Multiple languages and additional apps (like Pages)

[opentype]

In 4.0 we can now easily translate structural elements like categories, menus, page names and so on. But now that I just tried it with Pages, I noticed it doesn’t work for the actual records which hold the content. So I can have a “news database” which appears as “Neuigkeiten” to Germans and “Actualité” to the French, but the news articles then will all be English or a wild mix of languages and not fit the actual language selection. So I am wondering how this feature is even meant to be used. Am I missing something? 

One work-around would be to have language specific menus or database filters which can react automatically to the chosen language but as far as I can see that also isn’t possible at the moment. 

So how are others using this? Shouldn’t this be improved in some way?

[-FP]

Maybe you can add an extra content field for another language, and then modify the template to show one or the other depending on the language detected/chosen.

[Meddysong]

So how are others using this? Shouldn’t this be improved in some way?

​Absolutely - it should be improved because, without changing it, the suite falls short of its promise for multilingual use. I've pointed these sorts of missing features out in a few threads and given usage examples before (Feedback: Suggestions To Cater For Multilingual Sites , Language-specific posts? ), and live in some sort of forlorn hope that one day I'll see something working around these flaws in internationalization showing as "planning stage" on the Feature Plan.

My ways around this problem currently are:

- If I need more than one language in a post, comment etc, I use a locale flag (uploaded as an emoticon) and spoiler tags:

http://community.invisionpower.com/uploads/monthly_2015_01/J9aYy.jpg.04c33c0cc1027dd9c9df8c26ca1372ad.jpg

- If I'm writing something in a Pages record, WYSIWYG block etc, then I use the source input to add some PHP which determines the HTML to output based on the locale in use. In my case it looks like this:

{{if \IPS\Member::loggedIn()->language()->short === 'eo_XX.UTF-8' }}
<p><em>HTML to display for Esperanto</em></p>
{{else}}
<p><em>HTML to display for another language, including English</em></p>
{{endif}}

That's no good for other users, though. I think I'm going to have to set up a database field in which the language is indicated, which will then display a relevant locale flag in the listing display. The article will only be in one language, but at least people who click on it will do so having been made aware which one it is.

 

[opentype]

 

{{if \IPS\Member::loggedIn()->language()->short === 'eo_XX.UTF-8' }}

​But that would probably not work for guests, which for example open a Pages record. 

Anyone knows how to code this so it picks up the actual user locale of guests? I believe the functionality is already built into 4.0.