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Oracle® Application Server Portal User's Guide
10g Release 2 (10.1.4) B13809-04 |
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Oracle® Application Server Portal User's Guide
10g Release 2 (10.1.4) B13809-04 |
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Previous |
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OracleAS Portal provides the means of storing, managing, and publishing translations of your portal content. Many of the objects that are managed in your portal can be associated with one or more languages in addition to the default language defined for a page group. The translation of an object displays automatically when the session language matches the language of the translation.
When a translation exists for a portal object in the Oracle Application Server Metadata Repository, it means that a specific instance of that object exists in a language other than the default language in addition to the instance that exists in the default language. A translated object includes its content and its translatable attribute values.
This chapter explains how translations work in OracleAS Portal and how to put translation features to work. It includes the following subsections:
To use the translation feature successfully, it is important to understand how translations are created, managed, published, and queried. This section explains how translations work in OracleAS Portal. It includes the following subsections:
The session language is the language in use in your current portal session. Where you select a session language depends on how your portal is set up. In some installations, you can specify a session language when you log in to your portal. You can add a language parameter to the URL, for example:
http://<host>:<port>/portal/page/<dad>/lang-<language>/<page_guid>
A URL to a French translation would look like the following:
http://mymachine.mycompany.com:5000/portal/page/mydad/lang-fr/ A47D41ECA23648A9E030007F0100118A
In all installations, you can use the Set Language portlet to select a session language and to switch between languages during the current session.
You can add the Set Language portlet to any page on which you have manage or personalization privileges. Note that the Set Language portlet displays all languages that are available in the portal, not just the languages that are enabled in the current page group.
For information about adding a portlet to a page, see Section 16.1, "Adding a Portlet to a Page". For information about the Set Language portlet, see Section A.5.5, "Working with the Set Language Portlet".
The translation of an object displays automatically when the session language matches the language of the translation.
The rules for displaying translations include:
If the default language is selected for the user session, then no translations are displayed.
If a language other than the default language is selected, and a translation of an object exists for that language, then the translation is displayed.
If a language other than the default language is selected, and no translation exists for an object, the default language instance of the object is displayed.
These rules are illustrated in Table 20-1.
Table 20-1 Illustration of When Translations Are Displayed
| Default Language | Selected Language | Available Translations | Displayed Language |
|---|---|---|---|
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English |
English |
English, French, German |
English |
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English |
French |
English, French, German |
French |
|
English |
French |
English, German |
English |
The same rules apply to searches that use the built-in OracleAS Portal search feature: Search results include only content that has been translated into the current session language. Oracle Ultra Search behaves differently: It returns content only in the portal's default language.
When an item is translated, some of its attribute values can be translated and some cannot. This section lists and describes portal objects and their translatable attributes and discusses the rules surrounding attributes and translations. It includes the following subsections:
In addition to the translated content that you provide, some of the attributes associated with the object are also translatable. Table 20-2 lists portal objects and their translatable attributes.
Table 20-2 Portal Objects and Their Translatable Attributes
| Objects | Translatable Attributes | Comments |
|---|---|---|
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Different images can also be provided for different languages |
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The same value that is supplied for non-translatable attributes apply to all translations of the attribute. Although you cannot select a different category or different perspectives for a nondefault language version of an item, you can provide translations for categories and perspectives such that, when the nondefault language is selected, the translated versions of categories and perspectives display. For more information on non-translatable attributes, see Section 20.1.3.2, "Non-Translatable Attributes" |
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Default attribute values are translated automatically. When users provide their own values instead of defaults, they must also provide their own translations for those values. |
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The Portal Developer Kit (PDK) provides a means for managing the storage and retrieval of strings in different languages. For more information, see the PDK page on the Oracle Technology Network:
http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/ias/portal/portlet_development_10g1014.html
Not all attributes are translatable. Across all OracleAS Portal objects there are many attributes that are not translatable. This section describes the behavior of non-translatable attributes when the object has translations. To determine which attributes are translatable refer to Section 20.1.3.1, "Translatable Attributes".
When the value of a non-translatable attribute is modified, the change is copied to all language records for the current object (or version of the object).
