Bookshelf Home | Contents | Index | Search | PDF

Siebel Tools Reference > Pick Applets and Static Picklists > Multilingual Lists of Values >

Enabling the Multilingual List of Values

---

To set up an MLOV operation, you must modify the LOV configuration in Siebel Tools, as well as perform administration tasks. For MLOV to be enabled the following conditions must be met:

The column of the field using the picklist has the Translation Table property set to S_LST_OF_VAL
The picklist must be bounded (Lov Bounded Property is set to True)
The picklist must use the same LOV Type as specified in the Lov Type property of the column.

NOTE:  A picklist's LOV Type should always match the LOV Type of the underlying column (the column on which the picklist's field is based).

You enable MLOVs by completing the following tasks.

Identifying Which Columns to Enable.
Making Sure the LOV Type Is Translatable.
Determining If the Picklist Is Bounded.
Configuring the Multilingual List of Values in Siebel Tools.
Adding Translated Display Values in Application Administration.
Upgrading Existing Data Using the MLOV Upgrade Utility.
Recompiling and Deploying.

These steps are discussed in the following sections.

NOTE:  Configuration of MLOVs can impact performance, especially when the field on which the picklist is based is used as part of a search or sort. Performance characteristics should be considered and verified in conjunction with configuration of MLOVs.

Identifying Which Columns to Enable

Not every list of values type can be enabled as multilingual. You need to determine which columns you can enable based on the LOV type. LOV types must meet the following conditions:

The column must be marked as translatable. See Making Sure the LOV Type Is Translatable.
The picklist must be bounded. See Determining If the Picklist Is Bounded.
The column must not be one of the Special Cases. See Special Cases.

NOTE:  Do not set up a column for a MLOV unless you are sure that you intend to use that column for your implementation.

Columns storing data that is read by server programs, such as Assignment Manager, Siebel Remote, Siebel Anywhere, or Workflow Manager, require additional configuration. See the following for more information:

Configuring Siebel Business Process Designer to Use MLOV-Enabled Fields
Configuring Siebel Assignment Manager to Use MLOV-Enabled Fields
Configuring Siebel Anywhere for Use with MLOV-Enabled Fields

Configuring MLOVs may also include changes to the Siebel Visibility Rules. Any reference in a Visibility Rule to an LOV entry for a type you plan to configure for multilingual support must be changed from the Display Value to the language-independent Code. Check the visibility rules for references to any LOV entries as part of your configuration of MLOVs.

NOTE:  Custom extension columns can always be MLOV enabled.

To check visibility rules

In Siebel Tools, navigate to the Dock Object Visibility Rules view.

Use the flat screen view to simplify searching.

Go to the SQL Statement field and search for literals across all rows that are not null.
Examine the results for values that need to be translated.

NOTE:  Changing visibility rules requires the assistance of Siebel Expert Services.

Making Sure the LOV Type Is Translatable

A translatable type is a list of values type that can be modified, or translated into additional languages, without affecting the functionality of your application. This is indicated in the Translate setting in the List of Values Administration view in Siebel eBusiness Applications.

If an item is translatable, it can be modified without affecting Siebel eBusiness Applications functionality.

To determine if an LOV type is translatable

Connect to the server database using Siebel eBusiness Applications.
From the application-level menu, choose View > Site Map > Application Administration >List of Values.
For the LOV type that you are interested in, look in the Translate list column for a check mark.

If you add a LOV type, set this list column according to your configuration. Do not change any existing settings shipped with Siebel eBusiness Applications, because these are set to reflect the Siebel eBusiness Applications configuration. Changing this setting will not allow you to enable an LOV type.

Determining If the Picklist Is Bounded

A bounded picklist is a picklist where users must choose from the existing choices and cannot enter their own data. An unbounded picklist is a picklist where users may either enter their own data or choose from the existing choices. Only bounded picklists can be configured to be multilingual.

You must verify that the picklist is bounded and that the underlying column has the Lov Bounded property set to True.

