---
title: Localizing Code Comments and String Literals
framework: Swift Playgrounds
role: article
role_heading: Article
path: swift-playgrounds/localizing-code-comments-and-string-literals
---

# Localizing Code Comments and String Literals

In Swift Playgrounds 3.0 and later, mark up code zones to replace them with code that’s localized for the current user.

## Overview

Overview If you’re writing a playground book for distribution in multiple locales, you can localize the comments and string literals on each page using a comment syntax that delimits a zone for localization. Add Localization Delimiters Specify the code you want to make localizable by wrapping it within a delimiter; for example: /* //#-localizable-zone(welcome1) Welcome! //#-end-localizable-zone */ Each delimiter carries a unique zone identifier (for example, welcome1, welcome2, and so forth) that matches an entry in the LocalizableCode.strings file you define for each page. You can also use inline comment delimiters to make string literals localizable; for example: let message = "/*#-localizable-zone(welcome2)*/Hello!/*#-end-localizable-zone*/" important: Only use localization delimiters to surround code comments and string literals. Doing so helps ensure that you don’t introduce locale-sensitive compilation errors. Create a Localization Strings File When a user opens a page in your book, the system looks in the appropriate language directory (for example, the page’s PrivateResources/de.lproj directory for strings localized in German) for the LocalizableCode.strings file. It then matches the delimeters with their corresponding zone ID, and substitutes the text string in the page with the localized text. Format localization strings files as a list of localization identifiers followed by the localized string. The following example defines localized forms of the content identified by welcome1 and welcome2: /* Initial greeting. */ "welcome1" = "Willkommen!";

/* Second greeting. */ "welcome2" = "Guten Tag!"; Localized versions of comments and strings appear on devices set to the appropriate locale: /* Willkommen! */

let message = "Guten Tag!"

## See Also

### Annotations

- [Writing Prose for a Playground Page](swift-playgrounds/writing-prose-for-a-playground-page.md)
- [Specifying Editable Regions in a Playground Page](swift-playgrounds/specifying-editable-regions-in-a-playground-page.md)
- [Hiding Code from a Playground Page](swift-playgrounds/hiding-code-from-a-playground-page.md)
- [Customizing the Completions in the Shortcut Bar](swift-playgrounds/customizing-the-completions-in-the-shortcut-bar.md)