CARS+ provides the ability for certain program screens, reports, messages and menus to be translated into languages other than English or to reword the standard American English terminology (such as kms for miles.) This chapter provides the user with instructions on how to do the translations.
II. DEFINITION
Translation – In this chapter the word translation refers to any changes the user makes to the literals on the selected screens, reports, and messages in CARS+.
III. SET-UP STEPS
A. USER' S DEFAULT LANGUAGE
In order to access “translation mode”, the translator must do one of the following:
1. Login to CARS+ using a User Access Code that has a designated foreign language code. To set up a foreign language user code, access the Edit User Access File program:
Data Field #15: LANGUAGE CODE
Enter a single alpha character (other than “E" which is reserved for American English) that will be used as a code to designate a particular language. The following can then take place:
a. When logging in using this code, the user can enter “translation mode” for the purpose of translating screens and reports. (Further directions for entering “translation mode” are found later on in this chapter.)
b. Once the translation of screens, reports, and messages has been accomplished, other users whose User Access Code has the same letter entered in this field will, upon logging in, see the translated version. Remember, however, that users can have more than one access code. For instance, a user can have a code that shows screens in English and another code that shows screens in Spanish.
2. Temporarily change the default language using the Change Default Language program on the System Configuration Menu:
Data Field #1: LANGUAGE CODE
Enter a single alpha characters (other than "E" as this has been reserved for American English). This code will be in effect until the next time the user logs in or until the user changes their default language code again by using this program.
WARNING: All messages in the message file MUST be translated (or copied) before assigning language codes to other users who are currently using the CARS+ software to rent and manage vehicles.
B. TRANSLATABLE ITEMS
If something is found that is not accessible for translation, please contact Thermeon's Customer Support Dept.
C. TRANSLATING MESSAGES IN THE MESSAGE FILE
The message file holds over 2000 different messages that display under various circumstances while using CARS+. Initially, all messages exist in American English. These messages, which display at the bottom of the screen, are a great help to users of CARS+. Some of the things messages convey are:
- A required field has not been filled out.
- Asks the user if he/she wants to print.
- Instructs the user that data entered is invalid.
NOTE: Remember when a new language code is set up, ALL messages must be translated. Failure to have records for all messages in a new language will cause “UNKNOWN ERROR MESSAGE” to appear when running programs. Because of this, a feature for copying all existing English messages over to a new language code exists (the F8 function key). THIS SHOULD ALWAYS BE DONE FIRST WHEN SETTING UP A NEW LANGUAGE. Then, at your leisure, translate the messages into the new language.
(Note: Some messages are not in the message file because they are hard coded into various programs. Hard coded messages are addressed in another section later on in this chapter.)
To translate messages, access the Translate Messageprogram (XLMSG) on the System Management menu. The Translate Message screen will display as follows:
OPTION:____________ TRANSLATE MESSAGES
1 Language code?
2 Message Number
English Text
3 Translation
1SAVE 2NEXT 3ERASE 4DELETE 5 6 7HELP 8COPYEnter data as follows:
1. LANGUAGE CODE?
Enter a single alpha character (other than E which is reserved for American English) to indicate a Language Code. Individuals logging in to CARS+ who have this Language Code designated in their User Access File will see the translated versions of messages instead of the standard English messages.
EXAMPLE: Type F (RET)
2. MESSAGE NUMBER
Enter a message number or press F2 to bring up the next message in the file.
EXAMPLE: Type 20 (RET)
ENGLISH TEXT
This field is not accessible. It displays the English version of the message.
EXAMPLE: RATES SELECTED
3. TRANS-LATION
Enter up to 60 alphanumeric characters representing the translation or rewording desired.
EXAMPLE: Type TARIF SELECTIONNE (RET)
The window will then display:
OPTION:____________ TRANSLATE MESSAGES
1 Language code? F
2 Message Number 20
English Text RATES SELECTED
3 Translation TARIF SELECTIONNE
1SAVE 2NEXT 3ERASE 4DELETE 5 6 7HELP 8COPY
COPY FEATURE
The automatic copy feature using the F8 key copies all of the English text messages displayed in Field 2 to the translation messages shown in Field 3 with one exception: Message numbers which already have text entered in Field 3 are ignored during the copy process. (The translated messages are not overwritten.)
NOTE:
- If message files are not translated or copied, a user with a foreign language code in their User Access File will see the message “UNKNOWN ERROR MESSAGE” everywhere a message should display.
- If messages are not translated but are copied, the user will see the English version of the message.
