Translate VMware Workspace Portal

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT SUPPORTED BY VMWARE IN ANY WAY. DON’T DO OR USE THIS IN YOUR PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENT!

If you are like me, and want everything exactly the way you want it, then customizing colors and images just isn’t enough. Even the language should be set as you want it.

VMware released version 2.1 of their Workspace Portal recently and Workspace Portal comes in a couple languages:Workspace Portal

  • English
  • German
  • French
  • Japanese
  • Chinese (simplified)

For customers that don’t speak one of the languages above, or just want to present the portal in their native language, there is no other option than to modify the original files and translate VMware Workspace Portal themselves.

How to get to the files

Connect with a SSH program (ssh on Linux/Mac, or for example Putty on Windows) using the ssh user credentials you created during configuration of the virtual appliance. After that, change to root (su root) with the password you created for the root user.

All the files you need to edit, are under /opt/vmware/horizon.

The resource files for the Java classes are under /opt/vmware/horizon/workspace/webapps/SAAS/WEB-INF/classes.

Editing the resource files

The files under the WEB-INF/classes are:

  • DownloadMessageResources_[cc].properties.
  • ErrorMessageResources_[cc].properties.
  • MessageResources_[cc].properties.

where [cc] is the country code: en for English, de for German, etc.

Unfortunately you can’t add your own language, but instead you have to change the original/English version. You will loose the English version, but gain your translation.

MessageResources.properties and MessageResources seem to be the same. I ended up removing these files and linking the original names to my own version:

(Saving original files)

mv MessageResources.properties MessageResources.properties.original mv MessageResources_en.properties MessageResources_en.properties

(creating symlinks)

ln -s MessageResources_nl.properties MessageResources.properties ln -s MessageResources_nl.properties MessageResources_en.properties

(changing ownership of the links, full path is necessary)

chown -h horizon:www /opt/vmware/horizon/workspace/webapps/SAAS/WEB-INF/classes/MessageResources_en.properties chown -h horizon:www /opt/vmware/horizon/workspace/webapps/SAAS/WEB-INF/classes/MessageResources.properties

After the change you have to restart the virtual appliance, or use the following command: /etc/init.d/horizon-workspace restart

If you want to get back to the originals you just execute:

rm MessageResources.properties rm MessageResources_en.properties mv MessageResources.properties.original MessageResources.properties mv MessageResources_en.properties.original MessageResources_en.properties /etc/init.d/horizon-workspace restart

You can edit these files with ‘vi’ on the virtual appliance, or you can transfer these files to your computer.

Does it really work?

I added some images to show you that it is indeed working. And NO, these images aren’t edited through Photoshop or Paint.

Translate VMware Workspace Portal

Translate VMware Workspace Portal

DISCLAIMER (again)

Again: This isn’t supported by VMware (or VMGuru for that matter) in any way. Make sure you really, really, really want it in your own language, before tampering with Workspace Portal. You’re on your own when you get into trouble.