How to translate entities

The following are the basic tasks used to translate entity attributes. For more detailed information about each task, see the corresponding sections.

Identify entities to translate. Assess the level of entity translation, determine which attributes have or have not been translated, verify the actual translations, and determine entity IDs and reference codes.
Export attributes. Export selected entity attributes to be translated.
Translate attributes. Translate the exported property files.
Verify translation View the existing translations and the translations to be imported.
Import attributes Import the translated entity attributes.
Migrate entities. Migrate the translated entity attributes to another PPM instance.

Identify entities to translate

You should determine the entities that you want to translate before running the export translation script. If you want to translate a specific type of entity or a specific individual entity, make note of its entity ID and reference code/primary key.

Two different translation reports can be run to help identify the entities that need to be translated:

Translation Summary report. Use this report to determine if an entity has been completely, partially, or not translated. The Translation Summary report displays an entity, identifies the definition language of the entity (even if the language is not selected), and displays the level of translation (none, partial, or complete) for each language.
Translation Details report. Use this report to determine the attributes of an entity that have or have not been translated. If the attribute has been translated, you can also verify the translation. The Translation Details report displays an entity's attributes and the translation for each selected language, if the translation exists. An attribute's value displayed in bold text identifies the definition language of the attribute and is displayed even if the language is not selected.

The Translation Details report also lists and entity's reference code or primary key.

To identify entities and their IDs, codes, and keys:

Run the Translation Summary report to determine an entity's level of translation.
1. From the menu bar, select Create > Report. The Submit New Report page opens.
2. From the Select Report by Category section, select the Administrative Report Category.
3. Click the line for Translation Summary. The Submit Report: Translation Summary page opens.
4. From the Report Parameters section, select the Languages to show and any of the entities you want to display. For more information about the Report Parameters, see Using Translation Summary Report. For more information about the other sections on this page, see Reports Guide and Reference.
5. Click Submit. The Translation Summary report opens. See Using Translation Summary Report for more information about this report.
Run the Translation Details report to determine the attributes that have been translated, the actual translation, and an entity's reference code or primary key.
1. From the menu bar, select Create > Report. The Submit New Report page opens.
2. From the Select Report by Category section, select the Administrative report category.
3. Click the line for Translation Details. The Submit Report: Translation Details page opens.
4. From the Report Parameters section, select the Languages to show and specify the entities you want to display (or select Include all). For more information about the Report Parameters, see Using Translation Details Report. For more information about the other sections on this page, see Reports Guide and Reference.
5. Click Submit. The Translation Details report opens. See Using Translation Details Report for more information about this report.
Identify entity IDs.

Translatable entity types are identified by ID numbers. These numbers are used by the export translation script to specify the entity type to export. For a list of translatable entities and their corresponding IDs, see Table 5-1. Translatable entity types. Make a list of the IDs for the entity types you plan to translate.

Translate auto-completes and drop-down lists for requests

You can define multiple translations for items in auto-complete fields (validated by "List" and "SQL - Custom") and drop-down lists for requests in Demand Management. Suppose, for example, that you have the items in an auto-complete field or a drop-down list for a request type translated into your users' languages. If a user creates a request, users who subsequently log on to PPM and specify different session languages see the auto-complete field or drop-down list items for that request in their own languages.

PPM automatically translates items in auto-complete fields or drop-down lists validated by "List". For information about translating items in auto-complete fields validated by "SQL - Custom" and drop-down lists validated by "SQL", see (Demand Management only) Custom auto-complete fields and list fields in MLU.

For auto-complete fields not validated by "List" or "SQL - Custom", if the first user allows the auto-complete to appear in his or her language, then the auto-complete items are displayed in that language for the life of the request (unless it is manually overwritten). The situation could become more confusing for users if one set of auto-completes is entered for the first user, then a second set is entered by a second user of another language, then a third set by a third user in yet another language, now we have a form that displays three languages.

Export attributes

After you have identified the entities to be translated, you must export the translatable attributes from PPM to property files that can be translated.

To export attributes from PPM,

On the PPM Server, go to the directory that contains the kExportAttributes.sh script:
```
cd <PPM_Home>/bin
```
where <PPM_Home> represents the path where your PPM instance is installed.
You can export all entities, types of entities, or individual entities.

Enter the following command to export all entities:
```
sh ./kExportAttributes.sh -username <user name> -password
<password> -entityId <entity ID>
```
Enter the following command to export a type of entity:
```
sh ./kExportAttributes.sh -username <user name> -password
<password> -entityId <entity ID> -referenceCode <reference code>

sh ./kExportAttributes.sh -username <user name> -password
<password> -entityId <entity ID> -primaryKey <primary key>
```
By default, property files are generated for the entity and its children and zipped to the file <PPM_Home>/mlu/definitions/attributes_<lang>.zip where <lang> is the language code that specifies the definition language of the entity.

You can specify the filename and its directory by including additional options. For more information about the options available with the translation export script, see Run export script.

The exported property files are ready for translation.

Translate attributes

PPM does not generate nor provide the actual translations for exported property files. You must translate the property files (for example, by using a translation management tool or a company that provides translations) before you can import them back into PPM. Using the property files provides a standard way to manage translations and enables the use of third-party translation tools that can provide change management capabilities for your translations.

Verify translation

Before importing the translations back into PPM, you can view a Translation Impact report that displays the existing translations and the new translations that will be imported.

To view the Translation Impact report,

On the PPM Server, go to the directory that contains the kImportAttributes.sh script:
```
cd <PPM_Home>/bin
```
where <PPM_Home> represents the path where your PPM instance is installed.
Enter the following command to generate the Translation Impact report:
```
sh ./kImportAttributes.sh -username <user name> -password
<password> -mode test
```
By default, all files in the directory <PPM_Home>/mlu/translations/ are used to generate the Translation Impact report. You can specify a filename and its directory to import by including additional options. For more information about the options available with the translation import script, see Run export script.

After running the command, open the file <PPM_Home>/mlu/translations/TranslationImpactReport.html to view the Translation Impact report.

Import attributes

Once you are satisfied with the translations, you can import them into PPM.

On the PPM Server, go to the directory that contains the kImportAttributes.sh script:
```
cd <PPM_Home>/bin
```
where <PPM_Home> represents the path where your PPM instance is installed.
To import the attributes, run:
```
sh ./kImportAttributes.sh -username <user name> -password
<password>
```
By default, all files in the directory <PPM_Home>/mlu/translations/ are imported. You can specify a file name and its directory to import by including additional options. For more information about the options available with the translation import script, see Running Import Script.