Manual

Manual · API

language

The Mac reads for you — on the customer's own machine, nothing leaves it.

Every command on this page carries a worked example.

detect function

language.detect(text)

The language of a text — "de", or null when the Mac cannot tell.

Worked example
const answer = xml.build({
    order: { number: form.record.number, total: form.record.total }
});
files.writeText(target, answer);

sentiment function

language.sentiment(text)

The mood, as −1…+1 — a complaint reads negative before anybody read it.

Worked example
const from = language.detect(form.record.note);
form.languageLabel.value = from === null
    ? "" : "Written in " + system.languageName(from);

canTranslate function

language.canTranslate(from, to)

Answers ready / needsDownload / unsupported first, so the first translation is not a surprise download.

Worked example
const mood = language.sentiment(form.record.note);
form.moodLabel.value = mood < -0.3 ? "Sounds unhappy"
                     : mood >  0.3 ? "Sounds pleased" : "";

translate function

language.translate(text, { to })

Apple's on-device translation — nothing leaves the Mac.

Ask canTranslate first and offer the download knowingly — and system.language is usually the honest target: the reader's own.
Worked example
// The contact window's button:
const from = language.detect(form.record.note);
if (from !== null && language.canTranslate(from, system.language) === "ready") {
    form.record.noteTranslated =
        language.translate(form.record.note, { to: system.language });
    form.record.save();
}