“Small things can make a big difference.” This is certainly true with the enhancements introduced in Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM 2015, particularly in product localization. 

In our previous blog on the Product Catalog enhancements in CRM 2015, we discussed the various improvements made to the product catalog. In this post, we’ll focus specifically on the product localization feature and how it simplifies managing products across multiple languages in a global business. 

Why Product Localization Matters 

Imagine a multinational clothing company selling “Trousers” in the USA, Spain, and China. In earlier versions of CRM, you would have needed to create three separate product records with different names for each region: 

• Trousers for US English 
• Pantalones for Spanish 
• 褲子 (Kuzi) for Chinese 

However, with CRM 2015, you only need to create a single product record. CRM will then allow you to localize the product name and other attributes for each language your organization supports. 

What You Can Localize 

In CRM 2015, product localization extends to several key properties of your product, including: 

• Product Name 
• Dynamic Property Name 
• Dynamic Property Option Set Item Name 
• Dynamic Property Option Set Item Description 

Setting Up Product Localization in CRM 2015 

To demonstrate how localization works, let’s walk through a practical example. We’ll use a Product Family called “Trousers” and two properties—Size and Type—to show the localization process. 

Step 1: Create the Product Family 

First, create the Trousers product family and add two properties: 

• Type (Option Set property with two values) 
• Size 

.

Step 4: Edit the Translations 

Next, open the CrmFieldTranslations.xml file in Excel. You’ll see a sheet called Localize Labels where you can find the following details: 

• Columns for each installed language (e.g., 1003 for US English, 3082 for Spanish, etc.) 
• Columns for Entity Name, Object ID, and Object Column Name. 

• To localize the product name, simply enter the translated values for each language. For example: 
• English: Trousers 
• Spanish: Pantalones 
• Chinese: 褲子 (Kuzi) 

Save the file and zip both XML files back together. 

Step 5: Import Translations 

Now, go back to CRM and click Import Field Translations, select the zip file, and click OK. After the import completes, switch to the Spanish or Chinese language in CRM to see the localized names and descriptions. 

What You Need to Know About Product Localization 

Here are some important facts to keep in mind when working with product localization in CRM 2015: 

1. Read-only Attributes: Localized attributes are read-only unless your preferred language matches the organization’s base language. You can’t manually change these values into different languages. 
2. Base Language Limitation: If your CRM base language is English and Spanish is an additional installed language, localized products will only be editable in the base language. 
3. Searching for Localized Products: When searching for a product in CRM, the system first searches in the language set as your preferred language. If no localized value exists, it defaults to the base language. 

For example, if the base language is English and you have the product name “Trousers” localized to “Pantalones” in Spanish, a search for “Trousers” in the Spanish interface will first look for a result in Spanish. If no result is found, it will search in the base language (English) and display the product. 

Conclusion 

With product localization in CRM 2015, managing product names and properties across different languages becomes simple and efficient. Now, businesses operating in multiple regions can easily localize product records without the need to create separate records for each language. 

If you’re ready to take advantage of CRM 2015’s localization capabilities, or if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us. We’re here to help you make the most of your Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM system!