WinCC Multi-Language Setup with TextDistributor and VBA

Overview: WinCC Multi-Language Architecture

SIMATIC WinCC (V7) and WinCC Unified (TIA Portal V20) separate user-interface text into a language-dependent layer and a language-independent layer. The runtime consults the active data language's column in the per-object property store to decide which string to render. Language-independent fields (internal tag names, script identifiers, object names, alias IDs) never participate in a language switch and are reserved for engineering tooling.

For a WinCC V7 project the resources are physically split across:

• Picture texts — the per-language columns inside each .pdl file under <Project>\GraCS\.
• Alarm Logging and TextList entries — the SQL Server Compact databases (typically ALG_DB.MDF and TLG_DB.MDF) under <Project>\<Server>\.
• Central Text Library — the Textbib directory under the project root.

WinCC Unified stores the same data as compiled language resources inside the TIA Portal project and serves them from the Unified Runtime; the data layer is not a file the engineer opens in Explorer but a binary resource compiled with the HMI station image.

Two practical takeaways for the engineer:

1. There is no Babylon-style automatic translator inside WinCC V7 or Unified. Translation is always manual (TextDistributor output edited in Excel), external (SDL Trados, Smartcat, the DCC Translation Editor), or hybrid (a translation agency that consumes the CSV export).
2. "Automatic" almost always means bulk-copy from one language column to another via VBA — so that a translator receives a populated placeholder rather than an empty grid.

Supported Configuration Languages

The languages available in a given development workstation are those installed by WinCC setup. You cannot author in a language that was not selected during the install; the WinCC setup switches a feature flag per language.

For Norwegian Bokmål the realistic pattern is to author English (US) plus Norwegian Bokmål with the language pack drawn from the regional TIA Portal media, and run the runtime on a Windows SKU that supports multiple language packs simultaneously.

Operating System and Licensing Prerequisites

WinCC runtime depends on the operating system for font fallback, locale, and date/number formatting. Single-language OS editions (Windows Home, Standard, Pro without language packs) can only ever render WinCC in their install language. Multi-language projects require one of the following SKUs with the matching language pack installed:

• Windows 7 Ultimate — MUI preinstalled.
• Windows 10 Pro for Workstations, Education, or Enterprise — language pack via Settings → Time & Language → Language → Add a language.
• Windows 11 Pro, Education, or Enterprise — language pack via the same path.

For Siemens visualisation panels (Comfort, Unified Comfort, IPC) the runtime image ships a fixed language inventory; missing languages are loaded by transferring a language update via ProSave or TIA Portal's Update panel operating system. Comfort Panels add languages in 16-language groups; confirm the panel's firmware revision against the language pack on Siemens Industry Online Support.

System requirements versus version:

Project Language Configuration and Translation Workflow

1. Open WinCC Explorer on the engineering station. Right-click Computer → Properties → Graphics Runtime. In Configuration languages, tick every language the project must support. The dialog refuses to add a language the workstation's WinCC install does not provide.
2. Open Graphics Designer → Tools → Settings → Language. Confirm the order matches what you ticked above; TextDistributor walks the same order on export.
3. In TIA Portal V20 navigate to Project tree → Languages & Resources → Project languages. Add English (United States) and any extra language whose V20 language pack is installed.
4. Save the project. From this point the translation pipeline below is the only way to populate the new language column.

For panel-only deployments, repeat step 3 in the panel's runtime settings under Runtime settings → Language & font. Both fields must agree, otherwise the runtime boots with the engineer's default.

TextDistributor Export / Translate / Import Workflow

Text Distributor is the only WinCC-V7 tool that has cross-section visibility into picture objects, Alarm Logging, the central TextLibrary, and TextList outputs in a single pass. The base workflow:

1. Export. Graphics Designer → Tools → Text Distributor. Tick All PDL files, set the destination (e.g., D:\i18n\project_en_no.csv), click Export, and confirm. The result is a CSV whose first row is the locale headers (e.g., ObjectName;de-DE;en-US;no-NO) and subsequent rows carry the property/value pairs.
2. Translate. Open the CSV in Excel or Notepad++. The header row is case- and locale-sensitive; do not rename it. Fill the target column (e.g., no-NO) for every row. If the source column is empty, leave the target empty too; do not invent strings.
3. Import. Re-open Text Distributor, select the same scope, pick Import, and select the modified CSV. TextDistributor writes back into the property store under the active runtime languages; columns for non-existent locales are silently ignored.
4. Verify. Switch the design-time language (the dropdown in the Graphics Designer toolbar) to the imported language and walk every screen. Empty-query Find reveals rows that were not updated.

