React

Add LingoJS to your React app and manage dynamic languages with the LingoJS API.

1. Install the LingoJS Script

First, include the LingoJS script in your public/index.html file. This can be done by adding the <script> tag directly in your HTML. Ensure that the LingoJS script is loaded in your application.

<!-- In public/index.html -->
<script src="https://api.lingojs.com/static/js/translation-snippet.js"></script>

2. Initialize LingoJS in Your React App

Once the script is included, you'll need to initialize LingoJS in your React app. You can do this in your App.js or a component where you want to handle the language settings.

import React, { useEffect } from 'react';

const App = () => {
  useEffect(() => {
    // Initialize LingoJS on component mount
    if (window.Lingojs && window.Lingojs.initialize) {
      window.Lingojs.initialize({
        projectKey: 'Your project key',
        targetLanguage: 'de', // Define your language logic or function to get the current language
        baseLanguage: 'en',
        rememberLanguage: true , // Decide whether to remember the user's language setting
        showWidget: true // Decide whether to show the language change widget
      });
    }
  }, []);

  const changeLanguage = async (lang) => {
    if (window.Lingojs) {
      await window.Lingojs.changeLanguage(lang);
    }
  };

  return (
    <div className="App">
      <h1>Hello World</h1>
      <button onClick={() => changeLanguage('fr')}>Change Language to French</button>
    </div>
  );
};

export default App;

3. Change Language Dynamically

To change the language dynamically, you can call the window.Lingojs.changeLanguage() function. It takes the ISO 639-1 language code as an argument.

For example, to change the language to French, you would call:

await window.Lingojs.changeLanguage('fr');

4. Handling Dynamic Content

LingoJS will automatically detect text content on your page and send it to the dashboard for translation. However, if you have content that should not be translated, you can use the translate attribute to control translation behavior.

Disabling Translation for an Element:

To prevent certain elements from being translated, add the translate="no" attribute to them:

<p translate="no">This text will not be translated.</p>

Handling Dynamic Variables:

For dynamic variables (content that shouldn't be translated within a sentence), use the <var></var> tag. This allows the dynamic content to be shown in the dashboard but keeps it empty for translation purposes.

<p>This is a sentence with a dynamic value: <var>dynamicValue</var></p>

This ensures that the dynamic content won't be misinterpreted or altered in the translation process.

5. Additional Setup Options

• Remember Language: If you want the language choice to persist (i.e., for users to see the same language on returning visits), you can set rememberLanguage: true in the initialization.

• Translation Widget: If you want to display a translation widget (for users to change the language on their own), you can enable it by setting showWidget: true.

6. Important Notes:

• Do not modify HTML tags in the LingoJS dashboard. The translations are automatically generated to ensure they retain the proper attributes (e.g., classes, styles) from the DOM.

• Ensure that your projectKey is correctly configured for your LingoJS project.

Example Full Integration in App.js:

import React, { useEffect } from 'react';

const App = () => {
  useEffect(() => {
    // Initialize LingoJS when the app is mounted
    if (window.Lingojs && window.Lingojs.initialize) {
      window.Lingojs.initialize({
        projectKey: 'Your project key',
        targetLanguage: 'de',
        baseLanguage: 'en',
        rememberLanguage: true,
        showWidget: true
      });
    }
  }, []);

  // Function to change the language dynamically
  const changeLanguage = async (lang) => {
    if (window.Lingojs) {
      await window.Lingojs.changeLanguage(lang);
    }
  };

  return (
    <div className="App">
      <h1>Hello World</h1>
      <button onClick={() => changeLanguage('fr')}>Change Language to French</button>
    </div>
  );
};

export default App;

⚠️ Attention: Modifying HTML Tags in the Dashboard

When you edit a translation in the LingoJS dashboard, do not modify the HTML tags (like <div>, <span>, or <p>) within the translation interface. These tags are automatically generated by LingoJS as decorators to maintain their structure and ensure proper styling and functionality on your site.

Changing these HTML elements in the dashboard could lead to issues, such as:

• Loss of formatting: The translations might not retain their original structure or styling.

• Breaking functionality: Tags like <div>, <span>, or other elements might carry important attributes (like class or id), which are necessary for your layout and interactivity.

Why is this Important?

LingoJS automatically generates these HTML elements in the translation process, which are then reused in your website’s DOM once the translations are applied. Modifying these tags in the dashboard would disrupt this process, causing translations to break or misalign with the intended design.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can successfully integrate LingoJS into your React project. LingoJS will automatically handle text translations and allow dynamic language switching through the API.