For language translators:

To translate Packet Tracer 3 to another language, follow the following steps:

1) Make a copy of the file "default.ptl" and name it "<new language>.ptl", where <new language> is the language name in English. Place the new file in the same folder, which is the "LANGUAGES" folder.

2) Open the new file using a Unicode-capable editor that allows you to enter Unicode characters. Notepad in Windows 2000 and XP is an example. The "ptl" extension stands for "Packet Tracer Language". They are just XML files with a different extension.

3) For all words, phrases, and sentences between tags, translate them to your langauge. For example, the second line has the tag "<NAME>", so translate what is between this tag and its closing tag "</NAME>" to your langauge.

You only need to translate what is between the tags but not the tag names.

Do not translate words between "[[" and "]]". For example, some sentences have the phrase "Port [[PORT#]]" in them. "[[PORT#]]" will be replaced by a number during runtime to represent an appropriate port number. So, translate only the word "Port" and leave "[[PORT#]]" as it is.

There are a few tags with HTML code between them. They can be identified by the starting string 
"<![CDATA[" and the ending string "]]>". Do not translate the HTML tags (i.e., <BR>, <B>, etc) 
but translate everything else between the starting string and the ending string.

4) Save the file as a Unicode file. In Notepad's "Save As" dialog, it has the Encoding pulldown menu. Select "Unicode" from that menu.

5) After translating the entire file, start Packet Tracer 3. Go to Options->Languages-><new language name> where <new language name> is the name of the language you just translated to. Packet Tracer 3 should be in the new language.

Make sure your operating system has your language fonts installed that can support Unicode encoding.

6) Do not delete the "default.ptl" file.



To translate Help Files:

1) Create a new folder within the HELP folder, and give it the exact same name as the language you are translating to. For example, if there was a language in the LANGUAGE folder called "swahili.ptl", the new folder must be named "swahili".

2) Copy all files from the HELP/default/ folder into the new folder (i.e. HELP/swahili/)

3) You can now start translating files in the new folder. The text portion of HTML files can be edited with any HTML editor. Macromedia Dreamweaver is recommended because of it's graphical interface and ease-of-use.

4) Open the "language.ptl" file in the new folder, and change the 2nd line to reflect the language you are translating to. For example:
	 <GUI_LANGUAGE_FILE>default.ptl</GUI_LANGUAGE_FILE>	should be replaced by
	 <GUI_LANGUAGE_FILE>swahili.ptl</GUI_LANGUAGE_FILE>

5) Any screenshot that has text are actually dynamic Flash (.swf) files that are linked to Packet Tracer's Main language file. In most cases these are automatically translated if the main language file has been translated.

6) For screenshots that have special captioned text not found in the Packet Tracer program (such as the text next to arrows in the Simulation Mode screenshot), you must translate the content in the "language.ptl" file. This process is the same as translating the main Package Tracer language file.

7) Save "language.ptl" when you are done.
