Because FDM supports language localization and regional date, time, and number formats, you must ensure that decimal formatted-related options are set. Two precepts govern decimal handling in FDM:
The selected locale for standards and formats on the FDM application servers determines the characters designated as the thousands and decimal separators. This setting affects decimal-formatted data in imported data files, as well as the default decimal format used to create export files and to load target systems. Locale setting is accessed from Regional and Language Options in the Windows Control Panel.
The DBMS that serves as the FDM repository always requires that decimal data be formatted without a thousands separator, and the decimal separators are periods.
The implications of precept No. 1 are that you must take additional steps when the application server decimal format differs from the import data file decimal format (or from the format expected by the target system).
For example, if an import file with English-formatted decimals is imported into FDM running on a French-locale application server, you must use an import script or the Fill=UsToEuro expression to convert the decimals to the French format (decimal separator is a comma). Also, to export from the French-locale application server and load a target system that expects English-formatted decimals, either the target system must implement its own conversion mechanism, or an FDM script must be used to perform the output conversion before sending it to the target system.
The implications of precept No. 2 are that whenever the FDM application server decimal format specifies any character other than a period as the decimal separator, you must set the decimal replacement option (found in FDM under Administration > Configuration Options) to ensure that the comma, or other character, is converted to a period before data loading.