China DOS Union

Novice DOS Software Localization Ultimate Tutorial (with Examples, Ensure You Learn!)

Novice work, old birds don't need to read it, so as not to say I'm wasting your time.

All operations are completed in Windows, tested in VPC virtual computer, ensure you learn, no nonsense, directly cut to the core!

1. Tools Needed (Are You Ready?)
(1). Download Li Guoyin's English software prompt information permanent localization tool ercwin5.zip version.
Download page: http://www.esnips.com/web/erctool
(2). Prepare UltraEdit, no need to say more, I believe everyone knows it.
Download page: http://www.orsoon.com/Soft/4925.html
(3). One VPC virtual computer software (mine is VPC 5.2).
Download page: http://www.orsoon.com/Soft/2392.html
(4). One CUP386 unpacker (the most powerful decryption and unpacking software).
Download page: ftp://ftp.sac.sk/pub/sac/pack/ucfcup34.zip
(5). One UPX packer (most foreign software is packed with it oh).
Download page: http://www.orsoon.com/Soft/4190.html
(6). One WinImage floppy disk image making tool.
Download page: http://www.orsoon.com/Soft/1815.html
Select the menu "Options-Settings", then click "Genenal", and select "Simplified Chinese" in "Language", which is WinImage with Simplified Chinese interface.
Registration name: winimage
Registration code: 13D505DF
(7). Okay, almost, plus Windows notepad, a standard boot disk.IMG image (available CN-DOS standard boot disk), prepare a Chinese character system (tw, CCDOS as you like) and put it in.IMG, first test in the virtual machine to see if it can boot or load the Chinese character system.

2. Preparation Work
(1). Install Li Guoyin's English software prompt information permanent localization tool Windows version, this is very simple,
But when a dialog box "Register file C:\windows\system32\expsrv.dll" error occurs,

Click the "Ignore (I)" button, after installation is complete, replace the expsrv.dll in "Software Localization.CAB" in the original compressed package with the same name file in C:\windows\system32\expsrv.dll, and the installation is successful here!
(2). Extract CUP386.com and so on to c:\do directory, write a simple batch do.bat
@echo off
set str=program name.extension
cup386 /1 %str% c%str%
After unpacking is completed, the unpacked program name is prefixed with a c character to distinguish.

3. Start Localization
Take an example, such as localizing RAR2.50 registered version, let's try.
The original English registered version of the attachment is: http://upload.cn-dos.net/img/878.rar
(1) Step 1: Unpack and decrypt
Open rar.exe with notepad and take a preliminary look, find that it's all garbled, not a few English strings, estimated to be packed (also called encrypted). Small tip: Like MS-DOS 7.10's IO.SYS, COMMAND.COM, etc., their English prompt characters are in plain text inside, so it's simpler to localize them, at least no need for the unpacking and decrypting step. Because most foreign programs are encrypted with UPX, so for novices, the simplest method is to first try unpacking with Upxshell, and the result is found:

This indicates that RAR.EXE is not encrypted with UPX. Small tip: If you take a preliminary look with notepad and find characters like UP..X and so on, most are UPX shells added, then use cup386 to unpack.
Jump to c:\do directory, and put the rar.exe to be unpacked in the same directory as CUP386 in C:\do.
Properly change set str=program name.extension in do.bat to set str=rar.exe as shown in the figure:

Then double-click do.bat to perform unpacking (because it needs to scan the entry point, it may take some time, please wait...). After a while, the unpacking is successful, and a crar.exe is generated, copy it to other non-C: disk directories and rename it to rar.exe. I put it in D:\ here, note: must not put it in C: disk.
(2) Step 2: Software Localization
Open Li Guoyin's English software prompt information permanent localization tool, and click the "Extract Prompt Information" button, select the unpacked rar.exe, here is D:\rar.exe, there are three radio "Function Options":

For novices, in order to make localization as successful as possible, it's best to follow the following recommended principles!
i) First use automatic extraction, when this step of localization is completed and debugging is okay, then
ii) Use semi-automatic extraction to localize some remaining unextracted English strings
iii) After the above two steps are completed, use UltraEdit to do the final work, that is, manually replace some remaining English strings to make localization thorough.
Let's tell them one by one:
Step 1: First select "Automatic Extraction" then confirm, after automatic extraction is completed, click "No (N)" in the "Software Localization" dialog box, then click the "Localize Prompt Information" button, start translating strings line by line, you can also click the "Translate" button to use the machine-translated information for reference and modification, if you find translation difficult, turn on Kingsoft Iceberg Dictionary too, as shown in the figure:

Next, tell the precautions during localization:
★. Never remove or translate %c %d %s %ud %uld %d.0%d and so on, because they will be used as replaceable parameters of the program.
★. The $, $$ and other characters in the localized line should be aligned with the corresponding lines above and below, because $ they may be the memory addresses accessed by the program through pointers, if the position changes, the program will crash or have CPU errors.
★. An experience common sense, the length of the localized line string must not exceed the length of the corresponding line, especially when you use the "Edit" button to open the word processor for batch translation, you need to pay attention.

