Translations
Translation modes
There are two translation modes available: The “Translate” mode and the “Copy” mode. The “Copy” mode just copies the existing content elements from the source language to the target language. Afterwards all contents can be translated and changed.
The “Translate” mode is much more restrictive. It creates a direct connection between the column and its contents in the source language and in the target language. Adding other content elements than those in the source language is not possible.
Furthermore the translation mode can be different on each page and for each language. Even this is technically possible, I recommend to stick to one mode for all languages and all pages. AFAIK there is no means to enforce one or the other for the complete site. (Please, proof me, if I am wrong )
Content elements can be translated via the modules “Page” and “List”.
Module “Page”: Column vs. language view
The default mode in the page module is the “Column”, where all contents are displayed according to the current backend layout and the selected language. It is possible to switch between the available languages, but it is not possible to create a translation of the page in this mode.
The alternative to the “Column” display is the mode “Language”. It shows the content elements of one or more languages side by side. If the default language is selected all active translations are shown. Otherwise only the default language and the selected one are displayed side by side.
As long as this page is not translated at all or there is a translation missing, the option “Make a new translation of this page” and a drop-down are displayed at the top of the editing area.
Selecting a language in the drop-down will reload the form and provide the page properties of the selected language. Which fields are editable depends on the configuration of the installation.
Module “Page”: Translating the content
The next step to take is to translate the content. If no or not each content element is translated, there is the button “Translate”. A click on it opens a dialog, which will guide you through the translations of content elements. This must be done for each “column” or area of a backend layout separately.
Clicking that button starts the first of up to four sequential dialogs creating the translation.
The first step is about the decision whether to copy or translate from the “original” language.
The “Translate” mode leads to a direct connection between each content element in the original language and the target language on this page. The copy mode creates copies of the content elements. (See above for details).
The second step is to choose the original language. There is no classical “default” language any more, as in previous TYPO3 versions. Every (even already translated) content can serve as a source for your translation.
The the third step shows a summary of the translated records. There is nothing to decide, you can only proceed with “Next” or return to the previous step.
The fourth step processes the translation and reloads the current page in the backend. Now you are done for this “colPos”. If there are other areas in the backend layouts, you must repeat these steps for each of them.