Lesson 11: Multiple Locales and Languages

Part 4: Implementation and Configuration

Acumatica ERP provides functionality that you can use to perform localization to one locale or multiple

locales. In this lesson, you can find information on the translation process and the management of locales.

Lesson Objectives You will read about the following:

How to maintain the user interface and wikis in multiple languages if you have multiple locales.
How you can use locale-specific settings and the translation of the strings used on the application interface
How you can translate user input to multiple languages and store translations in the database. | Boxes that Have Multi-Language Support | 142

Boxes that Have Multi-Language Support Once you have enabled multilingual user input, the system displays a link with a language ISO code next to the supported text boxes in the system. When you click the link, the Translations dialog box appears, where you can enter translations. By default, the system supports multilingual user input for the boxes listed in this topic. You can expand this list by means of customization. Also, if the PXDBString attribute for a box from the list was customized in the earlier versions, after upgrade to Acumatica ERP 6 the box will not have multi-language support. For details, see Customization of Field Attributes in DAC Extensions in the Customization Guide. In this topic, you will find lists, broken down by module, of the boxes that have multi-language support.

Accounts Receivables Module You can localize values for the following text boxes in the Accounts Receivable module:

The Description box on the Credit Terms (CS206500) form (also available in the Accounts Payable module)
The Fee Description box on the Overdue Charges (AR204500) form
The Description box on the Customer Classes (AR201000) form
The Description column on the Customer Price Classes (AR208000) form
The Description box on the Reason Codes (CS211000) form
The Description box on the Contract Templates (CT202000) form
The Invoice Description column on the Contract Templates (CT202000) form
The Line Description column on the Contract Templates (CT202000) form
The Description box on the Customer Contracts (CT301000) form
The Invoice Description column on the Customer Contracts (CT301000) form
The Line Description column on the Customer Contracts (CT301000) form
The Credit Memo Description box on the Accounts Receivable Preferences (AR.10.10.00) form
Cash Management Module You can localize values for the following text boxes in the Cash Management module:
The Description box in the Summary area of the Cash Accounts (CA202000) form
The Description box in the Summary area of the Payment Methods (CA204000) form
Common Settings Module You can localize values for the following text boxes in the Common Settings module:
The Country box on the Countries/States (CS204000) form
The Description box and the Description column on the Attributes (CS205000) form
The New Number Symbol box on the Numbering Sequences (CS201010) form
Customization Module You can localize values for the following text boxes in the Customization module:
The Name box on the Filters (CS209010) form
The Display column on the Parameters tab of the Generic Inquiry (SM208000) form
The Caption column on the Results Grid tab of the Generic Inquiry (SM208000) form | Boxes that Have Multi-Language Support | 143

Dashboards If you have rights to edit a particular dashboard, you can localize values for the following text boxes in the Widget Properties dialog box:

The Caption box for all widget types
The Scorecard Title box for the scorecard widget type
The Trend Card Title box for the trend card widget type

Inventory Module You can localize values for the following text boxes in the Inventory module:

The Description column on the Item Price Classes (IN209000) form
The Description box on the Item Classes (IN201000) form
The Description box and the Description tab on the Non-Stock Items (IN202000) form
The Description box and the Description tab on the Stock Items (IN202500) form
The Description box on the Kit Specifications (IN209500) form
The Description box on the Item Sales Categories (IN204060) form

General Ledger Module You can localize values for the following text boxes in the General Ledger module:

The Description column on the Financial Year (GL101000) form
The Description column on the Financial Periods (GL201000) form If you have provided translations for financial periods on the Financial Year form, the system copies these translations to the Description column on the Financial Periods form, when you generate periods for a new year. For an existing year you need to add translations manually.
The Description column on the Ledgers (GL201500) form
The Description column on the Account Classes (GL202000) form
The Description column on the Chart of Accounts (GL202500) form
The Description column on the Subaccounts (GL203000) form
The following text boxes on the analytical reports (ARM) forms:
The Description and Value columns on the Row Sets (CS206010) form
The Formula columns in the upper table and the Description and Value lines on the Column Sets (CS206020) form
The Description and Value columns on the Unit Sets (CS206030) form

Projects Module You can localize values for the following text boxes in the Projects module:

The Invoice Description column on the Billing Rules (PM207000) form
The Description box on the Projects (PM301000) form

Sales Orders Module You can localize values for the following text boxes in the Sales Orders module: | Boxes that Have Multi-Language Support | 144

The Description box on the Order Types (SO201000) form
The Description column on the FOB Points (CS208500) form
The Description box on the Shipping Terms (CS208000) form

Taxes Module You can localize values for the following text box in the Taxes module:

The Description box on the Taxes (TX205000) form | Use of User Input Translations | 145

Use of User Input Translations

Starting with Acumatica ERP 6, you can translate user input for multiple text boxes in the system. That is, you can maintain your data in multiple languages. These data translations can later be used in printed reports and documents. In this topic, you will read about how to print reports and documents, how to send notifications in the language preferred by the customer or vendor, and how the system searches for translations.

Printing Localized Reports If you have enabled multilingual user input and provided translations for the fields that supply data to a report, you can prepare a fully localized report—that is, a report whose strings (headers and footers) and data are localized. By default, the system prepares a report in the language associated with the locale you used to sign in. You can override this locale by specifying another locale on a report form in the Locale box. Before you prepare a localized report, make sure that all of the following preliminary instructions have been completed:

All the needed locales are added and activated on the System Locales form.
Multilingual user input is set up.
The user interface is localized, including reports.
There are translations for the fields that supply data to the report.
Once you have finished, you can prepare a fully localized report as follows:
You select the needed locale in the Locale box on the report form.
You run the report. The system prints the localized version of the report, where the report’s strings and report’s data are translated to the language of the locale you have selected on the report form.
If you have not selected a locale on the report form, the system prepares the report in the language of the locale you are currently signed in with. Important! A user may specify a locale while constructing a report by using the Report Designer. The locale setting from the Report Designer overrides the locale you used to sign in, but not the locale you specified in the Locale box on the report form. For example, suppose that your company utilizes two locales: en-US and fr-CA. English is set up as the default language, and French is the alternative language. Some of the company’s personnel speak English and some speak French. Also, the company’s data—such as descriptions of GL accounts and descriptions in inventory items—is maintained in two languages. Further suppose that a user who prefers working under the English locale needs to prepare a report in French for his or her French-speaking manager. The user opens the report form, selects the French locale in the Locale box, and runs the report. The system prepares the report in French, regardless of the locale the user is currently signed in with.
Printing Localized Documents You can associate a locale with a customer or vendor. If you do, with the enabled multilingual user input, when you create a document for this customer or vendor and add a document line with an inventory item, the system does the following:

Populates the column with descriptions of inventory items in the language specified for the customer or vendor
Applies to the document the region-specific settings defined for the locale you are currently signed in with | Use of User Input Translations | 146
Populates the boxes for which translations are available with the values in the language of the locale you used to sign in

For example, suppose that you work under the en-US locale. You associate a customer with some French locale, such as fr-CA, and enter translations of inventory item descriptions in French. Then you create an invoice on the Invoices and Memos (AR301000) form, select the customer, and add an inventory item. The system populates the descriptions of credit terms, GL accounts and subaccounts, taxes, and the payment method of the customer in English. But the system populates the Transaction Descr. column with the item description in French. When you release the invoice, this item description in French is posted to the ledger as the GL transaction description. The system supports the described behavior for documents that you create on the following forms: Bills and Adjustments (AP301000), Quick Checks (AP304000), Invoices and Memos (AR301000), Cash Sales (AR304000), Sales Orders (SO301000), and Invoices (SO303000).

You may frequently need to print reports that are versions of documents created in Acumatica ERP, as with the Invoice/Memo (AR641000) and Sales Order (SO641010) reports. You can initiate the printing of a document directly from its entry form. If you are signed in with the locale that is specified for the customer or vendor and you have translated the strings of the report for this locale, the system will print a fully localized document. Otherwise, the system will print the document with only the description of the inventory items in a customer’s preferred language. For example, suppose that a customer wants to receive sales orders in French. You should perform the following steps:

Make sure that the strings of the Sales Order (SO641010) report, which corresponds to sales orders created on the Sales Orders (SO301000) form, are translated in French.
Make sure that descriptions of inventory items, taxes, and credit and shipping terms have French translations.
Specify fr-CA as the customer’s locale.
Sign in with the fr-CA locale, and create a sales order for the customer on the Sales Orders form.
Initiate printing of the sales order by using Reports > Print Sales Order/Quote, and the system opens the ready-to-print sales order in French.