Let's continue translating, you may need to test in the virtual computer every time you localize for a while, so as to find errors early and correct them... After saving, click the "Build Localized Software" button, click "No (N)" in the following dialog box to avoid errors

Finally click "Yes (Y)" to replace the original English software.
Use WinImage to drag part of the localized rar.exe and the registration file rar.cfg into an. img image with Chinese character system together to test...

Not bad, continue localizing, return and click "Localize Prompt Information" to modify and localize the remaining lines. Repeat the above operations continuously until the first step of localizing rar.exe is completed, we find that after the first step, most of the English has been localized, but there are still a few remaining unlocalized.
If you have any questions, send a text document at this time for comparison:
Download link: http://upload.cn-dos.net/img/895.rar
Step 2: Re-extract the English strings of rar.exe that has been localized in most parts, at this time select "Semi-automatic Extraction" in the "Function Options" to manually screen English strings. It's better to back up this semi-localized rar.exe first, small tip: Before performing this operation, first automatically extract a small-volume DOS software, then semi-automatically extract rar.exe to prevent that the content retained when you semi-automatically extract is still the content of the previous automatic extraction.
In this, it seems that there are not too many English strings, translate the words like Line up, Line down, Char right, Memory, and Settings and other words, then save and replace to carry out the third step of final work.
Step 3: Use Ultra Edit to manually replace the remaining English strings to make localization thorough.
At the same time, open the current rar.exe with notepad and Ultra Edit, and see that in notepad, the original English strings have become mostly "Chinese" strings, as shown in the figure:

In Ultra Edit, click "Search" - "Replace" in Ultra Edit - and check the "Find ASCII" checkbox, replace wait in the above figure with wait and save.

Repeat the above steps continuously until the remaining English strings are replaced with localized strings:
Precautions during replacement:
★. The length of the replaced Chinese string must be less than or equal to the length of the original English string to be replaced, one Chinese character is equivalent to two English character lengths, if the length of the Chinese string is less than the length of the original English string, spaces must be used to make up to reach the same length as the original English string.
For example, there is a string We chinese Super Hacker! in the English software, when replacing it with 我们中国高级黑客, you don't need to count the length of the original English string and the current Chinese string length, so as to calculate how many spaces to make up later.
According to the above principle, you can open another notepad, enter these two lines of content, you only need to ensure that when selected, the tails of the two lines are aligned (this method can be used to replace super-long strings).

Then paste it into Ultra edit for replacement.
After the above work is done, the whole localization is almost coming to an end.
Step 4: Open the UPX shell compressed and packed localized software, and check after compression to see if it can be used normally:

Look, the volume is reduced by more than half, after testing, it's found that it can be used normally, and at this point, the whole software localization is completed!

Have novices all learned? You can first find some simple software to practice, such as localizing Free DOS's command.com to make a Chinese FreeDOS and so on, NU2002's unformat and so on... and then get a Simplified Chinese PQ 8.05 Seriver version to use.
Don't forget to post a post to share with everyone after localization is completed, I'm also collecting a large number of Chinese software...

Finally, attach an attachment:
rar 2.50 compressor localized registered version download: http://upload.cn-dos.net/img/901.rar
Also attach a sorted zk.xls, which has been sorted, containing more than 6600 professional computer English vocabulary, replace the same name database under C:\Program Files\Software Localization, so that novices can also try to accurately interpret for reference and modification during machine localization.
Download link of zk.xls: http://upload.cn-dos.net/img/903.rar

Note: If this post inadvertently violates your rights, please write to xiaoyun32767@163.com, I will delete it within 24 hours.

[ Last edited by xiaoyunwang on 2010-1-10 at 23:49 ]

Well, the tutorial is relatively detailed; the software is appropriately chosen, and some I have also used repeatedly, such as CUP.com. However, I generally don't do localization, and directly use the original version of the software - because I am studying English.

^_^^_^It was really overpraise. I really didn't expect that the first one to finish reading and reply is still an expert — you are really a master. In the future, when I study data structures, I really want to discuss with you. However, I don't have much confidence, and besides, I'm self-studying. Because many people say that data structures are too difficult. I want to ask, is software development really so unreachable?......

[ Last edited by xiaoyunwang on 2008-10-10 at 21:34 ]

Hehe, very good tutorial, learned it. Thanks!

Thanks to the original poster xiaoyunwang for the example drill on the "Permanent Chineseization Tool for English Software Prompt Information"!

