secondlife / secondlife/viewer
Localize Debug Settings comments per viewer language
A pull request for this has already been merged.
- #5956 by @vedned — merged
- Dominant language
- C++
- Stars
- 299
- Forks
- 146
- Avg merge
- 1d 9h
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 88
Description
Summary
The Debug Settings panel (Advanced → Show Debug Settings) shows a help comment
for each setting. Today these comments are always in English, regardless of
the viewer language, because they come from app_settings/settings.xml at runtime.
This makes advanced configuration harder for non-English speakers.
Proposed solution
Load optional per-locale comment overrides from
skins/default/xui/{locale}/settings_comments.xml after the session language is
initialized, and apply them to existing controls in both Global and
PerAccount settings groups via LLControlVariable::setComment().
Fallback (required):
- No file for the locale → keep English comments (current behavior).
- Missing key in the file → keep English for that setting only.
This allows incremental translation without breaking untranslated locales.
Scope of initial implementation
- C++ loader in
LLAppViewer::loadLocalizedSettingsComments()(llappviewer.cpp/.h). - First complete translation: PT-BR
skins/default/xui/pt/settings_comments.xml(1,507 settings)- Complete remaining labels in
skins/default/xui/pt/floater_settings_debug.xml
Rationale
- Improves accessibility for Portuguese-speaking residents and maintainers.
- Pattern is extensible to other locales without changing core settings XML.
- English remains the source of truth; translations are overlays only.
How to verify
- Build and run the viewer.
- Set language to Português (Brasil) and restart if needed.
- Enable Preferences → Advanced → Show Advanced Menu.
- Open Advanced → Show Debug Settings.
- Confirm setting help text appears in Portuguese.
- Switch to a locale without
settings_comments.xml→ comments stay in English.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start with LLAppViewer::loadLocalizedSettingsComments() in llappviewer.cpp and its declaration in llappviewer.h, then inspect skins/default/xui/pt/settings_comments.xml and floater_settings_debug.xml. Verify the Portuguese Debug Settings comments and remaining labels, while confirming locales without an override file and settings with missing keys retain English text.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- cpp
- Domain
- localization
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Clearly specified
- Newbie friendliness
- 25/100