Localization for SXP Employee Edition

First published on: 08/10/2023/6:54 pm

Users automatically see localization based on the locale of the person logging into the SXP Portal. Local number formats and dates give users a consistent experience based on what the logged-in user is accustomed to in their native locale.

Locale is not the same as language, but it can be related (e.g., you can “localize” English to UK English). From an SXP perspective, a user can access an SXP in a language different from their locale. In this case, the user’s experience will be presented in their native locale, but the language will be displayed based on what an administrator configured.

That is, what is displayed (the language) is controlled by an admin, while how it’s displayed (locale) is automatically adjusted for the user.

When using the default language (English en-us), no further localization is required.

To use another language or a localized version of English, update these areas:

• Menus
• Reports
• Application strings

Language packs aren't provided, and it's assumed that a single language will be displayed throughout the Portal.

Menu Localization

Before you can configure menu items and report titles for a specific language, an admin must manually update them. By default, all menus and reports are localized to US English (en-us), and choosing language strings for another locale (e.g., UK English) will replace the previous language strings.

Menus currently support only a single language; however, you can translate or localize this language, as described below.

To localize a menu:

1. Go to SXP Manager AddOn > Manage Menu.

2. Select the desired application and menu.

3. For each menu entry, ensure the entry’s Name field is translated. This is the link name displayed to the end customer.

4. For menu entries that are grids, pivots, or charts, open the report link and edit the Query columns associated with that link. Edit the query using the standard SAP Business One query editor. (Always back up queries to a safe location before making edits.)

5. Recycle the B1WebAPI’s application pool. This will clear the cached language default for all Portals. See 'Recycling Application Pools' for a walkthrough.

6. Recycle the Portal’s application pool. This will reload the language default from B1WebAPI. See 'Recycling Application Pools' for a walkthrough.

Report Localization

You can localize reports in SXP by configuring query column aliases that display to web users. Some queries contain columns that aren't displayed to the web user, and these query aliases must remain intact. A list of query requirements when applying localization is below.

You can edit standard queries in SAP Business One's query editor. You must edit 'stored procedure' queries within the stored procedure.

When localizing a report that contains a query link, the query itself is not the source of the column name. These query links may be re-aliased as described in the 'Query Link Localization' section below.

Localization Requirements for Queries

Query Link Localization

When localizing query reports, queries with corresponding query links (i.e., if a web drill-down link has been set up for the report) require localization of the label associated with its drill-down link. This is done within the ZEDS_QUERYLINK UDT (user-defined table).

1. First, open the ZEDS_QUERYLINK UDT under Tools > User-Defined Windows > ZEDS_QUERYLINK - Portal Query Doc Link.

2. Next, scroll right to the Grid Column Title field. This is the text the end-user will see. Change it to the desired value.

   

3. Update the UDT.

4. Recycle the B1WebAPI’s application pool when all query links are edited. This will clear the cached query links for all Portals. See 'Recycling Application Pools' for a walkthrough.

5. Recycle the Portal’s application pool. This will reload changed query links from B1WebAPI. See 'Recycling Application Pools' for a walkthrough.

Application String Localization

You can localize application strings on the web server by updating the values in SXP website’s App_GlobalResources/AppStrings.resx file.

Notes to consider before making changes to this file:

• Back up the AppStrings file.
• Saving the AppStrings file will restart the website, disrupting web users. The best practice is to update a test site first, confirm the details, then load the changes to production when few users are logged in.

• Application string files are well-formed XML. Exercise caution when making edits so the XML remains well-formed.

• When editing application strings for SXP, ensure the value field doesn't contain prohibited XML characters. For a helpful guide, see 'Stack Overflow - What characters do I need to escape in xml documents' and the more technical deep-dive 'W3C - XML'.

• Included in the application strings file are breadcrumb labels, which begin with the word “Breadcrumb” (e.g., BreadcrumbHome). Replace the value associated with each breadcrumb link to update the breadcrumbs web users see.

How to Update Application Strings

1. Open the 'Application Strings' file in an advanced editor such as Visual Studio or a basic text editor.

2. Find and update the desired label.

In Visual Studio, the 'Name' field contains the identifier for the label and shouldn't be changed, while 'Value' contains its content. Values will be displayed to the end-user and can be updated. Comments sometimes clarify details related to this web label and typically don’t need to be updated (but can be for internal reference).

In a text editor, <data name="BreadcrumbHome" xml:space="preserve"> identifies a label (here the label for 'BreadcrumbHome') and shouldn't be changed, while the contents of <value> may be edited to change what’s displayed on the web.

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