Strings displayed during the game, for example in your menus, need to be localized in the current language. To this end, a strings.dat file is placed inside each languages/xx/text directory, where xx is a language code defined in project_db.dat (e.g. "en" or "fr").

When translating the game, you have to translate this strings.dat file as well as the dialogs file (dialogs.dat). Have a look at the How to translate a quest page if you are interested in translating the game (and you should also contact us).

Solarus Quest Editor fully supports the edition of string files. You can either use it to edit a string file graphically, or you can edit strings.dat by hand in a text editor if you prefer.

string.dat is a text file encoded in UTF-8. We specify here its full syntax, with instructions for quest makers and translators.

The sequence of characters -- (two dashes) marks the beginning of a comment. After them, the rest of the line is ignored by the engine. Empty lines are also ignored. Quest makers should put many comments to explain where each dialog is used and give instructions to translators if needed.

The definition of a string starts with text{ and ends with }. Inside the braces, the properties of the string are specified. Properties are declared with the syntax property_name = property_content and separated with commas. It is allowed to have an extra comma after the last property. String contents should be enclosed within double quotes, except when specified otherwise. Each string must have exactly the following two properties:

key (string): A name identifying this string for all languages. Don't change the key when you are translating a quest, since the key identifies the string.
value (string): The content of this string in the current language.

For each language, the strings.dat file must define strings with the same keys.

I recommend to add comments (lines beginning by –) to explain where each string is used and how many characters it should not exceed. Future translators will thank you.

An an example, here is a part of a possible languages/fr/text/strings.dat file:

-- Savegame selection menu.
-- Strings beginning with "selection_menu.phase" should not exceed 45 characters.
text{ key = "selection_menu.phase.select_file", value = "Veuillez choisir un fichier" }
text{ key = "selection_menu.phase.choose_mode", value = "Choisissez un mode de jeu" }
text{ key = "selection_menu.phase.choose_name", value = "Quel est votre nom ?" }
text{ key = "selection_menu.phase.confirm_erase", value = "Etes-vous sûr ?" }
text{ key = "selection_menu.phase.erase_file", value = "Quel fichier voulez-vous effacer ?" }
text{ key = "selection_menu.phase.options", value = "Appuyez sur Espace pour modifier" }
text{ key = "selection_menu.phase.options.changing", value = "<  > : choisir, Espace : valider" }
text{ key = "selection_menu.erase", value = "Effacer" }
text{ key = "selection_menu.cancel", value = "Annuler" }
text{ key = "selection_menu.big_yes", value = "OUI" }
text{ key = "selection_menu.big_no", value = "NON" }
text{ key = "selection_menu.empty", value = "Vide" }
text{ key = "selection_menu.options", value = "Options" }
text{ key = "selection_menu.back", value = "Retour" }
text{ key = "selection_menu.options.language", value = "Langue" }
text{ key = "selection_menu.options.video_mode", value = "Mode" }
text{ key = "selection_menu.options.music_volume", value = "Volume de la musique" }
text{ key = "selection_menu.options.sound_volume", value = "Volume des sons" }

Remarks: This syntax of the strings file is actually valid Lua. The engine internally uses Lua to parse it.