To determine if a picklist is bounded from the Picklists list

Connect to the server database using Siebel Tools.
Select the Flat tab in the Object Explorer.
Select the Pick List object type.
Query the Type Value property for the list of values type you are interested in.

If the Bounded property is checked, then that item is a bounded picklist.

To determine if a picklist is bounded from the Columns list

Connect to the server database using Siebel Tools.
Select the Flat tab in the Object Explorer.
Select the Column object type.
Query the LOV Type property for the list of values type you are interested in.

If the LOV Bounded property has a check mark, then the picklist for that target column is bounded.

NOTE:  The Translate property of the column is only for internal use, and has nothing to do with the configuration of MLOVs.

All columns for a particular LOV type must be bounded. If any of the columns for the LOV type is not bounded, then none of the columns can be set to multilingual for that LOV type.

For example, Table 50 shows the columns for the LOV type AVAILABILITY_STATUS. Although three of the columns are LOV bounded, you would not be able to enable these columns as multilingual, because one column (NEXT_AVAIL_CD) is Unbounded. If you were to run the MLOV Upgrade Utility, you would receive an error message that says the columns are inconsistently bounded. See About the MLOV Upgrade Log File for more information.

Table 50. Example of Inconsistently Bounded Columns

Name	LOV Type	LOV Bounded
CURR_AVAIL_CD	AVAILABILITY_STATUS	Y
NEXT_AVAIL_CD	AVAILABILITY_STATUS	Y
CURR_AVAIL_CD	AVAILABILITY_STATUS	Y
NEXT_AVAIL_CD	AVAILABILITY_STATUS	N

The Lov Bounded and Lov Type properties in the column object are read-only for standard columns in Siebel eBusiness Applications, but are editable for columns that have been added using the Database Extension Designer. If you add columns, you must set both the Lov Bounded and the Lov Type properties for each column individually, consistent with your configuration.

NOTE:  You need to modify the Lov bounded property for standard Siebel columns, you must contact Siebel Expert Services to determine the feasibility of this change.

Special Cases

There are special cases that should be considered when determining whether an LOV TYPE can be enabled for multilingual display. The columns listed in Table 51 cannot be MLOV enabled.

Table 51. Columns That Cannot Be MLOV Enabled

Table	Column
S_AGREE_POSTN	APPR_ROLE_CD
S_CONTACT	PREF_LANG_I
S_CONTACT_X	ATTRIB_48
S_CS_RUN	STATUS_CD
S_DOC_ORDER	TAX_EXEMPT_REASON
S_ONL_LAYOUT	CONTROL_TYPE_CD
S_ORG_EXT	DIVN_CD
S_ORG_EXT	DIVN_TYPE_CD
S_ORG_EXT_XM	NAME
S_PRI_LST_ITEM	PRI_METH_CD
S_PROD_INT_CRSE	CRSE_TYPE_CD
S_PROD_INT_X	ATTRIB_50
S_PROD_INT_X	ATTRIB_51
S_PROD_INT_X	ATTRIB_53
S_PROJ_ORG	PROJ_ROLE_CD
S_PROJITEM	PROD_AREA_CD
S_PROJITEM	STATUS_CD
S_SRC	SRC_CD
S_SRC	STATUS_CD
S_SRC_EVT	FORMAT_CD
S_SRCH_PROP	NAME

Configuring the Multilingual List of Values in Siebel Tools

Once you have determined which columns to enable as multilingual, you configure those columns in Siebel Tools.

List of values types are enabled for multilingual support on a target-column basis. Because a list of values type can be used for different target columns, the Multilingual property must be implemented for all target columns that use the same type.

The following procedure describes the process for manually enabling a column. The list of values type ACCOUNT_TYPE is used as an example.

To enable a column for multilingual storage and display

Open Siebel Tools, and connect to the server database.
Select the Flat tab in the Object Explorer.
Select the Column object type.
Choose Query > New Query, enter the name of the desired list of values type in the LOV Type property, and then press ENTER to execute the query.

In this example, you would search for an LOV Type of ACCOUNT_TYPE. The query shows you the columns that use that LOV type, in this case there is only one column named OU_TYPE_CD.