Everyone knows that the complexity of the structure and code of software, especially Windows software, brings some unexpected problems to the Chineseization work. For example, the randomness of the start and end symbols of prompt information may cause inevitable omissions during extraction. In this regard, xiaoyunwang boldly adopted some auxiliary tools and software to ensure the effectiveness and thoroughness of the Chineseization work, and effectively expanded the font library. This is undoubtedly a great boon for beginners who are just getting in touch with Chineseization work! Here, on behalf of all netizens who use the "Permanent Chineseization Tool for English Software Prompt Information", I extend the highest respect!

Software Chineseization is a very complex and meticulous job, requiring perseverance and the spirit of hard work. In this tutorial, from the installation, Chineseization, debugging of the software to the formation of the permanently Chineseized software, and from the use of the software, matters needing attention, and avoiding the occurrence of problems, etc., all aspects are explained in detail. It can be seen that xiaoyunwang has put in great effort and hard work. Here, I express my sincere thanks!

Because the "Permanent Chineseization Tool for English Software Prompt Information" was not developed according to the resource structure during the development process, with the purpose of taking into account the Chineseization of the original DOS system software, so the extraction speed of the prompt information of this Chineseization software is still not satisfactory, and there are also certain problems in the font library, functions, and effects of automatic Chineseization. Please understand!

In addition, here are a few small tips for use:
1. Move the cursor to the position of the three words "Contrast Line", and the most original English information of this line will be listed for comparison.
2. During the translation process, please click the disk icon in the bottom prompt line at any time to save the Chineseized information.
3. If you need to view the specific position, front-back relationship, and hexadecimal code of this line in the software, you can double-click the blank position on the left of the disk icon at any time.

Finally, welcome everyone to exchange usage experiences!

Originally posted by liguoyin at 2008-10-13 05:08 PM:
Thanks to the original poster xiaoyunwang for the example drill of the "Permanent Chinese Localization Tool for English Software Prompt Messages"!
Everyone knows that the complexity of the structure and code of software, especially Windows software, brings difficulties to the localization work...

So you are the software author, admirable. Wish you good luck every day. Hope one day I can also be able to program like you.

The permanent Chinese localization tool for English software prompt messages by Li Guoyin is really good for localizing small software! For larger or more complex ones, it's easy to make mistakes, and you have to keep backing up midway. It's not as good as Editer2. It would be nice if there was an upgraded version!

In addition: The compression and packing speed of the UPX shell is far inferior to the DOS version of UPX.

Originally posted by Yulu at 2008-10-16 11:09 AM:
The permanent Chinese localization tool for English software prompts by Li Guoyin is really good for localizing small software! For larger or more complex ones, it's easy to make mistakes. You have to keep backing up halfway. It's not as good as Editer2. If there were an upgraded version, that would be great!
Also: The compression and packing speed of the UPX shell is far less than that of the DOS version of UPX.

In the process of localizing large software, line breaks are prone to occur. Therefore, when performing localization overwrites, errors will occur and record number xx will be reported. You can click the "Edit" button to open Notepad, fill in the blank line where the line break occurs (the line with record number XX) with a backspace key (that is, delete that empty line) and save Notepad.

[ Last edited by xiaoyunwang on 2008-10-22 at 09:27 ]

Often, the error "63" appears and then it exits automatically.

Using this software to localize XMSDSK\CTMOUSE, which are only dozens of lines, it's not easy to make mistakes. But for those with 5,000 or 6,000 lines, it's not good. There are too many mistakes.

There's another thing to ask: when localizing, about 6 files in the C:\erctool directory must be backed up. It seems that missing even one is not okay. Unlike what the original poster said, just backing up the XXX.TXT file is enough.

Support`

Newcomers must learn

Originally posted by Yulu at 2008-10-22 10:00 AM:
Often, error "63" appears and then it exits automatically.

It's easy to localize software like XMSDSK\CTMOUSE with only a few dozen lines, but it's not easy with thousands of lines, and there are too many errors.

There's another thing I want to ask...

I remember that localizing Loadsys.exe and Access DOS, which have thousands of lines, does cause errors. The software exits automatically when an error occurs. But I didn't touch any files in C:\erctool at all. When an error occurs, I reopen the localization tool, and the tool retains the previous localization information. I click the "Edit" button, find the position of "blank lines" (that is, disconnection, with obvious line breaks, equivalent to having several blank lines in the document) in Notepad, then press the "←" backspace key to connect the upper and lower lines (to make them continuous without blank lines; if there are any, delete them). Also, at the last line in Notepad, the cursor should be at the beginning of the next blank line (not at the end of the last line, press Enter to go to the beginning of the next blank line), then save. If the structure of the localized software is changed due to line breaks, just copy the original unpacked English software over and click "Localize Software" to write the localization information. The file to back up is that unpacked English software. There's nothing else to back up.

