I really appreciate, that Plex is available in many languages and that community based translations via Transifex are supported. But the foreign language versions can only be as good as the translation base that the Plex team is providing. There are some problems the Plex development teams should be aware of:
– Missing translation strings
Some strings used in the apps and the server were not added to the translation tool. For example a string like “Enable video preview thumbnails” or “Hide items which are in collections” are not available for translation, so they are stuck in English.
– Unused translations
Some strings were added to the translation tool and have been translated to most of the languages. But somehow the strings weren’t implemented in the apps. E.g. when editing a “other videos” library I cannot select a language. So the drop down has a “None” value. There is a translation for “None” existing but it is not being used.
– Renamed strings
Sometimes strings have to be renamed in the apps/server but that change should be passed over to the translation tool. For example the string “Recently Added TV” on the dashboard of all apps and web in all languages is in English because there is only the translated string “Recently Added Television” available. And since the Plex Server team doesn’t add the string with “TV” instead of “Television”, the string stays in English for all languages.
– Time format
And then there are non-translation related things like time formats. Eventhough I can select a 24-hour format, when checking the scheduled tasks in server admin I see only 1-11 hours each AM and PM (next to untranslated “noon” and “midnight” strings) instead of 0-23 hours.
Possible Solutiona
I propose that the developing teams somehow establish some kind of quality assurance for those language and formatting related parts. Even if not speaking any foreign language other than English it should be easy for the developers to change the Plex app or web language to something other than English and than check the app/web app. If you can see English strings somewhere it means you missed something that needs you attention.
