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Using Lang Strings

The Lang() method is how you access translated strings throughout your module — in PHP action files, module class methods, and Smarty templates.

In PHP

// Simple string lookup
$message = $this->Lang('holiday_saved');

// With substitution parameters (uses sprintf internally)
$message = $this->Lang('items_found', $count);
// lang file: $lang['items_found'] = '%d holidays found';

// Multiple parameters
$message = $this->Lang('welcome_user', $username, $role);
// lang file: $lang['welcome_user'] = 'Welcome %s, you are logged in as %s';

In Smarty Templates

{* Simple string *}
<h3>{$mod->Lang('add_holiday')}</h3>

{* As a button label *}
<input type="submit" name="{$actionid}submit" value="{$mod->Lang('submit')}" />

{* In a link *}
<a href="{$edit_url}" title="{$mod->Lang('edit')}">{admin_icon icon='edit.gif'}</a>

{* With parameters *}
<p>{$mod->Lang('items_found', $total)}</p>

Common Usage Patterns

// Module class methods
public function GetFriendlyName() { return $this->Lang('friendlyname'); }
public function GetAdminDescription() { return $this->Lang('admindescription'); }
public function UninstallPreMessage() { return $this->Lang('ask_uninstall'); }

// Admin action messages
$this->SetMessage($this->Lang('holiday_saved'));
$this->SetError($this->Lang('error_saving'));

// Event descriptions
public function GetEventDescription($eventname)
{
    return $this->Lang('event_desc_' . $eventname);
}

// Parameter help
public function InitializeAdmin()
{
    $this->CreateParameter('hid', null, $this->Lang('param_hid'));
}

The Translation Center

The CMSMS Translation Center is an online tool that allows community volunteers to translate module strings into different languages. To enable translations for your module:

1. Register your module on the CMSMS Forge (dev.cmsmadesimple.org).
2. Contact the translation team lead with your project name, Forge unix name, and the public URL to your lang/en_US.php file.
3. Pull translations before releases. Translations are stored in the Translation Center's SVN repository. Configure your source control to pull from lang/ext/ before packaging a release.

For SVN-based projects:

cd modules/Holidays/
svn propedit svn:externals lang
# Add: ext http://svn.cmsmadesimple.org/svn/translatecenter/modules/Holidays/lang/ext

For Git-based projects, use a subtree or manually download the translations before release.

Best Practices

• Use Lang() for every user-facing string — never hardcode text in PHP or templates.
• Use descriptive key names: error_name_required is better than err1.
• Keep the en_US.php file as the single source of truth for all strings.
• Use sprintf-style placeholders (%s, %d) for dynamic values instead of concatenation.
• Permission names cannot be translated — keep them in English.

Next Steps

This completes the Internationalization chapter. Continue to The CMSMS Forge to learn how to package and distribute your module.