SAP Note 18601 - Frequently asked questions on language transport

Symptom:

Frequently asked questions concerning language import.

Other terms

Language import, language supplement, language CD, upgrade, SMLT, T002C

Reason and Prerequisites

Request for information.

Solution

1. Q: Must I perform a language import, if I only want to have German (D) and English (E) in the system?

A: Not during the installation. Both languages are updated during an upgrade.
Please note the following for the German language during the upgrade.
To avoid problems in the PREPARE phases during the check of the code page settings, classify German as an installed language prior to the upgrade - even though German is not used as the logon language.
To do this, call Transaction SMLT, choose 'Goto' -> 'Classify language' and set the flag installed = 'X' for German. Save your entries.
As of Release 4.6C, the system checks these settings during the PREPARE and corrects them, if necessary, so that manual preparations will no longer be needed.

2. Q: Is it advisable to use the newest language CD?
(Example: the system has Release 3.1H but I already have the language CD for Release status 3.1I.)

A: No, you may only use the CD corresponding to the respective release. Service Releases are created for some products and releases. These Service Releases already contain a great number of error corrections through integrated Support Packages. Language CDs are also created for these Service Releases. These current language CDs can and should be used.

3. Q: Must a language import be performed during every upgrade?

A: Yes, even though the languages can be imported later, the language import runs quicker during the upgrade. So you should import all the languages you need during the upgrade.
Therefore you should check before upgrading whether you have the latest language CD for all languages used.

4. Q: Can I remove an imported foreign language from the system? Can I install the system without D or E?

A: No, that is not possible.

5. Q: How much space does a new foreign language take up?

A: This depends on the release, the language and the database. An estimate is given in the note published for each release.

6. Q: The language import did not run correctly. Can I repeat it?

A: Yes, as often as you need. All actions of the language import are restart-capable.

7. Q: How can I determine whether a language import or a supplementation run has run correctly and when they were last performed?

A: Use the system log display in Transaction SMLT.

8. Q: How long does a language import normally take?

A: This depends on the number of languages to be imported, the degree of the translation, the hardware and the load on the system.
It is also important to know whether a full import or a delta import can be performed.
You should reckon with several hours for each language.

9. Q: Can I change the supplementation logic after I have defined it? (French has been supplemented with German so far and should be supplemented with English in the future.)

A: To avoid mixing the languages, this is not permitted.

10. Q: Is a text, which was not available in the desired language and was supplemented by the substitute language, overwritten if it is available on the language CD in a later release?

A: Yes.

11. Q: Is it important in which client a language import or supplementation is performed?

A: The language import must always be performed in client 000. The supplementation must first be performed in client 000 and can then be scheduled in higher clients. However, only client-specific tables are supplemented.
The language guide points out that language supplementation in clients in production should be carried out before the customizing only. This way, the texts of the SAP reference customizing are supplemented but not the texts that have been added at the customer's in the frame of customizing since those texts still need to be translated. In the translation environment (SE63), the translation process runs more smoothly when the texts have not been supplemented.
If customer customizing texts are not to be / cannot be translated (e.g. time problems in translation before the going-live, no translator available), it is advisable to carry out language supplementation in those clients. This way, failures in various transactions (blank input help screens, transaction terminations) can be prevented.

12. Q: How are client-dependent table contents dealt with during the language import?

A: See Note 28148 on handling the different table classes.

13. Q: Which should run first during the installation: the language import or the client copy?

A: The language import should ALWAYS be executed BEFORE the client copy.
If a language import is executed after the client copy, the client-specific Customizing tables (class C and G) of the new client are not supplied with language data (see Note 28148). The problem is described in more detail in Note 43853 and different solution options are displayed.

14. Q: To what extent does the availability of language versions depend on the product, release, database and operating system?

A: The availability of a language versions depends on the product and the release. (It does not depend on the version of database and operating system version).

In the release information for a product in SAPNet, you can find out the languages the respective SAP products are translated into. Notes 36156 (Release 3.0/3.1) and 97476 reproduce a list of the existing language CDs with material numbers.

15. Q: Can I work with the system during the import and supplementation of languages?

A: In principle, yes. However, the performance decreases considerably during the language import. In a development system, the language import should not be performed during productive time.
During language supplementation, the performance is also negatively affected.

16. Q: Where can I find additional information?

A: For every release, there is a 'current note on language import ' with comments on known problems and additional information.

For more information, refer to the online help in Transaction SMLT and the guide for language transport.

17. Q: Why is the import of special texts due to code page problems (Releases 3.1G to 4.6B) refused in some cases?
A: In codepage administration table TCPDB no codepage is entered.
However, it is always possible to import the special texts at a later stage (also after the upgrade with Transaction SMLT) after you have maintained table TCPDB with report RSCPINST
To do this, refer to Note 42305.

18. Q: Is it recommended to install an additional language, if patches (Hot Packages, Legal Change Patches,...) have already been applied to the system?
A: An additional language should always be installed BEFORE you apply patches or perform an upgrade since translations of the patches can be overwritten by the standard language import. For more detailed information about this topic, refer to Note 352941.

19. Q: The background jobs, which are scheduled during the upgrade for the import of the languages, do not change from the 'ready' status to the 'active' status.
How can I put the jobs into the 'active' status?
A: The problem often occurs with the upgrade of systems which were created by copying another system, because the instances/operation modes are not correctly configured there.
With Transaction RZ04, the operation modes, instances and profiles can be maintained and checked for consistency.
You can find additional notes on the topic 'Operation modes and upgrade' in the current upgrade guide (Actions before the upgrade).

20. Q: I have created some translations in a translation system (not the development system). How can I distribute these translations in my system landscape?
A: Up to Release 4.0B you can only transport translations via development classes. As of Release 4.5A, you can also transport translations on the basis of objects.
You can find a detailed procedure for transporting translations in Note 95681.

21. Q: How can I access the language CD, if I work on AS/400 machines?
A: When you schedule a language import in Transaction SMLT, you must specify the directory, which containes the language files, as language directory. On AS/400, the language directory of the CD is the directory, which has the same name as the Volume ID of the language CD (for example, CD51003646). You will find the Volume ID on the label of your language CD. When you access the language CD via /QOPT, you must specify /QOPT/ as language directory. For example, if /QOPT is linked to /sapcd5, you can access the language directory via /sapcd5/. Replace in each case with the Volume ID of your language CD. Alternatively, you may also link /QOPT/ to /sapcd5 for example. In this case, access the language directory directly with /sapcd5.