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Internationalize ABL Applications

Text expansion and contraction

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Table of Contents
  • About Developing Applications for Deployment Worldwide
    • The importance of internationalization and localization
    • Strategies for responding to a global market
      • Internationalized applications
      • Localized applications
    • How OpenEdge supports internationalization
      • Multi-byte applications
      • OpenEdge support for Unicode
      • Character processing
      • OpenEdge ABL elements
      • International databases
      • OpenEdge messages
      • Regional parameter files
    • How OpenEdge products support internationalization
    • Design guidelines
  • About Code Pages
    • Code pages and character sets
      • Code pages
      • Character sets
    • Environments with multiple code pages
    • Code-page conversion
      • Streams and code-page conversion
        • Streams and the PROTERMCAP file
      • Valid and invalid code-page conversions
      • Sockets and code-page conversion
    • The undefined code page
    • Determine which code page an application component uses
      • ASCII character data
      • 8-bit character data
      • OpenEdge databases
      • Character terminals
      • Windows screen and keyboard
      • Printers
      • Table dump (.d) files and other external text files
      • OpenEdge libraries
  • Character Processing Tables
    • The convmap.dat file and its tables
      • Character attribute tables
      • Case tables
      • Collations and collation tables
      • Code-page conversion tables
        • Convert to and from UTF-8
      • Modify convmap.dat or a file it includes
      • Compile the convmap.dat file
      • Provide access to the convmap.cp file
      • Modify OpenEdge collation tables
        • Preliminary considerations
        • Dump a collation table
        • Edit the collation table
        • Load the modified collation table
        • Rebuild the indexes for collation table changes
        • Modify, compile, and provide access to the CONVMAP file
      • Find additional information on character processing tables other than word-break tables
    • Word-break tables
      • Why OpenEdge uses word-break tables
      • Create and modify word-break tables
        • Word-delimiter attributes
        • Word-break table syntax
      • Compile word-break tables
      • Provide access to word-break tables
      • Associate word-break tables with databases
      • Rebuild the indexes for word-break table changes
      • Associate word-break rule file with temp-tables
  • About Preparing the Code
    • Guidelines and methodology
      • Structure source code
      • Process by characters
      • Use variables
      • Code with translation in mind
    • Input and output
      • Keyboards
      • Printers
    • Data-processing issues
      • Numeric formats
      • Measurements
      • Currencies
      • Dates
      • Time
      • Addresses
    • Sort data
      • Local conventions
      • Use collation tables
        • ABL Comparisons
        • Database collation
      • Use case tables
  • User Interface Design and Preparation
    • Screen layout and composition
      • Equipment differences
      • Monitors
      • Keyboards
      • Culturally specific issues
        • Abbreviations and acronyms
        • Address formats
        • Calendar, date, and time formats
        • Colors and sounds
        • Numeric formats
        • Currency formats
        • Field labels and field sizes
        • Financial rules
        • Names and titles
        • Phone number formats
        • Language issues
    • Graphics and icons
      • Text in graphics and icons
      • Images to avoid in graphics and icons
        • Images of animals
        • Images based on puns or word play
        • Images of body parts or gestures
        • Images biased towards a particular culture or region
        • References to sports
        • Symbols related to religion or culture
    • Design with the AppBuilder
      • Localize SmartObject masters
      • Localize SmartObject instances
      • Use multiple layouts
        • Character-client layouts
    • Design to allow for translation
      • Text expansion and contraction
        • Word length
        • Typefaces and point sizes
        • Word order
      • Message text
      • Layout
  • Rules and Techniques for Databases
    • OpenEdge database name restrictions
    • Empty databases
      • Empty databases supplied by OpenEdge
      • Create an empty database in a particular code page
    • Scan databases for character conflicts
      • New characters
      • Use PROUTIL to perform the scan
    • Convert a database and its data to a different code page
    • Load table dump files
      • Code-page trailers
      • Techniques for loading table dump files
        • Use an ABL program
        • Use the Data Dictionary utility
        • Use the PROUTIL utility with the BULKLOAD option
    • Specify -cpinternal and -cpstream with database utilities
