Thoughts on sheet locale settings, so I've go...

[Grant_Stead]

Thoughts on sheet locale settings, so I’ve got users in the united states, and Colombia.

US is $1,000.00 and CO is $1.000,00 Also dates are different, US is MM/DD/YYYY CO is DD/MM/YYYY

What’s the common strategy, separate sheets for different locale? Is there anything to help me in my plight… I find I can translate everything from enums to descriptions, (Obviously not the app content…)

But, how do we handle the nuances with different regions? (don’t even get me started on right/left justification…) @praveen

[Phil]

@Grant_Stead

The simplest approach is to store all of the worksheet data in US format. Of course, that only works if you are simply using the worksheet as a data store and your users do not need direct access to the worksheet to view the data in Google sheets.

Regardless of the worksheet Locale, the values displayed on the client will

be formatted based on the client’s device settings. The US customers see the data in US format. The CO customers see the data

in CO format.

The client always transmits data from and to the server in US format on the “wire”.

When the data arrives at the server, the worksheet Locale controls how the server writes the data to the worksheet. If you can get away with using US Locale for the worksheet, we write the worksheet data in US format.

Another alternative is to use the CO Locale for the worksheet. In that case, the server writes the worksheet data in CO format.

If the worksheet data must be written in different format for the US and CO, then you need two worksheets. Each with its own Locale. This is only necessary if your users need to look at the worksheet data directly in Google sheets and need to see the worksheet data formatted in their preferred Locale format.

[Grant_Stead]

@Philip_Garrett_Appsh fascinating, I need to play with this a bit! The dates I buy, but the currency, has been especially fascinating…

Try switching your sheet locale to Colombia, since the decimal are represented with commas not a period, all of the formulas have to be written with a ; semicolon in place of commas… It’s insane on my brain…

[Phil]

@Grant_Stead

You are correct about localized worksheet formulas.

Appsheet successfully copes with localized decimal separators (i.e. period and comma) and localized thousands separators (i.e. period, comma, and space).

The separators affect how worksheet formulas are written. (i.e. Whether the formula uses comma or semicolon within the formula.) We automatically cope with that also.

Localized dates and times are even more complicated, but we cope with them too.

[Grant_Stead]

@Philip_Garrett_Appsh Exciting, thank you so much, this helps me so much, I’ve already started rebuilding in a US format, and will play with it and see how she handles!

[Grant_Stead]

@Philip_Garrett_Appsh What crazy shenanigans might ensue if I simply change a sheets locale?

[Phil]

@Grant_Stead

I am not sure I understand what you are proposing.

We automatically detect the sheet locale when you add the sheet to your app. We detect and update the locale (if necessary) each time you click regenerate.

For things to work properly, the actual sheet locale must match the locale that we detected when interrogating the sheet’s locale.

[Grant_Stead]

@Philip_Garrett_Appsh Yeah, I was just wondering, so IF I change my sheet locale from COL to US, then I need to regen each table. aside from that do you think all the sheet formulas will snap into place and other strange things would just be fine?

[Phil]

@Grant_Stead

I think that should work.

1. My locale tests start with a Google worksheet in US format.

2. I then make a copy of that sheet and change the locale to another locale setting. 3. I then test to make sure everything works in the new locale. 4. I do this for around 20 locales including the really tricky ones like Finnish and Thai. (Times in Finnland are particularly tricky, as are dates in Thailand.)

As mentioned above, once you change the worksheet locale make sure you do a regenerate. It is vital that the worksheet locale match the locale we extracted from the sheet when you first generated or last regenerated the table.