Python

Translating XenForo language packs often involves repetitive or manual updates. By leveraging Python, you can streamline the process—extracting phrases from the XML file, translating them automatically, and then reconstructing a ready-to-import XML language file. This guide explains the workflow without diving into the script’s internal code. You can download and view the detailed scripts from Aiorcom’s Xenforo Python Translation resource.
Why Use Python for XenForo Translations?
Preparation
1. Download the Resource
• Download the ZIP file containing the Python scripts and usage notes.
2. Unzip the Archive
• Extract all contents into a folder on your computer.
• Ensure you have this folder and its contents (including any Python .py scripts) in an easily accessible location.
3. Install Prerequisites
• Make sure you have Python 3.x installed on your system.
• Install any required Python libraries (these will be listed in the resource’s documentation). Typically, you might install packages like pandas, openpyxl, requests, lxml, etc.
Step-by-Step Workflow
Below is a high-level overview of how the scripts work. In the resource, you’ll see one or more .py files, which you run in sequence (or via a main script) to carry out each step.
1. Convert XenForo XML to Excel
2. Translate the Excel Phrases
• If the script has an option to preserve placeholders like {count}, it will handle them so they remain untranslated.
3. Convert the Translated Excel Back to XML
Usage Example (Conceptual)
1. Place your original XenForo language file, say language-English.xml, in the folder.
2. Run the “XML to Excel” Python script. A file called language_original.xlsx is created.
• It reads language_original.xlsx.
• Prompts you for your Google Translate API key (if applicable).
• Translates phrases column by column.
• Outputs language_translated.xlsx.
4. Run the “Excel to XML” script to build language_final.xml.
5. Import that final XML file into XenForo via Admin > Languages > Import.
Tips and Best Practices
Additional Resources
Conclusion
With this “XML → Excel → Translate → Excel → XML” workflow, you can streamline your XenForo language pack translations in a fraction of the time it would take by hand. By following the steps above—unpacking the resource from Aiorcom, installing dependencies, running each script in sequence, and finally importing the finished XML—your forum can quickly support additional languages.