TOPIC
about_Script_Internationalization
SHORT DESCRIPTION
Describes the script internationalization features of Windows PowerShell 2.0
that make it easy for scripts to display messages and instructions to users
in their user interface (UI) language.
LONG DESCRIPTION
The Windows PowerShell script internationalization features allow you to
better serve users throughout the world by displaying Help and user
messages for scripts and functions in the user's UI language.
The script internationalization features query the UI culture of the
operating system during execution, import the appropriate
translated text strings, and display them to the user. The Data section
lets you store text strings separate from code so they are easily
identified and extracted. A new cmdlet, ConvertFrom-StringData,
converts text strings into dictionary-like hash tables to facilitate
translation.
The Windows PowerShell 2.0 features used in script internationalization
are not supported by Windows PowerShell 1.0. Scripts that include these
features will not run in Windows PowerShell 1.0 without modification.
To support international Help text, Windows PowerShell 2.0 includes the
following features:
-- A Data section that separates text strings from code instructions. For
more information about the Data section, see about_Data_Sections.
-- New automatic variables, $PSCulture and $PSUICulture. $PSCulture stores
the name of the UI language used on the system for elements such as
the date, time, and currency. The $PSUICulture variable stores the
name of the UI language used on the system for user interface elements
such as menus and text strings.
-- A cmdlet, ConvertFrom-StringData, that converts text strings into
dictionary-like hash tables to facilitate translation. For more
information, see ConvertFrom-StringData.
-- A new file type, .psd1, that stores translated text strings. The .psd1
files are stored in language-specific subdirectories of the script
directory.
-- A cmdlet, Import-LocalizedData, that imports translated text strings
for a specified language into a script at runtime. This cmdlet recognizes
and imports strings in any Windows-supported language. For more
information see Import-LocalizedData.
THE DATA SECTION: Storing Default Strings
Use a Data section in the script to store the text strings in the default language.
Arrange the strings in key/value pairs in a here-string. Each key/value pair must
be on a separate line. If you include comments, the comments must be on separate
lines.
The ConvertFrom-StringData cmdlet converts the key/value pairs in the here-string
into a dictionary-like hash table that is stored in the value of the Data section
variable.
In the following example, the Data section of the World.ps1 script includes
the English-United States (en-US) set of prompt messages for a script. The
ConvertFrom-StringData cmdlet converts the strings into a hash table and stores
them in the $msgtable variable.
$msgTable = Data {
# culture="en-US"
ConvertFrom-StringData @'
helloWorld = Hello, World.
errorMsg1 = You cannot leave the user name field blank.
promptMsg = Please enter your user name.
'@
}
For more information about here-strings, see about_Quoting_Rules.
PSD1 FILES: Storing Translated Strings
Save the script messages for each UI language in separate text files with
the same name as the script and the .psd1 file name extension. Store the files
in subdirectories of the script directory with names of cultures in the following
format:
<language>–<region>
Examples: de-DE, ar-SA, and zh-Hans
For example, if the World.ps1 script is stored in the C:\Scripts directory, you
would create a file directory structure that resembles the following:
C:\Scripts
C:\Scripts\World.ps1
C:\Scripts\de-DE\World.psd1
C:\Scripts\ar-SA\World.psd1
C:\Scripts\zh-CN\World.psd1
...
The World.psd1 file in the de-DE subdirectory of the script directory
might include the following statement:
ConvertFrom-StringData @'
helloWorld = Hello, World (in German).
errorMsg1 = You cannot leave the user name field blank (in German).
promptMsg = Please enter your user name (in German).
'@
Similarly, the World.psd1 file in the ar-SA subdirectory of the script directory
might includes the following statement:
ConvertFrom-StringData @'
helloWorld = Hello, World (in Arabic).
errorMsg1 = You cannot leave the user name field blank (in Arabic).
promptMsg = Please enter your user name (in Arabic).
'@
IMPORT-LOCALIZEDDATA: Dynamic Retrieval of Translated Strings
To retrieve the strings in the UI language of the current user, use
the Import-LocalizedData cmdlet.
Import-LocalizedData finds the value of the $PSUICulture automatic
variable and imports the content of the <script-name>.psd1 files in
the subdirectory that matches the $PSUICulture value. Then, it saves
the imported content in the variable specified by the value of the
BindingVariable parameter.
import-localizeddata -bindingVariable msgTable
For example, if the Import-LocalizedData command appears in the
C:\Scripts\World.ps1 script and the value of $PSUICulture is
"ar-SA", Import-LocalizedData finds the following file:
C:\Scripts\ar-SA\World.psd1
Then, it imports the Arabic text strings from the file into
the $msgTable variable, replacing any default strings that might
be defined in the Data section of the World.ps1 script.
As a result, when the script uses the $msgTable variable
to display user messages, the messages are displayed in
Arabic.
For example, the following script displays the "Please enter your user
name" message in Arabic:
if (!($username)) { $msgTable.promptMsg }
If Import-LocalizedData cannot find a .psd1 file that matches the
value of $PSUIculture, the value of $msgTable is not replaced,
and the call to $msgTable.promptMsg displays the fallback en-US
strings.
ExAMPLE
This example shows how the script internationalization features
are used in a script to display a day of the week to users
in the language that is set on the computer.
The following is a complete listing of the Sample1.ps1 script
file.
The script begins with a Data section named Day ($Day) that
contains a ConvertFrom-StringData command. The expression
submitted to ConvertFrom-StringData is a here-string that
contains the day names in the default UI culture, en-US, in
key/value pairs. The ConvertFrom-StringData cmdlet converts
the key/value pairs in the here-string into a hash table and
then saves it in the value of the $Day variable.
The Import-LocalizedData command imports the contents of the
.psd1 file in the directory that matches the value of the
$PSUICulture automatic variable and then saves it in the $Day
variable, replacing the values of $Day that are defined in the
Data section.
The remaining commands load the strings into an array and display
them.
$Day = DATA {
# culture="en-US"
ConvertFrom-StringData @'
messageDate = Today is
d1 = Monday
d2 = Tuesday
d3 = Wednesday
d4 = Thursday
d5 = Friday
d6 = Saturday
d7 = Sunday
'@
}
Import-LocalizedData -BindingVariable Day
# Build an array of weekdays.
$a = $Day.d1, $Day.d2, $Day.d3, $Day.d4, $Day.d5, $Day.d6, $Day.d7
# Get the day of the week as a number (Monday = 1).
# Index into $a to get the name of the day.
# Use string formatting to build a sentence.
"{0} {1}" –f $Day.messageDate, $a[(get-date -uformat %u)] | Out-Host
The .psd1 files that support the script are saved in subdirectories of
the script directory with names that match the $PSUICulture values.
The following is a complete listing of .\de-DE\sample1.psd1:
# culture="en-US"
ConvertFrom-StringData @'
messageDate = Today is
d1 = Monday (in German)
d2 = Tuesday (in German)
d3 = Wednesday (in German)
d4 = Thursday (in German)
d5 = Friday (in German)
d6 = Saturday (in German)
d7 = Sunday (in German)
'@
As a result, when you run Sample.ps1 on a system on which the value
of $PSUICulture is de-DE, the output of the script is:
Today is Friday (in German)
SEE ALSO
about_Data_Sections
about_Automatic_Variables
about_Hash_Tables
about_Quoting_Rules
ConvertFrom-StringData
Import-LocalizedData