How to build your translation for testing

[David]

After following the instructions for creating a translation resource file, you may optionally build a .NET satellite resource assembly for testing by following the steps below.  This is especially useful if you don't want to wait around for the next preview release to see your work.

Step 1:  Install the .NET Framework SDK Version 1.1
Download the SDK here.  NOTE: Be sure to visit Windows Update after installing the SDK to get the latest service pack and fixes.

Step 2:  Unzip the attached makelang.zip file
You should now have a makelang.cmd file.

Step 3:  Copy input files to makelang folder
Copy "Smoresoft.Sudoku.exe" from the "Program Files\Smoresoft Sudoku" folder on your device to the makelang folder (e.g., using ActiveSync).
Copy your translation (e.g., Resources.en.resx) to the makelang folder.

Step 4:  Run makelang
Open a command prompt, change to the makelang directory and run "makelang culture", where "culture" is the culture code for your translation.  For example, "makelang en" for English or "makelang fr" for French.

Step 5:  Copy the resource assembly to your device
Copy "bin\culture\Smoresoft.Sudoku.resources.dll" from the makelang folder to your device under the "Program Files\Smoresoft Sudoku\culture" folder, where "culture" is the culture code for your translation.  For example, copy a German translation using culture "de" to the "Program Files\Smoresoft Sudoku\de" folder on your device, creating the folder if necessary.

If you make changes to the translation (the .resx file), you can exit the game on your device and run steps 4 and 5 again to see the changes in the game.

NOTE: I realize this is all unnecessarily complicated to get some text into the game, and, if I get the time, I may try to simplify it by reading the resx files directly.  For now, though, I am following the Microsoft development guidelines and building the resource assembly.