languages.xml

What does this file do?

This file contains all the visible text used throughout 20/20 DataShed. The text "strings" in the file are organized into "language" nodes whereby language nodes can be duplicated then translated into any language supported by the Windows Server operating system.

A single language node within this file is divided into two sections:

Public
Admin

The "public" strings are used throughout the public pages of 20/20 DataShed. The "admin" strings are used throughout the administrative area of 20/20 DataShed.

20/20 DataShed may then be presented in any language contained in this file.

Permissions and Security

Server

This file may inherit the permissions from its parent folder; but at the very least it requires that the IUSR_<localmachinename> (or equivalent) user account have NTFS permissions to read the file.

For comprehensive NTFS file/folder permission settings, please see File/Folder Security (NTFS Permissions).

Internal

This file does not require internal security measures.

How to Maintain

This file does not require any maintenance. However, if you have customized this file or created new language nodes (for translations) then we recommend you keep a local copy or backup copy of the revised/altered file.

Included In (Files)

The contents of this file are used by the _globals.asp and _locals.asp files to produce text, labels, documentation, etc. throughout the pages/interfaces in 20/20 DataShed.

This activity is not related to SSI (Server-Side Includes), but rather the contents are retrieved as necessary using the XML DOM (Extensible Markup Language Document Object Model).

Inherits (Content)

This file inherits information from _globals.asp and _locals.asp as necessary. However, the information available at runtime is dependent on which page or interface is currently being viewed.

The information is used to process "tokens" that may be included in the language strings.

Other Features

20/20 DataShed can be instructed (for debugging or development purposes) to not write text to the page. This is a feature of _globals.asp rather than languages.xml, but it is related.

How to Customize

Note that this file must be a valid XML document. If it is not, or contains a syntax error, then you will experience errors throughout 20/20 DataShed.

We have written an article which demonstrates how one user has customized the text used on the "login.asp" page. Read the article to learn more about customizing this file.

Making Small Changes

Small changes can be made to this file with relative ease. For example, if you would like to adapt the text for your local marketplace or industry, perhaps by changing a word or altering a sentence, then follow these basic instructions.

Access your web site with an FTP application such as CuteFTP, FTP Explorer, or Windows "My Network Places".
Download "languages.xml" from the templates folder to your local computer.
Open "languages.xml" in a text editor such as Notepad. We recommend that you do not use a WYSIWYG editor like Frontpage or Dreamweaver for this purpose. Also note that we do not recommend that you open this file in an XML editor (like Altova XML Spy or Visual Studio).
Locate the text, sentence, word, or paragraph that you would like to alter (perhaps use the "Find..." tool in Notepad.
Change the text, sentence, word, or paragraph as necessary.
Save the file.
Upload the file to your web site using the FTP application and overwrite the existing "languages.xml" file.
The process is now complete. The new "languages.xml" file will be loaded the next time the web servers cache (Application Cache) is refreshed. You can refresh the application cache manually so that your changes are implemented immediately: visit the objApplication=RemoveAll section in _globals.asp.
Note: At this point, if you have created a syntax error in the XML file, you will see an error message on any/every page produced by 20/20 DataShed. Fix the error, or undo your changes, or upload the original (working) copy immediately -- then refresh the application cache again.

Creating New Languages or Translations

This is a broad topic that is covered in this article: How To Translate 20/20 DataShed.

Warning

If you must access this file using another product or software, do so at your own risk; such activity is not supported by our license agreement and may void 20/20 Application's technical support obligations.