tool.

CONTENTdm provides features to localize and customize the text used for website navigation, interface element labels, site and collection descriptions, and messages like confirmations and errors.

Using the Localization options, you can:

  • Offer multiple languages for CONTENTdm Website interface texts by providing a language list in the footer.
  • Set the default language.
  • Edit the default website interface language file and upload a version with your custom text.

OCLC provides support for the following languages:

Language (English) Language Language Code
Catalan Català ca
Chinese - Simplified  中文简体 zh_CN
Chinese - Traditional 中文繁體 zh_TW
Dutch Nederlands nl
English English en_US
French Français fr
German Deutsch de
Italian Italiano it
Japanese 日本語 ja
Korean 한국어 ko
Portuguese Português pt
Spanish Español es
Thai ไทย Thai th
Turkish Türkçe tr
Vietnamese Tiếng Việt vi

 Note: The newest languages added to CONTENTdm may not have the translated text strings by default. If you would like your users to be able to use those interface languages or if you would like to add a language that is not in the list above, please contact OCLC Support.

View a demo site of these languages at CONTENTdm Website.

Language

Set language options

  1. From the Website Configuration Tool, select the Global Settings or Collection-level Settings tab.
  2. From the left-side menu, select Localization > Language.
  3. Select Enable users to select language of website interface text. If left unselected, your site will not show the language choices in the footer.
     Note: If the end user selects a language from the footer, the Website will remember that language selection in a cookie.
  4. In the Available website interface languages section, select the languages to be available for your users in the footer.
  5. Confirm selection of the Default Website Interface Language. This is the language that is displayed unless the user changes the language from the footer. 
  6. Click Save, then choose to Preview or Publish.

Modify website interface language files

CONTENTdm makes use of the industry standard TMX format, an XML specification, for localization files. CONTENTdm uses these XML files to store the interface language strings. If you find the default translations provided not sufficient for your language needs, you can download these XML files, edit them, and upload them. Remember to make backup copies of the TMX file before changing and uploading a new file.

You can edit most of the interface text at the global and collection level. There are two XML files at the Global level, and one XML file for each collection at the Collection-level:

  • Global interface text strings are found in cdmLanguage.xml on the Global level setting.
  • Global Website Configuration Tool strings are found in cdmLanguageConfigs.xml on the Global Settings tab.
  • Collection Website Configuration Tool strings are found in collectionAliasLanguageConfigs.xml on the Collections-level.

Download website interface language file or website interface config language file

  1. From the Website Configuration Tool, select the Global Settings or Collection-level Settings tab.
  2. From the left-side menu, select Localization > Language.
  3. From the Global Setting, you can download:
    • The current website interface language file
    • The current website interface config language file
  4. From the Collection-level Settings, you can download:
    • The current website interface config language file

 Note: The downloaded file is the version currently displaying on your website. If you have customized this file and want to revert to the released version, you can contact OCLC Support and follow the instructions for uploading below.

Edit a custom website interface language file

Any XML editor can be used to edit the TMX files. A TMX-specific editor is less error-prone and provides editing features particularly useful for localization.

 Notes: 

  • TMX editors will allow you to delete keys, but we do not advise doing so with CONTENTdm's TMX files. Unused keys and language codes will be ignored by the CONTENTdm Website and the empty keys should be left in the TMX files to ensure future compatibility.
  • The cdm_language.xml file must be UTF-8 encoded.

Upload a custom website interface language file or a config language file

 Caution: Be sure to validate your XML file every time before uploading. XML validators are available online. If you upload an XML file that is malformed, your website will be completely down and the Website Configuration Tool will not load properly for you to re-upload a different file to fix the problem. You will have to contact OCLC Support to revert to an earlier version.

After you edit the XML file, upload your file using the Website Configuration Tool.

  1. From the Website Configuration Tool, select the Global Settings or Collection-level Settings tab.
  2. From the left-side menu, select Localization > Language.
  3. Upload the edited TMX/XML file through the appropriate browse button.
  4. Click Save, then choose to Preview or Publish.