Languages

ActiveManage supports multi-language deployments — the same platform serves users in different languages from the same database. UI labels, field names, help text, email templates and even data values can be translated.

What's Translatable

• UI strings: Buttons, menu items, validation messages, system messages.
• Field labels and help text: Each custom field can have per-language overrides.
• Datastore labels: Singular and plural names of each datastore.
• Email and SMS templates: Per-language versions of each template.
• Document templates: Multi-language invoice / contract output.
• Help articles: Translated content per language.
• Data values: Dropdown options can have per-language labels.

How Language Resolves

1. User preference (chosen explicitly in their settings).
2. Tenant default (set in tenant configuration).
3. Browser language (the user's Accept-Language header).
4. Platform default (typically English).

Worked Examples

• Pan-European SaaS: Supports en, fr, de, es, it, nl. Users pick at signup; tenant default falls back per region.
• Localised marketplace: Product titles and descriptions stored per-language; buyers see the version matching their preference.
• Educational platform: Student-facing UI translated; admin panel stays English (English is the lingua franca for admins).
• Government tenant: Two languages required by regulation (e.g. French and English in parts of Canada); both fully translated.

This article walks through enabling a new language on your platform — from initial registration through to translating the strings and going live.

Step-by-Step

1. Open Architect Panel → Languages → Add Language.
2. Enter the IETF language tag (e.g. fr, fr-CA, zh-Hans).
3. Enter a display name in the language itself (e.g. “Français”, not “French”).
4. Choose direction — LTR for most, RTL for Arabic and Hebrew.
5. Set locale conventions:
   • Decimal separator (. or ,).
   • Thousand separator (, or . or space).
   • Date format (DD/MM/YYYY, MM/DD/YYYY, ISO).
   • First day of week (Monday vs Sunday).
6. Set default for any country tenants (e.g. fr-CA is default for Canadian tenants).
7. Import existing translations if you have them (PO/MO file, XLIFF, JSON).
8. Save.
9. Translate any remaining strings via the translation interface.

Translation Workflow

• The platform identifies untranslated strings and queues them for translation.
• Translators (admins, professional services, ML translation) fill in the missing strings.
• Each translation can be reviewed before going live.
• Fallback to source language for untranslated strings.

Worked Examples

• Adding Spanish to an English SaaS: ES added; existing PO file imported; remaining 200 strings translated by professional service.
• Right-to-left: Adding Arabic — all UI flipped; ensure custom CSS doesn't assume LTR.
• Regional variant: Adding fr-CA alongside existing fr — most strings inherited from fr; only Canadian-specific phrasing translated.
• Chinese simplified: Adding zh-Hans; fonts adjusted to ensure proper rendering of CJK glyphs.

Field labels — the names of fields users see in forms, lists and reports — are some of the most-seen text in your platform. Translating them is essential for any non-English-speaking user base.

What Can Be Translated

• Field label: The short name on forms and column headers.
• Field help text: The explanation under or beside the field.
• Placeholder text: Greyed text in empty inputs.
• Validation error messages: Per-field, per-language.
• Dropdown option labels: Each option translated separately.
• Linked-record display formulas: Different formats per language.

Step-by-Step

1. Open the field's configuration.
2. Scroll to the Translations section — one row per enabled language.
3. Type or paste the translation for each language.
4. Save. Translations live immediately.

Bulk Translation

For a new tenant or a fresh language, translating fields one-by-one is tedious. Use the bulk export/import:

1. Export all field labels as a CSV (or XLIFF).
2. Send to a translator or translation service.
3. Import the completed file. Translations applied automatically.

Worked Examples

• Multi-language CRM: 50 custom fields translated into 6 languages via the bulk import.
• Healthcare platform: Patient-facing fields translated to all supported languages; staff-facing fields in English only (staff are bilingual).
• Marketplace listing: Field labels translated; underlying values (product titles, descriptions) translated per record by sellers themselves.
• Regulated industry: Field labels for legal compliance forms translated with sign-off from each jurisdiction's legal team.

Tip: Avoid concatenating translated strings in code — different languages have different word orders. Use full sentence templates with placeholders instead.