BirdName.hta

BirdName, Version 3.07

This HTA uses Wikipedia to translate animal (chordata) species names from and to (m)any language(s).

You can use this program to translate a species name from one of the supported "local" languages to any of the other supported languages.
Start by selecting a class in the dropdown list "Class: AllRay-finned fishesAmphibiansBirdsCartilaginous fishesMammalsReptiles
Next, type the species name in the empty field just below the class selection.
The program will first search the scientific name on Wikipedia and then translate that scientific name to the language of choice.
Alternatively, you can enter the scientific name yourself, and the program will translate it to the language(s) of choice.
With the buttons you can search Wikipedia interactively for the requested translations.

Settings

If Use local language names is checked, the list of available languages shows the local language names (e.g. "Français", "Cymraeg"), if not checked the English language names are listed instead (e.g. "French", "Welsh").

1234 simultaneous translations controls the number of translations shown; it ranges from 1 to 4.

To change settings permanently, click the button, next to the "Settings" header, to open the configuration files in Notepad (see the chapter "Customization" for more details).

Click to move the Settings block out of sight (it will reappear next time the program is started).

Program Updates

This program automatically checks for updates.
If an update is available, a notification will pop up, asking you if you want to download the latest official release.
If you click "Yes" the BirdName download page will be opened in your default browser.
Unless you update the program, the notification will reappear next time the program is started.

If AutoUpdate is enabled, the program is updated "on-the-fly" without notification (see the chapter Customization for more details).

Restrictions

This program uses Wikipedia to find the requested translations.
Thus it depends on:

1. the full name being entered, exactly as used on Wikipedia (e.g. "Great Bittern" instead of "Bittern")
2. a page dedicated to the bird of choice in each language of choice
3. redirection of the scientific name to the local name
4. Wikipedia's page layout remaining more or less unchanged

It may be clear that these conditions may not always be met.
If no translation was found because there is no dedicated page, use the button next to the "Translation" field to search for the name yourself.

Ambiguity, multiple "local" names, or the use of an incomplete name or group name instead of the species' full name, may prevent the program to find the scientific name.
That is where the button next to the "Scientific Name" field comes to the rescue.
Click it to find the scientific name yourself, or look it up in a printed bird guide.
Once found, clear the "Bird Name" field and use the "Scientific Name" field to find the requested translations.
If you still can't find the translation that way, this program cannot assist you any further.

Customization

You may use a configuration file named BirdName.cfg, to customize the window size, default input and output languages and number of simultaneous translations.
BirdName.cfg is an ANSI encoded (or "ASCII") plain text file, located in BirdName.hta's parent folder.
Examine the default settings shown below to find out what you can customize and how:

Version=3.07
AutoUpdate=0
ConfigLanguage=en
DefaultClass=Mammalia
DefaultLanguage=en
NumTrans=4
TransLang1=nl
TransLang2=de
TransLang3=es
TransLang4=da
WindowHeight=768
WindowWidth=1024

Note 1:	Each of these settings can also be specified on the command line, e.g. BirdName.hta /ConfigLanguage=en /DefaultLanguage=fr
Note 2:	AutoUpdate=1 will update the HTA to the latest version without any user interaction.

Besides the program settings, you can also customize (translate) the captions and button labels.
This requires an ANSI encoded (or "ASCII") plain text file named BirdName.lang, located in BirdName.hta's parent folder, where lang is the language code specified by ConfigLanguage in BirdName.cfg (e.g. en).
Unicode or extended ASCII characters in all text except button labels must be escaped (e.g. Ü for Ü).
You may have to experiment with code page settings when using extended ASCII characters in translated button labels.
Examine BirdName.en, shown below, to figure out what you can customize and how:

Version=3.07
All=All
Class=Class
ClassAll=All
ClassActinopterygii=Ray-finned fishes
ClassAmphibia=Amphibians
ClassAves=Birds
ClassChondrichthyes=Cartilaginous fishes
ClassMammalia=Mammmals
ClassReptilia=Reptiles
Configure=Configure
Help=Help
HideSettings=Hide Settings
NotActinopterygii=Not a ray-finned fish
NotAmphibia=Not an amphibian
NotAves=Not a bird
NotChondrichthyes=Not a cartilaginous fish
NotMammalia=Not a mammmal
NotReptilia=Not a reptile
OrAmbiguous=or ambiguous name
ScientificName=Scientific Name
Search=Search Wikipedia
Settings=Settings
SimultaneousTranslations=simultaneous translations
Translate=Translate
Translation=Translation
UpdateNow=Update Now
UseLocalLanguageNames=Use local language names

Open the configuration files by clicking the button, next to the "Settings" header.

Change one setting at a time and examine the effect.
If the result is a complete mess, just delete BirdName.cfg (and optionally BirdName.lang) to restore the default settings.

© 2013 Rob van der Woude
http://www.robvanderwoude.com/birdname.php