Handling Multilingual Role Descriptions in SAP: A Consultant's Guide to SE63

[anar_namazov]

In multinational SAP environments, it's common for business roles to be created in one logon language - say, Russian, German, or French - only to later require translation or renaming into another language like English. This seemingly simple task can become unexpectedly tricky.

Imagine this scenario: a consultant creates a business role with a description in their default logon language. Later, the client asks to update the role name or translate its description for English-speaking users. You log into SAP in English, go to transaction PFCG, open the role… and the description is missing or shows as ############. No matter what you try, the system suggests using transaction SE63 for text translation.

But here’s the catch - SE63 might seem confusing when it comes to renaming or translating role descriptions. The menus are not always intuitive, and without clear guidance, it’s easy to get lost.

In this blog post, I’ll walk you through step-by-step instructions on how to properly translate or rename business role descriptions across languages using SE63. This guide is tailored especially for SAP consultants who want a reliable method that works, without guesswork.

And finally, once the translation or renaming is complete, I’ll also show you how to correctly transport the updated role descriptions through your SAP landscape - from Development (DEV) to Quality (QAS) and eventually to the Production (PRD) system. Because yes - translations also need to be transported.

Step-by-Step: Translating SAP Role Descriptions Using SE63

Let’s walk through a real-world example where a role was created in Russian and needs to be translated into English. The steps below apply to any language combination and any system landscape where proper transport is required.

1 Role Created in Russian

We begin with the role Y_MAINT_REPORTS, which was created while logged into SAP in Russian. The role's description is entered in Russian as:

Отчеты ТОРО

2️ Switch to English – Description Disappears

Next, we log in to SAP using English as the logon language. We open transaction PFCG and switch the role Y_MAINT_REPORTS into Change mode. Now we see that the description is blank.

Additionally, SAP shows a message below stating:

“You can only maintain role texts if logged on in original language RU. Texts for the role exist in language RU. Use transaction SE63 to translate missing texts.”

3️ Run SE63

We run transaction SE63, but the initial screen is not very intuitive. Many users get stuck here. To proceed, you need to run a specific command depending on your system version:

• For SAP_BASIS 7.00 SP07 and higher: enter **ACGR** in the transaction command field.
• For SAP_BASIS 4.6C to 7.00 SP06: enter **AGL**.

In our case, we’ll run ACGR in the command bar.

4️ Enter Role Name and Translation Parameters

After executing ACGR, you’ll be taken to a screen with the following key fields:

• Object Name: enter the role name (Y_MAINT_REPORTS)
• Source Language: the original language of the role (e.g., RU)
• Target Language: the language you want to translate into (e.g., EN)

Click Edit to continue.

5️ Translate the Role Description

In the next screen, you’ll see the existing description (in our case, in Russian) and an empty field below where you can enter the new description in the target language.

We enter the English translation, for example:
Maintenance Reports

Click Save, then click the Back button.

6️ Prepare for Transport

Back on the previous screen, click the Display Transport Object button. This screen provides the transport data we’ll need to manually add to a transport request.

Note the following details:

Transport Object

• Program ID: R3TR
• Object Type: ACGR
• Object Name: Y_MAINT_REPORTS

Language Transport Object

• Program ID: LANG
• Object Type: ACGR
• Object Name: Y_MAINT_REPORTS

7️ Create a Customizing Request in SE01

Now we’ll move to transaction SE01 to create a transport request:

1. Run SE01 and create a new Customizing Request.
2. Open the request and double-click on the Customizing Task underneath it.
3. Click the Change button.
4. Add the entries exactly as shown in the screenshots using the data from the Display Transport Object step.
5. Save your changes.

8️ Verify the New Description

You can now open a new SAP session, log in with the target language (English in this case), run PFCG, and open the role Y_MAINT_REPORTS. The new description will now appear as entered.

9️ Transport the Change Across the Landscape

Finally, after verifying the change in DEV, transport your new Customizing Request to QAS and PRD systems as usual. This will ensure the translated role description is visible consistently across the entire SAP landscape.

✅ Summary

Translating or renaming SAP role descriptions across multiple languages is a task that often confuses consultants, especially when SE63 is involved. But with the right approach—starting from ACGR, entering your role, saving the translation, and creating a proper transport - you can make this process predictable and repeatable.