Also, you can print a document by using the corresponding report form. On the report form, you select the reference number of the document, specify locale of the customer or vendor in the Locale box, and run the report. The system opens the ready-to-print document in the language of the locale you have specified. For details, see the previous section in this topic.

Sending Localized Notifications Multilingual user input can also be used in correspondence you send to your customers and vendors by means of Acumatica ERP mailings. Starting with Acumatica ERP 6, you can specify a locale for a notification template. The system uses the assigned locale to apply region-specific settings to the text, dates, and digits in the body of the notification template. The system also retrieves the translations of the values needed to replace the placeholders in the body according to the language of the locale. If you want to send mailings in the language preferred by a customer or a vendor, you need to set up the system as follows:

You create a dedicated notification template on the Notification Templates (SM204003) and specify the locale of the needed language in the Locale box. You also compose the notification text in the language of the locale. For details on creating a notification template, see Notification Templates.
If you want to send a document as an attachment, you create a dedicated report for this document type—for example, a copy of the Invoice/Memo (AR641000) report—by using the Report Designer. You enter the strings of the report (headers and footers) in the same language | Use of User Input Translations | 147
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that you used to compose the notification and, in the report settings, specify the same locale as
you specified for the notification template. For details, see Creating and Modifying the Reports in
the Acumatica Report Designer Guide.
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You group the customers or vendors who prefer the same language to one customer or vendor class. For this class, you specify a locale that is associated with the language in the Locale box of the Customer Classes (AR201000) or Vendor Classes (AP201010) form.p The system will assign the locale to the new customer or vendor accounts automatically when you select the customer or vendor class for the account on the Customers (AR303000) or Vendors (AP303000) form. For existing vendors and customers, you need to manually select the preferred locale for each account.
You configure the mailing settings for the customer or vendor class on the Mailing Settings tab of the Customer Classes or Vendor Classes form. For a mailing, you specify the notification template and report you have created. The customer or vendor class provides the default settings for the customer or vendor accounts of the class, but you can override these default settings to make the mailing configuration more specific. Mailings modified for specific accounts on the Customers or Vendors form are marked by the system as overridden (that is, the Overridden check box is selected on the form). If you change the configuration of a mailing for a customer or vendor class, these changes affect the mailings of all customer or vendor accounts of this class, except those mailings that were modified specifically for a customer or vendor account (overridden).

Once you have performed these configuration steps, when you initiate emailing by using a mass processing form or the corresponding action on an entry form, the system does the following:

Generates emails from the notification template you have created in the preferred language and specified for the customer or vendor on the Mailing Settings tab of the Customers or Vendors form.
Applies region-specific settings to each email body.
Replaces any placeholders with the corresponding translations (if placeholders are used for the values for which translations are available).
Attaches the report that you have created in the preferred language and specified for the customer or vendor on the Mailing Settings tab.

Troubleshooting User Input Translations Once you have entered translations for multiple boxes that have multi-language support and you start using these translations in documents or reports, you may realize that some translations are missing. In most cases, this means that you have not entered a translation, and the system is displaying the value entered for the default language or another alternative language. The system searches for a translation as follows:

If a locale is specified for the applicable customer, vendor, or report, the system searches for a translation available for the language of the locale. If this translation is available, the system ends the search and displays the translation.
If a translation for the language of the locale assigned to the customer, vendor, or report is not available or a locale is not specified for these entities, the system searches for a translation specified for the language of the locale you used to sign in. If a translation for the locale language is available, the system ends the search and displays the translation.
If a translation for the locale language is not available, the system searches for a translation specified for the language selected as the default on the System Locales (SM200550) form. If a translation for the default language is available, the system ends the search and displays the translation. | Use of User Input Translations | 148
If the translation for the default language is not available, the system searches for a translation specified for any language selected as an alternative on the System Locales form, in the sequence specified for alternative languages in the Sequence column on this form. If a translation for some alternative language is available, the system ends the search and displays the translation.
If no translation is available, the system displays an empty value.

