Localization

86+ language translations

CineWindows ships with translations for 86 languages covering the majority of the world’s spoken languages. The interface language can be changed at any time from Preferences > General > Language and takes effect after restarting the application.

Translation Architecture

CineWindows uses the Qt Linguist framework for all user-facing text. This is the standard Qt i18n system, integrated via CMake’s qt_add_translations().

All .ts files are stored in the i18n/ directory at the project root.

Qt Linguist Workflow

The translation pipeline follows the standard Qt Linguist process:

1. Source Strings

Translatable strings are marked in QML source files with qsTr():

Button {
    text: qsTr("Play")
}

In C++ source, tr() is used:

setStatusMessage(tr("Could not start device discovery"));

2. Update Translations (lupdate)

Run the update script to extract all source strings and merge them into the .ts files:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\generate\update_translations.ps1

This runs lupdate over the QML and C++ sources, updating every language’s .ts file with new, obsolete, and unchanged strings.

3. Translate

Open any .ts file in Qt Linguist to provide translations. Each string shows:

• Source text in English
• Context (file and class name)
• Translator comments (if provided in source)
• Status (untranslated / finished / obsolete)

4. Compile Translations (lrelease)

Compile .ts files into binary .qm resources:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\generate\update_translations.ps1 -ReleaseOnly

This runs lrelease, producing .qm files that are embedded into the CineWindows binary via Qt’s resource system.

Changing the Language

Navigate to Preferences > General > Language and select your preferred language from the dropdown. The change requires an application restart to take full effect — CineWindows will prompt you to restart.

Supported Locales