Check that all the columns using that type have a check mark in the LOV Bounded property.
Change the Translation Table Name to S_LST_OF_VAL for all the columns returned by the query.

NOTE:  Changing the properties of object definitions directly on the server is a nonstandard practice that is used only for configuration of columns for multilingual storage and display. Under all other circumstances, the correct and safe way to change object definition properties is to check out projects to the local repository, make the desired changes, and check them back in to the server. See Application Development Projects for more information about checking in and checking out projects.

Adding Translated Display Values in Application Administration

Once you have configured a column to be multilingual, display values must be defined for each language that will be supported.

To add translated display values

Using the Siebel Web client, connect to the server database.
From the application-level menu, choose Site Map > Application Administration > List of Values.
Find the list of values type for the enabled target columns.
For every language that will be supported, create a new record for each display value for that list of values type.

For instance, if you plan to support German and French in addition to the existing English display values, create two new records for each display value—one in German and one in French.

For each new record, the language-independent code must be the same as for the original record, but the entries in the Language and Display Value list columns are set differently, as appropriate.

For more information on adding and maintaining translated values, refer to Administering the Multilingual List of Values.

Upgrading Existing Data Using the MLOV Upgrade Utility

After you have configured your application for use with MLOVs and added new display values for all the languages you intend to support, you must upgrade your existing LOV data. You do this using the MLOV Upgrade Utility.

NOTE:  Even if you have just completed a new installation of your Siebel application, you must perform this data upgrade.

You run the MLOV Upgrade Utility in two modes.

Validation. Running the utility in this mode validates the current repository for data inconsistencies. If the utility finds inconsistencies, the program stops and writes the errors to a log file.
Translation. Running the utility in this mode:
Changes data in target columns that are configured for MLOVs from the display value to the language-independent code.
When you set the target column for an LOV Type to multilingual, the utility sets the MULTI-LINGUAL flag in the LOV table (S_LST_OF_VAL) to make sure of consistency between the multilingual state of the target column and its corresponding List of Values in the LOV table (S_LST_OF_VAL).
Verifies that all target columns using the desired MLOV type have been enabled.

NOTE:  Target columns are columns that store either the display value or the language-independent code as part of user data.

The MLOV Upgrade Utility upgrades target columns that are marked as bounded and updates list of values types that are not already marked as multilingual. You can run the utility as often as you need to; only data that has not already been upgraded will be affected.

NOTE:  The upgrade process run by MLOV Upgrade Utility is not reversible.

Running the MLOV Upgrade Utility

You run the MLOV Upgrade Utility using the Siebel Software Configuration Utility. The Siebel Software Configuration Utility is a wizard that will help you define the required parameters for running the MLOV Upgrade Utility. You run the utility in validation mode first, fix errors as they appear, and then run it in translate mode, which will enable your existing data for MLOVs.

NOTE:  Before running the MLOV upgrade, drop all indexes from the columns that you are upgrading. Once the MLOV upgrade is complete, recreate the indexes.

To run the MLOV Upgrade Utility in a Windows Environment

Start the Siebel Software Configuration Utility by choosing Start > Siebel Enterprise Server >Configure DB Server.

NOTE:  You can also start the Siebel Software Configuration Utility from the DOS Prompt command line. See To start the MLOV Upgrade Utility from the DOS Prompt.

The Siebel Software Configuration Utility appears.

Enter the required parameters to run the MLOV Upgrade Utility in validation Mode.

See Table 52 for a list of the wizard dialog boxes, options, and required values.

When you run the MLOV Upgrade Utility, it checks for errors and writes them to a log file. The default name of the log file is mlovupgd_verify.log and the default location is the siebsrvr\LOG directory.

Review the log file and resolve errors as necessary.

See About the MLOV Upgrade Log File for more information.

If an error is detected, resume running MLOV Upgrade Utility in validation mode by using the DOS Prompt to navigate to the BIN directory of your Siebel Server root directory (SIEBEL_ROOT\BIN), and then at the command prompt typing:

siebupg /m master_mlov_verify.ucf

The MLOV Upgrade Utility resumes running.

