All localization experts recommend planning localization right from the beginning of your software development project. Most software developers do not follow this advise. Often, the requirement to localize a project is not even raised before the development has been completed.
The Multi-Language Add-In is designed to help you add localization support to your project at any stage during its development, or after completion of the development.
In the .NET type system, properties of controls which require translation are assigned the Localizable attribute. The Add-In identifies all properties with the Localizable attribute and shows them in the grid editor.
The Add-In scans the source code of each component and shows all text strings in the grid editor. You can select the texts which actually require translation with a simple check box next to each text.
Lines in the source code, which contain strings which do not require translation, can be hidden by adding the comment 'MLHIDE or //MLHIDE to the end of the line. This can be added simply by clicking on an icon at the start of each line in the grid.
Initially, the Add-In shows all string properties which have the Localizable attribute. In practice, this may mean that a lot of properties are shown, which you are not using in your project. In this case, you can hide these properties.
Often you will have to send your texts to a translator. Using the Add-In you can export the texts which require translation to an Excel file in a format suitable for translation. After translation you can import the translated texts back into the Visual Studio project.
The Add-In stores all translations in a project database file in Access 2000 format.