LocalizationTable
A LocalizationTable is a database of translations. It contains source strings and translations for various languages. It is used with the Translator and LocalizationService auto-translator system to control text translations in the game. LocalizationTables are designed to be treated as resources, like a texture or a script. They are not optimized to be modified at runtime. Changing the contents of a table will cause the entire contents of the table to be replicated to all players.
LocalizationTable Entries
Each LocalizationTable contains a set of entries. Each entry contains the translations of the text, along with some special fields:
- Key is an optional unique key for fast hash lookups in code. If it is non-empty it must be unique in the table.
- Source is the original text in the source language that will be used by the LocalizationService automatic text replacement system to match GUI text and render a translation instead. The Source field can be filled by the text capture tools, or can be set manually. For key-based lookups the Source value can be used as a translation for LocalizationTable.SourceLocaleId if the entry doesn't have a translation for that locale. If Source is empty then the entry will not be used by the automatic replacement system.
- Context is the full Instance name for the object that the text appeared on. Context is used for disambiguation by the automatic text replacement system. When multiple matches for the Source are found, the system will pick the best match by matching backwards from the end of the Context string. There are other more robust ways to handle disambiguation available as well, like using multiple tables with GuiBase2d.RootLocalizationTable.
- Example is whatever you want it to be. If the text capture tool guessed some parameters for a string the Example field will contain an example of them used in context.
All of these fields are optional, but at least either Key or Source must be non-empty. No two entries can have the same Key, Source, and Context.
See Translating Dynamic Content for more information.
Code Samples
local LocalizationService = game:GetService("LocalizationService")
local function createLocalizationTable(entries)
local localTable = Instance.new("LocalizationTable")
localTable.DevelopmentLanguage = LocalizationService.SystemLocaleId
localTable:SetEntries(entries)
return localTable
end
local entries = {
{
Key = "Hello_World", -- The 'expressionKey' to be used with GetString
Values = { -- A dictionary of keys corresponding to IETF language tags, and their translations.
["ru"] = " !", -- Russian
["fr"] = "Bonjour le monde!", -- French
["de"] = "Hallo Welt!", -- German
["en-US"] = "Hello world!", -- English
["it"] = "Ciao mondo!", -- Italian
["pt-BR"] = "Ol Mundo!", -- Portuguese
["ja"] = "", -- Japanese
["es"] = "Hola Mundo!", -- Spanish
}
}
}
local helloWorldTable = createLocalizationTable(entries)
print(helloWorldTable:GetString("en-US", "Hello_World"))Summary
Properties
The locale of source strings.
Methods
Returns an array of dictionaries, where each dictionary represents an entry of localization data.
Returns a Translator for entries in this LocalizationTable, in the specified language.
Removes an entry from the LocalizationTable, using the specified key, source, and context to narrow down the specific entry to be removed.
Removes a single language translation from the LocalizationTable, using the provided key, source, context, and localeId to narrow down the specific entry to be removed.
Removes all translations from the LocalizationTable with the specified localeId.
Sets the contents of the LocalizationTable.
Sets the Context field of a LocalizationTable entry to newContext, using the specified key, source, and context to narrow down the entry that will have this change applied.
Sets the Example field of a LocalizationTable entry to example, using the specified key, source, and context to narrow down the entry that will have this change applied.
Sets the Key field of a LocalizationTable entry to newKey, using the specified key, source, and context to narrow down the entry that will have this change applied.
Sets the Source field of a LocalizationTable entry to newSource, using the specified key, source, and context to narrow down the entry that will have this change applied.
Sets the text of the specified localeId in a LocalizationTable entry, using the specified key, source, and context to narrow down the entry that will have this change applied.
Properties
SourceLocaleId
The Roblox locale of the input key strings for this table, for example "en-us" or "es-es." This is typically the "development language" of the game. For a Translator that merges multiple LocalizationTable objects, it's the LocaleId of the Default LocalizationTable. Defaults to "en-us".
Methods
GetEntries
The GetEntries function returns an array of dictionaries contained in a given LocalizationTable, where each dictionary represents an entry of localization data.
To set the entries of a LocalizationTable, you can use LocalizationTable:SetEntries().
Each dictionary in the array contains the following fields:
| Index | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Key | string | A lookup key for this specific entry in the LocalizationTable. |
| Source | string | The string used to format the localized string. Used as a lookup if a key is not provided. |
| Context | string | An Instance:GetFullName() path to the object that was used to generate the LocalizationTable. Used as a lookup if a key is not provided. |
| Example | string | The string used to format the localization. Optional. |
| Values | Dictionary | A dictionary of language translations for this localization entry. The keys of this dictionary are locale ids, and the values are strings that are used to apply localization for the language corresponding to the locale id. |
Returns
An array of dictionaries, where each dictionary represents an entry of localization data.
Code Samples
local LocalizationService = game:GetService("LocalizationService")
local localizationTable = LocalizationService:FindFirstChild("LocalizationTable")
local entries = {
{
["Key"] = "0001",
["Source"] = "en-us",
["Values"] = {
["0001"] = "Hello Muddah, hello Fadduh.",
["0002"] = "Here I am at Camp Granada.",
["0003"] = "Camp is very entertaining.",
["0004"] = "And they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining.",
},
},
}
localizationTable:SetEntries(entries)
local get_results = localizationTable:GetEntries()
for _index, dict in pairs(get_results) do
for _key, value in pairs(dict["Values"]) do -- Loop through every key, value pair in the dictionary to print our strings
print(value)
end
endGetTranslator
Returns a Translator for entries in this LocalizationTable, in the specified language. The translator will first search in this table and then look in ancestor tables.
Parameters
Returns
RemoveEntry
Removes an entry from the LocalizationTable, using the specified key, source, and context to narrow down the specific entry to be removed.
Parameters
Returns
RemoveEntryValue
Removes a single language translation from the LocalizationTable, using the provided key, source, context, and localeId to narrow down the specific entry to be removed.
Parameters
Returns
RemoveTargetLocale
Removes all translations from the LocalizationTable with the specified localeId.
Parameters
Returns
SetEntries
Sets the contents of the LocalizationTable.
The entries parameter should be an array of dictionaries in the same format as the one returned from the LocalizationTable:GetEntries() function.
Parameters
Returns
SetEntryContext
Sets the Context field of a LocalizationTable entry to newContext, using the specified key, source, and context to narrow down the entry that will have this change applied.
Parameters
Returns
SetEntryExample
Sets the Example field of a LocalizationTable entry to example, using the specified key, source, and context to narrow down the entry that will have this change applied.
Parameters
Returns
SetEntryKey
Sets the Key field of a LocalizationTable entry to newKey, using the specified key, source, and context to narrow down the entry that will have this change applied.
Parameters
Returns
SetEntrySource
Sets the Source field of a LocalizationTable entry to newSource, using the specified key, source, and context to narrow down the entry that will have this change applied.