For example, an item has the following attributes, with us standing for American English and fr standing for French (* indicates translatable attributes):
| Language | Display Name* | Publish Date |
|---|---|---|
| us (default) | Airline Information | 24-AUG-2005 01:21 PM |
| fr | Voyage Aériens: Informations | 24-AUG-2005 01:21 PM |
Display Name is translatable, and Publish Date is not translatable. When Publish Date is modified in any of the language records, the change is implicitly copied to all language records:
| Language | Display Name* | Publish Date |
|---|---|---|
| us (default) | Airline Information | 13-SEP-2005 12:00 AM |
| fr | Voyage Aériens: Informations | 13-SEP-2005 12:00 AM |
When you create a custom attribute, you can specify if it is translatable or not. In general, dynamic attributes (such as PL/SQL attributes) or attributes that use a List of Values should be made non-translatable if you do not want different values for different languages.
Some objects, like categories and perspectives, can have translatable attributes that affect the way they are viewed. But when these objects are associated with an item or a page, the associated value is not translatable. For example, for a default-language version of an item, you choose the category Business Intelligence. (Assume Category is one of the attributes selected for display in the item region.) You change the session language to French, and edit the item. Notice that the Category attribute does not display in the Edit Item wizard. So, for now, the French version of the item also displays the category Business Intelligence.
The way to address this is to provide a translation for the category itself. That is, change the session language to French, and edit the category, for example, through the Page Groups portlet. Change the category's Display Name to the French equivalent of Business Intelligence: La Business Intelligence.
When the item displays in the default English session, the item's associated category is Business Intelligence. When the item displays in the French session, the item's associated category is La Business Intelligence.
Attribute values for translated objects initially default to the values specified for the default-language version of the object. Attribute values can be translated only by editing the object while the session is set to the translation language.
For example, a page is created in the default language, English (us), with the following attributes (* indicates translatable attributes):
| Name | Language | Display Name* | Keywords* |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRAVELPAGE | us (default) | Travel Page | travel, airfare, vacation |
The page designer sets the session language to French and edits the page, changing the display name to Page De Voyage. Now, two records exist for the page in the portal schema in the Oracle Application Server Metadata Repository:
| Name | Language | Display Name* | Keywords* |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRAVELPAGE | us (default) | Travel Page | travel, airfare, vacation |
| TRAVELPAGE | fr | Page De Voyage | travel, airfare, vacation |
Note that the value of the Keywords attribute for the French translation has defaulted to the value of the English version. If the page designer switches back to English and edits the value of the Keywords attribute, the changes are not inherited by the translation. For example:
| Name | Language | Display Name* | Keywords* |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRAVELPAGE | us (default) | Travel Page | travel, airfare, vacation, business expenses |
| TRAVELPAGE | fr | Page De Voyage | travel, airfare, vacation |
If an object is created while a language other than the default language is active, then both the translation and the default language versions are created with identical attribute values. For example, if TRAVELPAGE is created while the session language is set to French, two records with identical values (except for Language) are created in the portal schema in the Oracle Application Server Metadata Repository: one for the French translation and one for the English default-language version.
For example, in the following table, the default language is English (us) and the translation is in French (fr). The content contributor switches the session language to French, and adds Page De Voyage:
| Name | Language | Display Name* | Keywords* |
|---|---|---|---|
| TRAVELPAGE | fr | Page De Voyage | voyage, tarifs, vacances |
| TRAVELPAGE | us (default) | Page De Voyage | voyage, tarifs, vacances |
The English version (that is, the default language version) is created implicitly, copying the attribute values provided for the original, French version.
When you want to make a page group available in different languages, you do so by creating one or more translations of the page group. Once you configure the page group for a particular language, content contributors can add content in that language.
Creating translations provides the opportunity for you to create parallel views of your portal—each in a different language. Using translations, you can provide the same experience to your users no matter what language is used to access your portal.
This section provides information about creating a translatable page group. It contains the following sub-sections:
For information about adding content to translation, see Section 20.3.1, "Adding a Translated Item". For information about working with versions and translations simultaneously, see Section 20.3.3, "Copying Translatable Attributes".
