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Globalization Essentials

Explore resources for designing and implementing software to support various languages and data formats.

Get Started with Globalization

Get started

  • Delivering products globally
  • How to release products internationally
  • Create translated deliverables
  • How to validate internationalized products
  • International laws and standards

Internationalization

Concept

  • Resource authoring for global reach
  • Character and data encoding

Working with locales

Concept

  • Locales
  • Numbers
  • Date and time formats

Windows National Language Support

Concept

  • Overview of National Language Support
  • Date and Calendar
  • Locales and Languages
  • Sorting
  • Windows Keyboard Layouts

Internationalization and Windows applications

Reference

  • Globalization and localization for Windows applications
  • Globalize and localize .NET applications
  • Globalize and localize Win32 Applications

Unicode

Reference

  • Unicode
  • Common Language Data Repository (CLDR)
  • International Components for Unicode (ICU)
  • International Components for Unicode (ICU) in Windows
  • Windows Regional Formats

Microsoft Terminology and Style Guides

Reference

  • Glossary
  • Microsoft Terminology Search
  • Microsoft UI String Search
  • Microsoft Terminology Resources
  • Microsoft Localization Style Guides

Tools

Download

  • Multilingual App Toolkit Editor
  • Multilingual App Toolkit - Visual Studio Extension
  • Microsoft Translator
  • Microsoft Custom Translator
  • Microsoft Keyboard layout creator
  • Windows Locale Builder Tool
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Your Privacy Choices
  • Previous Versions
  • Blog
  • Contribute
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Trademarks
  • © Microsoft 2025