TextDistributor CSV format (informal)

Multi-pass translation pattern

For projects above ~5,000 strings, the typical pattern is:

1. Pass 1 — export with English populated, other columns empty. Hand the file to the translator with the in-house glossary sheet.
2. Pass 2 — fold the translator's file back through Excel VLOOKUP against the glossary to backfill any phrases the translator left blank (e.g., "Limit value exceeded high", "Communication fault").
3. Pass 3 — a regional field engineer adds idiomatic expressions specific to the site (local alarm categories, operator nicknames). Re-import.

Alarm Logging and Central Text Library Translation

Alarm Logging in WinCC V7 is not covered by Graphics Designer Text Distributor — it is exported and re-imported through a separate dialog. Procedure:

1. Open Alarm Logging. Select the message classes you want exported (typically All).
2. File → Export → CSV with locale columns. Save to the same \i18n folder as the picture texts.
3. Translate the columns with the same workflow as the Graphics Designer export.
4. File → Import → choose the modified CSV. Re-deploy the runtime to confirm.

The Central Text Library (Textbib) is also independent. Open Tools → Text Library in Graphics Designer and repeat the export/import cycle for any texts you allocated to library entries.

V7 Runtime Language Switching

Two runtime mechanisms switch the active data language in a V7 project:

• A button with a C-action or VBS event handler invoking SetLanguage(LCID) or HMIRuntime.ActiveLanguage.
• The runtime's default language, configured at Computer Properties → Runtime.

C-action toggle

// V7.5 — toggle between English and the configured second language
BOOL bToggle = TRUE; // bind to internal tag "LangToggle"
if (bToggle)
    SetLanguage(1033);                 // English (US)
else
    SetLanguage(GetLanguageByName("Norwegian")); // by display name

VBS alternate (no C compiler required)

Sub OnClick(ByVal item)
    If HMIRuntime.ActiveLanguage = 1033 Then
        HMIRuntime.ActiveLanguage = 1044   ' Norwegian Bokmål
    Else
        HMIRuntime.ActiveLanguage = 1033   ' English (US)
    End If
End Sub

Reference: Siemens support entry 109762744 — How to change language in runtime for SIMATIC HMI WinCC V7.5.

Wiring the button

1. Open the picture in Graphics Designer.
2. Insert a Button. Right-click → Properties → Events → Mouse → Press. Pick C-Action (or VBS for the snippet above).
3. Paste the snippet, compile (F7), save the picture.
4. Activate the runtime. Click the button and confirm the entire screen swaps. Cycle alarms in Alarm Logging to confirm log texts and tag comments switch with the screen.

Unified Runtime Language Switching (WinCC Unified V20)

WinCC Unified exposes the active runtime language via the JavaScript namespace UI.Configuration. The two production entry points are:

• UI.Configuration.setLanguageByText("English") — pass the canonical display name of the target language as configured in the project. Returns a Promise resolving to true on success.
• UI.Configuration.currentLanguage() — synchronous getter for the currently active language.
• For a guided user picker, drop the Language List HMI object on the screen and bind it to the project languages. The runtime cycles through them in the order you list them in the configuration.

Reference: Changing runtime language (RT Unified) — WinCC Unified V20 Manual.

JavaScript example — switch on button press

// WinCC Unified V20 — switch language by canonical display name
async function ChangeLanguage(langName) {
    try {
        const ok = await UI.Configuration.setLanguageByText(langName);
        if (ok) {
            const active = UI.Configuration.currentLanguage();
            console.log("Active language now:", active);
        } else {
            console.warn("Language switch returned false");
        }
    } catch (e) {
        console.error("setLanguageByText failed:", e);
    }
}
ChangeLanguage("English");

Reference: Change language (RT Unified) — example.

Configuring the trigger

1. Open the HMI screen in TIA Portal V20. Insert a Button labelled, e.g., btnLangNo.
2. Under Events → Press choose Script.
3. Paste the JavaScript, replacing the literal with the project's Norwegian display name (for example "Norsk bokmål").
4. Build and download. Test on the panel.

VBA Automation for Object Text Copying

VBA macros in Graphics Designer iterate a picture, read a language column, and write it into another language column. The classic use case is bulk "English → Norwegian" placeholder copy so a translator receives a populated grid.