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Note: Before you can create a translation for a particular language, the application messages for that language must be installed. For information about this, refer to the Oracle Application Server Portal Configuration Guide. |
This section provides information that is useful to know when you are planning one or more translated versions of your portal. It includes the following subsections:
You can enable translations at the page group level for any installed language. Languages are installed by the portal administrator using the OracleAS Portal Configuration Assistant (OPCA). For more information on the OPCA, see the Oracle Application Server Portal Configuration Guide.
Before users can add translated content, translation to the relevant language must be enabled for the page group. For information on enabling the translation of a page group into a particular language, see Section 20.2.2, "Adding Translation Languages to a Page Group".
Every page group has a default language. Page group creators select a default language for a page group from the list of installed languages when they create the page group. Once a default language is selected, it cannot be changed.
Every object in a page group has a record associated with the default language. In addition, if translations are enabled in the page group, each object may have a record associated with each of the available languages. These records are the translations of the object.
You choose the default language of a page group when you create the page group. To choose a default language for a page group:
Log in to OracleAS Portal.
Click the Build tab to bring it forward.
In the Page Groups portlet, click the Create Page Group link.
In default installations, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder page.
On the resulting page, enter a Display Name for the page group.
Use up to 256 characters. Use any character. Multi-byte characters are allowed.
From the Default Language drop-down list, choose a default language for the page group.
Click Create.
Once you click Create, the Default Language selection is fixed and cannot be changed for the page group.
Creating a translation makes it possible to provide parallel views of your portal: one view for the base (or default) language, another view for a second language, another view for a third language, and so on. You translate your content and add it to the appropriate translated view. OracleAS Portal provides translations for error messages and user interface elements, and provides the appropriate language formats for portal-provided numbers and dates.
In addition to your content, you will probably want to translate any displayed metadata values that were provided when the default-language version of the content was uploaded. For example, the following list shows information translators may want to translate:
Category display names and images
Perspective display names and images
Page display names, descriptions, and images
Page parameter display names and descriptions
Item display names, descriptions, keywords, URLs, files, text, and images
Attribute display names
Custom item and page type display names, descriptions, and images
Style names
To view a page group in a particular language, users select the language in the Set Language portlet. Numbers and dates display in the format appropriate to the language. Lists are sorted in the order appropriate to the language. If a user chooses a language in the Set Language portlet for which no translation exists, the page group content is displayed in the default language.
Typically, changes to Display Names apply only to the current session language. Translations to Names affect all language versions. For example, when you change the Name of a category, all translations use the new name. When you change the Display Name of a category, only the current translation's version of the Display Name is changed.
For more information, see Section 20.1.3.1, "Translatable Attributes", earlier in this chapter.
When you add new information to a page group, the information is added to the translation associated with the user's current portal language setting. If the language is not the page group's default language, the information is also added to the default language view of the portal. When users view the page group in the default language, they will see the new information in the language in which it was added until a translation in the default language is provided.
For example, imagine a page group with a default language of English and a translation in French. If the user creates the initial item in the French view, a copy is created in the default English view. Everyone who accesses the English view displays the item and sees its French content. When a user edits the item in the French view, those changes apply only to that translation. The users accessing the item in the English view see the original (French) item, without the edits.
For more information, see Section 20.3.1, "Adding a Translated Item".
The default language of the Shared Objects page group is English. If you create a page group in a language other than English, then add an untranslated object from the Shared Objects page group to it, an error is displayed. As a work-around, provide translations for shared objects; or, at least, provide a translation for the relevant shared object.
This can have implications particularly when you want to share a template over non-English page groups. Objects on a template from the Shared Objects page group that do not have an explicit translation in the relevant language do not display on the non-English pages that are based on the template. If you want those objects to display, first you must add translated versions of those objects to the template. For more information, see Section 20.3.1, "Adding a Translated Item".
The same holds true for navigation pages. That is, a navigation page in the Shared Objects page group must be translated to the default language of a non-English page group in order for it to be used in that page group.
