Long texts are individual text objects that consist of several sentences. This section of the documentation applies to the translation of long texts in the standard, XML-based long text editor. That is, when you call up long text objects for translation, they are converted to XML before you actually translate them in the long text editor. When you save the finished translation, the text is converted back to its original format. This process only applies for data element long texts (object type DT), message long texts (object type NA), and so on). This does not apply to the translation of other long text types, such as OTR long texts objects (object type LOTR) and SAPscript forms (object type FORM).

Unlike the short text editor, the long text editor does not have a proposal pool. Instead, the translation status is determined by comparing the source and target text versions in the system. The system regards a long text object as new if no target text exists for the source text. The system regards a long text object as modified if the source text version does not match the existing target text version. This situation can sometimes arise as a result of a purely technical change with no effect on the contents of the source text itself.

The long text editor consists of two sections. The source text is displayed in the upper section. You enter your translation in the lower section of the screen. You can determine how much of the screen is taken up by the source text, and how much by the target text, by maintaining your settings or by changing the ratio in the editor itself. For more information, see Maintaining Long Text Editor Settings and Functions in the Long Text Editor.