Understanding Jargon and Alternate Language Terms

When you create a data dictionary item, you assign descriptions to the row, column, and glossary. Because these descriptions might not offer the flexible terminology that you need, you can assign alternate jargon or language descriptions to each item. Alternate descriptions enable the same data dictionary item to appear with different row, columns, and glossaries for different users, depending on the system (product) code of the object that they are using.

For example, the cost center field MCU is widely used throughout the system. Its row description is Business Unit, which is a term used by financial applications. However, in distribution applications, this data item appears as Branch/Plant. Likewise, in warehousing applications, the data item appears as Warehouse.

In addition to any alternate terms that you define, users can implement their own language overrides at the application level. The system checks for and resolves overrides in this order:

1. If a user applies a language override in the application (such as FDA or Report Design Aid (RDA)), the system uses the term indicated by the language override, if one exists.

2. If the user did not specify a language override in the application, then the system determines at runtime whether a system code has been attached to the menu selection.

   If the menu selection has an attached system code, then the system displays the alternate term dictated by the system code, if one exists.

3. If no alternate term has been indicated for the menu selection, the system determines at runtime whether a system code has been attached to the application.

   If the application has an attached system code, then the system displays the alternate term that is dictated by the system code, if one exists.

4. If no alternate term has been indicated for the application, then the data dictionary text appears.

In all cases, the system first checks the user's preferred language for an alternate term before checking without language. Language and language overrides always take precedence over non-language overrides. For example, assume that, in an environment in which English is the base language, all the forms have French translations that a user can view by selecting the French override. A form might contain a data item that in English has an alternate term; in this example, however, the French version of the data item does not have an alternate term. When it appears in English, the form displays either the main term or the alternate term, as appropriate. When it appears in French, however, the form displays only the main term, even when an alternate term is called for, because the language override takes precedence over displaying the alternate term.

Jargon and alternate language terms must be added after the data item has been created.