Translation Workbench

Designer > Global Resources > Translation Workbench

The Translation Workbench makes it possible to deliver an application in multiple languages, by mapping words or phrases in a different language to the (default) English language labels.

Although generally intended for localization of Custom Objects, the translation workbench can also be used to modify the labels associated with System Objects.

Users that have the Manage Translation Workbench permission can View, Import or Export the translation tables

Multiple languages can be enabled for a single platform tenancy. Individual users can select a default from the list of available languages.

Learn more: Language Translation

By default, the platform user interface (UI) is labeled in English. In order to make the platform more usable for a global audience, these Eligible Platform Elements can be customized with language labels. These configurable platform elements are presented in a language that is more familiar to users, which improves their effectiveness. Any of the Supported Languages can be selected. The Audit Log will reflect language translation, if it has been implemented.

Developers can specify Java-style i18n labels and default values for Custom Labels.

Load the Translation Workbench

In order to enable Multiple Language Translation, language labels must first be loaded to the Translation Workbench. Two methods are available to load the Translation Workbench:

Manual Edit: Use this option to change language labels individually
Import and Export: Use this option for mass changes to language labels

Manual Edit

To edit individual language translations:

Click Designer > Global Resources > Translation Workbench
Use the following options to navigate to the element of interest:
Language

Choose one of the available languages from the list

Elements

Choose one of the Eligible Platform Elements for editing
Type and Subtype:Optional, and are not presented with every Language + Element combination
Click the [Edit] button
Manually edit the Translated Display Label
Click [Save]

File:Manualedit-fr.gif

Translated Display Labels

File:Manualedit.gif

Additional Translated Display Labels for Objects

Import and Export

To create a new language translation file, follow this procedure:

Step 1: Export an existing language set

Step 2: Add the translated entries into the file using an external translation system

Step 3: Re-Import the resulting file to create a new language option

Considerations

Translation Id is unique to each tenancy
The import will fail if:

The order of the fields in the CSV file is changed
The Translation Id field is changed

Objects have two records in the translation export file, where Item Type is Object Singular Label and Object Plural Label

Example CSV file: Typical language translation files can contain thousands of records.

Translation Id,Language,Item Type,Additional Info,Base Label,Translated Label
11eb24840b494736933dfea6ed13b50a,en,Object Singular Label,,Account,,
11eb24840b494736933dfea6ed13b50a,en,Object Plural Label,,Accounts,,

60ed42521fd54de5a24d294ee8494db9,en,Object Plural Label,,Active Employees,,
5f13c0b09d93427eb073a38c31146f68,en,Object Plural Label,,Benefits,,
443eeb61c2cf4e6da297bf80b09a5c2a,en,Object Plural Label,,Cases,,
58f403513d8d40bb9f0190cb0974add5,en,Object Singular Label,,Company,,
11ee93bca9f649ceadbee7a66ec163d4,en,Object Singular Label,,Compensation,,
c3d33c48ba104eefa2d56ae45f39c667,en,Object Plural Label,,Contacts,,

fa2d4a8bc6e24d4f8a3c6d2bcfcb6c1c,en,Section,Object:Contacts,Layout Name:Default Layout,Contact Information,,
da7d3db7e078419ebc583a1a4f061ea0,en,Section,Object:Contacts,Layout Name:Default Layout,Description Section,,
 . 
 .
 .

Export Translation Entries

To export an existing language to a file:

Click Designer > Global Resources > Translation Workbench
Click the [Export Translation Entries] button
In the Translation Information section, select:
Language

Choose the language to export
In the Email Address Section, select:
Email address

Enter an email address

The file will be sent to this email address as an attachment, in CSV format

The contents of the CSV file can be translated to any desired language. It contains the labels for all Eligible Platform Elements.

Import Translation Entries

To import the translation entries file:

Click Designer > Global Resources > Translation Workbench
Click the [Import Translation Entries] button, and complete the following information:
Language

Specify the language to import

Select the file to load

Click the [Browse] button to navigate to the file
Click [Save]

When the import is successful, the new language option can be selected in Company Information.

