Locale - BETA ActionScript® 3 (AS3 Flash) Reference for the Adobe® Flash® Platform API Reference

(Beta)

Package	fl.lang
Class	public class Locale
Inheritance	Locale EventDispatcher Object

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flash CS3

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

The fl.lang.Locale class allows you to control how multilanguage text is displayed in a SWF file. The Flash Strings panel allows you to use string IDs instead of string literals in dynamic text fields. This allows you to create a SWF file that displays text loaded from a language-specific XML file. The XML file must use the XML Localization Interchange File Format (XLIFF). There are three ways to display the language-specific strings contained in the XLIFF files:

"automatically at runtime"—Flash Player replaces string IDs with strings from the XML file matching the default system language code returned by flash.system.capabilities.language.
"manually using stage language"—String IDs are replaced by strings at compile time and cannot be changed by Flash Player.
"via ActionScript at runtime"—String ID replacement is controlled using ActionScript at runtime. This option gives you control over both the timing and language of string ID replacement.

You can use the properties and methods of this class when you want to replace the string IDs "via ActionScript at runtime."

All of the properties and methods available are static, which means that they are accessed through the fl.lang.Locale class itself rather than through an instance of the class.

Note: The Locale class is installed in the Flash Authoring classpath and is automatically compiled into your SWF files. Using the Locale class increases the SWF file size slightly since the class is compiled into the SWF.

Related API Elements

flash.system.Capabilities.language

Public Properties

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	Property		Defined By
		autoReplace : Boolean [static] Determines whether strings are replaced automatically after loading the XML file.	Locale
		constructor : Object A reference to the class object or constructor function for a given object instance.	Object
		languageCodeArray : Array [static] [read-only] An array containing language codes for the languages that have been specified or loaded into the FLA file.	Locale
		stringIDArray : Array [static] [read-only] An array containing all the string IDs in the FLA file.	Locale

Public Methods

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	Method		Defined By
		addDelayedInstance(instance:Object, stringID:String):* [static] Adds the {instance, string ID} pair into the internal array for later use.	Locale
		addEventListener(type:String, listener:Function, useCapture:Boolean = false, priority:int = 0, useWeakReference:Boolean = false):void Registers an event listener object with an EventDispatcher object so that the listener receives notification of an event.	EventDispatcher
		addXMLPath(langCode:String, path:String):void [static] Adds the {languageCode and languagePath} pair into the internal array for later use.	Locale
		checkXMLStatus():Boolean [static] Returns true if the XML file is loaded; false otherwise.	Locale
		dispatchEvent(event:Event):Boolean Dispatches an event into the event flow.	EventDispatcher
		getDefaultLang():String [static] The default language code as set in the Strings panel dialog box or by calling the setDefaultLang() method.	Locale
		hasEventListener(type:String):Boolean Checks whether the EventDispatcher object has any listeners registered for a specific type of event.	EventDispatcher
		hasOwnProperty(name:String):Boolean Indicates whether an object has a specified property defined.	Object
		initialize():void [static] Automatically determines the language to use and loads the XML language file.	Locale
		isPrototypeOf(theClass:Object):Boolean Indicates whether an instance of the Object class is in the prototype chain of the object specified as the parameter.	Object
		loadLanguageXML(xmlLanguageCode:String, customXmlCompleteCallback:Function = null):void [static] Loads the specified XML language file.	Locale
		loadString(id:String):String [static] Returns the string value associated with the given string ID in the current language.	Locale
		loadStringEx(stringID:String, languageCode:String):String [static] Returns the string value associated with the given string ID and language code.	Locale
		propertyIsEnumerable(name:String):Boolean Indicates whether the specified property exists and is enumerable.	Object
		removeEventListener(type:String, listener:Function, useCapture:Boolean = false):void Removes a listener from the EventDispatcher object.	EventDispatcher
		setDefaultLang(langCode:String):void [static] Sets the default language code.	Locale
		setLoadCallback(loadCallback:Function):* [static] Sets the callback function that is called after the XML file is loaded.	Locale
		setPropertyIsEnumerable(name:String, isEnum:Boolean = true):void Sets the availability of a dynamic property for loop operations.	Object
		setString(stringID:String, languageCode:String, stringValue:String):void [static] Sets the new string value of a given string ID and language code.	Locale
		toLocaleString():String Returns the string representation of this object, formatted according to locale-specific conventions.	Object
		toString():String Returns the string representation of the specified object.	Object
		valueOf():Object Returns the primitive value of the specified object.	Object
		willTrigger(type:String):Boolean Checks whether an event listener is registered with this EventDispatcher object or any of its ancestors for the specified event type.	EventDispatcher

