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Using Siebel Tools > Working with Strings and Other Locale-Specific Data > About the Symbolic String Conversion ProcessThe String Conversion process is comprised of three distinct logical operations. First, new Symbolic String records along with their Symbolic String Locale child records, are generated based on the string values found in the target objects. Next, the String Reference fields of the target object records are set to the names of the new Symbolic Strings. Finally, the string fields in the locale records of the target objects are nullified, and, where appropriate, the locale records themselves are deleted. This process is performed in two separate phases—the preparatory Conversion Export phase, followed by the lengthier Conversion Import phase, where the data changes actually occur. The String Conversion process does the following:
The conversion process occurs in two phases: the conversion export phase, in which data is prepared for conversion, followed by the conversion import phase, in which data changes actually occur. NOTE: An SRF file compiled before the conversion process will be the same as an SRF file compiled after the conversion process. For example, suppose a given applet gets its Title property from a child Applet Locale record. When the conversion process is run, it creates a symbolic string, places the reference for that symbolic string in the applet Title - String Reference field, and then removes the Applet's locale record(s). Now, after the conversion, the applet's title is derived from the symbolic string. However, the Title itself, the display value that is complied to the SRF, is the same as it was before the conversion. The reason is that the strings are complied into object definitions and read from the SRF file, not referenced from the Symbolic String table during run time. Conversion ExportThe Conversion Export process identifies records that are candidates for Conversion, and then writes all the relevant information to a file. This process is run on an object type by object type basis, and can be run against any object type that has translatable strings (for example, controls, list columns, and applets). NOTE: The Conversion process has to be executed once for each Object Type (both Top-Level and Sub-Level Object Types) in the repository that has properties that reference Symbolic Strings. In order to determine what Object Types refer to Symbolic Strings, click the Flat Tab in the Object Explorer, navigate to Attribute, and search for the string "*String Reference*" in the Name property. The Parent Type of the results set is the complete set of object types for which the conversion has to be run. Some object types have more than one attribute that refers to Symbolic Strings; for such object types, it is necessary to run the conversion process only once. The conversion process begins by creating a sorted list of English (ENU) child records for each translatable string within a given object type. For those object types with multiple translatable strings (such as list columns that have a Display Name and Prompt Text), each is processed sequentially. This list is used to generate information about the new symbolic strings. Among sets of records with identical ENU translations, the non-ENU records are compared and, where possible, the same symbolic string is reused for subsequent records. The output file produced contains information about the new symbolic strings, including all the language translations for each, as well as which strings will be used as replacements. NOTE: The Conversion Export file is not a log file so there is no need to review its contents. Conversion ImportBased on the file produced by the conversion export process, the conversion import process performs the changes to the database (inserts, updates, and deletes) that convert the object records to use the new symbolic strings. Logically, the process consists of three operations, the end result of which is the production of symbolic string and symbolic string locale records, and the deletion of other types of locale records. The three operations are:
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