---

4.3 Preparing Translatable Strings

Before strings can be marked for translations, they sometimes need to be adjusted. Usually preparing a string for translation is done right before marking it, during the marking phase which is described in the next sections. What you have to keep in mind while doing that is the following.

• Decent English style.
• Entire sentences.
• Split at paragraphs.
• Use format strings instead of string concatenation.
• Use placeholders in format strings instead of embedded URLs.
• Use placeholders in format strings instead of programmer-defined format string directives.
• Avoid unusual markup and unusual control characters.

Let’s look at some examples of these guidelines.

• Decent English style
• Entire sentences
• Split at paragraphs
• No string concatenation
• No embedded URLs
• No programmer-defined format string directives
• No unusual markup