BetterZip Translations

This repository contains the user-facing text for BetterZip, a macOS archive-management app. It exists so translators can update and improve the translations without needing access to the main source code.

Thank you for helping!

Languages

Code	Language	Main app	Finder ext.	Quick Look	Share ext.	Automator
en	English (source)	●	●	●	●	●
de	German	●	●	●	●
es	Spanish	●	●	●	●
fr	French	●	●	●	●
it	Italian	●	●	●	●	●
ja	Japanese	●	●	●	●	●
pl	Polish	●	●	●	●	●
pt	Portuguese	●	●	●	●
sv	Swedish	●	●	●	●	●
zh-Hans	Simplified Chinese	●	●	●	●

English (en.lproj) is the source of truth. Please don't edit it.

What to edit

Each language has folders named <language>.lproj spread across the repo:

• locals/<lang>.lproj/ – main application window, menus, preferences, operation queue, password dialogs, etc.
• FinderSyncExtension/<lang>.lproj/ – the Finder right-click menu and badge labels
• Quick Look Extension/<lang>.lproj/ – the Quick Look preview panel
• Compress with BetterZip/<lang>.lproj/ – the share-sheet extension
• Automator/.../Base.lproj/ plus siblings – Automator preset actions

Inside each .lproj folder you'll typically find:

• Localizable.strings – most of the UI text
• InfoPlist.strings – app name, file-format descriptions, permission prompts
• One or more <ControllerName>.strings – text bound to specific dialogs via Interface Builder
• Credits.rtf – the "About BetterZip" credits (only where applicable)
• defaults.plist – translated default values for some preferences

.strings file format

Classic macOS .strings files look like this:

/* A user-visible comment explaining context. */
"KEY_OR_ENGLISH_STRING" = "Translation here";

/* Another entry. */
"Could not open %@: %@" = "Konnte %@ nicht öffnen: %@";

Marker tags – what needs your attention

Every .strings file is regenerated from the project before each release. Entries that need translator action carry a marker tag appended as a Note field at the end of the auto-generated context comment:

/* Class = "NSMenuItem"; title = "Hide Empty Folders"; ObjectID = "MIB-he-fld"; Note = "@new-6.0"; */
"MIB-he-fld.title" = "";

If you work in Xcode (the .xcloc bundle workflow), the marker shows up in the Comment column of the localization editor — no need to look at the raw file.

If you work on the GitHub repo directly, look for Note = "@..." at the tail of the /* ... */ comment immediately above each entry.

Marker	What it means	What to do
Note = "@new-X.Y"	Added in version X.Y; value is empty.	Fill in the translation.
Note = "@new"	Untranslated leftover from an earlier release.	Fill in the translation when convenient.
Note = "@changed-X.Y (previous: \"OLD ENGLISH\")"	English source changed in X.Y. The existing translation may now be wrong.	Compare the current source to previous, update the translation if needed.

Already-translated entries whose English source hasn't changed get no marker — they're done. Filter on the marker text to find exactly what needs work for the current release.

To find your work for the current release (replace 6.0 with the version you're translating):

# In any directory of the repo:
grep -lr "@new-6.0\|@changed-6.0" .

Or, in your editor, search for @new-6.0 / @changed-6.0. Empty-value lines (= "";) are also a quick visual cue for new entries.

You don't need to clean the marker out yourself when you finish — the project regenerates .strings files at the start of each release cycle and drops markers from entries that now have a translation. The markers are purely informational.

Strings that should NOT be translated

A handful of entries are deliberately marked "don't translate" in the source project — typically placeholder cells like Item 1, table-view scaffolding like Text Cell, or token names like name / date / ext. You'll see them with:

• the comment containing Note = "don't translate";,
• the value already set to the English original,
• no @new / @changed marker even when other things in the same release are.

Just leave these alone.

Rules:

• Keys (left of =) must stay exactly as they are – never translate them.
• Values (right of =) are what you translate.
• Every line ends with a semicolon ; and every string is in double quotes.
• Keep placeholders (%@, %d, %1$@, %2$d, %lld, …) in the translation. You may reorder them (e.g. %2$@ / %1$@) but must never drop one or change its type.
• Preserve escape sequences: \n newline, \" literal quote, \\ backslash.
• The file encoding for .strings files in this repository is UTF-8 (regenerated by the release pipeline). Xcode and most editors handle this fine; just don't deliberately re-save as UTF-16.

Credits.rtf files use Rich Text; edit them in TextEdit or Xcode (not a plain-text editor) to preserve the formatting.

Recommended editors

• Xcode – best option if you have a Mac; opens .strings files with syntax highlighting and never messes up encodings
• BBEdit / Sublime Text / VS Code – fine for .strings if you make sure the file encoding round-trips correctly (stay on UTF-16 if that's what the file uses)
• TextEdit – works for Credits.rtf; avoid it for .strings because it silently rewrites encoding

Contribution workflow

Most translators are invited as collaborators, which means you can edit and push changes directly without forking. If you'd like to be added, email me with your GitHub username.

The easy way – GitHub Desktop (recommended)

No command line needed.

1. Install GitHub Desktop and sign in with your GitHub account.
2. Choose File → Clone Repository…, switch to the URL tab, and paste: https://github.com/macitbetter/BetterZip-Localization.git
3. Pick a folder on your Mac and click Clone.
4. Edit files in your language's folders (Xcode is best for .strings files).
5. Back in GitHub Desktop you'll see your changes listed. Type a short summary (e.g. "Update German: preferences pane"), click Commit to main, then Push origin.

That's it – your changes are live on GitHub.

Using Xcode

Xcode can also clone and push without the command line:

1. Integrate → Clone…
2. Paste https://github.com/macitbetter/BetterZip-Localization.git and choose a folder.
3. After editing, use Integrate → Commit… then Integrate → Push….

Using the command line

If you're comfortable with a terminal:

git clone https://github.com/macitbetter/BetterZip-Localization.git
cd BetterZip-Localization
# …edit files…
git commit -am "Update <lang>: <brief description>"
git push

The SSH URL git@github.com:macitbetter/BetterZip-Localization.git also works if you've set up an SSH key on your GitHub account.

Contributing from outside (no collaborator access)

If you haven't been added as a collaborator, you can still contribute via a pull request:

1. Click Fork in the top-right of the GitHub page to create your own copy.
2. Clone your fork using any of the methods above.
3. Edit, commit, and push to your fork.
4. On GitHub, click Contribute → Open pull request to send your changes back.

Please keep each pull request focused on a single language when possible – it makes review much faster.

Reporting issues

• Missing string – a UI element you can't find a key for: open an issue with a screenshot and we'll figure out where it lives.
• Ambiguous English source – the English text is unclear: open an issue tagged source-clarification.
• Bug in the app – please report on the main BetterZip site, not here.

License

Content in this repository is available under the CC-BY-4.0 license so contributors retain attribution and the text remains freely reusable.