SUGGESTION : tool to make the translation work easier

[Teesee]

Hey there translators,

 

I came up with an idea which could make the translation work a bit more enjoyable. Not that it's a pain right now, but it hurts the eyes ^^

 

What's the idea ?

 

I personally use notepad++ to edit the .txt files containing the translations. And I thought of a tool which would work like this :

• You open the .txt file with the tool
• A window like notepad would open, with the usual tabs like file, edition, etc at the top. In the window itself, you'd have at least two columns.On the left, an uneditable column showing the "command name" in order to know what's being translated. On the right, one or more editable columns showing the actual translation for your language which you can then complete and / or modify as you wish. There might be multiple columns when there are strings of text separated by formatting stuff like BR or LINE which shouldn't be modified
• If you save your work, it keeps the .txt format because basically, the tool would be a "selective" .txt files editor. You'd be adble to put it back in the appropriate folder and use it as it is.

This shopped image speaks for itself, if my explanations suck

 

 

What's the point ?

 

Pros :

• It avoids modifying a command line and getting translation errors
• I think it would be easier to quickly see what's translated and how it is
• Editing is made easier, having not to care about the formatting which wouldn't be displayed
• It prevents you from turning blind while looking at these small text lines in notepad

Cons :

• You cannot edit the formatting - but it's a translating tool, after all
• You'd have to use notepad or a similar software if you need to write missing code lines added with a new build - if this ever happens

 

How would the tool work ?

 

I have no proficiency in programming that sort of tools, but my guess would be that :

• The tool looks at every line in the txt file
• For every line, it displays everything before the "=" sign in the first uneditable column
• Then, a new editable column is created for everything detected between two " "
• Anything edited in those columns is directly put into the .txt file

 

If you think that tool would be a nice thing to have, give a shout, else, you can also argue that's some programming time wasted on something very specific. Maybe it already exists ? And if you're both interested and skilled in programming, why not give it shot ?

 

Teesee, for the French translation