I am writing this because I found things a bit confusing when I was a newbie looking for a multilingual content site code and set up my first CMSMS MLE. Let me know if I have misunderstood things or you have comments, and I will add and edit. Admins may pin this thread if you find it is suitable to do so.
What is CMSMS MLE
CMSMadeSimple Multi Language Edition.
- A multilingual CMS can be set up in one or several of many languages.
- A multilingual content site is a site where the page content is available in more than one language.
Yes and no. It is essentially intended for single language sites. It is not really intended to have page content in different languages. The standard CMSMS can be set up in many languages for standard texts like dates, titles, buttons, messages etc but is not really suitable for multiple language page content. Full multilingual support is preannounced for the CMSMS core sometime in 2011.
Is CMSmadesimple MLE suitable for multilingual page content?
Yes the MLE is designed specifically for page content in different languages. You essentially have carbon copies of each page for each language you have defined. Obviously, you still need to translate the page content yourself.
What is a language pack
The standard CMSmadesimple edition handles language packs for standard texts like dates, standard titles, buttons, messages etc in many languages. This is only indirecty related to the MLE.
Must I have a carbon copy of every page in every language in CMSMS MLE?
No you can leave a page blank in a language and either have the system show nothing or let the system fall back to the page content in the default language for the web site.
Are there other solutions to have a multi-language site in CMSMS
Yes, there are other multilingual solutions. One is the Babel Multilingual site module
There has also been announced multilingual content support in the CMSMS core in future releases possibly in 2011.
Do CMSMS add-on modules work with the MLE?
Some do some don't. There is no guarantee that other modules work in multilingual content mode. Generally, other modules will work and fall back to the site default language if they do not fully support MLE, but there is no guarantee and some modules may require modifications.
What does this mean "This is a FORK of the CMS Made Simple project and is not officially supported in any way by the CMS Made Simple development team."
It means that CMSMS MLE is a modified version of the basic CMSMS core code. The modification is done by independent developers and not by the developers of the CMSMS core. Therefore the MLE is not documented and supported in the official CMSMS channels for the core code.
What do I need to translate myself
You always need to write the page content in the different languages yourself. There is no automatic translation service available in the system for this.
The standard texts are available in a number of language packs. The quality and availability of these translations vary. There are thousands of words, sentences, messages needed for a full translation and this is dependent of a number of individuals world wide. The CMSMS system has many ways of supporting translations of the standard texts. One is the TranslationManager module which has several methods, including: write own translation to xml, retrieve translations from modules, on-line translations (Google, Yahoo), retrieve multiple translations at once (saves computing resources) and some more useful stuff.
Why is not CMSMS MLE listed with the other modules
Because CMSMS MLE is not a module but a modified versin of the CMSMS core, not an add-on.
Where can I look at a site running CMSMS MLE?
There are many sites running out there. Here are some:
http://www.tangoretiro.com
(to be added, please PM links to some running sites)
Please PM any additions or changes you would like to see in this text.
