Localization testing focuses primarily on a product's cosmetic and linguistic aspects. For example, once localized, the software needs to be verified on different platforms to see if translated options fill in the target dialog boxes and if all hot keys use unique letters, etc. CSOFT conducts localization testing separately for each target language using a subset of the testing scripts developed for the English version. If such testing scripts are not available, we can also work with our clients to develop a testing strategy such as going through the translated resource files to check every menu, dialog box and messages.

Linguistic Testing

Our linguistic testing usually considers the following issues:

• If all UI strings have been tested (both hard coded and external resource strings)
• Translation consistency between menu items and dialog box titles
• If accented characters display and print properly
• Punctuation rules
• Localized text wraps, hyphenation, and sorting
• If hot key assignment is consistent with the target operating system

Cosmetic Testing

The following is a list of items we test for cosmetic (appearance) issues

• Ensure all dialog boxes are properly resized without truncation.
• Uniqueness of all hot keys in dialog boxes and menus
• Extended characters display as expected
• Alignment of buttons, consistent sizing of screen elements and overall aesthetics
• Dialog boxes and menu display properly using regional settings

For more information about CSOFT's localization testing capabilities, please click here.