- If messages are translated, the user will see the translated version of the message.
SPECIAL CHARACTERS IN NOTES
On several messages data from the calling program appears in the displayed text. For example, in the following message a vehicle number is displayed as part of the message:
VEHICLE #123456 IS IN USE AT ANOTHER STATION.
Inserting data into a message is done by a special character inserted into the text of the message in the Message File record. This special character tells the program where to insert the data into the message when displaying it on the screen. The special character is the dollar sign, “$”, immediately followed by a number. For example, the above message exists in the message file as illustrated below:
VEHICLE #$1 IS IN USE AT ANOTHER STATION.
When translating a message with inserted data, the special character(s) can be repositioned anywhere within the text, but DO NOT forget to include it somewhere. It is possible for a single message to have more than one piece of inserted data. Each place of insertion will be indicated by a dollar sign and a different number ($1, $2, etc.).
D. ACCESSING TRANSLATION MODE
In order to translate the literals that appear on the screens and the column headings on printed reports, the translator must be in “translation mode” AND must have the code for the language to be translated in his user record. If the user's default Language Code in the Edit User Access file is not set for the correct language, use the program "Change Default Language" to temporarily change the language code to the correct one.This temporary change will be in effect until the user logs out.
To access the Enable/Disable Translation program, type CHGXLG (RET) at any menu "OPTION:" field or the appropriate line number on the System Management menu. The screen will then display:
OPTION:____ ENABLE/DISABLE TRANSLATION
1 Allow translation mode? N
1DO CHANGE2 3 4 5 6 7HELP 8To allow translation mode, enter a “Y” (yes) (RET). Press F1 to make the change.
E. TRANSLATING SCREENS
Bring up the screen to translate or reword. As an example the Reservations screen is shown below.
OPTION: ______________ RESERVATIONS
1 Name(L/F/T) */*/* 11 Conf# *
2 P-U Date/Dy/Time/L */*/*/* 12 PO# *
3 Ret Date/Dy/Time/L */*/*/* 13 Disc Pct/Amt */*
4 Airline/Flight/Pax */*/* 14 Cus#/OID#/CT */*/REG
5 VhCls/Rate/RtCls */*/* 15 Cont *
6 FOP/#/Exp/LOA */*/*/* 16 Empl/Drw AMM/1
7 Home/Work Phone */* A-Rates E-DB/Cust
8 Src/Ty/ID */*/*/* O-Other N-Notes
9 Notes/Options */*
10 Email *
F1=SAVE F2=SWIPE F3=ERASE F4=CLONE F6=SEARCH F8=ESTWith the cursor at the “OPTION”, press
T (hold the "Ctrl" key and press the letter "T" key). This will the place the cursor on the “O” of “OPTION”. Type the word(s) that will replace the word ““OPTION””. Press RET and the cursor will move to the right and be at the “R” in RESERVATIONS. Type whatever word that will replace the word “RESERVATIONS”.The entire screen is done in this same manner. Pressing RET does not move the cursor field by field, but instead moves it across the screen. For example, after entering the translation of “P-U Date/Time/Loc”, pressing RET moves the cursor to “11 Disc Pct/Amt.”
Use the up arrow key to move the cursor backwards to the previous piece of data. Press RET to save the translation and to move the cursor forward to the next piece of data. Use the left and right arrow keys to move the cursor to the left or right within the piece of data being entered.
Unlike messages, not all literals need to be translated. Simply by being in the translation mode, all the existing English literals are copied into the new language’s file.
Limitations: Leave enough room on the screen for the entry of the data being requested. If an attempt is made to type too many characters for the translated term, the cursor will stop at the last position allowed. For example, the first field is “Name (L/F/T)”. If an attempt was made to type “Last Name/First Name” there would not be enough room and the cursor would just stop part way through the entry.
Saving and Exiting Translation Mode
Saving - Unlike other CARS+ screens, the keystrokes are saved as they are entered. However, the information is always editable when in translation mode.
Use the ESC key to exit translation mode and return the cursor to the ““OPTION”” field. To re-enter translation mode, press
T .EXAMPLES:
Shown below is a partial illustration of the Reservation screen that has been translated into French.
OPTION: __________ RESERVATIONS
1 Nom (Famille/Pren) */* 11 Conf# *
2 Depart/l’hr/lieu */*/* 12 PO# *
3 Arrivee/l’hr/lieu */*/* 13 Rabais %/$ */*
4 Aerienne/# de vol */* 14 #Clnt/#id/CT */*/*
Illustrated below is another example of a Reservations screen. Although still in English, some terms have been changed or “translated”.
