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Using the ICU MessageFormat

HELIO uses a common standard that professional translators know well, to handle tricky translations. This language is the ICU MessageFormat. It has many tools for translations and internationalization – it can handle things like…

  • variables
  • plural forms
  • genders
  • select expressions

…and more. This allows you to create very detailed messages in different languages.

How to Use the Format in Your HMI​

  1. Create a Parameter Page

…and add a Markdown element to it:

←→
  1. Add your message format

Copy the following text into the Content property of the Markdown element.

{pendingTaskCount, plural,
    =0 {Congrats, you've got it all done! 🎉}
    one {Just one last task, and then you're done! 💪}
    other {You have {pendingTaskCount, number} tasks to do.}
}

The text introduces a variable called pendingTaskCount and makes use of the plural keyword in order to act upon the state of the variable.

  1. Set the type of the pendingTaskCount variable

…to Static Value and choose the Number.

  1. Give it a test drive

Change the value of pendingTaskCount and see how HELIO reacts to it:

Consult Further Documentation​

There is a nice overview of the format's features in the documentation of format.js which is the wonderful library that HELIO uses to handle internationalization.