How to translate Passbolt
There are many ways to contribute to Passbolt, and one of them is to help translate the application into your language. Contributions are always welcome, and different tasks can be addressed depending on your profile. As a translator you could help translate strings or proofread the translated strings. As a technical profile you could help identify missing translations and externalise them in the source code.
General guidelines
Source language
Passbolt has been developed in British English and so this language is not considered as a language to translate Passbolt into. If you discovered an error in this language or a string not available for translation:
- and you have a technical profile please refer to the how to externalise strings section.
- or you do not have a technical profile, please open a ticket on the community forum.
Tone of voice
It depends mainly on the language, but translators should always keep in mind that the application shouldn't offend its users. By instance, in French "you" can be translated in two different manners, the chosen form defines the relationship one person has with another, and choosing the wrong form can be perceived negatively. In the French context the translation should always prefer the use of the formal formulation such as "vous" for "you".
Inclusion
Inclusion is a Passbolt value. Translations which exclude people based on their gender, ethnicity or any discriminative attributes must be avoided. Neutral formulation should always be preferred when possible. For example, we use "they" instead of "she" or "he". While this might not always be possible in your language, try to find a gender-neutral form.
Getting started with translation
The translation of Passbolt is entirely managed by CrowdIn and everybody can access it to propose a contribution.
Connect to CrowdIn
You will need first to create a CrowdIn account or connect with a third party account (Google, GitHub ...) to be able to contribute to the translations. Go to https://passbolt.crowdin.com and sign in or sign up if you don't have an account yet.
Select your language
Find the language you want to contribute to on the CrowdIn Passbolt project page at https://passbolt.crowdin.com/passbolt.
If your language is missing, and you would like to promote it, please open a ticket on the community forum.
Passbolt is currently translated only in French, however other languages such as German and Spanish are already in the works and will soon be available for translators and proofreaders.
Translate strings or fix a translation error
Once you have selected your language, you will be redirected to the CrowdIn translation editor.
Select a string that is not yet translated (■) in the left panel ①. You can of course have access to all translated strings (■) in the very same panel if you want to propose another translation.
Translate the selected string from the central panel ②. CrowdIn will propose you suggestions ③ to help translate but also to align with the tone and choice of words used in the application (suggestions marked with Passbolt's Translation memory).
If the strings to be translated are not clear you can request a context ④, the community or a translation manager will answer your question and can provide you with a screenshot where the strings are used if necessary.
Access to the glossary or translation memory search tools are available if necessary in the right panel ⑤ of the application.