When a page group is created, it is available in a single default language (specified at creation time). You can subsequently create translations of the page group. Once a translation is created, content contributors can easily add content to a page group in the translation language. When users choose to view the portal in the translation—for example, by selecting the translation language in the Set Language portlet—they see the translated content.
To add a translation language to a page group:
Log in to OracleAS Portal.
Click the Build tab to bring it forward.
From the Page Groups portlet Work In drop-down list, select the page group for which to configure a translation.
By default, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder page.
Click the Configure link.
Click the Translations tab to bring it forward.
From the Language list, choose the translation language.
This list includes the languages for which translations have not yet been created, but whose application messages have been installed and made available for user data translation.
Select the Online check box to make the language accessible to all users.
If you do not select Online, the language is accessible only to users with the page group privilege Manage All.
Click Apply after each selection before adding a new language.
Click Create.
Click OK.
When you first create a translation, the translation is available only to users with the page group privilege Manage All. You can edit a translation's status setting to make it available to all users.
To change the status of a translation:
Log in to OracleAS Portal.
Click the Build tab to bring it forward.
From the Page Groups portlet Work In drop-down list, select the relevant page group.
By default, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder page.
Click the Configure link.
Click the Translations tab to bring it forward.
Under the Edit Translation section, select Online to make the translation available to all users.
If you do not select Online, the translation is available only to users with the page group privilege Manage All.
Click Apply before changing the status of another language.
Click OK.
Deleting a translation deletes all the content in the page group for the translation language. You cannot delete the page group's default language (that is, the language specified when the page group was created) unless you delete the entire page group (including all its translations).
To delete a translation from a page group:
Log in to OracleAS Portal.
Click the Build tab to bring it forward.
From the Page Groups portlet Work In drop-down list, select the page group that owns the translation to be deleted.
By default, the Page Groups portlet is located on the Build tab of the Portal Builder page.
Click the Configure link.
Click the Translations tab to bring it forward.
Click the Delete icon next to the translation to be deleted.
Click OK.
This section provides the information you need when you are ready to translate specific content objects. It contains the following subsections:
If your portal is configured to display in more than one language, then it is likely you will be adding content to it in each language it uses. A large part of a portal translation is taken care of automatically: all the standard user interface elements, including their labels and hint text are automatically translated; all intrinsic messages are automatically translated. But the content you provide, including item content and any attribute values you enter manually, must be translated by you. Once you have translated the content, the rest is easy.
To provide a translated version of content:
Log in to OracleAS Portal.
Go to the Set Language portlet, and select the language under which you will add an item translation.
It may be necessary to ask your page group administrator to make this portlet available to you. It is located under Portal Content Tools in the Portlet Repository.
Go to the page on which to provide an item translation.
For information on locating a page through the Page Groups portlet, see Section 9.1, "Locating Pages in OracleAS Portal".
Click the (translated) Edit link at the top of the page.
This opens the page in Edit mode.
Click the Edit Item icon next to the relevant item (Figure 20-1).
Upload the translated content, enter translated text, or otherwise provide the content translation for the item, and enter translated values for any translatable item attributes.
At this point, providing translated content is the same as editing the specific type of item on an untranslated page. For information on how to add an item, see Section 15.2, "Adding Items to a Page".
A variation on this task occurs when item versioning is enabled and multiple language versions plus the latest default language version of an item are available. In such a case, you are given the opportunity to select an item version from which to copy attribute values. For more information, see Section 20.3.3, "Copying Translatable Attributes".
The original item displays in your portal's default language, as usual. The translated version displays when you select the translation language from the Set Language portlet.
In the translated view of the page, any content that has not been translated into the selected language is displayed in the default language. (For more information, see Section 20.1.2, "Displaying a Translation".)
