Localize the Application Launcher (Compact 2013)

10/26/2015

You can create a localized version of the XAML for Windows Embedded application launcher. In Windows Embedded Compact 2013, the sample home screen provides pre-localized UI string resources for the following languages:

  • Chinese (People’s Republic of China)
  • Chinese (Taiwan)
  • Dutch (Netherlands)
  • French (France)
  • German (Germany)
  • Italian (Italy)
  • Japanese (Japan)
  • Korean (Korea)
  • Portuguese (Brazil)
  • Russian (Russia)
  • Spanish (Spain)
  • Swedish (Sweden)

Prerequisites

Before you can complete the following procedure, you must have an OS design project with a selected screen size and theme for the home screen of a device. For more information, see Create and Prepare the OS Design and Application Launcher Project.

To configure the OS design for localized builds of the XAML-based application launcher

  1. In Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 or Microsoft Visual Studio 2015, open your OS design project.

  2. (Optional) Edit UI text resources by customizing the localized string files under the directory for the LCID.

    For a video tutorial that shows how to localize XAML text, see Microsoft Showcase: Localize a Silverlight for Windows Embedded Application.

  3. On the Project menu, click Properties.

  4. Expand Configuration Properties, and click Locale.

  5. Click next to Language Packs to Build, and click the ellipsis (…) button.

  6. Select each language pack that you want to build with, and click OK.

  7. Click next to Installed UI Language Packs, and click the ellipsis (…) button.

  8. Select each language pack that you want to include in the run-time image, and click OK.

  9. In Default UI Language, select the default language for the run-time image.

  10. In Default Locale, select the default locale for the run-time image.

  11. Click OK.

  12. In Catalog Items View, browse to <OS_Design>\Core OS\Windows Embedded Compact\International\Language.

  13. Expand the folder for the language for your run-time image.

  14. Add additional catalog items for the language you selected by selecting each catalog item. For more information about the catalog items that you can include to support a particular locale, see National/Regional Language Support (NLS) Catalog Items and Sysgen Variables.

  15. Save all of your files by clicking Save All on the File menu.

  16. Because you changed the OS design catalog items and project configuration properties, your OS image is now out of date with the design. To recreate the OS image, on the Build menu, click Build Solution. On the Build menu, click Make Runtime Image to make the OS image.

Your OS design now supports the new language and locale (or languages and locales) that you selected.

Next Steps

You can continue to customize your home screen by using the following procedures. After you complete your customizations, you can use the procedures in Build and Run the Application Launcher to rebuild the theme DLL by using the Command Prompt window in Visual Studio before you rebuild your run-time image.

See Also

Concepts

Create an Application Launcher in XAML for Windows Embedded