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Preparing a System for TranslationLocate this document in the navigation structure

Use

There are four ways of translating texts in an SAP system:

  • You can translate objects developed in ABAP directly after you have created them by choosing Start of the navigation path Goto  Next navigation step Translation  End of the navigation path from the respective development transaction.

  • You can call up an individual for translation directly in transaction SE63. You must know the object type, and the technical name of the object, to do this.

    For more information, see Translating Objects Directly .

  • You can call up all or some objects in a transport request in a temporary worklist to translate them quickly and without having to set up the translation environment

    For more information, see On-The-Fly Translation .

  • You can set up the translation environment in transaction LXE_MASTER, and create worklists and statistics for each target language into which you want to translate.

    The translation-relevant objects are then translated via worklists. You can divide up the objects to be translated among more than one translator for each target language. Statistics are generated so that you can monitor the progress of the translation project.

    This option is recommended for large translation projects where a large number of objects needs to be translated into multiple languages. For example, over a thousand objects need to be translated into 3 different languages.

    For more information, see Setting Up the Translation Environment .

The first three options do not require you to set up the translation environment, but fewer translation functions are available to you as a result.

The fourth option requires the set up of the translation environment in transaction LXE_MASTER, but opens up a wide range of functionality to enable you to translate efficiently and consistently.

Implementation Considerations

Regardless of the translation option you choose from the 4 options above, you need to prepare the system in which you want to translate as follows:

  • If you have not done this already, you need to install and configure the languages into which you want to translate. This ensures that logon in, and translation into, these target language is possible.

    See notes 42305 and 73606 in the SAP Online Service System for more information.

  • If you have not done this already, you need to import the translations that are available on the language CDs delivered by SAP for the software components available in your system. This prevents the unnecessary translation of SAP objects, for which SAP has already delivered a translation, so that you can concentrate on translating the texts that you created and want to translate.

    This takes place using the Language Management functionality in transaction SMLT. For more information, see Language Imports Using Transaction SMLT .

  • If you have already translated in another system, we recommend that you reuse the proposal pools (translation memories) that you created during translation, as this will save you translation time and ensure consistent translations throughout your systems.

    For more information, see Proposal Pool Transports .

If you decide to set up the translation environment in transaction LXE_MASTER (the fourth translation option listed above under Use ), see Setting Up the Translation Environment for more information on the next steps you need to perform.