Multilingual Catalogs

A multilingual catalog displays category and product text in more than one language. For example, you might want to display product information in English, French, and Japanese.

Following is an overview of the steps you perform to create a multilingual catalog. These steps are described in detail in Commerce Server 2002 Help:

1. Add multilingual property definitions for the items you want to display in more than one language.

   By default, the catalog definition includes a set of multilingual properties, for example:

   • Product Name – Multilingual Text
   • Description – Multilingual Text
   • Color – Multilingual Multiple Choice

2. Add product definitions that use the multilingual properties. For example, assign Product Name, Description, and Color to each product definition.

3. Create the base catalog, and specify the languages the catalog is to support, for example, English, French, and Japanese.

4. Add products and categories that include the multilingual properties, such as Product Name and Description.

5. Translate the multilingual products and categories into the languages supported by the catalog. You can use one of the following methods to translate the catalog:

   • Translating a catalog by exporting/importing. If you have many products you need to translate, use the Catalog Editor module to export the catalog to XML, and then send it to a translator. After the catalog is translated, you can import it to the catalog database used by Commerce Server. You can then use Commerce Server Business Desk to update and publish the catalog as needed.
   • Translating a Catalog with Business Desk. If you have only a few products you need to translate, use the Catalog Editor module in Business Desk to manually add the product data in a different language.

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