Official Languages Support

Enterprise GIS must support both official languages, including the portal site, applications, portal content, and metadata.

Summary

The following guidelines for official languages support of GIS content are recommended for datasets that are shared beyond the group level within the Enterprise GIS (i.e., for those datasets that are shared across Transport Canada, across the Government of Canada, or with the public). For GIS content shared at the group level, consideration should be given to official language support, where applicable.¹ These guidelines were compiled by examining guidelines provided by the Treasury Board Secretariat, Transport Canada, and the Federal Geospatial Platform.

1. Where an attribute contains text for display, a dataset should include a field each for the English and the French versions of the text.

2. A layer should represent a dataset in both official languages, except where the English and French versions are contained in separate datasets. The layer name should be represented in both official languages.

3. A map should be designed for a single official language. A map designed for one official language should have a corresponding map with identical content designed for the other official language.

4. Portal items should represent the item in both official languages, except in cases in which the item represented is designed specifically for one official language, with a corresponding portal item designed to represent the item in the other official language (e.g., maps).

5. Each portal item shall have one metadata record containing text in both official languages.

Portal Site and Applications

Portal for ArcGIS respects the user's language settings in the following order:

1. The language set in the user's Portal for ArcGIS profile (if set).

2. The user's browser language.

The Bilingual settings in ArcGIS platform sub-page identifies strategies for multilingual support in ArcGIS Enterprise and the web applications it supports.

In addition to these strategies, there are some additional official languages support items to address:

App names

App names should be presented in both official languages.

Note that the name of the Operations Dashboard app (out-of-the-box) is in English only, but the application iteself respects the language defined in the user's Portal for ArcGIS profile. It does not respect the user's browser language setting.

Portal Help Content

The Portal for ArcGIS user and administrator help content is available in multiple languages in the Portal for ArcGIS Help Language Pack. This language pack should be installed on the portal machines as a part of the installation script.

Basemaps

The Canada Base Map - Transportation (CBMT) / La Carte de Base du Canada - Transport (CBCT) should be available in both official languages in the Portal. This should be set up as a part of the site configuration script.

Groups

Group names and descriptions should be presented in both official languages if the group is visible to the organization (Transport Canada). If a group is only visible to group members, then the group name and description should support official languages according to the requirements of the group's members.

Metadata Element Labels

Metadata element labels are currently only shown in English when viewing metadata (they are shown in the user's language when editing metadata). We are currently investigating with Esri Canada to determine how the metadata element labels can be displayed in the user's language.

Categories

Category names are initially created from a set of categories (e.g., ISO) in the language of the administrator user creating them. Once created, they are not automatically presented to the user in the user's language. The administrator creating categories should ensure that the category names are presented in both official languages by manually edtiting the category name.

Tags

How tags should support official languages is an item for discussion with the EGIS Working Group.

Content and Portal Items

The following diagram illustrates the relationships among the concepts addressed below.

Dataset: A table of data stored in a file or in a database, often with a geometry or geography field.

Layer: A representation of a dataset that could include querying, filtering, and have symbology applied. A dataset can be represented by multiple layers.

Map: A web map containing one or more layers. Layers may be included in multiple maps.

App: A web application based on a web map. A web map may be used by multiple applications.

Portal Item: A representation of an item in Portal for ArcGIS. Portal items represent layers, maps, and apps, among others.

Metadata: A metadata record for a portal item. Each portal item has an associated metadata record.

Datasets

GIS datasets (tables and feature classes) will generally support official languages in one of the following ways:

1. Text fields that contain displayable text are repeated in the dataset, with a field containing the text in each official language:

2. Text fields that contain displayable text contain the text in both official languages. Field name displays are represented in both official languages:

3. The data are represented in separate datasets, one for each official language:

4. Only one official language is used in a dataset.

From a technical perspective, any of these approaches to official support can be used, but the first approach (separate fields for each official language) is the most flexible and is the preferred approach.

Recommendation: Where an attribute contains displayable text, the dataset should include a field each for the English and the French versions of the text.

Example: Canadian Ice Service Zones

Layers

A layer is a representation of a GIS dataset, and a GIS dataset may be represented by multiple layers. Layers can provide official language support in one of two ways:

1. Both official languages are represented in the same layer. This approach can be used if both official languages are represented in the same dataset.

2. Two layers represent the dataset, one for each official language.

Since layers representing a dataset are created by the data publisher, and since the intent, in general, is to make these layers available as broadly as possible, the first approach is preferred. It allows users to have a consistent representation of the underlying dataset in both official languages. Consumers of a layer may customize its representation, including or excluding fields in one official language or their other to suit their purposes.

Recommendation: A layer should represent a dataset in both official languages, except where the English and French versions are contained in separate datasets. The layer name should be represented in both official.

Example: Canadian Ice Service Zones / Zones du Service Canadien des glaces

Maps

Maps are difficult to represent in both official languages because of the number and variety of text elements possible. While it is possible to create maps that are completely bilingual, it is acceptable and preferred to create maps specific to a single official language, and to maintain a corresponding map in the other official language. Layers in the map can be customized to represent the official language of the map.

This also seems to be the pattern employed on the FGP's ArcGIS Online site.

Recommendation: A map should be designed for a single official language. A map designed for one official language should have a corresponding map with identical content designed for the other official language.

Examples: Arctic Voyage Planning Guide , Guide de planification de navigation en Arctique

Portal Items

ArcGIS Portal items (the "cards" that represent content in the Portal site) must support both official languages. Portal items comprise a number of text elements, including:

• title

• summary

• description

• terms of use

• categories

• tags

• credits

In most cases, each text element should contain content in both official languages. The exception to this is when a portal item is specifically designed for one official language, and has a corresponding item designed for the other official language. In those cases, the portal item's text elements should contain text in the official language for which the item is designed.

Reccommendation: Portal item text elements should contain content in both official languages, except in cases in which the item represented by the portal item is designed specifically for only one official language, with a corresponding portal item designed for the other official language.

Examples:

1. Canadian Ice Service Zones / Zones du Service Canadien des glaces

2. Arctic Voyage Planning Guide

3. Guide de planification de navigation en Arctique

Metadata

As per the HNAP metadata standard , each item shall have one metadata record containing metadata in both official languages. Refer to the link for resources on creating HNAP-compliant metadata, including a guide and worksheet.

Reccommendation: Each portal item shall have one metadata record containing metadata in both official languages.

Example: Canadian Ice Service Zones / Zones du Service Canadien des glaces

¹ TC Guidelines, Language of Work and Official Languages , § 8.4.3 Consultative Documents.