Repeat Step 1 through Step 4 until no errors are detected.
Start the Siebel Software Utility following the steps described in Step 1.
Enter the required parameters to run the MLOV Upgrade Utility in translation mode.

See Table 52 for a list of the wizard dialog boxes, options, and required values.

The MLOV Upgrade Utility enables your existing data for MLOV. For columns configured for MLOVs, the MLOV Upgrade Utility finds LOV values in user data that are not in S_LST_OF_VAL and inserts them into S_LST_OF_VAL as inactive. It changes the display value of bounded columns to the language independent code and sets the value for the Multilingual attribute to true.

To run the MLOV Upgrade Utility in a UNIX Environment

Start the Siebel Software Configuration Utility doing the following:

Navigate to the Siebel root directory and type source siebenv.csh
Type setenv LANGUAGE DISPLAY_LANGUAGE (where DISPLAY_LANGUAGE represents the three letter code for the display language; for example ENU, FRA, DEU, and so on).
Type setenv SIEBEL_ROOT SIEBEL_ROOT (where SIEBEL_ROOT is the name of the directory where you installed the Siebel server).
Type the command dbsrvr_config.ksh

The Siebel Software Configuration Utility appears.

Enter the required parameters to run the MLOV Upgrade Utility in validation Mode.

See Table 52 for a list of the wizard dialog boxes, options, and required values.

When you run the MLOV Upgrade Utility, it checks for errors and writes them to a log file. The default name of the log file is mlovupgd_verify.log and the default location is the siebsrvr\LOG directory.

Review the log file and resolve errors as necessary.

See About the MLOV Upgrade Log File for more information.

If an error is detected, resume running MLOV Upgrade Utility in validation mode by navigating to the bin directory of your Siebel Server root directory (SIEBEL_ROOT/bin), and then typing the following command:

svrupgwiz /m master_mlov_verify.ucf

The MLOV Upgrade Utility resumes running.

Repeat Step 1 through Step 4 until no errors are detected.
Start the Siebel Software Utility following the steps described in Step 1.
Enter the required parameters to run the MLOV Upgrade Utility in translation mode.

See Table 52 for a list of the wizard dialog boxes, options, and required values.

The MLOV Upgrade Utility enables your existing data for MLOV. For columns configured for MLOVs, the MLOV Upgrade Utility finds LOV values in user data that are not in S_LST_OF_VAL and inserts them into S_LST_OF_VAL as inactive. It changes the display value of bounded columns to the language independent code and sets the value for the Multilingual attribute to true.

To start the MLOV Upgrade Utility from the DOS Prompt

From the DOS Prompt, navigate to the \BIN directory of your Siebel Server root directory.

For example: cd siebsrv/BIN

Run the MLOV Upgrade Utility in validation mode by typing the following at the command prompt:

ssincfgw -1 language_code -v Y

where language_code is the three-letter code (all capitals) for the language in which you want to display the GUI.

For example, to run the MLOV Upgrade Utility in English, you would type:

ssincfgw -1 ENU -v Y

The Open dialog box appears.

Select dbsrvr.scm and then click Open.

The Siebel Software Configuration Utility -DB Server Configuration dialog box appears.

Resume Running MLOV Upgrade Utility

In case of an error, you can resume running the MLOV Upgrade Utility in validation mode or translation mode.

To resume the MLOV Upgrade Utility in a WIndows environment

At the DOS Prompt, navigate to the BIN directory of your Siebel Server root directory (SIEBEL_ROOT\BIN)
At the command prompt do one of the following:
To resume running in validation mode, type siebupg /m master_mlov_verify.ucf
To resume running in translation mode, type siebupg /m master_mlov_translate.ucf

To resume the MLOV Upgrade Utility in a UNIX Environment

Navigate to the bin directory of your Siebel Server root directory (SIEBEL_ROOT/bin).
At the prompt, do one of the following:
To resume running in validation mode, type srvrupgwiz /m master_mlov_verify.ucf
To resume running in translate mode, type srvrupgwiz /m master_mlov_translate.ucf

MLOV Upgrade Utility Parameters

To run the MLOV Upgrade Utility, complete the dialog boxes listed in Table 52 and enter or select the values as you go.

