The quick answer
Enable Multi-Language, then add or enable the required language and translation entry in General Preferences, then enter the item's translated display name and sales description through a supported bulk or item-level translation editor. Verify the saved translation row. Test customer output with equivalent orders for customers whose saved Language values differ, using the same transaction form and template. Changing your personal Language only verifies the employee interface.
The screenshots use sample data and fictional person and operating-company names.
Before you start
You need Multi-Language, the intended enabled language variant, item edit permissions, and access to the customer's Language and print form. The walkthrough uses French (France), distinct from French (Canada), for ACT-220 actuator. The stored translations are Actionneur compact and Actionneur pour équipement industriel. English remains the company default. The account already has Multi-Language enabled, so the walkthrough does not change that feature. Translation sections and controls vary by item type, features, and active form. Bulk translation access and printed-transaction language support must also be available. Match the customer language to the exact stored item variant.
01. Inspect Multi-Language
Open Setup → Company → Enable Features. On Company, inspect International → Multi-Language. It is already enabled in this example. If your account needs it enabled, save that feature change only with the required authorization.
02. Confirm the language variant
Open Setup → Company → General Preferences and its Languages subtab. Confirm the predefined French (France) row. If absent or not enabled, add or enable it through the authorized process. Enable translation entry if the account presents that control. Save any authorized change. Select the intended variant before entering item translations.
03. Save the item translations
Find Bulk Update Translation in the account's available mass-update tools. Select French (France) and the supported item translation section. For ACT-220, enter Actionneur compact as the display-name translation and Actionneur pour équipement industriel as the sales-description translation. Save and confirm the result. If the tool is absent, check permissions, enabled languages, and the item-level editor before changing anything.
04. Verify the saved item row
Open ACT-220 in Edit mode and locate Translation, beneath System Information on this form. Use the editor's displayed language row and commit controls to verify the name and description. In this example, commit with OK and Save, then reopen the item and Translation row. Stop if French or the supported editor is missing; do not replace it with custom fields.
05. Test personal interface language
Open Home → Set Preferences → General. Under Localization, select the account’s intended French interface option, shown as Français (France) in this example, save, and refresh or start a new session if needed. Check a known translatable label such as Listes or Rapports. This tests the employee interface only.
06. Check the customer language
Return the employee Language to English for a controlled comparison. Inspect Language, in Preferences on this customer form, on both the English and French customer records and confirm the intended enabled variants. Use equivalent ACT-220 sales orders with the same transaction form and PDF template. The template must consume supported translated item values; custom fields and hard-coded text do not translate automatically.
07. Compare the printed orders
Print each order through the intended transaction form and PDF template. Stop if the customer Language, item, fields, form, or template differs from the planned comparison. The English customer's SO1901 prints Compact actuator and Actuator for industrial equipment; the French customer's SO1902 prints Actionneur compact and Actionneur pour équipement industriel. Inspect fixed labels separately: Sales Order, Item, and Description remain English in this template. If a custom template does not consume the translated values, correct it through its own authorized process and retest.
Common questions
Can I translate item names and descriptions in bulk?
Use the available Bulk Update Translation tool, choose the exact language variant and item section, enter the supported translated values, and save. Reopen the item’s native Translation row to verify both fields.
Does French (France) also populate French (Canada)?
A translation saved for one variant does not prove the other works. Enable and populate the exact variant required by the customer, then test its output.
Does changing my employee Language translate customer PDFs?
It verifies the employee interface. Customer output depends on the customer’s saved Language, stored translations, and the actual transaction form and template.
Why are the item values French but the PDF headings English?
The item values use stored translations, while fixed template text needs its own translation treatment. In this example, Sales Order, Item, and Description remain English.
Why is my saved translation missing from the printed order?
Check the exact language variant, correct item and translated field, customer Language, and selected transaction form and PDF template. Confirm that the template consumes supported translated values rather than base-language text or a custom field.