Name and address formatting

Globalizing Web-based software applications mandate support for country-specific name and address formats. Different countries and shipping regions have different address and name formats. This implies the need for different input fields during registration and also a different order when the address is displayed.

Address and name formatting is country-specific rather than language specific. For example, both French and English-speaking people in Canada use the same Canadian address format. Address and name formats can be accepted and stored in the WebSphere Commerce instance database in multiple formats and languages.

Store pages and registration samples

Address and name formatting in the store pages and the user registration samples is accomplished through the use of two separate properties files: A non-translatable locale specific file, and a properties file containing translatable text. The non-translatable locale-specific file is used to store the following address or name format control information:

• Image files: The location of culturally sensitive image files.

• Required fields: Different fields are required or optional for different cultures.

• Displayed fields: Different fields are hidden or displayed for different cultures. Cultural differences that affect the order in which fields should be displayed are not demonstrated.

Examples of the non-translatable locale-specific address format properties files are:

• UserRegistration_ your_locale.properties

• Address_ your_locale.properties

These files are available in:

• WC_eardir/Stores.war/WEB-INF/classes/ConsumerDirect

• workspace_dir\Stores\Web Content\WEB-INF\classes\ConsumerDirect

Where your_locale represents a locale and Store_name is the name of the store that you are using. These properties hold the address format control information that the UserRegistration sample shipped with WebSphere Commerce requires.

The translatable properties file stores the following translatable elements:

• Page titles: The title of the page is translated into each language.

• Labels: Form field and button labels are translated into each language.

• List items: The display of list items is translated for each language.

Examples of the translatable locale address format properties files are:

• UserRegistrationText_en_US.properties for list items

• storetext_en_US.properties for labels

• WC_eardir/Stores.war/WEB-INF/classes/ConsumerDirect

• workspace_dir\Stores\Web Content\WEB-INF\classes\ConsumerDirect

Where your_local represents a locale and Store_name is the name of the store that you are using. These properties files hold the translatable text that the UserRegistration sample shipped with WebSphere Commerce requires.

Related concepts

Globalized tools framework
Cultural considerations
Localized store assets

Related tasks

Create a globalized store
Formatting addresses and names in the tools

Related reference

Globalization tips
massload utility (Server environment)