The platform supports multiple languages using standard best practice as follows:
- There are two types of “content” required to support multiple languages:
- “Platform Content”, which consists of generic screen instructions provided to a user regardless of the Service. At present, futureDecide™ / ERDP has a full set of English (en) and French (fr) Platform Content.
- “Service-specific” input, output and guidance content which consists of the specific questions / data requirements / review criteria/ instructions, etc. associated with a specific Service. Because service-specific content is by definition unique to a specific client Service, it is normally the responsibility of a client to provide French translations for such content
- When a user logs in, the server reads the “locale” variable that is supplied automatically by all web browsers. The locale supplied will correspond with the language settings on the user’s operating system or browser. For example, a browser will send a “fr” locale for a user who normally works in French on their computer (i.e., operating system menus are in French).
- If the locale variable sent on login is “en”, then English platform and service-specific content is provided. If the locale is “fr”, then French content is automatically shown. The exceptions are as follows:
- For some question types where content is stored as strings, it may be necessary for question labels to be bilingual
- There are a few global service variables that must be shown in a bilingual form
- System-generated emails include both English and French text
- If a user wishes to change to a different language than the locale specified by their browser, the Main Menu provides a drop-down box to switch languages, and the main Register screen similarly provides mechanism to switch languages