Android XML Import / Export for Mobile

Within the Localize dashboard we provide you with an ability to import and export phrases and translations in various file formats.

You can also import/export Glossary terms.

To see a detailed overview of how you can use Localize to translate an Android app, click here.

Learn how to use the Android XML file format to import/export content into/out of the Localize Translation Management System by watching this video.

Importing / Exporting

To see a general explanation of how importing and exporting works in Localize, click here. Be sure to adhere to the file requirements below so that Localize will be able to successfully read your files.

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Import First!

Android XML files for the source language must first be imported into the Localize dashboard so that the Resource IDs from your app are added as phraseKeys in the phrase in the Localize dashboard. Then upon subsequent exports, the phraseKeys will be maintained.

Exporting phrases for which there is no phraseKey will result in the source language string being used as the Resource ID which is probably not a desirable outcome!!!

File Requirements

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UTF-8 Character Encoding

Be sure that you are using the UTF-8 character encoding when working with the external files you are creating for importing purposes, so that special characters like accents are encoded properly.

Android XML is a format that's used to exchange data between participants in a translation project.
Use the following sample for guidance when creating your Android XML file for importing into Localize.

The following data is required:

• <resources> element: parent element of all other elements that follow
• <string name="string_ID"> element: a string in your app
  • The name attribute is required, and is the resource ID of that string in your app (Localize calls this a phrase key).

<?xml version = "1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<resources>
  <string name="submit_button">Submit</string>
  <string name="first_name_field">First Name</string>
  <string name="last_name_field">Last Name</string>
</resources>

Supporting Plurals

Localize supports plural forms of phrases in files that are imported and exported in a Mobile App project. Once in the dashboard, you can edit the various plural forms of the source phrase and translations.

See the Pluralized Phrases in Mobile App Projects doc for details.

You can read more about how Android apps handle plurals in the Sting resources doc.

For reference, here is a sample Android XML file with plurals:

<resources>
    <plurals name="numberOfAirplanes">
        <item quantity='zero'>There were no airplanes in the sky today.</item>
        <item quantity='one'>There was an airplane in the sky today.</item>
        <item quantity='two'>There were a couple of airplanes in the sky today.</item>
        <item quantity='few'>There were a few airplanes in the sky today.</item>
        <item quantity='many'>There were %d airplanes in the sky today.</item>
        <item quantity='other'>There were %d airplanes in the sky today.</item>
    </plurals>
    <plurals name="numberOfBugs">
        <item quantity='zero'>There were no bugs on the plant.</item>
        <item quantity='one'>There was one bug on the plant.</item>
        <item quantity='many'>There were %d bugs on the plant.</item>
    </plurals>
    <plurals name="numberOfSongsAvailable">
        <item quantity='one'>One song found.</item>
        <item quantity='other'>%d songs found.</item>
    </plurals>
    <string name="hello">Hello!</string>
</resources>

Troubleshooting

If your import fails an error message will be displayed. Later, you can also view the error here under Import History.