Question Re: Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs in Technology Q&A

Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs

MikeB — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 18:12:35 GMT

Hi Workflow Gurus,

Question is about workflow localization / translation / globalization / internationalization…

Suppose, I have a complex workflow, which consists of a number of sub-workflows. This WF has been initially developed in English (including all dialogs), but now I want to offer this WF in other languages. Of course, I can begin to pass over each WF/sub-workflow element and to begin to type localized dialog via built-in translation tool of SAP where it is possible, but it may take a lot of time, especially if there are a lot steps in WF.

Is there any best practice for workflow localization, what is the best approach to supply the same workflow in English, German and French to your customers? Is there any way to get/build a dictionary of all dialog, used in all steps in WF and its subworkflows and after that to translate it to the desired language?

Thanks.

Re: Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs

Former Member — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 01:52:08 GMT

I also would be very interested of hearing if someone has found a way to easily translate a workflow or has a tool for it. Many times the translation can become an own sub-project (this applies also some other SAP functionality which do not offer proper translation tools).

Basically it is not that hard - you probably just want to translate the "visible parts", and this includes just the dialog tasks: maintain the work item text and description in PFTC (this is a bit annoying since you need to log in with the destination language to maintain the work item text). Many times this is enough. But then if you have user decision in the workflow, these you need to go to translate the step to WF builder SWDD.

If you want to make things perfect, you must maintain all the texts in the workflow itself too (in WF builder in the translation menu): all the step names, outcomes, etc. These texts are visible e.g. in the logs etc. so users will most probably have access to these although they are not in the daily use. Luckily the translation tool in the WF builder is quite good, because it lists nicely all the texts of the workflow, and offers a input field to maintain the translation. And if you are after perfection, you need to go back to translating the tasks - the background tasks which will be visible in the logs...

Then, if the developers haven't translated the possible applications that are called inside the workflow, it really can become a project. For example it can be a huge task to translate a big web dynpro ABAP application (some translations come from data elements, some from OTRs, then you will have the messages, etc.)

Kind regards,

Karri

Re: Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs

MikeB — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 06:05:05 GMT

Hi, Karri

I appreciate your comment, I'm agree with you, as far as I realize, WF localization may really become a separate project from time consumption point of view.

One more point regarding to localization.

Suppose, I'm a WF initiator and I started the WF in English, the next step (user decision) should be executed by French speaking agent, the third one is a task for German native speaker. I would like to offer the best user experience for each one of the agents and show dialogs on their-own mother tongue.

Is it possible to show different steps of the same WF in different languages, according to SAP GUI language of specific agent? I tried to do that, but I paid attention, that WF language is defined at the first step and is inherited from the language of WF initiator.

Re: Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs

Former Member — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 06:12:55 GMT

Hi,

Users should be able to see the work items in their logon language (if you have translated the tasks). It shouldn't matter what is the language of the workflow instance (=which language was used to start the workflow). When the user opens his inbox, the work item language is the same as users logon language. Just test and you will see.

Kind regards,

Karri

Re: Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs

I042439 — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 04:11:12 GMT

Hi Mike

This is not related to your current thread......

I have seen that you have asked real logical questions towards workflow best practices in the past as well.... .... So, once you have them all, why not create a document on SCN and post them together with the links to threads.

It will really help us all to have one stop doc for all best practices and links with replies from the best people in this forum?

This is just a friendly suggestion.... 🙂

Regards,

Modak

Re: Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs

MikeB — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 05:14:56 GMT

Hi Karri,

I've checked the subject of work item language and find out, that «inheritance» of the language from WF initiator is a «feature» of my generic WF-design (I define and fill-ins all dialogs at the first step, right after WF has been initialized), so I have to reconsider this concept.

What I found out is when I want to enter a translation for a user decision step (title and parameters) via Translation menu of SAP GUI this menu is disabled and has a grey out, while the object I want to translate is in change mode. What should I do in order to have ability to enter the translation?

Thanks.

Re: Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs

MikeB — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 06:17:46 GMT

Hi Modak,

Thanks for your attention, it really sounds great, I'm considering to arrange all my best practices related questions in one blog post or even in SCN-document, in case and it will contain enough context.

Re: Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs

Former Member — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 06:40:27 GMT

Hi,

About your design: I am not sure if I understood what you have done. But the main idea here was that the workflow (and SAP itself) will take care of displaying the texts in correct language if translations exist. Perhaps you have done something that this does not happen, but I guess this is the concept that you need to reconsider?

About your translation problem: When you do translations for workflow objects in SWDD, you should do them in the "main window". Do not e.g. enter/drill-down into a step and try to do translations there (this might be reason why the menu is disabled - I am too busy to check this right now). Now it might be that the user decision (and its texts) cannot be translated at all from the SWDD translation menu (the user decision stuff is not visible in translation view?). You might need to log in to the system with the destination language, open SWDD, and then maintain the user decision step texts directly in the user decision step. I am not sure about this and cannot check right now, but worth to check, if you are having problems maintaining user decision translations.

Kind regards,

Karri

Re: Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs

MikeB — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 12:10:55 GMT

Dear Karri,

Thank you a lot for your attention and time.

A bit of words about my design, I wanted to develop some generic workflow, that could suit to multiple similar processes and, in order to supply desired level of generality, I pass specific dialog to the workflow from outside. So, dialog is filled at the beginning of the workflow by execution ABAP workflow dedicated class method, so I suppose, I have to reconsider the design.

I'll check your recommendation and let you know if it works.

BTW, the relevant article at SCN Wiki:

Multi language functionality Implementation in ABAP-Workflow

Re: Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs

Former Member — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 01:32:52 GMT

OK, I see what you've done. Probably not the best design for workflow due to the problems in translations. Texts cannot be populated in the beginning (or during) of workflow unless you are 100% sure of the languages of the work item recipients (and even then it is not probably the best idea).