Events

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	Event		Summary	Defined By
		activate	[broadcast event] Dispatched when the Flash Player or AIR application gains operating system focus and becomes active.	EventDispatcher
		deactivate	[broadcast event] Dispatched when the Flash Player or AIR application operating loses system focus and is becoming inactive.	EventDispatcher

Property Detail

autoReplace

property

autoReplace:Boolean

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flash CS3

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Determines whether strings are replaced automatically after loading the XML file. If set to true, the text replacement method is equivalent to the Strings panel setting "automatically at runtime". This means that Flash Player will determine the default language of the host environment and automatically display the text in that language. If set to false, the text replacement method is equivalent to the Strings panel setting "via ActionScript at runtime". This means that you are responsible for loading the appropriate XML file to display the text.

The default value of this property reflects the setting that you select for Replace strings in the Strings panel dialog box: true for "automatically at runtime" (the default setting) and false for "via ActionScript at runtime".

Implementation
public static function get autoReplace():Boolean
public static function set autoReplace(value:Boolean):void

Example ( How to use this example )

The following example uses the Locale.autoReplace property to populate the dynamically created


     greeting_txt

text field on the Stage with the contents of the IDS_GREETING string in the English XML file. In the Strings panel, click the Settings button to open the Settings dialog box. You can add two active languages using the Settings dialog box: English (en) and French (fr), set the replacement strings radio option to "via ActionScript at runtime", and click OK. Finally, enter a string ID of IDS_GREETING in the Strings panel, and add text for each active language.

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     var greeting_txt:TextField = new TextField();
     greeting_txt.x = 40;
     greeting_txt.y = 40;
     greeting_txt.width = 200;
     greeting_txt.height = 20;
     greeting_txt.autoSize = TextFieldAutoSize.LEFT;
     Locale.autoReplace = true;
     Locale.addDelayedInstance(greeting_txt, "IDS_GREETING");
     Locale.loadLanguageXML("en");

languageCodeArray

property

languageCodeArray:Array [read-only]

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flash CS3

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

An array containing language codes for the languages that have been specified or loaded into the FLA file. The language codes are not sorted alphabetically.

Implementation
public static function get languageCodeArray():Array

Example ( How to use this example )

The following example loads a language XML file based on the current value of a ComboBox component. You drag a ComboBox component onto the Stage and give it an instance name of lang_cb. Using the Text tool, you create a dynamic text field and give it an instance name of greeting_txt. In the Strings panel, you add at least two active languages, set the replace strings radio option to "via ActionScript at runtime", and click OK. Next, you add a string ID of IDS_GREETING and enter text for each active language. Finally, you add the following ActionScript code to Frame 1 of the main Timeline:

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     Locale.setLoadCallback(localeListener);
     lang_cb.dataProvider = Locale.languageCodeArray.sort();
     lang_cb.addEventListener("change", langListener);
     
     function langListener(eventObj:Object):void {
      Locale.loadLanguageXML(eventObj.target.value);
     }
     function localeListener(success:Boolean):void {
      if (success) {
          greeting_txt.text = Locale.loadString("IDS_GREETING");
      } else {
          greeting_txt.text = "unable to load language XML file.";
      }
     }

stringIDArray

property

stringIDArray:Array [read-only]

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flash CS3

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

An array containing all the string IDs in the FLA file. The string IDs are not sorted alphabetically.