When the system displays a translation of a value in a box with multi-language support, it always displays the ISO code of the corresponding language on the right side of the box. | Translation Process | 149

Translation Process

Acumatica ERP provides built-in localization functionality, so you can easily translate Acumatica ERPP into any language without using third-party products. You can collect the strings used in the whole system or on a particular form, and translate them for any locale available in Acumatica ERP. This topic explains how to translate interface strings by using the built-in localization functionality of Acumatica ERP.

Translating Application Strings In Acumatica ERP, various strings that are used on the application interface—such as element and column labels, error messages, and warnings—are stored within the code. Hence, the translation of the strings includes two steps: collecting strings and translating strings. During the string collection process, the system gathers the strings used in the system (including the strings in customized system elements, such as forms) and prepares a string collection for translation. You can collect all strings in the system or the strings bound to particular forms. Because the collection process is resource- and time-consuming, we recommend that you perform string collection on the whole system after you install the system and after updates to collect the new and updated strings. Translation of the collected strings from U.S. English, which is used as the Acumatica ERP default language, to any other language can be performed directly in Acumatica ERP. Alternatively, the filtered list of strings may be exported to an Excel file, and imported back after being translated somewhere else. After you finish translating strings on the interface, when a user signs in to the system and selects a local language, the application will use strings translated to this language. For the strings that are not translated, the system will display the string value in the default language (U.S. English).

Collecting the Strings for Translation Source strings include element labels, toolbar and menu items, drop-down list options, error messages, dialog box captions, and form names. When you localize the system for the first time or after you update your instance, you should collect all the strings used in the system for translation as follows:

Click Collect Strings on the form toolbar on the Translation Dictionaries (SM200540) form.
If any system functionality is updated or customized in your system that was previously localized, you can collect the new strings used on a particular form (or multiple forms) for translation. To collect these strings, you should create a translation set that includes only the required forms, and then collect the strings used on these forms for translation on the Translation Sets (SM211500) form. You can also collect strings from multiple translation sets at once by using the Collect Translation Sets (SM511500) form. If you are collecting strings that were previously translated and if any of these strings has not been found during the new collection process, the system marks these strings as obsolete and displays them on the Obsolete tab of the Translation Dictionaries form. String collection is a time-consuming operation that should be performed during off-peak hours and never attempted on a busy production system.
Translating Strings Generally, translating strings is a straightforward process: In the Default Values table of the Translation Dictionaries (SM200540) form, type the translation for each string that must be translated in the column and select the Do Not Translate check box for each string that does not require translation. When you’re finished, click Save. The fully translated (that is, translated into all languages defined in the system) strings and the strings that do not require translation are hidden from the Default Values table. | Translation Process | 150

Despite the simplicity, the translation process has its own particularities in how you filter strings to be translated and in what you translate or not. First of all, the strings you see on the Translation Dictionaries form are filtered in any case: You can see either bound or unbound strings. Bound strings are the strings associated with system resources bound to forms, such as table names. Unbound strings are the strings associated with resources that are not bound to forms, such as prompts. To translate all the strings on the interface, you should translate both the bound and unbound strings. The type of strings displayed on the Translation Dictionaries depends on the Show Only Unbound check box in the Selection area of this form as follows:

If the check box is cleared, the system displays only bound strings. For any bound string, you can get the context of the string: By using the Usage Details dialog box, you can view the list of forms on which you can find the string and quickly navigate to any form in the list. In Acumatica ERP, the contents of a form may be content-related and may depend on system configuration and on selections on the form itself. If you don’t see the string immediately, you can check the corresponding reference topic in help. Additionally, you can select a form in the Show Used in UI box in the Selection area of the form to view and translate only strings that are associated with the resources of the selected form.
If the check box is selected, the system displays only unbound strings. Additionally, you can select which type (or types) of the unbound resources you want to view and translate.

