However, there are times when you are typing and you forgot to change the keyboard layout to the language that you want to type in. What do you do? Do you delete all those you have typed, change the keyboard setting and restart all over again? What if you can press a hotkey to instantly change your keyboard setting and translate those words/sentences/paragraphs you have typed into the language you want? I am sure that will save you tons of time rewriting the paragraphs. LangOver is one such app.

LangOver is a freeware that helps you when you tried to type in one language but the result was in another. By using the hotkey F10, you’ll be able to convert your text quickly between languages.

Download and install LangOver.

By default, LangOver uses the F10 key to activate the language switch. You can also configure it to use the middle button of your mouse as well.

After the configuration, you can start using it. While typing in one language, you can quickly press F10 to translate the text and switch the keyboard setting. You can also press F6 to perform a reverse translation.

In addition to translating your text, LangOver also comes with text converting function. With the hotkey “Shift + F10″, you can toggle between upper and lowercase.

More hotkeys available in LangOver include “Ctrl + G” and “Ctrl + T” which would take the selected text and perform a search/translation in Google.

Conclusion

Obviously, LangOver is not meant for everyone. I used an English keyboard to type both English and Chinese words, so LangOver is not working for me. However, if you are using a non-English keyboard and need to switch between English and your native language, then LangOver could be useful. You won’t need it all the times, but when you do, it sure can save you from insanity.

LangOver

LangOver Helps You Change Your Typing Language Easily originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)
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All of the settings for languages in KDE are found in System Settings, and there are four major components that you should configure:

1. Country/Region (currency, time, etc.)
2. Language
3. Fonts
4. Keyboard layout.

Some settings may require the installation of additional software, so keep your Linux distribution’s package manager handy, as you work through the steps.

Country/Region

The country and region settings in KDE are in the first System Settings section, which is called “Common Appearance and Behavior”. In that section, click on “Locale”.

Find the Locale tab and the words “Country or region:” right underneath. The simplest way to get all of the correct country settings is to click the “change…” link next to the current country. This will bring up a dialog box with regions in the left column and countries found in the region on the right. Select your region and country, and click OK.

If selecting your country gives you the right language, numbers, currency, times and dates, you can stop there. Otherwise, you will need to go through each tab and configure them to your preferences. For example, under “Times & Dates”, you may want to change the first and last work days of the week if you work on a different schedule than the traditional Monday through Friday.

Language

In the locale tab, you should see a large box that says “Languages” next to it. Click “Add language” to add any one you want. For more languages, click “Install New Language”. This will take you through the process of adding language support and translations. There are currently 73 KDE language teams, providing translations for a wide variety of languages, including some that are often not supported by proprietary software.

Once you have your language installed and selected, you will need to select your spell checker. Click on the “Spell Checker” button in the left column of the current window and select the default language. Again, you can install additional spell checker languages through your distribution’s package manager.

Whenever you change region and language settings, you should restart KDE to allow the changes to come into effect.

Fonts

For languages that use Latin text, you will not need to install additional fonts. If, however, you speak one of those many languages that do not, you will want to install the appropriate fonts. Click the Back button in System Settings and then find the “System Administration” section. Then, click on “Font Installer”.

From here, you can see what fonts are installed and, if necessary, manually install the fonts you need. Before you manually install, however, you should check your distribution’s package repositories to see if the fonts you need are there. If they are not, you should be able to download them.

To install fonts, click the “Add” button at the bottom, which will bring up a file browser. Find the font files you downloaded and select the ones you want to install. When you click “Open” KDE will ask you if you want to install the fonts for your personal use or for all users (system). If you select “System” you will need to provide a root password when prompted. When it finishes, click “Close”.

Keyboard Layout

Most languages will require a different keyboard layout than the default. To change it, click the Back button and under the “Hardware” section, click “Input Devices”. When the keyboard settings appear, click the “Layouts” tab.

In between the top and bottom sections is a check box that says”Configure layouts” tick it to enable the layout selections. Next, click “Add Layout” and find yours from the drop-down menu. After you select the layout, select the variant from the third drop-down menu. Some languages will have numerous variants for dialects or styles. When you are finished, click “OK”.

If you select more than one keyboard layout, you will have the option to switch between them using the layout widget in the system tray. You can also use the specified shortcut keys to switch at any time.

Other Considerations

It is worth noting that non-KDE apps will usually follow the keyboard layouts but may not follow language settings. For those, you will need to configure them manually.

KDE is an open, community-developed software compilation. Therefore, if your language is not supported, you can contribute to adding your language to the pool. For more information, consult the KDE localization website.

What is Global Translator?

Global Translator is a WordPress plugin that gives you the ability to make your blog accessible to your readers in 41 different languages (Please see the next section for the 41 languages). It uses four different translation language – Google Translation Services, Promt Online Translator, Altavista Babel Fish and FreeTranslator – that will be the deciding factor as to which languages your blog can be displayed in.

What are the 41 languages?

The 41 languages are Italian, Korean, Chinese (Simplified), Portuguese, English, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, Russian, Greek, Dutch, Bulgarian, Czech, Croatian, Danish, Finnish, Hindi, Polish, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Catalan, Filipino, Hebrew, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Albanian, Estonian, Galician, Maltese, Thai, Turkish, Hungarian

Note: Remember that the number of languages you are able to access depends on which translation engine you choose

How do I install it?

• If you are using WordPress 2.7 or higher, you are able to search for the Global Translator plugin on the plugin search page and automatically install it.
• If you don’t, then you can click this link: Download Global Translator here

- Extract the zip file and upload global-translator folder folder into the /wp-content/plugins/ directory.
- Login to your WordPress admin page, click Plugins. Look for “global-translator,” and click the Activate link.

How do I customize it?

After installing the Global Translator plugin, on your Dashboard, go to Settings->Global Translator.

1. Choose your translation engine (i.e. Google Translation Services, Promt Online Translator, Altavista Babel Fish, or FreeTransalator)

2. Select your default language in the My Blog is written in drop-down menu

3. Choose which languages to make available to your visitors

4. Select how you want the language flags displayed

5. Press the Update Options button

6. Go to the Appearance->Widget section, drag the Global Translator widget to your blog’s sidebar

What if my blog is not widgetized or I want to show the language flags on the actual blog post?

Go into your Editor to the location you want the language flags to appear and type the following php code:

<?php
if(function_exists(”gltr_build_flags_bar”)) {
gltr_build_flags_bar();
}
?>

What do my users have do to translate it to their desired language?

I recommend placing the Global Translator widget as the first widget on your blog’s sidebar. Users will select their desired language’s flag, and the page will be translated. Below is a an example where the blog was translated from English to Spanish:

What other software do you use to translate your site?