Implementation
public static function get stringIDArray():Array

Example ( How to use this example )

The following example traces the Locale.stringIDArray property for the currently loaded language XML file. Click the Settings button in the Strings panel to open the Settings dialog box. Next, you add two active languages: English (en) and French (fr), set the replace strings radio control to "via ActionScript at runtime", and click OK. In the Strings panel, you add a string ID of IDS_GREETING, and then add text for each active language.

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     Locale.setLoadCallback(localeCallback);
     Locale.loadLanguageXML("fr");
     function localeCallback(success:Boolean) {
      trace(success);
      trace(Locale.stringIDArray); // IDS_GREETING
      trace(Locale.loadStringEx("IDS_GREETING", "fr")); // bonjour
     }

Method Detail

addDelayedInstance

()

method

public static function addDelayedInstance(instance:Object, stringID:String):*

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flash CS3

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Adds the {instance, string ID} pair into the internal array for later use. This is primarily used by Flash when the strings replacement method is "automatically at runtime".

Parameters

	`instance:Object` — Instance name of the text field to populate.

	`stringID:String` — Language string ID.

Returns

*

Example ( How to use this example )

The following example uses the autoReplace property and addDelayedInstance() method to populate a text field on the Stage with the IDS_GREETING string from the English XML language file.

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     greeting_txt.autoSize = TextFieldAutoSize.LEFT;
     Locale.autoReplace = true;
     Locale.addDelayedInstance(greeting_txt, "IDS_GREETING");
     Locale.loadLanguageXML("en");

addXMLPath

()

method

public static function addXMLPath(langCode:String, path:String):void

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flash CS3

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Adds the {languageCode and languagePath} pair into the internal array for later use. This is primarily used by Flash Player when the string's replacement method is "automatically at runtime" or "via ActionScript at runtime". This method allows you to load XML language files from a custom location instead of the default location set up by Flash Professional. By default, Flash Professional creates an XML file for each language in your working directory, under a subdirectory named using your FLA file's name.

Parameters

	`langCode:String` — The language code.

	`path:String` — The XML path to add.

Example ( How to use this example )

The following example tells Flash Player that the English ("en") translations are found in the file "locale/locale_en.xml" file and French ("fr") translations are in the "locale/locale_fr.xml" file relative to your working directory (example and description provided by Chris Inch, from http://www.chrisinch.com):

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     Locale.addXMLPath("en", "locale/locale_en.xml");
     Locale.addXMLPath("fr", "locale/locale_fr.xml");
     Locale.setLoadCallback(Delegate.create(this, languageLoaded));
     Locale.loadLanguageXML("en");
     
     private function languageLoaded(success:Boolean):Void {
        trace(Locale.loadString("IDS_HELLO");

checkXMLStatus

()

method

public static function checkXMLStatus():Boolean

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flash CS3

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Returns true if the XML file is loaded; false otherwise.

Returns

Boolean — Returns true if the XML file is loaded; false otherwise.

Example ( How to use this example )

The following example uses an interval to check every 10 milliseconds to see if the language file has successfully loaded. Once the XML file has loaded, the greeting_txt text field instance on the Stage is populated with the IDS_GREETING string from the language XML file.

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     Locale.setLoadCallback(localeCallback);
     Locale.loadLanguageXML("en");
     // create interval to check if language XML file is loaded
     var locale_int:Number = setInterval(checkLocaleStatus, 10);
     function checkLocaleStatus():void {
      if (Locale.checkXMLStatus()) {
          clearInterval(locale_int);
          trace("clearing interval @ " + getTimer() + " ms");
      }
     }
     // callback function for Locale.setLoadCallback()
     function localeCallback(success:Boolean):void {
      greeting_txt.text = Locale.loadString("IDS_GREETING");
     }

getDefaultLang

()

method

public static function getDefaultLang():String

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flash CS3

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

The default language code as set in the Strings panel dialog box or by calling the setDefaultLang() method.

