System languages

Applies to version 2019.1; author: Jarosława Markopolska

Introduction

This article is an extension of Translation of WEBCON BPS Portal user interface content and contains more information about language configuration in WEBCON BPS Designer Studio:

1. System language setting
2. Mass notification language setting (added in BPS 2020.1.3)
3. Application language setting
4. Notification language setting for new users (added in BPS 2020.1.3)

System language

You can set the system language in WEBCON BPS Designer Studio:

In the Translation languages configuration window (Fig.1.), you can add a new language by clicking the “New” button or delete a selected language using the “Delete” button. Right below the button panel there is information about the database language set during installation (“Database language (set during installation): en-US”).

Fig. 1. Configuration of the system language in WEBCON BPS

The language selection allows you to define a language in which the application content is displayed and e-mail notifications are sent if "According to global settings" is selected as the Application language. There are two main modes for defining the global language - Suggest language and Force language. 

The Suggest language option (by default):

Fig. 2. The "Suggest language" option

1. According to browser settings – takes the browser language and applies it on the first entry to the system if a user has not logged in before. Based on this language the system sets the Portal language for the user.
2. Language from the list – the selected language will be the language set in Portal by default. If translations for the chosen language were not defined, the untranslated content will be presented in English (for constant parts of the system and process) or the default language in which the process was configured (for customizable parts of the process such as form field names).
    

The Force language option:

Fig. 3. The "Force language" option

1. Language from the list – After forcing the language in WEBCON BPS Designer Studio, the system displays phrases to all users in the selected language. You can overwrite the global language settings in the configuration of the application. For example, when a company has many business entities and uses English globally, and one of these applications work only in one business entity – you can select a language from the list for this business entity. A language interface in WEBCON BPS Designer Studio can be added, deleted or edited, after configuration of the global parameters and selecting the “Interface language packs” option (Fig. 4.).

Fig. 4. The interface language packs

Mass notification language

If mass notification are enabled in the system, you can select the “Mass notifications” option in the global parameter tree and set the “Notification language” (Fig.5).

Fig. 5. The configuration of the mass notification in WEBCON BPS Designer Studio

There are two options:

1. Dynamic by the user’s profile settings (default)
2. Language from the list

Mass notifications should be sent in the configured language (regardless of what language is set on the application for which mass notifications will be generated). If the language is chosen by the User profile settings and the user profile does not exist yet (the user has not logged into the system) then the mass notification language is taken from "Notification language for new users".

Application language enforcement case

For multinational companies, there may be a need to change the global language in favor of one system language (corporate language). With this option, by default each application will be presented in one language and its configuration does not require any translations. This can be useful in a situation where users from different countries/using different languages are assigned to the same workflow. This applies especially to user-completed text boxes, comments, and the content of attachments.

Application language

The application language can be set in WEBCON BPS Designer Studio (Fig. 6).

Fig. 6. The change of the application language

You can select a language of the application:

Fig. 7. Language settings

1. By global settings (default) – the application language will be set according to the global parameter configuration – “System language” (this option is described in the “System language” chapter
2. Dynamic by user’s profile settings – fields on the Portal will be displayed in a language according to the language selected by a WEBCON BPS user
3. Force language – you can select a language from the list. The application will be related to the selected language

By forcing the application language, the configurable and fixed elements of the processes will be displayed in the selected language and the user will not be able to change it (Fig. 8). If the translations have not been defined for the set language, then the language in which the untranslated content will be presented in English (for constant system and process elements) or the default language in which the configuration was entered (for configurable process elements such as the form field name).

Fig. 8. WEBCON BPS Portal - the language selection

Forcing the specific application language causes the interface language to be automatically changed when going to a given application. Switching to another application where a language selection is allowed will automatically revert to the language selected by the user.

Notification language setting for new users

The notification language for new users can be set in the configuration of the application in the “General” tab (Fig. 9.).

Fig. 9. The configuration of the notification language for new users

The options shown in Fig. 10 allow you to define in which language the e-mail notifications will be sent, when a new user has not logged yet to the system and has not selected their own interface language. After logging in to the system, the notification language will be used according to the configuration set in the “Application language” parameter.

Fig. 10. The option of setting a language

1. By global settings (default) – the language of the initial e-mail will be the “System language” selected in the system configuration. If the system language is set to “By browser” then the language of this e-mail will be the “Database language” (set during installation).
2. A list of selected languages (e.g. de-DE, en-GB) – you can select a language of the initial emails.

Language selection by a user and entering translations

When giving users the ability of selecting their own languages, make sure that even if some translations for the available languages are missing (i.e. they are not entered in the configuration), the users will still be able to use the processes. The translations should be entered for each available language, or the configuration language should be in a language understandable to all end-users.

For example, making the default configuration of the application in English (corporate) allows you to work in an international environment, while also allowing you to enter translations for specific languages at your own convenience.

If you decide not to enter translations for a language, it might be a good idea to remove it from the list of available languages completely. This will avoid situations where the interface is displayed in two languages simultaneously (Fig. 11).

Fig. 11. Two languages, one form

Summary

WEBCON BPS allows you to both force one system language and also allow users to select their own preferred language. Both approaches have pros and cons that need to be considered before deciding on which solution to use. On the one hand, we can impose a standard that will create a fully uniform environment, on the other hand, we can translate each application independently, adapting to the needs of end-users.