CHOICE: ______________ RESERVATIONS
1 Last/First/T */*/* 11 Conf# *
2 P-U Date/Dy/Time/L */*/*/* 12 PO# *
3 Ret Date/Dy/Time/L */*/*/* 13 Disc Pct/Amt */*
4 Airline/Flight/Pax */*/* 14 Cus#/OID#/CT */*/REG
5 VhCls/Rate/RtCls */*/* 15 Cont *
6 Card/#/Exp/LOA */*/*/* 16 Empl/Drw AMM/1
7 Home/Work Phone */* A-Rates E-DB/Cust
8 Source/Type/CDPID */*/*/* O-Other N-Notes
9 Notes/Equip */*
10 Email *
F1=SAVE F2=SWIPE F3=ERASE F4=CLONE F6=SEARCH F8=EST
Function Keys Line
Function key lines can be translated on any screen as long as the number is not changed. Therefore, “SAVE” could be changed to “STORE” as long as it remained Function Key 1. Note, many of these literals are called “common literals”. Once a common literal has been translated, it will appear translated on all other screens that use that same common literal.
F. TRANSLATING SUBWINDOWS
To translate screens with sub-windows, the cursor must be at the “OPTION” field of the main window and you must be out of translation mode. (Pressing ESC will accomplish this.) Enter the letter for subwindow you wish to translate. The cursor will then be at the “OPTION” for the subwindow. Press <Ctrl>T to enter translation mode again and translate the terminology in the same manner used for the Main window.
Several sub-windows present a special situation for the translator because the literals change depending on the type of transaction being made. The Rates subwindow illustrates this problem. The literals displayed for a weekend rate are different than those displayed for a non-weekend rate code. So BEFORE going into “translation mode” and before entering the A subwindow on the Reservations Screen and the RA Open screen, select a rate in the Main window that will generate the literals to be translated. Because of the different types of rates, you may need to do the A subwindow several times so that all types of rate displays are translated such as tiered rates, weekend rates, hourly rates, extra day rates, monthly rates, etc.The sequence for doing so is:
a. Be out of translation mode with the cursor in the “OPTION” of the main window.
b .If on the Reservations screen, place the cursor in Field 5 and select and rate and class code.If on the RA Open screen, do the same in Field 13.
c. Return the cursor to the “OPTION” of the Main window and select subwindow A.
d. The cursor will be on the “OPTION” of subwindow A.Enter translation mode by typing
T , and make the desired translation changes .e. Press ESC when the changes are complete to return to the “OPTION” in the Main window.This will also take you out of translation mode.
f. Go to the appropriate field in the Main window and select a different type of rate code. Repeat steps c through e.
G. TRANSLATING THE ESTIMATE
Once in the RA Open program, enter enough information on the screen (DOB, return date, Class, rate, etc.) to be able to produce an estimate with "F8". Once the estimate is displayed, use
] to access the literals for translation.
H. TRANSLATING REPORT SCREENS
For report screens, a similar method is followed to translate the fields; however, there are some limitations.
Limitations:The default data entry literals such as "ALL", "FIRST", "LAST", "EARLIEST", "LATEST", "N" for no, "Y" for yes, "P" for print, etc. cannot be changed.
This is illustrated below. The terms in yellow cannot be translated.
EXAMPLE 1
OPTION: __ VEHICLES DUE IN REPORT
1 Start Check-in Date EARLIEST 21 Exempt from Masking? N
2 Start Check-in Time 0000 22 Only Vehicles with Option
3 End Check-in Date 12-31-08 23 Damages,this RA? (Y/N) Y
4 End Check-in Time 2359
5 Location TUS
6 Incl Local Rentals Y 24 RA's with Option
7 Incl One-ways TO This Location Y
8 Incl One-ways FROM This Location Y
9 FOP Type ALL
10 FOP ALL
11 Vehicle Class ALL
12 RA Type ALL
13 Insurance RAs I (I=Include, E=Exclude, O=Only)
14 Over Auth Only N
15 Prevent Close RAs I (I=Include, E=Exclude, O=Only)
16 Bill-to RAs I (I=Include, E=Exclude, O=Only)
17 Print/Display P Printer: /dev/tty
18 Incl Non-Revs? Y
19 Lease RA's Only B (L=Lease, N=Non-Lease, B=Both)
20 Request Auths? N
1BEGIN 2 3ERASE 4 5BACKUP 6 7HELP 8Field #1: the wording for "Start Check-in Date" can be changed. "EARLIEST" cannot be changed.
