Java Properties

Learn about localizing Java Properties (.properties) files

Nina avatar
Written by Nina
Updated this week

File Extension(s)

.properties

i18n type(s)

PROPERTIES (Latin-1)

UNICODEPROPERTIES (Unicode)

Java ".properties" files are one of the formats used for localizing Java applications. The format is relatively simple: each line consists (in most cases) of a key and its associated value.

The Java .properties standard requires the encoding to be ISO-8859-1 and not UTF-8. Choose the 'Java PROPERTIES File - Unicode' (i18n_type: UNICODEPROPERTIES) format if you'd like to use Unicode files.


Sample Data

! Use the exclamation mark in order to mark text as comments.
# You can use the number sign instead
admin = Administrators are people that manage the organization.
updates = Keep me up to date with Transifex news
email_address = email address
connect = Connect with users on Transifex
phone = phone


Plural support

Transifex supports pluralized entries in Properties based on ICU's message format specifications (plural subset). Please take a look at our documentation guide here for more details about how Transifex handles pluralized strings.

Below is an example based on the language plural rules that CLDR standards provide:

English file

key1={count, plural, one {You have {count} file.} other {You have {count} files.}}
key2={count, plural, =1 {You have {count} folder.} other {You have {count} folders.}}

Both written and numeric forms are supported and recognized by the Transifex Properties parser as pluralized syntax.

📝 Note: Do you want to find out more about plurals in Transifex? Please check here.


Download options

  • Download file to translate: The generated translation files will include the already translated strings and the untranslated ones will be commented out and filled with the corresponding source entries.

  • Download for use: The generated translation files will include the already translated strings, and the untranslated ones will be filled with the corresponding source entries - they won't be commented out.

  • Download only reviewed translations: The generated translation files will include the reviewed translations, and the unreviewed entries will be commented out and filled with the corresponding source entries.

  • Download for translation as XLIFF: The translation file will be downloaded in the .xliff format and include both translated and untranslated strings. The last ones will be returned without having target elements.

  • Download untranslated strings as XLIFF: The translation file will be downloaded in the .xliff format and include only the untranslated strings.


Additional Information


💡Tip

Looking for more help? Get support from our Transifex Community Forum!

Find answers or post to get help from Transifex Support and our Community.

Did this answer your question?