Table 52. MLOV Upgrade Utility

In This Dialog Box	Enter Or Select The Following
Siebel Enterprise Parameters: Gateway Server Address	Gateway Server Address Enterprise Server Address
Installation and Configuration Parameters: Siebel Server Directory	Siebel Server Directory
Installation and Configuration Parameters: Siebel Database Server Directory	Database Server Directory
Database Server Options: Siebel Database Operation	Run Database Utilities
Database Utilities: Database Utility Selection	Multi-lingual List of Values Conversion
MLOV Parameters: MLOV Operation	Validate or Translate, depending on the mode you want to run.
Installation and Configuration Parameters: Language Selection	Base language of your Siebel application.
Installation and Configuration Parameters: RDBMS Platform	RDBMS Platform
Installation and Configuration Parameters: OBDC Data Source Name	OBDC Data Source Name
Installation and Configuration Parameters: Database User Name	Database User Name Database Password
Installation and Configuration Parameters: Table Owner	Table Owner Name Table Owner Password
MLOV Parameters: Repository Name	Repository Name
Configuration Parameter Review	Review the parameters you have defined and then click Finish

About the MLOV Upgrade Log File

After the utility runs in either validation mode or translation mode, it writes any errors to a log file. The default names of the log files are mlovupgd_verify.log and mlovupgd_translate.log. The files are located in the siebsrvr/LOG directory.

LOVs Inconsistently Bounded or Translation Table Property Not Set to S_LST_VAL. The message that appears in the log file for LOVs that have the bounded property on columns where they are used set inconsistently (one bounded and one not bounded) or LOV domains that do not have the Translation Table property set to S_LST_VAL is the following:

The following Validation checks for:

1- Two or more columns defined in the same LOV domain are inconsistently bounded (one bounded, one not)

2- Two or more columns are defined in the same LOV domain and at least one of them does not have a Translation Table Name of S_LST_OF_VAL.

Any errors of these types are listed in the log file. The information listed includes the LOV Type, Column, and Table.

To fix the LOV types that appear in the log file

Open Siebel Tools, and connect to the server database.
Select the Flat tab in the Object Explorer.
Select the Column object type.
Choose Query > New Query, and then enter the name of the list of values type that has a problem in the LOV Type property.
Press Enter to execute the query.
For all the columns displayed, make sure all of them are LOV BOUNDED = Y.
Set the Translation Table Name for all the columns displayed to S_LST_OF_VAL.
Run MLOV Upgrade Utility in validation mode to make sure that there are no more errors.

LOV Domains Not in the S_LST_OF_VAL Table. The message that appears in the log file for LOV domains that are not represented in S_LST_OF_VAL table is the following:

The following Validation checks for:

LOV domains in the repository that are not represented in S_LST_OF_VAL

This message means that an LOV domain is in the repository, but is not represented as a value in the list of values table, with a list of values type of LOV_TYPE. This can happen when you delete a record in the list of values table, instead of deactivating it, or when you enter an incorrect entry in the LOV Type property for a column added using a database extension.

For more information, refer to Deleting Versus Deactivating Records.

To fix this problem, add the LOV domain in the List of Values Administration view and specify LOV_TYPE in the Type list column, or correct the entry in the LOV Type property in the repository. See Adding Records for more information.

For any values found in the target tables without matching records in the list of values table, the script will create a matching record in the list of values table. These records are marked as inactive. Remember to add language-specific entries for these base records, so that they display in the active language.

Recompiling and Deploying

Every time you change the configuration to enable another column to be multilingual, you must compile a new .srf file based on the newly configured repository. Only the Newtable project needs to be compiled again. Additionally, you need to deploy the changes to users so that users can see the configured picklists in the desired language.

Bookshelf Home | Contents | Index | Search | PDF