About the Localization Process

Localizing a Siebel application includes translating the user interface and modifying other attributes to meet locale-specific requirements.

Note: It is recommended that you complete as much configuration as possible before you begin localizing the application. One reason for doing so is that configuration potentially alters what needs to be translated, so it is better to have a stable application. Also, the check-in and check-out mechanism in Siebel Tools or Siebel Web Tools is meant to be performed in only one language; if you perform localization tasks on the client during configuration, then there is a potential for data loss.

For detailed information about working with user interface strings (including symbolic strings) and other locale-specific data, see Using Siebel Tools. You can use the Locale Management Utility (LMU) in Siebel Tools to manage strings and other data. More information about the LMU is provided later in this topic.

For information about localizing strings for Lists of Values (LOVs) and multilingual lists of values (MLOVs), see Localizing Lists of Values and Multilingual Lists of Values.

Note: See also Localizing an Unshipped Language. In general, you perform the tasks in that topic, where applicable, before you perform the other localization tasks described in this chapter.

The localization process typically includes the following steps:

1. Identify the applications or projects that you want to localize.

2. Develop a localization glossary.

3. Export strings and other localizable attributes using the Locale Management Utility.

   This utility exports the objects to a flat file.

   When exporting symbolic strings, export the projects containing the symbolic strings, such as the Symbolic Strings project or a project that you created that contains symbolic strings. For guidelines, see Using Siebel Tools.

   Note: If you are localizing strings for an unshipped language (such as ENG, for British English), then you might export strings from a source language that was shipped for Siebel CRM (such as ENU, for U.S. English), and specify your unshipped language as the target language (such as ENG). In the export file, copy the text from the source language to the target language. (Where many strings are similar or identical between the source and target languages, as with ENG and ENU, copying strings will speed up the translation process.) See also Localizing an Unshipped Language.

4. Translate strings by modifying the flat file directly or by importing the file into a separate localization development environment, modifying the locale-specific attributes, and then exporting the localization result to another flat file.

5. Import modified string and modified object definitions into the repository using the Locale Management Utility.

6. If necessary, then search for strings or locale-specific attributes that have been modified since the last export, and update the string translation or attributes localization for these changed objects.

7. With the correct language mode specified in Siebel Tools or Siebel Web Tools, publish the updated Siebel runtime repository.

8. Distribute the Siebel runtime repository to the appropriate Siebel Servers and clients.