Working with Alternate Character Sets

These topics provide an overview of alternate character system architecture and discuss how to:

  • Configure your system for alternate character functionality.

  • Enter alternate character information.

  • Find records using phonetic searching.

  • Work with alternate character system architecture.

PeopleSoft HCM uses related language table architecture to enable users to use multiple languages to enter data and to switch between a base language table and a related language table to view information in multiple languages. In addition, it uses alternate character system architecture to enable users to use two character sets for one language.

The alternate character system architecture accommodates languages (such as Chinese and Japanese) that require the entry of proper nouns by using two character sets to support phonetic sorting rather than binary sorting on proper nouns. For example, users who enter data in Japanese require functionality that enables them to enter proper nouns (such as names or descriptions) both in Kanji and by using a phonetic character set. To accomplish phonetic sorting in PeopleSoft HCM, configure your system so that the user can enter Japanese proper nouns twice: once in Kanji and once (phonetically) using Katakana, Hiragana, or roman alphabets also known as Romaji.

Important! (JPN) In choosing which phonetic character set to adopt, it is important for customers to determine a consistent method for entering phonetic character set information. From a technical perspective, the system simply applies a binary sort method to phonetic characters. Thus, different characters with the same pronunciation aren't sorted together by their pronunciation in PeopleSoft HCM. For example, a Hiragana Ma character is sorted before a Hiragana Mi character and after a Hiragana Ho character. If a Katakana Ma character is included in the sort, it is sorted after a Katakana Mi character and appears only after all the Hiragana characters are sorted.

(CHN) As Chinese government adopts an official method of romanizing Chinese characters, also known as Hanyu Pinyin, it is strongly advised to use Alphanumeric (roman alphabets) as the alternate character set.

See PeopleTools: Global Technology.

For certain names, addresses, and description fields in PeopleSoft HCM, there is a corresponding alternate character field that is part of the record. This architecture enables the users to enter the same proper nouns using two character sets.

Alternate Character Fields Associated with Global Pages

The following table lists the alternate character fields and the global pages with which they are associated in PeopleSoft HCM.

Page

Auxiliary Page

Field

Comments

BANK_BRANCH_EC

BRANCH_NAME_AC

BANK_EC

BANK_NAME_AC

COMPANY_TABLE1

COMPANY_ACDESCR_SEC

DESCR_AC

COMPANY_TABLE1

COMPANY_ACADDR_SEC

COMPANY_ACADDR_SBP

COMPANY_TBL.CITY_AC

COMPANY_TBL.ADDRESS1_AC

COMPANY_TBL.ADDRESS2_AC

DERIVED_GBL.POSTAL_BTN

ADDR_POS_JPN_SEC

DEPEND_BENEF1

DEPENDBN_ACNAME_SEC

NAME_AC

ESTAB_TBL1_GBL

ESTAB_ACDESCR_SEC

DESCR_AC

ESTAB_TBL1_GBL

ESTAB_ACADDR_SEC

ESTAB_ACADDR_SBP

ESTAB_TBL.CITY_AC

ESTAB_TBL.ADDRESS1_AC

ESTAB_TBL.ADDRESS2_AC

DERIVED_GBL.POSTAL_BTN

HS_NON_EMPL1

HS_NE_ACNAME_SEC

NAME_AC

PERSONAL_DATA1

APP_PERSONAL_DATA1

PERSDTA_ACADDR_SEC

PERSDTA_ACADDR_SBP

PERS_DATA_EFFDT.CITY_AC

PERS_DATA_EFFDT.ADDRESS1_AC

PERS_DATA_EFFDT.ADDRESS2_AC

DERIVED_GBL.POSTAL_BTN

ADDR_POS_JPN_SEC

PERSONAL_DATA1

APP_PERSONAL_DATA1

PERSDTA_ACNAME_SEC

NAME_AC

PYE_BANKACCT

ACCOUNT_NAME_AC

SRC_BANK

ACCOUNT_NAME_AC

STATE_NAMES_TBL

STATE_ACDESCR_SEC

DESCR_AC

TRN_INSTRUCTR_TBL1

TRN_INS_ACNAME_SEC

NAME_AC

NAMES

NAMES_ACPREFNM_SEC

NAME_AC

Search Records with Alternate Character Name Fields

The following PeopleSoft HCM search records that have NAME_AC (alternate character name) as an alternate search key or subrecords that are included in search records, enable for Japanese input and display:

  • NAMES

  • NAMES_SS_TMP

  • NE_INCIDNT_SRCH

  • NE_PERSONAL_DTA

  • OPR_ROWS_EE

  • OPR_ROWS_EE2

  • PERSON_NAME

  • PERS_SRCH_ALL

  • PHYSICIAN_SRCH

  • PHYSICIAN_SRCH2

  • SHS_EMPL_TAO

  • SHS_EXEMPT_TAO

  • SSF_PERSON_VW

  • SUCCESS_TR_SRCH

  • TRN_DMNDEE_SRCH

  • TRN_INSTR_SRCH

  • UPG_NAMES_TAO

  • WCS_NAME_SCH_VW

  • WF_PERSON_NAME

  • WORKER_PROMPT

Note: This list includes only Human Resources system records.