The implicit behavior of translation creation also applies when you use item versioning. When you create a new version of an item, a new record is added to the portal schema in the Oracle Application Server Metadata Repository. All versions of an item have the same Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) but each version is assigned a new ID attribute value. A Current Version attribute indicates which version is active. For example:
| GUID | ID | Version | Language | Display Name* | Current Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44429 | 44430 | 1 | us (default) | Airline Information | N |
| 44429 | 44431 | 2 | us (default) | Airline Information 2 | Y |
When you switch to French and edit the current version, a French record is implicitly created for Version 2. Notice that no translation exists for Version 1 and that both the English and French records for Version 2 have the same ID:
| GUID | ID | Version | Language | Display Name* | Current Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44429 | 44430 | 1 | us (default) | Airline Information | N |
| 44429 | 44431 | 2 | us (default) | Airline Information 2 | Y |
| 44429 | 44431 | 2 | fr | Voyage Aériens: Informations 2 | Y |
With the language still set to French, create a new version (3). An English (default language) record is implicitly created for Version 3, with attribute values copied from the English record for Version 2:
| GUID | ID | Version | Language | Display Name* | Current Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44429 | 44430 | 1 | us (default) | Airline Information | N |
| 44429 | 44431 | 2 | us (default) | Airline Information 2 | N |
| 44429 | 44431 | 2 | fr | Voyage Aériens: Informations 2 | N |
| 44429 | 44432 | 3 | us (default) | Airline Information 2 | Y |
| 44429 | 44432 | 3 | fr | Voyage Aériens: Informations 3 | Y |
Switch back to English, and create a new version (4):
| GUID | ID | Version | Language | Display Name* | Current Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44429 | 44430 | 1 | us (default) | Airline Information | N |
| 44429 | 44431 | 2 | us (default) | Airline Information 2 | N |
| 44429 | 44431 | 2 | fr | Voyage Aériens: Informations 2 | N |
| 44429 | 44432 | 3 | us (default) | Airline Information 2 | N |
| 44429 | 44432 | 3 | fr | Voyage Aériens: Informations 3 | N |
| 44429 | 44432 | 4 | us (default) | Airline Information 4 | Y |
Notice that no translation is created for Version 4. Therefore, when version 4 is the current version, no translation is displayed. This may cause users to think that their translations have disappeared. Translations for version 4 must be manually created by editing version 4 in the nondefault language(s).
For more information, see Section 20.3.3, "Copying Translatable Attributes"
When you translate an item in a page group where item versioning is enabled, you have the opportunity to copy the attributes of any earlier translation or the latest default-language version and apply them to the new translation of the item. Use the Available Translations section in the Edit Item wizard to select the item version from which to copy attributes.
For translated items, you can view and edit only translatable item attributes. The non-translatable attributes do not display on the Item Attributes screen (see Section 20.1.3, "Translation and Attributes"). However, you can view the non-translatable attributes by clicking the Properties icon (Figure 20-2) in the banner at the top of the Edit Item screen.
To change non-translatable attributes, you must set the portal to its default language view and edit the item there. Whatever changes you make to non-translatable attributes are made automatically across all translations of the item.
The Available Translations section displays on the Item Attributes page under the following conditions:
The page group has at least one available translation
Item versioning is set to Simple or Audit for the page group or the current page
The item's status is neither Pending nor Draft
You are working in a language other than the default language
The default-language version of the item is more recent than the translated version
For example, imagine that versioning is enabled, English is the default language, and you have the following versions:
V1: English
V2: English, French
V3: English, French, German
V4: English, French, German
V5: English
V6: English, French
V7: English (latest default-language version)
When you add a new French version, the Available Translations option displays on the Item Attributes screen in place of the default Item Version Control section. The Available Translations section includes a drop-down list of available versions. The drop-down list includes V7: English, as the latest default-language version, as well as all the French versions of the item (V2, V3, V4, V6).
When you add a new German version, the Available Translations option displays with a selection list that includes V7: English, as the latest default-language version as well as all the German versions of the item (V3 and V4).
If the latest French or German version you are updating is V7, this dialog does not display.
By default, the latest version of an item always displays. If you update a default-language version of an item, but do not update the translated version of the item, the default-language version displays in the translated version of the portal. Your options are:
Leave this "as is"
Add a translated version at the same level as the most recent default-language version
Select an earlier translated version for display from the Item Actions screen. See Section 15.12, "Using Item Version Control".
To select a version for translation:
Log in to OracleAS Portal.
Go to the page that contains the item for which to provide a new translation.
For information on locating a page through the Page Groups portlet, see Section 9.1, "Locating Pages in OracleAS Portal".