Public Sub TranslateLanguageTexts()
    Dim colSearchResults As HMICollection
    Dim objMember        As HMIObject
    Dim objCCObject      As HMIObject
    Dim sText            As String
    Dim sToolTip         As String

    ' Collect every object in the active picture that has a "Text" property
    Set colSearchResults = ActiveDocument.HMIObjects.Find(PropertyName:="Text")

    For Each objMember In colSearchResults
        ' Read from Norwegian Bokmål (LCID 1044)
        Application.CurrentDataLanguage = 1044
        Set objCCObject = ActiveDocument.HMIObjects(objMember.ObjectName)
        sText    = objCCObject.Properties("Text")
        sToolTip = objCCObject.Properties("ToolTipText")

        ' Write the same strings into English (LCID 1033)
        Application.CurrentDataLanguage = 1033
        objCCObject.Properties("Text")        = sText
        objCCObject.Properties("ToolTipText") = sToolTip
    Next objMember
End Sub

Launching the macro

1. Open the picture in Graphics Designer.
2. Press Alt+F11 to open the VBA editor.
3. Insert → Module. Paste the macro above.
4. Run with F5 from the VBA editor, or close the editor and trigger from the menu bar.

VBA Handling of TextList Output Values and the Central Text Library

TextList output strings live in a different collection — OutputTexts — and use indexing instead of a property name. The Find(PropertyName:="Text") call used in the picture macro returns nothing for them.

Public Sub CopyTextListOutputs()
    Dim lst As HMITextList
    Dim out As HMICollection
    Dim i   As Long
    Dim val As String

    Set lst = ActiveDocument.HMIObjects("MyTextList")
    Set out = lst.OutputTexts

    ' Snapshot Norwegian Bokmål
    Application.CurrentDataLanguage = 1044
    For i = 1 To out.Count
        val = out.Item(i).Text     ' V7.5+ uses .Item(i).Text
    Next i

    ' Mirror into English (LCID 1033)
    Application.CurrentDataLanguage = 1033
    For i = 1 To out.Count
        out.Item(i).Text = val
    Next i
End Sub

For large lists (> 5,000 entries) iterate in batches of 500 and call Application.DoEvents between batches; otherwise the GDI heap can lock up. Save the picture after the macro finishes — the changes are not auto-persisted.

The Central Text Library is reached through Application.LoadTextLibrary + the TextLibrary collection:

Public Sub MirrorTextLibrary()
    Dim tl As Object
    Dim entry As Object
    Dim snapshot As String

    Set tl = Application.LoadTextLibrary("MyLibrary")
    Application.CurrentDataLanguage = 1044  ' Norwegian Bokmål
    For Each entry In tl.Entries
        snapshot = entry.Text
        Application.CurrentDataLanguage = 1033  ' English
        entry.Text = snapshot
        Application.CurrentDataLanguage = 1044
    Next entry
    tl.Save
End Sub

Industrial Glossary and External Translation Tooling

A well-formed glossary reduces translator effort dramatically. Typical industrial entries to capture up front:

Translation toolchain options for engineers without an in-house glossary:

• SDL Trados Studio — full translation memory; reads the TextDistributor CSV; integrates into the SDL LiveTerm cloud for Siemens-specific terminology.
• Smartcat — cloud-based collaborative translation with translators specialised in industrial automation; import/export the same CSV.
• DCC Translation Editor — Siemens Premium AddOn from DCC global GmbH, Hannover; wraps the TextDistributor CSV with translation memory, glossary enforcement, and review notes for industrial projects.

For projects above ~2,000 strings, validate with a 10 % sample back-translation before full rollout: have a second translator render Norwegian Bokmål back to English; compare for unintended meaning drift.

Language Code Reference (LCID Mapping)

Commissioning, Verification, and Troubleshooting

Commissioning checklist

1. Confirm runtime language list in Computer Properties → Runtime → Language matches the project language list.
2. Run the design-time language test (Graphics Designer toolbar dropdown) — confirm every Static Text, every Button, and every tooltip swaps on first selection.
3. Activate the runtime. Trigger the toggle button or the Unified language list. Verify alarm titles, message texts, and tag comments switch.
4. For WinCC Unified deployments, confirm UI.Configuration.currentLanguage() returns the value you expect.
5. Capture a screenshot in each language and store it in the project sign-off folder.
6. Run a regression walkthrough of the most operator-critical screens in each language to catch label overflow and right-to-left layout bugs (relevant for Hebrew, Arabic if added).
7. Roll the runtime forward across an HMI soft reboot to confirm persistence (runtime does not persist a language choice across restart unless explicitly stored).

Troubleshooting matrix

FAQ