skill-translate

Skill: AL Translation Management

Purpose

Manage multilingual translations for AL extensions using XLF files: create and refresh language files, batch-translate with NAB AL Tools, preserve placeholders, enforce character limits, maintain terminology consistency, and implement quality review workflows.

When to Load

This skill should be loaded when:

• A new target language needs to be added to an AL extension
• Untranslated texts need to be translated after code changes
• Translation quality review is needed (placeholder validation, character limits)
• Regional language variations must be managed (es-ES vs es-MX)
• Incremental translation is required after refreshing XLF files

Core Patterns

Pattern 1: Create Language File

Create a new XLF translation file from the generated source:

createLanguageXlf
  generatedXlfFilePath: "Translations/MyApp.g.xlf"
  targetLanguageCode: "es-ES"
  matchBaseAppTranslation: true    // pre-populate from Microsoft base translations

Rules:

• The .g.xlf file is auto-generated by the AL compiler — never edit it manually
• matchBaseAppTranslation: true copies existing Microsoft translations for standard terms
• One language file per locale: MyApp.es-ES.xlf, MyApp.fr-FR.xlf, etc.

Pattern 2: Refresh and Retrieve Texts

After code changes, sync the language file and get new untranslated texts:

// Step 1: Refresh — adds new entries, preserves existing translations
refreshXlf
  generatedXlfFilePath: "Translations/MyApp.g.xlf"
  filePath: "Translations/MyApp.es-ES.xlf"

// Step 2: Get untranslated texts with context
getTextsToTranslate
  filePath: "Translations/MyApp.es-ES.xlf"
  limit: 50
  offset: 0

Each text entry includes:

• id — unique identifier for the translation unit
• source — original text to translate
• type — context: Table Customer - Field Name - Property Caption
• maxLength — character limit (if set in AL source)
• comments — notes about placeholders (%1, %2)

Pattern 3: Batch Translation