README

Delphi App Translation Studio website and Version 1 archive

The public website now presents Version 2.0. Download the Windows package and read the current guides from its download page. The separate Version 2 source repository contains the matching source and tagged release.

This repository also preserves the Version 1 source and packages for historical access. The information below describes Version 1; do not mix its components, source, or language packs with Version 2.

Archived Version 1 information

The project website and dedicated download center are the preferred starting points for developers:

• Delphi App Translation Studio website
• Version 1.0.0 Windows package

Read the current User Guide and Setup Wizard Guide before downloading, building, or using the Studio. Engineering and test personnel should also read the Engineering Guide and Complete Test Guide. The download center keeps the versioned software package, build requirements, documentation, license, and safety guidance together in one place.

[!IMPORTANT] Version 1.0.0 was the prior production release for the validated Windows/RAD Studio 13 Florence scope. You may download, build, use, evaluate, and fork Delphi App Translation Studio under its license. Keep Delphi projects under version control and verify every generated catalog, language pack, component setting, and translated screen before distributing an application. Machine translation and custom UI integration still require developer review.

Feedback is welcome through the repository's GitHub issue tracker. Reports are most useful when they include the Delphi version, framework, platform, exact steps, expected result, actual result, and privacy-reviewed screenshots. Never post API keys, credentials, customer data, personal information, or proprietary source code.

Translation feedback is requested

Machine translation is useful but is not a substitute for review by a fluent speaker. Feedback is especially valuable for right-to-left languages and non-Latin writing systems. Report wording, direction, wrapping, or cultural formatting problems through GitHub Issues without including confidential project material. We are particularly interested in right-to-left languages like Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu, Farsi and Pashto and getting feedback about them.

DeepL is the recommended first-choice provider. The Studio sends eligible source text with available context to improve translation quality.

What it is

Delphi App Translation Studio helps a developer use a Delphi application in the language they know best. For example, a developer who receives an English business application but works in Greek can scan the application, create a Greek language pack, and run the application with its labels, buttons, menus, headings, dates, times, and other supported interface text in Greek. The same process can create Spanish, French, German, or other language packs, so the application can be adapted for the developer's own language or for the people who use it.

The Studio is a Windows desktop tool for Delphi VCL and FireMonkey applications. It scans saved designer-authored forms and selected Delphi resources, creates an editable JSON catalog, translates eligible interface text through Google Cloud Translation or DeepL, validates the result, and exports offline JSON language packs. The developer's Studio computer needs Internet access only while calling the selected provider. After deployment, the target application reads its local language packs and does not need Internet access or an API key at runtime.

Supported scope

• Delphi VCL and FMX target applications on Windows Win32 and Win64.
• Translation Studio builds for Win32 and Win64, Debug and Release.
• Google Cloud Translation Basic v2 and DeepL API providers.
• Windows Credential Manager storage or session-only provider keys.
• Incremental catalogs, terminology review, validation, layout proposals, immediate language switching, and offline runtime packs.
• A dedicated Project Glossary page for creating, correcting, saving, and deploying approved terminology without rerunning the complete Wizard.
• A Setup Wizard that leads a first-time project through scanning, translation, validation, dependency installation, component-kit generation, deployment, and optional builds.

macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, C++Builder, and runtime cloud translation are not part of the validated version 1.0.0 scope. Delphi 12.x and other toolchains require separate compatibility validation.

Version 1.0.0 capabilities

• The Setup Wizard and Maintenance Studio now use the approved App Translate branding throughout their shared headers.
• Maintenance Studio includes a separate Glossary step. Developers can add, revise, or delete project terminology without repeating first-time setup.
• Save Glossary preserves terminology for later work. Apply and Deploy validates the saved terms, updates matching catalog entries, regenerates the affected runtime language pack, and refreshes every available configured application output without rebuilding the executable.
• The Wizard creates and maintains the complete project-local dependencies\DelphiAppTranslation tree as one compatible unit. It does not modify the target project's Pascal, DFM, FMX, DPR, or DPROJ files.
• Wizard-initiated builds receive the dependency Search Path temporarily. For ordinary builds started in RAD Studio, the developer adds $(PROJECTDIR)\dependencies\DelphiAppTranslation\source once to the Delphi compiler Search path for all configurations and platforms.
• Safe Cancel actions are available in Maintenance Studio where leaving the current workflow cannot damage project data.
• The project website provides a dedicated download center, direct access to all current guides, build requirements, and reporting guidance.

Downloading version 1.0.0

Download from the project website

1. Open the download center.
2. Read the User Guide and Setup Wizard Guide linked near the top of the page.
3. Choose Download version 1.0.0 ZIP after reviewing the requirements and safety guidance.
4. Extract the entire archive to a normal development folder. Do not build inside the compressed archive or a temporary preview folder.
5. Keep the extracted folder structure intact so the Studio, package, dependency, documentation, and localization paths remain valid.

Download a ZIP archive

If the website is unavailable, download directly from the repository:

1. On the repository's GitHub page, choose Code.
2. Choose Download ZIP.
3. Extract the entire archive to a normal development folder. Do not build directly inside the ZIP archive or a temporary preview folder.
4. Keep the extracted repository structure intact so package, source, documentation, and localization paths continue to resolve correctly.

Clone or fork with Git

Clone the repository when you want to review source changes:

git clone https://github.com/delphitranslate/delphitranslate.github.io.git

You are also welcome to fork the repository through GitHub and develop or test against your own fork. Keep local work on a separate branch so upstream changes can be reviewed before they are merged.

