iOS Internationalization: Designing for Translators
Article Summary
Lou Franco from Atlassian learned the hard way: internationalizing Trello's iOS app wasn't just about code. The translation files themselves became a critical UX layer that could make or break the entire localization effort.
When Trello internationalized their iOS app, they discovered that poor translation comments led to an avalanche of translator questions. This article shares how they transformed their localization workflow by treating translation files as a user interface, not just technical artifacts.
Key Takeaways
- Trello enforces 100% translation comment coverage as a coding standard
- Custom placeholder system replaced stringWithFormat to prevent crashes from translation errors
- Simple tagging mechanism for formatting avoids security risks of parsing HTML
- Post-process script adds comments to XIB strings since Xcode doesn't support it
- Translation linter validates strings before import to catch issues early
Critical Insight
Comprehensive translation comments and custom formatting systems reduced translator confusion and prevented crashes from localization mistakes.