To further narrow the displayed strings, you can use table filtering, described in detail in the Filters chapter of theAcumatica ERP Interface Guide. The next particularity of the translation process relates to the contents of the source values of strings. If you open the list of collected strings, you will see that strings include the text itself and may include special formatting. The examples of the special formatting include the following:

The -> character: For commands in lists, the -> character separates the name of the list from the command (for example, State -> Completed; the State -> part of the string is for informational purposes only). You should translate only the text after the -> sign.
HTML tags: Strings may include HTML tags that define the formatting of the string. For example, and tags indicate that the enclosed text should be in bold type. You should keep these tags in the translated text in their respective places to keep the formatting.
Placeholders that use the ’{}’ format: These placeholders are replaced with text when a user who works with the document gets the message. You should copy the placeholders without changes in the respective places in the translation.
The ~ (tilde) character: When a message that you want to translate contains multiline text, the end of each line is indicated by the ~ character. You should use the tilde in the translated multiline text to mark the ends of lines. If you do not mark the ends of lines with tildes in the translated text, the message will be displayed as one line for messages translated directly in Acumatica ERP, or the translation of this text will not be imported for messages translated in an external file (for example, in a Microsoft Excel workbook).
The special wrapper [a type=ACTION]/a: This wrapper is used along with messages that the system displays in tables when the table is empty. It converts the text into a hyperlink. When a user clicks this link, the system performs the action specified in the wrapper (such as clear). You should keep this wrapper in the translated text in its initial place to keep the formatting and the action.

One additional particularity is related to handling strings that should not be translated. In terms of the effect on the UI, there is no difference between a string with the Do Not Translate check box selected, and a string left untranslated and with the Do Not Translate check box cleared: Either way, the user will see the value of the string in the default language. However, based on whether you select this check box, these strings are processed differently: | Translation Process | 151

A string with the Do Not Translate check box selected is hidden from the Translation Dictionaries form until you select the Show Excluded check box. Additionally, such strings are considered valid when you try to validate translation of strings on forms.
A string that is not translated and for which with the Do Not Translate check box is cleared appears on the Translation Dictionaries form when you select a language for translation. Also, such strings are considered invalid and warnings about these strings appear on the form when you try to validate string translation on forms. For more information on validation of translation of strings, see the Reviewing the Translations on Forms section in this topic.

After you add translations for a string in all the languages defined in the system or mark a string as not requiring translation and save the result, the string is removed from the work area. You can see the fully translated strings and the excluded strings by selecting the Show Localized and Show Excluded check boxes, respectively, on the Translation Dictionaries form.

Handling Multiple Occurrences of the Same String A string—such as an element label or a drop-down list option that is available on multiple forms— may be used in the interface multiple times. Depending on the context, the same string may require different translation. To address this situation, Acumatica ERP shows the resource or resources the string is associated with for each string listed in the Default Values table of the Translation Dictionaries (SM200540) form. These resources, which are displayed in the Key-Specific Values table, indicate the entities in which specific string is used. You can provide correct translations for each occurrence of the string depending on its context. If you want to provide specific translations for different occurrences of a string, you must provide a generic translation in the Default Values table.

The translation you specify in the Default Values table is generally applied to all occurrences of the string automatically. But if you specify specific translations for certain occurrences in the Key-Specific Values table, the system will use the specific translations.

Reviewing the Translations on Forms To check if all the strings on a form are translated into a language defined in the system, you can turn on validation of translations on forms for the language on the System Locales (SM200550) form. With the validation active, when you sign in with the language and open a form that has untranslated strings, you see a warning with the quantity of the untranslated strings appear at the top of the form. The warnings appear for all users of the system who sign in with the language. You can click the warning to expand the list. Each warning includes the type and the details of the resource with which the untranslated string is associated, and a link to the Translation Dictionaries (SM200540) form. You can click the link to quickly open the Translation Dictionaries form with the locale of the untranslated string selected, and then find and translate the string. The strings with the Do Not Translate check box selected on the Collected tab of the Translation Dictionaries form are considered valid and are not listed in the warning. After you translate all strings into a language and validate the translations, you can turn off the validation of translations.

Exporting and Importing Strings You can export strings, translate them by using third-party applications, and import back into Acumatica ERP. Translated strings are loaded into the system as a locale dictionary and are immediately applied to the user interface once a user signs into the system using a specific locale. You can also import the file with the translations into a new instance to speed up the translation process. The new instance should have the locales translations that you want to import. | Translation Process | 152

   If the imported file includes strings that were not collected in the instance, these strings will be imported
   as unbound strings. This happens because the system is not able to reinstate the bounds between the
   forms and the system resources associated with the imported strings. Such strings are displayed on the
   interface similarly to the way other unbound strings are displayed, and you won’t be able to use the Usage
   Details dialog box on the Translation Dictionaries (SM200540) to quickly view the forms the strings are
   used on.