Installing and starting version 1.0.0

The versioned production ZIP includes compiled Win32 and Win64 Release Studio applications and matching release packages. There is no separate installer. With RAD Studio 13 Florence:

1. Extract the full ZIP to a normal development folder, keeping its paths.
2. Run bin\Win32\Release\DelphiAppTranslationStudio.exe or the Win64 equivalent. Developers may alternatively open DelphiAppTranslationStudio.dproj and build from source.
3. Keep each supplied design package with its matching runtime packages.
4. In RAD Studio, choose Component > Install Packages > Add and select the matching Win32 Release design BPL from bin\packages\Win32\Release. The design BPL's required core and framework runtime BPLs are in that same folder and must remain beside it. Do not use Install Component and do not select a .dpk file there.
5. Open a version-controlled copy of the target Delphi project, place the appropriate DAT language manager and connected language selector on its primary form, save the project, and follow the Setup Wizard.

The installed design package must match the RAD Studio version used to build it. If package loading fails, remove the older package entry, rebuild the packages with the active toolchain, and add the newly built BPL.

Recommended first-time workflow

1. Make a pristine copy and a separate disposable test copy of the target Delphi project. Confirm the test copy builds before localization.
2. Install the matching DAT Language Manager design-time package through RAD Studio's normal Component > Install Packages > Add command.
3. In the target Form Designer, place one language manager and one connected visible language selector on the primary form. Add supporting labels or menu items, set ApplicationId/LanguagesFolder/SourceLanguage, and choose File > Save All.
4. Choose File > Save All, close the running target application, and start the Studio. Choose Run Setup Wizard. The RAD Studio project may remain open because the Studio does not write its project files.
5. Select the project, source and target languages, provider, and deployment destinations. The Wizard scans the saved project and translates unresolved entries during its single controlled processing pass.
6. Review the generated catalog, terminology, validation results, layout proposals, safety backup, and component kit. Final processing atomically installs the complete dependencies\DelphiAppTranslation tree without rewriting Pascal, DFM, FMX, DPR, or DPROJ files.
7. The Wizard builds Win32 Release automatically, refreshes supported target outputs already in use, and atomically writes the exact JSON set beside each successful executable under Localization\Languages. Wizard-initiated builds receive the dependency Search Path only for that build process.
8. In RAD Studio Project Options, add $(PROJECTDIR)\dependencies\DelphiAppTranslation\source to the Delphi compiler Search path for all configurations and platforms, retaining every existing entry. This one developer-owned IDE setting is never written by the Studio.
9. Build and run the selected target copies. Test every language, form, restart/persistence path, dynamic-data screen, and translated layout.

For existing catalogs or maintenance work, choose Open Maintenance Studio instead of the Wizard. The maintenance workflow provides direct Project, Scan, Translate, Glossary, Validation, Export, Integration, and Provider Settings pages. Use Apply and Deploy on the Glossary page when corrected terminology must be written into the current catalog and runtime language packs immediately; the complete Setup Wizard does not need to be rerun.

Safety model

Scanning is read-only. The Wizard creates a timestamped safety backup before final processing and transactionally manages only the project-local dependencies\DelphiAppTranslation folder. Studio-initiated builds use a temporary command-line Search Path, and language packs are deployed directly. The Studio does not rewrite target Pascal, DFM, FMX, DPR, or DPROJ files.

Deployment is destination-specific. JSON packs may be created or replaced in a selected application folder. The application .exe is created or replaced only when the developer explicitly checks the executable deployment authorization. The source project is not replaced by that operation.

Review and integration boundaries

• Dynamic runtime text requires explicit application integration; it is not always discoverable as static form text.
• A translation can be wider than its English source. Word wrapping, AutoSize, control dimensions, grid columns, charts, and complex forms may need developer review.
• Translation-provider wording and terminology still require human review, especially for short ambiguous words such as Play, Close, Schedule, or Activate.
• External HTML help is a separate localization concern.
• Removable drives can take time to wake. The Wizard retries pack deployment, but destination availability and write permissions still matter.
• Provider charges, quotas, API restrictions, and account security are the developer's responsibility.

Building from source

The verified development toolchain is RAD Studio 13 Florence with Win32 and Win64 compilers. Open DelphiAppTranslationStudio.dproj in RAD Studio and build the desired platform/configuration. Local executables are written under bin\\<Platform>\\<Configuration> and compiler units under dcu.

The release ZIP contains freshly built Win32 and Win64 applications and release package set; source users can build other configurations locally. No separate installer is published.

Repository layout

bin/                 Locally built executables; release ZIP includes validated binaries
dcu/                 Local compiler output
docs/guides/         User, Setup Wizard, and Engineering guides
docs/pdf/            Companion PDFs
export/              Generated catalogs and component kits
help/                Help source
images and icons/    Product artwork and repository banner
packages/            Delphi runtime/design package source
samples/             VCL and FMX fixtures
source/              Studio, scanner, catalog, provider, and runtime source
tools/tests/         Automated validation and smoke tests

Documentation

Documentation was reviewed for production wording on September 30, 2026. The DOCX guides contain generated tables of contents; matching PDFs are provided for convenient reading.

• User Guide — DOCX · PDF
• Setup Wizard Guide — DOCX · PDF
• Engineering Guide — DOCX · PDF
• Complete Test Guide — DOCX · PDF
• Engineering history is in docs/guides/Engineering Notes.md.

Reporting feedback

Please include the RAD Studio/Delphi version, VCL or FMX, Win32 or Win64, Debug or Release, exact Wizard step, expected and actual behavior, screenshots, and relevant catalog counts or paths. Never publish API keys, credentials, private source, customer data, or proprietary language packs.

Release status

Version 1.0.0 is the production release for Windows Delphi VCL and FireMonkey development with RAD Studio 13 Florence. Developers should work with version-controlled projects, review machine translation, and validate every framework, platform, language, layout, and runtime path used by their own application.

License

Delphi App Translation Studio is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See LICENSE for the complete license terms.