Localization of text and xml files inside /sites folder

as007

Environment:
TeamSite 7.2.1
Windows Server 2008 R2, 64 bit

Some .txt and .xml files have been created inside a master locale site. When localization of these files is attempted for other locale sites, using "Actions > Monitor Localization" or "Actions > Localize",following error message is shown:

The localization process cannot be initiated since an invalid selection was made.

Also for any xml/txt files outside sites folder, "Actions > Monitor Localization" is disabled. Further, outside sites folder, these files can be localized only once, using "Actions > Localize", when the localized copies of the master files do not exist. If the localized copies are already present, the changes in master cannot be propagated to other locales. The localization screen shows all such locales as grayed out.

Localization/translation is being tested for the first time on our servers. I would really appreciate if someone could help us fix these issues.

Thanks,

Rick Poulin

Some .txt and .xml files have been created inside a master locale site.

Per the SitePub Dev guide, best practices section, your sites folder should not contain any non-sitepub artifacts. That may or may not be why you get that error. You'd have to check the server logs and possibly bump up logging.

Also for any xml/txt files outside sites folder, "Actions > Monitor Localization" is disabled.

That menu option doesn't operate based on a selection; it's based on where you are in the workarea. It seems to behave differently when you're in unrecognized folders, but launching it from either 'sites' or 'templatedata' will (should) still show you all static assets outside the sites folder.

Further, outside sites folder, these files can be localized only once, using "Actions > Localize", when the localized copies of the master files do not exist. If the localized copies are already present, the changes in master cannot be propagated to other locales. The localization screen shows all such locales as grayed out.

Yes, that's how localization works. All it does is create a copy of the file for the other locale. From there on, the contents of the files are independent. The only real purpose of localizing in the first place is so you can build a workflow that would understand how to cascade changes from the master. That stuff is obviously very specific to whatever it is you're doing, so all you get from the platform is the linkage (dependency) information between the files. If you want the content to stay identical, then mark the file as 'not localizable'. Otherwise, their contents is unlinked until you build a custom piece that figures out how to replicate changes down from the master locale.