EXAMPLE 2:
OPTION: __ VEHICLE STATUS REPORT
1. Status (up to 5) ALL
2. Status type ALL
3. Min. days at status
4. Location TUS
5. Class ALL
6. Make ALL
7. Start Veh# FIRST
8. End Veh# LAST
9. Owning Location 6 SHIFT+F7 FOR CODES
10. Sort Order VEHICLE VEHICLE LOCATION CLASS LICENSE OWNLOC VINLAST8
11. Detail/Summary D
12. Print/Display P Printer: /dev/tty
13. Owned vehicles I I)nclude E)xclude T)hese only
at foreign loc
14. Fleet Type ALL
15. Only Vehicles with option
1BEGIN 2 3ERASE 4 5BACKUP 6 7HELP 8
Field #10: "Sort Order" can be changed. The terms VEHICLE, LOCATION, CLASS etc. cannot be changed.
Field #13: "Owned vehicles at foreign loc" can be changed. The letters accepted as responses in the field, “I”, “E”, and “T”, cannot be changed. However, their definitions shown to the right can be translated.
I. TRANSLATING REPORTS
The column headers on the reports themselves can also be translated. Prior to starting this task, it is recommended that you run a copy of an actual report to use as a reference. You may want to indicate on your sample report the terms you want to translate. Once this is done, follow this procedure:
While the report screen is still displayed after translating the selection fields, press ESC to return the cursor to the “OPTION”. Press
] (Control Key and right bracket). This will bring up the report headers. Move the cursor to the terms you want to translate and proceed in the same manner as translating screens.
J. TRANSLATING HARD CODED MESSAGES
As mentioned earlier, most messages in CARS+ reside in the Message File. However, some are hard coded into various programs. To access the hard coded messages, follow these steps:
While in translation mode, access the program to be translated. With the cursor at the “OPTION” field, press
] (Control Key and right bracket). The hard coded messages that are written into that program will appear. Here is an example of the hard coded messages in the Sell a Vehicle program.IS THIS AN 'UNSELL'?
INVALID STATUS
EDITS MUST BE DONE THRU INV CONTROL.
VEHICLE NOT FOUND
VEHICLE IS ON RENT
MISSING SERVICE CODE FOR THIS STATUS CODE
INVALID SERVICE CODE IN STATUS CODE RECORD
INVALID SERVICE CODE IN STATUS RECORD
SALE DATE CANNOT BE LATER THAN TODAY
SALE PRICE IS ZERO - OK?
INVALID LOCATION
MUST CHANGE TO 'S' STATUS
ENTER TYPE 'N' STATUS:
Place the cursor on the message(s) to be translated and enter the data. Pressing (ESC) will exit the messages and take you back to the program.
K. TRANSLATING MENUS
Unlike the other programs, once menus are translated, they are translated for every user of the system whether or not there is a foreign language code in the User Access File.
L. TRANSLATING RENTAL AGREEMENT PRINT PROGRAMS
A limited selection of CARS+ RA Print Programs may be translated using the Foreign Translation logic. To translate the literals on these RA Print Programs, the user must be in "translation mode" as addressed earlier in this chapter.
Using the Reprint RA program, bring up an open contract. A series of questions will display at the bottom of the screen. Follow the sequence below:
Question
Enter:
Print RA?
Y
Is printed RA OK?
N
Print RA?
] (Control Key and right bracket).This will display the literals that print for an open RA.
Repeat this for a closed contract to translate the literals that are unique to the closing contract.
Note that with some RA print programs the following prompt may appear:
TRANSLATE RA?
Simply enter “Y” to access the text for translation.
M. TRANSLATING OPTION TERMS FOR CERTAIN RENTAL AGREEMENT PRINT PROGRAMS
The Edit Option Translation program is used to translate the short and long descriptions in the Optional Item File for specific RA print programs that are configured to use these translations. This program is located on the System Management Menu (shortcut is EDTOPTR.)
N. TRANSLATING PARKING TICKET LETTERS
To translate the literals on the parking ticket letters, the user must be in "translation mode" as addressed earlier in this chapter.
Next, create a ticket record and answer "N" to the "accept liability" question. At that point, the system will display a prompt asking if you want to translate the letter. If you answer "Y", the screen will display automatically to allow you to do the translation. After pressing (RET) on the last item, the program will return to the Parking Ticket screen.
In order for the translated letter to print, the user must have the proper language code set.
The bulk of the text for the parking ticket letters is in text files that Thermeon's Support Dept. can edit at your request.