When disasters like the massive earthquake earlier this year in Japan, or the deadly earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010, people and organizations from all over the world work together to help and rebuild these devastated areas. 
 
 I am very lucky to have the opportunity to help locally by rebuilding houses for people in need through Habitat for Humanity.  This weekend I worked with an amazing team of individuals, including power company employees, a school teacher, a housewife, a retired architect, and high school teenagers, in rebuilding a property that will soon house 10 families.  Although our knowledge of sister joists and smart squares was minimal, with some explanations we were all quickly on the path of using our universal knowledge of crowbars, hammers and nails. 
 
So how does rebuilding tie into today’s BiLog entry on localization?  Some icons, like hammers and nails, do not need translating.  Similar universal icons exist in Maximo to communicate functionality, such as the save, edit, delete and print icons. The functionality enabled through these icons does not have to be explained in words – their images symbolize their functionality. 
 
However, other items must be explained in a language the user understands.  Whether it is breaking down the concept of a sister joist to a to a group of non-tradesmen, or detailing the description of an asset, jobplan, or workorder in the language of the user, we often need to localize the text in Maximo and in Maximo reports. 
 
Maximo reporting has unique localization requirements, as there are four very different components which must be enabled for localized text values, including,

1. Report Description displayed in Maximo Session
2. Report Request Page displayed in Maximo Session
3. Report Titles/Labels displayed in the Report
4. Report Data displayed in the Report
   

Each one of these four components is enabled for localization in a unique way.  Whether it is it through the corresponding L_Database tables or through the use of unique scripting code within the report design file, the applicable report description, parameters, titles, labels, and data can all display within the user’s specified language.  You can find information on how each of these components is enabled on the Maximo wiki at http://ibm.co/nqoi2T.
 
To enable localization, there are a few key setup steps which you must enable if you have a multiple language environment which are detailed at http://ibm.co/qgRamI.
And finally, if you have created custom reports, information on how you can enable them for localization can be located at http://ibm.co/ncGP1h.
 
This report localization information can also be found in a new Report Localization Reference Guide, which contains more details and screenshots along with detailed sample use cases to explain how you can enable custom report localization. This information is listed with the other report reference guides on the Maximo wiki at http://ibm.co/oVBrx6.
 
Please post a comment with you feedback on this or any other topics you'd like to hear about.  Thank you!


Tags:  bi analysis data bilog maximo localization ibmeam report translation