  • About the Use of SQL
    • Start database servers
    • Use SQL database servers
    • Code-page conversion in SQL applications
    • Use SQL clients
      • Java/JDBC clients
      • ODBC clients
      • Characteristics of OpenEdge SQL clients
        • Internal code page
        • Code page for displaying PROMSGS sent by the server to the client
    • Utilities for working with SQL databases
      • SQLDUMP
      • SQLLOAD
      • SQLSCHEMA
    • About using the SQL language
      • Unit of length when working with character strings
      • Maximum bytes required for CHAR and VARCHAR
  • About Multi-byte Code Pages
    • Definitions of key terms
      • Terms for code pages
      • Terms for characters
      • Terms for bytes
    • OpenEdge support
    • Input
      • Keyboard and mouse
        • Data flow in single-byte applications
        • Data flow in double-byte applications
      • ABL
        • Use ABL to simulate inputting double-byte characters
        • Use ABL to simulate key presses and mouse clicks
      • Automatic input validation
    • Output
      • FORMAT phrase
        • Fit multi-byte characters into the available columns
        • Fit multi-byte characters around formatting characters
        • Allow only single-byte formatting characters
      • About printing
        • Print from Windows
        • Print from applications with a character interface
        • Test printers
      • Character-client color limit
    • Inside the multi-byte application
      • Distinguish characters, bytes, and columns
      • Techniques for working with multi-byte characters
        • Choose the appropriate unit of measure
        • Test character strings for multi-byte characters
        • Test for a lead-byte value
      • ABL support for processing multi-byte characters
    • Issues specific to multi-byte code pages
      • OpenEdge support for multi-byte code pages
        • About the Thai code page and collations
        • Additional GB18030 code page considerations
      • Valid and invalid code-page conversions
        • Determine valid code-page conversions (for non-Unicode databases)
        • Convert between double byte and single byte
        • Convert from double byte to double byte
      • User-defined characters
        • Limitations of user-defined characters
        • Guidelines for using user-defined characters
      • Collate multi-byte characters
        • Sort order of trail bytes
      • Default word-break behavior of characters in multi-byte code pages
    • Guidelines for using multi-byte characters
  • About the Use of Unicode
    • Unicode overview
    • Why use Unicode
      • The limits of multiple code pages
      • The advantages of Unicode
    • Use of Unicode with OpenEdge products
    • About using Unicode with OpenEdge databases
      • Convert an OpenEdge database to UTF-8 using the PROUTIL CONVCHAR utility
      • Convert an OpenEdge database to UTF-8 using dump and load
      • Compile, make available, and apply the UTF-8 word-break rules to a database
    • Use of Unicode with OpenEdge applications
      • Rules for using Unicode with the OpenEdge character client
      • Rules for using Unicode with the OpenEdge graphical client
      • Unicode application example
    • Guidelines for using Unicode
    • Unicode support for supplementary characters
      • Use UTF-16 in the ASC and CHR functions
      • Behavior of ASC and CHR functions
      • New and modified keywords
      • Limitations
    • ABL constructs that support Unicode filenames
  • Deployment and Configuration
    • The progress.ini file and the Windows registry
      • [Startup]
      • [fonts]
      • Specify scripts
    • The PROTERMCAP file
    • The PROMSGS file
    • Parameter files
    • The conmgr.properties file
    • Report Builder parameters
    • Additional guidelines
      • Use the UNIX character client with double-byte code pages
      • Specify -cpinternal and -cpstream with database utilities
  • OpenEdge Resources
    • Files in the OpenEdge/prolang directory
    • Startup parameters and settings
    • ABL
    • OpenEdge SQL
      • SQL elements that support internationalization and localization
      • Format specifiers allowed with the TO_CHAR and TO_DATE functions
    • Utilities
    • Determine the code page
  • Character Processing Table Formats
    • Character attribute table
    • Case table
    • Collation table
    • Code-page conversion table
      • Convmap changes
    • Word-break table
Table of Contents

Text expansion and contraction

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  • Last Updated: February 11, 2026
  • 1 minute read
    • OpenEdge
    • Version 13.0
    • Documentation

Text expansion and contraction

One of the biggest considerations during the design phase is the translation of text into another language. Some of the translation issues you must consider are discussed in the following topics:

  • Word length
  • Typefaces and point sizes
  • Word order
Contents
  • Word length
  • Typefaces and point sizes
  • Word order
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