[ Last edited by xiaoyunwang on 2008-10-22 at 15:20 ]

Can it extract Chinese characters?

Extract Chinese characters?

This software doesn't work. Do you want to Englishize it? It's too troublesome to do manually with UltraEDIT. Englishizing is not realistic. Translating a long Chinese passage into English won't be the same length as the original Chinese string (you have to cut off some words, which makes the Englishized meaning inaccurate). I'm referring to DOS software. Windows and other software have other ways to Chineseize or Englishize, I haven't done it, so I can't introduce it, but there are such Chineseization tools.

After carefully reading the instructions, it is not possible to extract Chinese character characters!
This software has not been updated for a long time!!! When using it, it still needs to be combined with editer2!
There is also a permanent Chinese localization of 2000 on the Internet, but they are all tutorials, and no download addresses can be seen

First of all, thank you for your attention to the "Permanent Chinese Localization Tool for English Software Tips"!

In response to the questions raised by everyone above, the replies are as follows:

1. Regarding the version upgrade issue
In the 1990s, when using English tool software downloaded from the Internet, the biggest problem encountered was being at a loss in the face of full screens of English information! It can be imagined that there are many people like me who have a half-baked understanding of English. Why not localize the English software before using it? It would be convenient for oneself and others! Driven by a strong curiosity, I couldn't stop and had to develop a set of free-to-use localization tool software by myself. Although I was short of money, I had plenty of spare time. So I purchased and consulted a large number of technical materials, and started the work of compiling the software structure and code. At that time, DOS and Windows software coexisted, but the software structures were very different. In order to take into account the localization of both DOS and Windows software, I gave up the idea of developing the localization tool according to the Windows resource structure and adopted the method of developing the software according to the software information coding structure. In this way, not only could the localization of DOS software be quickly solved, but it was also applicable to the localization work of Windows software. The initial software was developed in the DOS environment. Later, according to the unanimous requirements of most netizens, it was rewritten into the Windows version. In the meantime, because I had relatively sufficient spare time, the DOS and Windows versions were upgraded several times respectively. By 2002, my unit required me to be responsible for the planning, design, construction and other specific implementation work of the entire system's information network. It is still a daily work, and it is indeed difficult to set aside time and energy for software upgrade and development. Therefore, the version upgrade work was concluded.

In the following time, many netizens put forward modification opinions and a large number of improvement suggestions for me, from the aesthetics of the interface to the improvement of functions and performance, etc. Some even wanted to upgrade my free software to a shareware and were willing to invest money to develop it together to recover the investment and make a profit. Of course, I flatly refused! The only purpose is that I suffer alone but facilitate thousands of people. I just consider that I have done something within my capacity for the country's information construction. Of course, this behavior angered some people who were driven by self-interest. They criticized my software arbitrarily and made unpleasant actions that made me very angry. I ignored it because I believe that 200,000 software users are the most convincing! I am confident that when I have time and energy, the upgrade and free use of the localization software will continue!

The software localization 2000 mentioned by Yulu is an earlier version, and its functions and performance are not as good as the 2002.2.12 version. Please don't spend energy looking for it. Permanent Localization 2000 is a product of a certain software company.

2. Regarding the problem of exiting due to line break errors
Due to the complexity of the software structure and code, although it has been strictly tested by multiple software during development, some unexpected problems will still occur. For example, the line break problem mentioned by the several people above. Such a problem was indeed not encountered during development, and this bug is inevitable to occur. The solutions mentioned by the above everyone have already been mentioned, and you can just delete it in the interface or the notepad.

3. Regarding the file backup issue
This issue involves two aspects;
One is the timely saving of localization data. Due to the incomplete consideration during development, there are inevitably bugs and problems. When the problem occurs, the localization software will automatically close, and the previous stage of localization work will be in vain. To avoid this situation, I added a disk mark and connection below the localization interface to save the localization information in a timely manner. Please make full use of it before the software upgrade.
Second is the backup and saving of the already localized data. During development, considering the necessary requirement that only one software can be localized at a time, regardless of what software you localize in the erctool directory, its basic localization information is stored with the same file name for easy calling at any time during the localization process. When localizing different software, the content of the basic localization information file of the original localized software will be replaced. To do the re-modification work of the already localized software, it is strongly suggested to back up all the files in the erctool directory in full to prevent loss, and copy them to this directory when needed. I will consider the arrangement of this directory when the software is upgraded.
During the localization process, there is no need to back up the files in this directory.

4. Regarding the issue of extracting Chinese characters
Because it is based on the localization of English software, there is no need to consider the Chinese character extraction function, which has been mentioned in the help file.

The above is for reference only. Welcome netizens to continue to communicate!

[ Last edited by liguoyin on 2008-11-12 at 13:09 ]