Want to use Dabble DB globally? Go!

Like it or not but one of the most important criteria of any web-based evaluation is its capability to go worldwide. This time I am about to find out how Dabble DB solves the issue of globalization and localization.

Without further ado let’s get down to actual testing. So, the way Dabble DB treats dates, numbers and money is controlled by Locale Setting tab from Admin menu:


These settings are valid for all your apps. In addition you can specify currency type for a given field:


Dabble DB has no problem with data input in different languages and displays its correctly as well:


This is what I eventually got. The data is correctly recognized and there are no issues I should warn you about in case you need to deploy your app globally. With Dabble DB you won’t need any assistance in this.

Conclusion:

So, DabbleDB is really ready to go worldwide. There is just one thing the user should remember: all you apps share same locale setting. In general DabbleDB proved its capability of global use.

Any chance to use TrackVia globally?

Taking into account the transparency of boundaries in business world today one should really know if web-based system is capable of serving globally.

Sometimes it takes a while to find out what can be done in each particular system in this respect. But with TrackVia things are pretty obvious at once.

Just starting with TrackVia pay attention one can select from a limited set of symbols for currency and there is no way you can control Date/Time display:


The good news is all timestamps will be converted to time zone preseted in your personal information:


In case its ok with you, be ready for another surprise. Even though the system allows to input the data in different languages:


It’s not capable of displaying it correctly:


Instead of sorted data I’ve got encoded character codes.

Conclusions:

Despite all my tries and efforts to go globally with TrackVia all I can say is the system is not ready for such use right now.

What if use QuickBase worldwide?

Let’s get back to trying out how web based systems handle the issue of worldwide app use. This time I am about to check if QuickBase is good at it.

I start off from scratch by importing the data in different languages in order to clear up the systems works smoothly.


As the matter of fact QuickBase turned my data into such scribbles.


So, I decided to create necessary fields and tried to input the same info through form for record editing:


Unfortunately, I’ve got the same result.


The thing that QuickBase is not capable of recognizing the data in different languages really surprised me, so I decided to check my settings to make sure everything was ok.

I found out my IE7 default encoding is different from unicode . Just for experiment as the page was displayed I managed to set up unicode and after doing so the text in different languages was correctly recognized.


Let’s see how QuickBase handles globalization issue. In QuickBase time zone is set up for the whole account. You may check out how to change the Account time Zone here.


As I changed the time zone all Data/Time fields were correctly recognized for a new time zone.


It turned out this was the last good thing what can be done in QuickBase in case you want your app to go global. I didn’t manage to find any settings that allow changing Date/Number format according to the country.

Conclusion:

Even though it’s possible at a stretch to create the app for a workgroup outside of the US that will use different language and Time Zone as well, there is a limitation. One can use just one time zone and language, but date and numbers can be edited only in the US format.

In case your team members are in different time zones, let alone the data input in different languages, QuickBase can’t help you here.

What if use Zoho Creator globally?

If you have no experience with Zoho Creator yet, but you’re thinking about it and plan to check the system, make sure there is no problem using it in your locale. The most powerful services are used globally and can satisfy local requirements with no problem as well. So, let’s try out Zoho Creator now.

Zoho Creator time/data format and time zone settings are valid for the whole app:


It means all app users will see all time/date data in one format, transferred into the time zone you’ve set.

One can see Zoho Creator has no problem with data input in different languages:


For Currency the system allows to select Currency Type:


It was a bit of a puzzle for me how it‘s used within the system, for it is displayed only while editing the record.


At least I didn’t manage to find where esle this feature is used.

Conclusions:

Zoho Creator application can be used worldwide with no problem. But you should take into account it’s necessary to administratively select one common data format and time zone for all app users.

TeamDesk is going worldwide

It goes without saying how important it is to quickly share the data all over the world as globalization requires. Tools that can be applied where you need it are invaluable for the business.

Only really versatile systems are capable of serving globally. I am really wondering how many vendors out there can satisfy this need. Blist didn’t manage to handle this, let’s see what TeamDesk can do.

So, TeamDesk formats date, time and numbers depending on "Language and Locale" property of the user working with the system:

All timestamps are also converted to each user Time Zone and displayed corresponding to your local time.

This is the example of the record for English (US) locale and Central Time:


As you can see the system has no problem with data input in different languages.

To make sure it’s really so I've changed my locale to Japanese locale and time zone to Tokyo:


You also have an opportunity to set units for currency and their position:


Decimal separator and digit grouping characters are defined by user locale. Data and time format are set by user locale so you can only control general options:

But not everything is that perfect. For example, the use of "Text – Multiline" column with "Data Entry" option set in "Append Only" or "Prepend Only" mode can mislead you regarding comments sequence in case your users are in different time zones:


You can also have some questions while converting date, time or numeric into text using formula expressions:


As you see the system uses neutral language format for such convertions.

Conclusions:

Well done. I’d say TeamDesk is ready for global use. Your global team will appreciate the possibility to look at app common data from their specific time zone and locale. But I think you’ve noticed everything is not that prefect here as well, at least you are aware of possible problems you may come across.

Global use of blist. If only ...

If you are looking for the service that can function worldwide web-based systems are really powerful tools for this and their value can’t be underestimated.

The system that delivers data at once anywhere you need it to makes you realize what can be done in the digital era in times of global economy.

All boundaries are being extended and the whole world is connected through the Internet, it still amazes me some products out there are designed to be used just by particular culture group/in one country/in one language/etc. But apparently there are some and Blist is one of them.

First of all it’s about data input. For some reason the system doesn't support typing in any other language but English, even though I managed to copy/paste some text in other language without any problem:


And it’s not just me who wants to input the info in other languages, you can check it out here and here.

You have not so many options to choose from to display data and time:


It seems developers don’t suspect there are other currencies in the world apart from USD, I think this is why blist uses only $ symbol for all of them and there is no way to change it.


Conclusions:

On this stage blist is not ready for worldwide use. If you don’t live in the US or just want to use it to organize the list of non-English text data you’d better take a look at other product.

Globalization and localization: its all about versatility.

Speaking of web-based system versatility I’d like to take a look at a broader issue here. Specifically at the possibility to apply the app worldwide and what are the odds of services I am reviewing in my blog. Which systems are really capable of pushing the envelope and can be applied literally everywhere. This is yet another chance to figure out who is who and which solution possesses the killerest features.

This is what I am going to check out:

• The possibility to input and process the data in different languages


• Date/time format, including use of different calendars


• Time zones


• Formatting of numbers (decimal points, positioning of separators, character used as separator)


• Currency (symbols, positions of currency markers)


• Multilingual user interface

So, in upcoming posts you’ll get a chance to find out which system helps to get results that count.