How to Translate a Skin into Other Languages

Follow the steps below to translate a Skin into your language.

1. Install Poedit

Download the poEdit translation software, and install it on your computer.

2. Generate a Translation File

Generate a .po file for your Skin.

3. Translate the File

  1. In poEdit, open the .po file for your Skin.

  2. From the poEdit menu, select File → Save As, and change the file name to a new one which uses a format of ll_CC.po, where:

    • ll is the 2 letter code for your language, and

    • CC is the 2 letter code for your country.

    For example, for US English the file would be named en_US.po.

  3. Translate the strings in the new .po file.

  4. Save the file (ctrl-S). Poedit should generate a .mo file in the same directory as your original .po file (with a name corresponding to the one you designated in step 2).

4. Implement the Translation

  1. Access your server via FTP, and navigate to the /wp-content/thesis/skins/ folder.

  2. Open the folder for your Skin, and create a new folder named languages inside it.

  3. Upload the ll_CC.mo and ll_CC.po files to the new languages folder you just created.

  4. Configure the Skin to use your language file, by adding this line to your custom.php, replacing name_space with the appropriate namespace for your skin:

    load_theme_textdomain('thesis', THESIS_USER_SKIN . '/languages');
load_theme_textdomain('name_space', THESIS_USER_SKIN . '/languages');

5. Namespace Reference

Here are the name space references for the official DIYthemes Skins:

  • Classic Responsive: thesis_classic_r
  • Promo: nina_cross_promo
  • Social Triggers: thesis_social_triggers
  • Pearsonified: thesis_pearsonified
  • Effectus: thesis_effectus
  • Flex: flex

Important: Remember to maintain a backup copy of your .po and .mo files on your local computer, in the event that you update to a new version of the Skin. Due to the way automatic updates work in WordPress, you may need to re-upload your .mo file to the /languages folder again after the update is complete.

Helpful Translation References