To export and import strings, use the corresponding buttons on the table toolbar of the Translation Dictionaries form. The exported file includes only the strings displayed in the table, based on the filtering applied on the Translation Dictionaries form.

Correcting Translations At any time during the translation process you may need to change the translation of a string—for example, to correct a typo. You can use the Translation Dictionaries (SM200540) form to correct the translation. The steps to correct the translation depend on the string whose translation you want to correct:

If the string has not been fully translated, use the filtering options to find it and correct the translation.
If the string has been fully translated and is hidden on the form, select the Show Localized check box to make the fully translated strings appear on the Collected tab, and then find the string and correct the translation.
If the string has been wrongly marked as not requiring translation, select the Show Excluded check box to make the strings that do not require translation appear on the Collected tab, and then find the string and clear the Show Excluded check box.

If you know when the translation has been added or modified, you can use filtering to view only strings with translations added and modified after the date by specifying the dates in the Created Since and Modified After boxes, respectively.

Updating Translations Sometimes the values of particular strings change. For example, this may happen if the functionality of a form is changed during an update of your Acumatica ERP instance or if a customization has been applied to a form by the customizers in-house. When you collect strings, if any of the previously translated strings have not been found during the new collection process, these strings are considered obsolete and displayed on the Obsolete tab of the Translation Dictionaries (SM200540) form. Strings with new values appear on the Collected tab as untranslated strings. We recommend that you collect all strings in the system by using the Translation Dictionaries form after every update of your Acumatica ERP instance. If any functionality is updated or customized in the system regularly, you may need to regularly collect the strings from the appropriate forms for translation. To do that, you should create a translation set in which you include a required form or forms by using the Translation Sets (SM211500) form, and then add these sets to a schedule for automatic collection.

Translating Wiki Articles The Help wiki is created in the base language of Acumatica ERP, U.S. English. For a newly added locale, all articles will be displayed in this base language until you create locale-specific versions of the articles. After you translate an article, only the versions of the article created in the selected locale will be listed on the History tab when you open the article in Wiki Editor Form for Articles. For more information about wikis in Acumatica ERP, see Managing Wikis. | Managing Locales and Languages | 153

Managing Locales and Languages

In this topic you will find references for the detailed procedures related to management of locales and languages:

To add a new locale to the application, you use the System Locales (SM200550) form. For more information, see To Add a New Locale.
To add a new translation set, you use the Translation Sets (SM211500) form. For every translation set, you select the system resources (that is, forms and form elements with which the strings are associated) you want to include in the set. When you collect the strings of a translation set, the system collects the strings associated with the system resources included in the set. For more information, see To Add a New Translation Set.
You can collect strings for translation sets one set at a time by using the Translation Sets (SM211.00) form. For more information, see To Collect the Strings of a Translation Set.
You can also collect strings for multiple translation sets on the Collect Translation Sets (SM511500) form. For more information, see To Collect Strings of Multiple Translation Sets.
To translate collected strings, you use the Translation Dictionaries (SM200540) form. For more information, see To Translate Bound Strings.
To translate unbound strings (those that are not bound to a form), you also use the Translation Dictionaries (SM200540) form. For more information, see To Translate Unbound Strings.
To exclude from the translation process strings that do not need to be translated, you use the Translation Dictionaries (SM200540) form. For more information, see To Exclude Strings from Translation.
To make sure you have translated all strings on forms, you can turn on validation of the translations by using the System Locales (SM200550) form. With validation turned on for a locale, when you sign in with the language corresponding to the locale and open the forms whose translation you want to review, you can see the warnings about the untranslated strings. For more information, see To Turn On Validation of Translations and To Turn Off Validation of Translations. | Lesson Summary | 154

Lesson Summary

In this lesson, you learned about the functionality that you can use to perform localization to one locale or multiple locales in Acumatica ERP. Review Questions:

What list of locales does Acumatica ERP use?
How would you add a new locale to the system?
How would you translate interface strings by using the built-in localization functionality of Acumatica ERP? | Lesson 12: External File Storage | 155