overwriteLang.lua

The overwriteLang.lua file is a mechanism that allows you to translate or customize the script's language without directly modifying the original lang.lua file.

Why use overwriteLang.lua?

Main Advantages

1. Simplifies Updates

When you directly modify the lang.lua file and a script update is available, you must:

Backup your custom translations
Compare the old and new lang.lua file line by line
Manually transfer your translations
Risk forgetting certain strings or introducing errors

With overwriteLang.lua, simply backup this file before updating, replace the entire resource with the new version, and restore your backup file.
If new language strings are added to the lang.lua file during an update, they will automatically be available since overwriteLang.lua is loaded after and only overwrites the specific strings you've customized.

2. Separation of Concerns

lang.lua: Default language strings maintained by developers
overwriteLang.lua: Your specific translations and customizations

This separation makes your translations clearer and more maintainable.

3. Preserves Your Translations

The overwriteLang.lua file is included in all scripts and is specifically designed to store your custom translations. This file is meant to be edited, unlike lang.lua which should remain untouched to preserve update compatibility.

How to use it?

File Location

The overwriteLang.lua file is already included in the script's root directory. Simply open it and add your custom language strings.

Basic Structure

The file already contains a header explaining its purpose:

lua

-------------
-- USE THIS FILE TO TRANSLATE THE SCRIPT
-- LANG LOCATION : shared/lang.lua
-- Copy ONLY values you want edit, NOT ALL the Lang file
-------------
Lang = Lang or {}

-- Customize only the strings you want to translate
Lang.myString = "My custom translation"

Concrete Example

Imagine that the lang.lua file contains:

lua

-------------------------------------------
-- DON'T EDIT THIS FILE
-- TO TRANSLATE THE SCRIPT, USE overwriteLang.lua file instead
-------------------------------------------

Lang = {}

Lang.blipStoreName = "Stable"
Lang.promptTitle = "Stable"
Lang.enter = "Enter"
Lang.select = "Select"
Lang.back = "Back"
Lang.buy = "Buy"

If you only want to translate the script to French, edit the overwriteLang.lua file:

lua

Lang = Lang or {}

-- French translation
Lang.blipStoreName = "Écurie"
Lang.promptTitle = "Écurie"
Lang.enter = "Entrer"
Lang.select = "Sélectionner"
Lang.back = "Retour"
Lang.buy = "Acheter"

-- Other strings (blipHorse, manage, etc.) keep their default values from lang.lua

Loading Order

Files are loaded in this order (generally defined in fxmanifest.lua):

lang.lua: Loads all default language strings
overwriteLang.lua: Overwrites only the strings you redefine

lua

-- Example fxmanifest.lua
shared_scripts {
    'shared/lang.lua',
    'overwriteLang.lua'  -- Loaded last to overwrite strings
}

Best Practices

Do

Use the overwriteLang.lua file for all your translations
Only redefine strings you actually want to change
Keep your translations organized by category (prompts, menus, notifications, etc.)
Add comments to group related strings together

lua

Lang = Lang or {}

-- Prompts
Lang.enter = "Entrer"
Lang.select = "Sélectionner"
Lang.back = "Retour"

-- Notifications
Lang.noMoney = "Vous n'avez pas assez d'argent"
Lang.noGold = "Vous n'avez pas assez d'or"

-- Menu
Lang.headerTitle = "Écurie"
Lang.buyHorse = "Acheter un nouveau cheval"

Don't

Don't modify lang.lua directly
Don't add new language keys in overwriteLang.lua (unless the script supports it)
Don't copy the entire lang.lua into overwriteLang.lua

Translation Tips

Using Color Codes

Some strings contain color codes that should be preserved:

lua

-- Original
Lang.buyGold = "Buy with ~COLOR_GOLD~gold"

-- Translated (keep the color code)
Lang.buyGold = "Acheter avec de l'~COLOR_GOLD~or"

Using Placeholders

Some strings contain placeholders (like %s, %d, %1, %2) that should be kept:

lua

-- Original
Lang.of = "%1 of %2"
Lang.releaseHorse = "Release %s"
Lang.activitySpeedDesc = "Improve the horse speed.<br>Need to repeat %d times to level up"

-- Translated (keep the placeholders in the right order)
Lang.of = "%1 sur %2"
Lang.releaseHorse = "Libérer %s"
Lang.activitySpeedDesc = "Améliore la vitesse du cheval.<br>À répéter %d fois pour monter de niveau"

Preserving HTML Tags

Some strings contain HTML tags that should remain unchanged:

lua

-- Original
Lang.releaseHorseDesc = "You will lose this horse.<br><span style='font-style:italic'>(Components will not be deleted)</span>"

-- Translated (keep HTML tags)
Lang.releaseHorseDesc = "Vous allez perdre ce cheval.<br><span style='font-style:italic'>(Les composants ne seront pas supprimés)</span>"

Complete Example

lang.lua (original file, do not modify)

lua

-------------------------------------------
-- DON'T EDIT THIS FILE
-- TO TRANSLATE THE SCRIPT, USE overwriteLang.lua file instead
-------------------------------------------

Lang = {}

-- Prompts
Lang.promptTitle = "Stable"
Lang.enter = "Enter"
Lang.select = "Select"
Lang.back = "Back"

-- Menu
Lang.headerTitle = "Stable"
Lang.buyHorse = "Buy a new Horse"
Lang.price = "Price"

-- Notifications
Lang.noMoney = "You don't have enough money"
Lang.newHorseBought = "New horse bought"