Pidgin 2.7.2 released!

[Javier Fernandez-Sanguino]

On Mon, Jul 26, 2010 at 12:08:52PM -0400, Daniel Atallah wrote:
> On Mon, Jul 26, 2010 at 12:00, Javier Fernandez-Sanguino <jfs at debian.org> wrote:

> > On 26 July 2010 17:23, David Bala??ic <david.balazic at comtrade.com> wrote:
> >> Also having to set env variables to make a selection is...
> >> C'mon, it is 2010!
> >
> > Pidgin in Windows currently relies on a registry key which is:
> >
> > a) set by the installer
> > b) difficult to change (you need to knwo the NSIS codes and language associated)
>
> This isn't entirely accurate, see
> http://developer.pidgin.im/wiki/Using%20Pidgin#HowdoesPidginforWindowsdeterminewhichlanguagetouse

Agree, it doesn't rely on only the registry key. But the use of
PIDGINLANG environment variable as an alternatible is not that much of
an option when users have to select the 'localization' component in
advance.

I'm not sure if environment variables can be configured through a
program (I believe they can't) maybe the best way is to provide
through the GUI this option and introduce a registry key under
HKEY_CURRENT_USER which he user can control without being an admin.
Note that I'm suggesting a new key instead of overloading the existing
key (HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\pidgin\Installer language)

Windows users are not all that used to using environment variables, if
there is a need (and I believe there is) to set the language from
within the GUI then it should be handled by a registry key that the
program can edit.


> > As far a I know there's no need to use environment variables. That is
> > not what I was suggesting. Windows provides information of user's
> > chosen locale and selected language in his environment. Currently, as
> > far as I know, correct me if I'm wrong, this is:
>
> > a) not used by the installer to automatically select and install the
> > proper localization
>
> I believe that this is incorrect; NSIS will choose the current locale
> by default if it is available.
> Also, the Pidgin translation for the selected installer language
> (however it is selected) will be installed by default.


That's not what I've seen in my tests. In a Windows XP system
localized into Spanish the installer did not select the 'es'
localization component by itself. The user had to manually select it.

I have been explaining this to users over e-mail, since the policy
change I've received ~14 emails asking for this (the real number of
users with this issue that have *not* contacted me through e-mail is
surely higher). I've added a new FAQ item this morning to try to
explain this, but the default behaviour should try to make things
easier for the user.


> > b) not used by Pidgin in Windows to select one of the available
> > localizations at %ProgramFiles%\Pidgin\locale\
>
> This is also not exactly correct; it is the default behavior of Pidgin
> to use the system locale if there is no overridden selection (e.g. by
> the user's language selection in the installer or via the PIDGINLANG
> environment variable).

However, on a default installation (using the installer) there *is* an
overriden selection through the language selection in the installer.
That is, the installer sets the registry key
(HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\pidgin\Installer language) and even *if*
the user selects the localization component he will still be shown
Pidgin in English unles he configures PIDGINLANG or changes the key.

I'm wondering if the installer should  set the registry key if
installing in English. Maybe it would be best that, if English is
selected, a prompt is show to the user wether to install (or not)
*all* languages available and prevent setting the registry key so the
user could select from those.

> I don't think it is that simple, please see the FAQ about how it works
> and think about why changing that might be (even more) confusing to
> people.

>From my point of view it's simple: if the user selects only *one*
localization component when 'English' has been selected he is
effectively saying "I want this language". The installation system
could help by setting up the (user) registry key accordingly.

I propose improving it in a way that favours the user. BTW the FAQ
does not actually document the registry key used by the installer to
define the language (HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\pidgin\Installer
language) maybe this should be documented?

> I still maintain that the "real" problem is that the desired language
> doesn't appear in the initial installer list - if it did, nobody would
> complain about anything else because everything would work as they
> expect it to.

No, the *real* problem is that *if* the desired language does not
appear in the initial installer it is difficult for an average user to
setup his
preferred language choice.

He has to:

- Understand that selecting a 'Localization component' equals to
'Translation to a given  language'
- Be able to make the relation between ISO codes (es, fr, etc.) to languages
- Be able to find the FAQ wiki and make the changes to PIDGINLANG

I'm not a Windows user myself, but from my POV these things might be
considered bugs in the installer.

In this case: Pidgin was translated to Spanish, even if the installer
was not, and our Spanish users had no clue as to how to set it up
after a default install. Not even by using Google to try to find the
answer .

"How does Pidgin for Windows determine which language to use?" is not
quite the same as "How do I change the language of Pidgin in Windows?"
which is the question I've been receiving quite often. I have actually
introduced a FAQ item explaining this.

Regards

Javier