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Exporting Texts for Offline TranslationLocate this document in the navigation structure

Prerequisites

You have created at least one object list in the system. Ideally, development of your project is complete and no further changes to the source texts are expected.

Context

You can use this function to export short texts and PDF-based forms for translation outside the system. This is an alternative to setting up a system for translation, where short texts and PDF-based forms are translated directly in the system itself.

Procedure

  1. Call transaction LXE_MASTER and choose Start of the navigation path Transport Next navigation step Externalization Next navigation step Export End of the navigation path. The Export Translation Objects screen is displayed.
  2. In the Parameters group box, in the Source Language and Target Languages fields, enter the source and target languages for the objects to be exported.
  3. In the Object List field, select an existing object list for the export using the input help or chooseCreate a New Object List Create a New Object List to create an object list.
  4. Enter a meaningful description for the export in the Job Description field. This information is then displayed in the Export Header in the externalization log.
  5. Select the Export to Server option if you want to export the data to the application server of the system, and specify the relevant server directory name.

    Select the Export to Frontend option if you want to export the data to the local file system (for example, c:\temp).

    Note

    You must select Export to Frontend if you want to export your objects in Microsoft Excel format.

  6. In the Export Mode group box, select the format in which you want to export the objects for translation. If you choose XLIFF you must specify if you want to export just short texts, just PDF-based forms, or both. Excel format is only available for short texts.
  7. In the Options group box you can exclude translated and/or modified objects from the export.
  8. In the Short Text Specific Options group box, you can exclude translated and/or modified short text lines from the export.
  9. Select the Export Best Proposal checkbox if you want to export the best proposal for each text line.
  10. Select the Export Reference Language checkbox if you want to export texts in another language, which you specify in the subsequent field. For example, if you have already translated objects from German to English, and now want to translate the same objects from German to French, you could specify English as a reference language to help the French translators make sense of their German source texts.
  11. In the Lines per File field you can enter an approximate maximum number of translation lines for each file.

Results

The objects are exported in the format that you selected:

  • XLIFF format: The export files are standard XLIFF 1.2 compliant.

  • Microsoft Excel format: All fields except the target text field are write-protected by default. If it is absolutely necessary to unprotect the sheet (for example, to adjust the column width of the translation field), then you can use the unprotect function of Microsoft Excel with password SAP. We recommend that you protect the sheet again to avoid accidental changes to the static data because this would lead to inconsistencies during the import.

    The translation must not exceed the maximum length displayed in the Max Length column. Longer translations are not imported and an error message is written to the log. The length of the current translation is displayed in the Cur Length column. If the length of the current translation exceeds the maximum length, this is indicated in the Cur Length column. For example, >MAX (+2) means that the current translation is two characters longer than the maximum length.

    The text key is exported from SE63 to a separate column. Note that the text key is not fixed, which means that the text key you see in the Excel file will not necessarily match the text key you see in SE63, especially if an object is changed after the export. Any source texts starting with = are escaped with an apostrophe, because = identifies subsequent text as a formula in Excel. If your translation starts with = then you must precede it with an apostrophe too.

To check the status of your export, see the log.

Note

Each translation object belongs to a terminology domain such as BC, PA, MM, and SD. This is an important source of additional information for translators because it helps them to decide whether a source text like application, for example, means an application component, a software application, or a job application.

Your XLIFF or Excel file includes this information. However, it does not include the texts that explain what the domains stand for. To provide your translation agencies with this information:

  1. Call transaction LXE_MASTER.

  2. On the Overviews tab, choose Domains. A dialog box appears listing all of the domains in the system, together with their abbreviations.

  3. Choose Print and send this information to the translation agencies.

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