About Elements in the Translation Workbench

Each language translation file contains these elements:

Language

English (Default)
Other languages, as available

Element

Type (of Element)

Subtype (of Element)

Eligible Platform Elements

The following platform elements are eligible for translation:

File:Translationwbelements.gif

Platform Elements eligible for Translation

Translation Entries are formed of this hierarchy:

Language, Element, Type, Subtype, where Type and Subtype are optional, depending on the Element

File:Translationworkbench.gif

These columns are displayed when Translation Information is selected:

Name
Elements (Optional)
Default Display Label
Translated Display Label
Default Display Label (Plural), Translated Display Label (Plural) (Optional)

Element	Type, Subtype
Actions	Object
Applications
Custom Labels	Category Category Name
Digital Signatures	Objects
Enumerated Fields	Objects
Fields	Objects
Form Layouts	Objects Sections Quick Links Related Information Related Information Button Labels
Global Picklists	Global Picklist
Home Pages	Applications Label Widget Title Pages
Objects	Includes Singular and Plural object labels for System Objects and Custom Objects
Report Folders
Reports
Sidebar	Label Widget Title Sidebars
Validation	Objects
Views	View Type Object Related Views Objects Other Views
Web Tabs	Label Widget Title Sidebars
Workflows	Objects

Custom Labels

Custom Labels provide the the ability to create free-form messages, or alphanumeric text strings in:

Onscreen help or tips
Alert messages
Warning messages

The custom labels are added via the Translation Workbench, and are used in these elements in the platform:

Pages
Classes
Custom Form Actions
Java API: showMessage, throwError
JavaScript validation messages
Web Tabs

To add custom labels:

Click > Administration > Account Management > Translation Workbench
Specify the following information:
Language

Select the desired language

Elements

Custom Labels

Category

--New Category--

Category Name

Enter a name for the category
Click the [New Category] button
In the form that appears, enter the token and the Translated Custom Message
- A maximum of 100 tokens can be created for each Category
Click [Save]

Custom Labels For Developers

Accessing a Custom Label in JAVA

The translateToken API accesses a Custom Label (a message) defined in the Translation Workbench.

Syntax

String result = Functions.translateToken(String key) 
String result = Functions.translateToken(String key, String [] args)

Parameters

key: The category and token (index key) for the message to retrieve, in the form: "#category.token_name".
args: An array of string-arguments to be substituted into the message, in the locations defined by the message format.

Returns: A string containing the selected message in the user's currently active language, with specified arguments substituted.

Example

In this example, go_msg is a Custom Label in the Translation Workbench created in the "custom" category, where the translation in the user's current language is "It's a {1} day for a {2}." Supplying the arguments then allows for variations on the message.

String [] args = {"nice", "walk"};
String msg = Functions.translateToken("#custom.go_msg", args));
    // ==> "It's a nice day for a walk."

Accessing a Custom Label in HTML

In HTML:

The category and tokens defined in Custom Labels are used to construct a key.
The key and related arguments are passed to a Message Tag, which returns a localized message.

Creating a Key

To access a Custom Label in HTML, you create a key, using the same format as Template Variables:

A category name, followed by '.' and a message or label identifier (a "token").
Example: #categoryname.tokenname

where

categoryname: Name of the Category
tokenname: Name of the Token

Example

For a category named webtab, create the following tokens:

welcome_msg = Welcome to the {0}
message = This application keeps track of your customer service requests quickly and easily

To create language labels using the custom label key, add arguments as follows:

{#webtab.welcome_msg^ABC}

Which displays in the UI as: Welcome to the ABC

Considerations

The carat (^) character is used to separate arguments passed to the function
If the argument is missing ({#webtab.message}), the default message is displayed: This application keeps track of your customer service requests quickly and easily.
Tokens are supported in:

Web Tabs, using:

HTML
Raw HTML

Example

<html>
  <head>
    <title></title>
  </head>

  <body>

    <h1>{#webtab.welcom_msg^ABC}</h1>

    <p>{#webtab.messge}</p>
   
  </body>
</html>

Using Message Tags

Message Tags support multiple languages, using Custom Labels created in the Translation Workbench.

When a message tag is implemented, the message appears in the user's selected language.
Message tags are part of the platform Tag library

The platform Tag Library is a Java Custom Tag Library

If the key is not defined in the Translation Workbench, the key defined in the call will be displayed.

Syntax

<%@ taglib uri="/LJTagLib" prefix="lj" %>
<lj:message key="#{category}.{token}" arg1="Julia" arg2="Jones"/>

Example

Assume the following item is specified in the Translation Workbench:

Category	`webtab`
Token	`message`
Message	`Requester Name: {1}, {0}`

Then this code:

<%@ taglib uri="/LJTagLib" prefix="lj" %>
<html>
    <head>
        <title>Customer Details</title>
    </head>
    <body>
        <h1>Customer Details</h1>
           <p>All the details</p>
        <lj:message key="#webtab.message" arg1="Julia" arg2="Jones"/> 
    </body>
</html>

Causes this text to be inserted into the HTML:

Requester Name: Jones, Julia

[[Category:Template:Features]]

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