Translate()

About this article

Translate() is a function that returns a row of the Translations data source, and then the value of the applicable language column. This article will explain the binding syntax and show examples how this can be configured in the Dynamics Designer.

Prerequisites

Admin right on Templafy tenant
Hive Dynamics Designer (Dynamics 2.0)
Languages added in settings

Syntax

There are two different syntaxes for Translate().

The first one returns the row of the 'NameValueToLookUp', and then the value of the applicable language 'ColumnName'. If the language column is not found it will show the value of the 'Name' column:

Syntax	{{Translate(NameValueToLookUp, ColumnName)}}

The second syntax returns the row of the 'NameValueToLookUp', and then the DocumentLanguage set in the user profile. If no DocumentLanguage is set, it will show the value of the 'Name' column:

Syntax	{{Translate(NameValueToLookUp)}}

Examples

Please note, creating data sources requires admin rights as is done from the Resources module in the Admin Center of the Templafy tenant.
The Translate function is case sensitive.
Currently (March 2021) you need to create your own data source named e.g. ’TempLanguages’. The name ’Languages’ is not allowed, because that is used for that data source. However the ’Languages’ data source will be removed in the future and replaced by the ’internal language list’ that is created under ’Settings’.

In the examples below these data sources are used:

Data source ’TempLanguages’ with a ’Language’ column containing language code (’iana’) values:

Data source ’Translations’ with language code (’iana’) columns that contain the translations for that language:

The language code ('iana') columns can be created by clicking More Options in the upper right corner and then Settings.

A ’DocumentLanguage’ field in the user profile, using the field ’Language’ from the data source ’TempLanguages’:

Example 1

Translate "Subject" to Dutch.

Binding	{{Translate("Subject", "nl-NL")}}
Output	Onderwerp

If the 'nl-NL' column is not found, then the output will be 'Subject'.
Because the Translations function is case sensitive, the name in the Translations data source needs to be 'Subject' (not 'subject').

Example 2

Translate "Subject" to the DocumentLanguage set in the user profile.

Binding	{{Translate("Subject")}}
Input	DocumentLanguage = "nl-NL"	DocumentLanguage = "fr-FR"	DocumentLanguage = not set
Output	Onderwerp	Sujet	Subject

The binding {{Translate("Subject", DocumentLanguage)}} can also be used.

Example 3

Translate "Subject" to the DocumentLanguage selected in a form field.

Binding	{{Translate("Subject", Form.DocumentLanguage.Language)}}
Input	DocumentLanguage = "nl-NL"	DocumentLanguage = "fr-FR"	DocumentLanguage = not selected
Output	Onderwerp	Sujet	Subject

Example 4

Use Translate() combined with FormatDateTime() to show a specific date format depending on the DocumentLanguage set in the user profile.

Binding	{{FormatDateTime(Form.Date, Translate("FormatLongDate", DocumentLanguage), DocumentLanguage)}}
Input	Date = 4 October 2021, DocumentLanguage = "nl-NL"	Date = 4 October 2021, DocumentLanguage = "fr-FR"	Date = 4 October 2021, DocumentLanguage = "en-US"
Output	maandag 4 oktober 2021	lundi 04 oct. 2021	Mon 4 October 2021

The binding {{FormatDateTime(Form.Date, Translate("FormatLongDate", UserProfile.DocumentLanguage.Language), UserProfile.DocumentLanguage.Language)}} can also be used.

If the DocumentLanguage is not set then an unexpected value is shown (because the system tries to format the text 'FormatLongDate' as a date). The solution is to make the DocumentLanguage field required.

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