PeopleSoft Human Resources Reports That Sort on Alternate Character Name

The following reports in PeopleSoft Human Resources sort on the Name field or on the Alternate Character Name field when the system base language and the report language are configured as shown:

Base Language Set To

Report Language Set To

Report Sorted By

English

Japanese

BASE.NAME_AC

Japanese

Japanese

BASE.NAME_AC

English

English

BASE.NAME

Japanese

English

BASE.NAME

SQR/BI Publisher Reports

These SQR/BI Publisher reports are sorted phonetically for Japanese, based on the report and the base language configuration:

Report ID

Description

PER001

Department Action Notices

PER002

Employee Birthdays

PER004

Emergency Contacts

PER005

Employees on Leaves of Absence

PER007

Temporary Employees

PER009

Union Membership

PER011

Company Skills Inventory

PER012

Departmental Salaries

PER013

Employee Compensation Changes

PER020

Employee Home Address Listing

PER023

Salary History

CMP003

Compa-ratio Analysis by Grade and Job

CMP004

Below-Minimum Analysis

CMP005

Above-Maximum Analysis

Note: This list doesn't include country-specific regulatory reports that are sorted by Name.

This topic explains how to set up alternate character functionality in PeopleSoft HCM.

To set up alternate character functionality in PeopleSoft HCM:

  1. Link the alternate character sets with language codes on the Installation Table - Alternate Character page (ALT_CHAR_TBL).

    These settings affect your entire PeopleSoft HCM installation.

    Note: On this page, you define the alternate character set for the language that each user selects on the sign-on page.

  2. Enable the alternate character functionality for specific user IDs on the Org Defaults by Permission Lst page (OPR_DEF_TBL_HR).

    When you enable alternate character functionality for a user, the system displays the alternate character button to the right of all the fields on the Global menus that have an associated Alternate Character field.

    When you click the Alternate Character button, the system opens a page where you enter or display the field value in the alternate character set.

On pages on the global menus in PeopleSoft Human Resources, you can access the alternate character fields for proper noun fields like Name, City, and Company Description. To access these fields, click the Alternate Character button that appears to the right of a field that has a corresponding Alternate Character field available.

Note: (CHN), (HKG) and (JPN) On the Name page, when the Format for Country is CHN, HKG or JPN, the Name and the Alternate Character Name fields appear on the page: You can enter information in both fields directly on the Name page. On the Address page, click a button to access the alternate character secondary page. Whether the Alternate Character button appears on the Address page depends on the user ID's permission list and whether the particular page has Alternate Character functionality.

(CHN) When the Format for Country is CHN, the First Name and Last Name fields have values with alphanumeric characters, and you leave Alternate Character Name blank, the system populates Alternate Character Name using Last Name, space delimiter, and First Name. Please note that this functionality works only if Alternate Character Name has no existing value.

If you click the Alternate Character Address button in the Address History secondary page (ADDR_HISTORY_SEC), the system opens the Alternate Character Address page, such as the example that follows, where you can enter any proper noun information, such as street and city, in the designated alternate character set.

This example illustrates the an example of an Alternate Character Type page.

 Alternate Character Type page

Note: If you sign in to the application using a language for which you specified an alternate character type, the system displays that character type in the title bar of the Alternate Character Type page. In the example above, Alphanumeric is the alternate character type defined for English.

Once you enter alternate character information into an alternate character field and click OK to close the page, the system changes the appearance of the Alternate Character button on the page to indicate that alternate character information is available for the primary proper noun field on the main page.

PeopleSoft Human Resources provides several options for finding a person and updating or adding information to the people's records in the system. Even if you enter a person's name using ideograms such as Chinese characters and Japanese Kanji, you can specify the name phonetically as a search criterion.

For example, to look up Japanese employee Noriko Kawamoto's personal data record, place the cursor in the Alternate Character Name field, enter the Japanese phonetic characters for Kawa, and click OK. The list box on the search record page displays all the names (sorted phonetically) that begin with Kawa such as Kawasaki, Kawashima or Kawamoto in both Kanji and Kana.

Note: The phonetic value is the same as the base name value.ain