Returns

String — Returns the default language code.

Related API Elements

Locale.setDefaultLang()

Example ( How to use this example )

The following example creates a variable called defLang, which is used to hold the initial default language for the Flash document. You click the Settings button in the Strings panel to launch the Settings dialog box. Then you add two active languages: English (en) and French (fr), set the replace strings radio control to "via ActionScript at runtime", and click OK. In the Strings panel, you add a string ID of IDS_GREETING, and then add text for each active language.

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     var defLang:String = "fr";
     Locale.setDefaultLang(defLang);
     Locale.setLoadCallback(localeCallback);
     Locale.loadLanguageXML(Locale.getDefaultLang());
     function localeCallback(success:Boolean) {
      if (success) {
          trace(Locale.stringIDArray); // IDS_GREETING
          trace(Locale.loadString("IDS_GREETING"));
      } else {
          trace("unable to load XML");
      }
     }

initialize

()

method

public static function initialize():void

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flash CS3

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Automatically determines the language to use and loads the XML language file. This is primarily used by Flash when the strings replacement method is "automatically at runtime".

Example ( How to use this example )

This example shows how to use the initialize() method to automatically populate the

greeting_txt

text field on the Stage with the user's current OS language. Instead of using the initialize() method directly, use the string replacement method of "automatically at runtime".

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     trace(System.capabilities.language);
     Locale.autoReplace = true;
     Locale.addDelayedInstance(greeting_txt, "IDS_GREETING");
     Locale.initialize();

loadLanguageXML

()

method

public static function loadLanguageXML(xmlLanguageCode:String, customXmlCompleteCallback:Function = null):void

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flash CS3

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Loads the specified XML language file.

Parameters

	`xmlLanguageCode:String` — The language code for the XML language file that you want to load.

	`customXmlCompleteCallback:Function` (default = `null`) — Custom callback function to call when XML language file loads.

Example ( How to use this example )

The following example uses the loadLanguageXML() method to load the English (en) XML language file. Once the language file loads, the localeCallback() method is called and populates the greeting_txt text field on the Stage with the contents of the IDS_GREETING string in the XML file.

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     Locale.setLoadCallback(localeCallback);
     Locale.loadLanguageXML("en");
     // create interval to check if language XML file is loaded
     var locale_int:Number = setInterval(checkLocaleStatus, 10);
     function checkLocaleStatus():void {
      if (Locale.checkXMLStatus()) {
          clearInterval(locale_int);
          trace("clearing interval @ " + getTimer() + " ms");
      }
     }
     // callback function for Locale.setLoadCallback()
     function localeCallback(success:Boolean):void {
      greeting_txt.text = Locale.loadString("IDS_GREETING");
     }

loadString

()

method

public static function loadString(id:String):String

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flash CS3

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Returns the string value associated with the given string ID in the current language.

Parameters

id:String — The identification (ID) number of the string to load.

Returns

String — The string value associated with the given string ID in the current language.

Related API Elements

Locale.loadStringEx()

Example ( How to use this example )

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     Locale.setLoadCallback(localeCallback);
     Locale.loadLanguageXML("en");
     // create interval to check if language XML file is loaded
     var locale_int:Number = setInterval(checkLocaleStatus, 10);
     function checkLocaleStatus():void {
      if (Locale.checkXMLStatus()) {
          clearInterval(locale_int);
          trace("clearing interval @ " + getTimer() + " ms");
      }
     }
     // callback function for Locale.setLoadCallback()
     function localeCallback(success:Boolean):void {
      greeting_txt.text = Locale.loadString("IDS_GREETING");
     }

loadStringEx

()

method

public static function loadStringEx(stringID:String, languageCode:String):String

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flash CS3

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Returns the string value associated with the given string ID and language code. To avoid unexpected XML file loading, loadStringEx() does not load the XML language file if the XML file is not already loaded. You should decide on the right time to call the loadLanguageXML() method if you want to load a XML language file.

