Set the Oracle character set

When setting up an Oracle database for OpenText Dimensions CM, we recommend that you choose the AL32UTF8 Unicode UTF-8 multibyte character set (MBCS). But Dimensions CM automatically works with Oracle databases used with earlier versions of CM that have MBCS/ASCII character sets.

If you plan to use a character set for an Oracle installation other than AL32UTF8, consult Support before proceeding.

Note: Dimensions RM supports the Oracle AL32UTF8 character set. All data entered be ASCII characters for Dimensions RM to display it correctly. If you intend using Dimensions RM to access data in a Dimensions CM AL32UTF8 database, that data must also be entered as ASCII. This is especially important for project, stream, and product names.

Homogeneous server-client environment

An Oracle database with an US7ASCII character set supports multi-byte character sets as follows:

  • A homogeneous environment is required for MBCS use. This means that if the desktop client and either the web client or Administration Console are to be used, then the web tools server must run on Windows with the same locale as all of the client systems.

  • All machines that access the database must use the same locale. Data appears corrupt if it is read from:

    • A client that is different to the one where the data was entered.

    • A machine with a different locale.