New languages can be added to Kartris with a few simple steps.
1. Add the New Language to Kartris in the Back End
Go to Regional Setup » Lang. & Email Setup. You should see the present languages listed. Click 'New' and fill in the language details.
Care should be taken with the Language Culture and Language UI Culture fields. The two-letter language codes must be according to IS0-639-1. In the case of the Language Culture, this is followed the the specific country version (en-GB, en-US, pt-PT, pt-BR, etc.). Note that the two letter language code does not necessarily correspond to the two letter country code, even when the language is identified almost exclusively with the country. For example, Sweden's country code is 'se', but the Swedish language is designated 'sv'. So you should always double check the language codes you enter for new languages.
If you wish to set your store to the new language by default (rather than adding it as an extra language), edit the 'English' record with your new language's details, and then use the steps below to import the language pack to that language.
2. Obtaining the Language Pack
Our web site downloads page includes a link to the GoogleDocs spreadsheet that holds the language pack. Clicking on this document will open up the spreadsheet (read-only) in your browser - no login or Google account is required. From here, you can go to File » Download As » Excel - this is the format that the Data Tool can read.
Note: Some translations in the document are originally automated through Google Translate, although we are working to have all of them manually reviewed and revised. Any input to improve the quality is appreciated. If you are interested in a language that is not featured and would like to assist us in proof-reading it, please let us know and we can add the column to produce the raw translation.
3. Importing the Language Strings
Open up the Data Tool (available free from our downloads page). Select 'Import/Export language pack file'. You must then select the database you wish to import the strings to. When you hit 'Test Connection' (and it connects successfully), the next step allows you to choose the task. Select the first option, to import strings. From the dropdown menu, select the language you wish to import these strings into. If it is not here already, then ensure you completed step 1 above.
Once selected, select 'sheet1'.
From the list of columns shown, you can choose the appropriate one that corresponds to the language you are setting up. The description can be NONE (typically we don't translate the descriptions of language strings, most are blank even in the default English).
Hit 'Execute' and the Data Tool will start the process of importing the language strings.
4. Further Information on Multiple Languages in Kartris
You can upload an image such as a flag for each language from the page used in step 1 above. To set the front end to use this, see the frontend.languages.display config setting.
Each back end login can use their preferred language. Go to Configuration » Logins to set preferences and permissions for admin users. Language changes will only take effect the next time the user logs in.
Note that when creating categories, products or any other items, the default language is required. Any admin user viewing in a language other than the default language will only be able to see existing items if they have a name in that language. An admin viewing in the default language can see all items, since all items must have a name in the default language. Therefore it is advantageous for admin users to use the default language where possible.