Parameters

	`stringID:String` — The identification (ID) number of the string to load.

	`languageCode:String` — The language code.

Returns

String — The string value associated with the given string ID in the language specified by the languageCode parameter.

Related API Elements

Locale.loadString()

Example ( How to use this example )

The following example uses the loadStringEx() method to trace the value of the IDS_GREETING string for the currently loaded French language XML file.

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     Locale.setLoadCallback(localeCallback);
     Locale.loadLanguageXML("fr");
     function localeCallback(success:Boolean) {
      trace(success);
      trace(Locale.stringIDArray); // IDS_GREETING
      trace(Locale.loadStringEx("IDS_GREETING", "fr")); // bonjour
     }

setDefaultLang

()

method

public static function setDefaultLang(langCode:String):void

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flash CS3

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Sets the default language code.

Parameters

langCode:String — A string representing a language code.

Related API Elements

Locale.getDefaultLang()

Example ( How to use this example )

The following example creates a variable called defLang, which is used to hold the initial default language for the Flash document. You click the Settings button in the Strings panel to open the Settings dialog box. Then you add two active languages: English (en) and French (fr), set the replace strings radio control to "via ActionScript at runtime", and click OK. In the Strings panel, you add a string ID of IDS_GREETING, and then add text for each active language.

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     var defLang:String = "fr";
     Locale.setDefaultLang(defLang);
     Locale.setLoadCallback(localeCallback);
     Locale.loadLanguageXML(Locale.getDefaultLang());
     function localeCallback(success:Boolean) {
      if (success) {
          trace(Locale.stringIDArray); // IDS_GREETING
          trace(Locale.loadString("IDS_GREETING"));
      } else {
          trace("unable to load XML");
      }
     }

setLoadCallback

()

method

public static function setLoadCallback(loadCallback:Function):*

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flash CS3

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Sets the callback function that is called after the XML file is loaded.

Parameters

loadCallback:Function — The function to call when the XML language file loads.

Returns

*

Example ( How to use this example )

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     Locale.setLoadCallback(localeCallback);
     Locale.loadLanguageXML("en");
     // create interval to check if language XML file is loaded
     var locale_int:Number = setInterval(checkLocaleStatus, 10);
     function checkLocaleStatus():void {
      if (Locale.checkXMLStatus()) {
          clearInterval(locale_int);
          trace("clearing interval @ " + getTimer() + " ms");
      }
     }
     // callback function for Locale.setLoadCallback()
     function localeCallback(success:Boolean):void {
      greeting_txt.text = Locale.loadString("IDS_GREETING");
     }

setString

()

method

public static function setString(stringID:String, languageCode:String, stringValue:String):void

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flash CS3

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 9, AIR 1.0

Sets the new string value of a given string ID and language code.

Parameters

	`stringID:String` — The identification (ID) number of the string to set.

	`languageCode:String` — The language code.

	`stringValue:String` — A string value.

Example ( How to use this example )

The following example uses the setString() method to set the IDS_WELCOME string for both English (en) and French (fr).

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     Locale.setString("IDS_WELCOME", "en", "hello");
     Locale.setString("IDS_WELCOME", "fr", "bonjour");
     trace(Locale.loadStringEx("IDS_WELCOME", "en")); // hello

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Locale - AS3 Flash

Classes x

autoReplace

languageCodeArray

stringIDArray

addDelayedInstance

addXMLPath

checkXMLStatus

getDefaultLang

initialize

loadLanguageXML

loadString

loadStringEx

setDefaultLang

setLoadCallback

setString