Perhaps the most common language problems in workflows are caused by the email sending steps and the workflow reminders (Extended notifications). I've seen some freaky stuff with extended notifications (three different languages in one email)...

Regards,

Karri

Re: Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs

MikeB — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 14:29:35 GMT

I checked all options, you've mentioned above and now I would like share my experience, but before I see important to summarize the initial task.

Originally I built a generic workflow that suits to a multiple different from the context point of view, but similar from the structure point of view processes. E.g. suppose, we have three different processes, which should be approved by exactly the same persons, in order to do that I built some generic workflow and dynamically fill it by suitable dialogs.

In addition to this, I want to assure that my process is a language independent and will work with multi-language agents inside of the same process (e.g. one agent is French speaker and another agent is English-one).

After multiple tries I've arrived to the conclusion, that SAP Workflow engine allows to you either to build generic workflow on the specific language or language-generic workflow with concrete process, but not the both the same time.

In bottom line, you have to choose, what strategy you want to go — generic process programming on specific language or specific process, but multi-language (language independent).

Please, feel free to share the way to overcome this limit.

Re: Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs

pokrakam — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 16:58:32 GMT

For what it's worth, the approach that has always worked for me is:

- Build in English

- Use the translation tool to translate everything

- Log on in each language and update anything that's still in English

Simple.

Where it does get messy is when multiple languages are used during execution. If a French approver creates the next step it will be in French if the next user doesn't have the 'use own language' setting switched on. So switching off "Advance with dialog" will help as the subsequent step will be created by the WF system user in whatever system language it has been set to.

Regards,

Mike

Re: Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs

MikeB — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 18:26:20 GMT

Translation tool works great, when dialogs are hard-coded inside of workflow objects and not dynamically filled on runtime, as I tried to do in order to achieve more generic level of the workflow.

Re: Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs

pokrakam — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 22:27:54 GMT

If you do your hardcoding with standard texts or OTR then these can also be translated, should be easy enough?

Re: Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs

MikeB — Sat, 07 Jun 2014 08:11:39 GMT

If I, let say, write in User Decision title some text, I can translate it with translation tool, but if this text is supplied dynamically via ABAP code and binding, thus I don't know how to care about multi-language agents inside of the same process.

For example, at the beginning of the workflow I have a step «GetDialogs», where I programmatically generate dialogs for the whole process (via GetDialogs() method of the ABAP class), after that I pass an array with these dialogs to multiline workflow container. Then the specific line number passed to the concrete workflow step. And even if I paid attention to the localization problem at the step of dialog generation and supplied wanted translation via translation tool (text-001 approach), I don't know how to supply/pass to the workflow step not only the original text, but also translated to desired language text.

If it's possible to pass to the workflow container and to WF step dialogs on multiple languages (via translation tool), thus, I suppose, localization will work automatically, since WF engine can chose dialog version according to the specific agent SAP GUI language. But I don't know how to do that.

Hope, I have not confused you with my explanation 😉

Re: Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs

pokrakam — Sat, 07 Jun 2014 10:36:12 GMT

Y'know, it's possible to take abstraction too far and end up with abstraction being more effort than it's saving.

Anyhow, this is not a workflow translation problem, but simply that workflow is using a non-translated text. I can see many ways to do what you describe differently. As I suggested, you can use OTR texts in your code - you would need a language parameter.

Also, why generate them up front? There should be no need to carry all those texts in the WF container. A functional method can generate the text during binding.

Or you can use standard texts (SO10) and insert them dynamically into the task text. SapScript may be 20 years old, but you can still do some snazzy things with it, such as conditional texts or text ids from container elements:

* Dear &USER.FULLNAME&

/: INCLUDE &DYNHEADER& OBJECT TEXT ID ST

/: If <cond>

/: INCLUDE ZBODY1 OBJECT TEXT ID ST

/: ELSE

/: INCLUDE ZBODY2 OBJECT TEXT ID ST

/: ENDIF

Or you could use a dynamic task - several tasks with their respective texts and plug the one you need in at runtime.

Hope that gives you some ideas.

Mike

Re: Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs

MikeB — Sat, 07 Jun 2014 11:21:41 GMT

Thank you a lot, I'll check this way!

Re: Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs

MikeB — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 12:43:55 GMT

About SAPScript, I checked this option and found this stuff nice, the only question is can I provide to SAPScript the dynamically filled parameter, this variable will be filled by the content only at runtime, this in order to supply generic behaviour of the entire workflow.

About OTR, I read a couple of SCN Wiki papers, there they discuss OTR for BSP/WebDynpro/Smart-Forms, how exactly can I use it in case of workflow's send mail user decision component?

Re: Workflow localization, translation, multi-language WF-dialogs

pokrakam — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 13:19:12 GMT

Hi Mike,

Yes, you can pass dynamic parameters. This is what you already do in work item texts, which are SapScript. See example above, all the &VAR& elements are what would come from the Task container.

You can't however include variables in standard text. However it's just a matter of structuring your text in such a way that the main variables are near each other.

There's nothing stopping you from having larger blocks of text either:

/: IF <condition>

blah blah blah

more blahdiblah

...

and so the story ends

/: ELSE

Once upon a time...

...

the end.

/: ENDIF

Regarding OTR, I stand to correction but I don't think they can be used directly in WI texts. However it's just a matter of a simple functional method to read a text form the OTR and present it as a table of lines to include in your task text. You can do this in your WF->Task binding.

But from your description, I think dynamic tasks sound more interesting. Use a functional method to pull the right task in at runtime. Less messing around with texts.

Hope that helps,

Mike