Click the Edit link at the top of the page.
This opens the page in Edit mode.
Click the Edit Item icon beside the relevant item (Figure 20-3).
From the Copy From drop-down list in the Available Translations section, select the version of the item from which to copy attribute values.
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Note: If you make changes to item attributes, then select a different version from the Copy From drop-down list, any changes made to item attributes on the Edit Item screen are lost. Once you click Go, the Item Attributes screen repopulates with the attribute values of the newly-selected version. Select a version from Available Translations and click Go before you change any item attribute values. |
Click Go.
Click OK to confirm your selection, copy the selected version's attributes, and return to the Item Attributes screen.
Translations of items can be submitted to an approval process when they are created or edited. To properly review and approve content for a pending translation, approvers must always set their session language to the same language as the translation.
For example, a user with the page (or tab) privilege Manage Items With Approval creates a French translation of an item and submits it for approval. The French display name of the item appears in the approver's Notifications portlet, even when the approver's session language is set to English. Approvers can approve or reject the item independent of what their session language is set to. However, if they are to either preview the changes or edit the translation's attributes, they must first switch their session language to French.
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Note: As the approver, if your session language is not the language of the submitted translation, you can approve an item without previewing the changes. If you plan to preview the item before approval, always switch the session language to the language of the submitted translation. |
To properly preview and approve content for a pending translation, approvers must always set their session language to the same language as the translation.
The same rules apply when an approver edits a pending item. If an approver has the required edit privilege on a pending item, he or she can edit the item without disrupting the approval process. However, if the item is in a language other than the default language, it can be edited only in that language. In other words, assuming the page group's default language is English, when a French translation displays in the approver's queue, the approver cannot edit the translated item while the session language is set to English. The approver can edit the translated item only by first setting the session language to French (provided the approver has the privileges required to edit the item).
For information on which users can view items in what state, see Section 18.9.3, "Item URL Security".
Deleting an object from a page group deletes all translations of the object. This includes the deletion of all attribute values associated with the object. For example, imagine that you have a page group with a default language of English and a translation in French. If you delete the French translation of a category, the English category is also deleted, as are all the attribute values associated with the category, such as its Title Image, Rollover Image, and Icon. All objects classified under the deleted category are reclassified under the General category.
I want to approve an item, but I can see only a translated preview of it.
It could be that you are using a different session language than was used to submit the translated item.
For example, a user with the page (or tab) privilege Manage Items With Approval creates a French translation of an item and submits it for approval. The French display name of the item appears in the approver's Notifications portlet, even when the approver's session language is set to English. However, if the approver does not switch the session language to French, the item can be only previewed.
Change your session language to, in this case, French, then try again. To properly preview and approve content for a pending translation, you must set your session language to the same language as the translation.
English is my default language, and I have a French translation. For one of my items, only the English-language version displays (in all language versions).
Is item versioning turned on? If so, it could be that the most current default-language version of the item has no translations at the same version level. When the current default language version does not have a translation, this may cause users to think that their translations have disappeared.
Set the session language to, in this case, French, and edit the item, uploading a new French version, or selecting an earlier French version to copy as the current translated version.
When I edit an item to provide a Spanish translation, I am unable to select my Spanish version of its category and perspectives.
When you edit an item in a language other than the default language, the Category and Perspectives attributes do not display. Switch the session language to the default language to edit an item's Category and Perspective attributes.
To translate categories and perspectives, you must edit these objects directly. That is, set your session language to, in this case, Spanish. Click the untranslated category name in the Page Groups portlet. And provide a Spanish Display Name for the category. Do the same thing for your perspectives.
As you switch between session languages, all translated versions of your categories and perspectives also switch, provided you have translated their Display Names.
I have exposed my portal in both Spanish and English. I have added a file item to the Spanish version. It is also displaying in the English version.
Assuming that your portal's default language is English, any content you provide to translated versions of your portal also displays in the default language version (in this case, the English version). Add an English translation of the file to the English version, and that will be displayed in lieu of the Spanish version you uploaded first.
Once an English translation of the document is added to the portal (in the same location), users of the English version of the portal, will see only the English version of the document.
