Ensure that the title of app (initial screen) matches the title on the tile.

Do not use the tile subtitle for explanations. Use the subtitle only for differentiating information.
Background: Explanations are often redundant, and will typically be truncated in some target languages.

If the user can make changes to the data on the database, start the app name with a verb.

Exceptions:
For employee self-service apps, start the name with My.
If the key focus of the app is to process items assigned to the user, start the name with My.
For approval apps, start the name with Approve.

Use the plural for the business object, as the user can generally process more than one object within the app.

Examples:
  Create Billing Documents
  My Timesheet
  My Open Worklists
  Approve Supplier Invoices

Use a noun-based name and avoid the word “analysis” (to avoid unnecessary repetition across all analytical apps).
Exception: If your app offers analytical data that is specific to the current user, you may start the name with My.

Use the plural for the business object where it makes sense.

Examples:
  Journal Entries
  Liquidity Forecast
  Cash Flow
  Cash Flow Analysis

If your app also allows users to take action after analyzing the data (hybrid app), use the naming guidelines for transactional/hybrid apps.

Use a noun-based name.

Do not use the term “Overview Page”. This is just the name of the floorplan. However, it’s fine to use “Overview” on its own.

Examples:
  Quality Engineer Overview
  My Sales Overview
  Quality Technician Overview Page

Use the three-letter currency code instead of the currency symbol. This prevents ambiguity when multiple currencies share the same symbol.

Example:
  EUR
  USD
  €
  $

If the value you are describing is an item count that can be 1 or more, formulate the UI texts as follows:

• For labels and titles: Always use the plural, even if the field or list can contain just one item. This typically applies for list headings, table titles, column headings, icon tabs, and form fields.
• In descriptive or explanatory texts, such as messages: Differentiate between singular and plural cases, depending on the value.
  Do not use parentheses “(s)” to express the plural. It will not work in all languages.

Examples:
  Open Items [column heading in a table]
  Copies [field label in a form]
  Your subscription is due to expire in 1 day [message, singular case]
  Your subscription is due to expire in 3 days [message, plural case]
  Your subscription is due to expire in 1 day(s)

Unless otherwise specified for individual UI elements, use title case for all SAP Fiori user interface short texts (labels, headings, value help texts, and so on), and sentence case for all messages and explanations.

Exceptions:

Always use sentence case for:

• Relative times
• Values and statuses that start with a number

Examples:
  4 days ago
  4 items left

Consider using sentence case if a text is very long, making it difficult to read in title case.

For example, you might have a long status text, or long subtitles in the cards on an overview page.

Examples:
  Material damaged in transit   (status)
  Sorted by turnover and region  (card subtitle)

 If you opt to use sentence case for a certain text type, use it consistently in your context (for example, all subtitles for the cards on an overview page, or all the labels for a set of radio buttons or checkboxes).

Do not use a hyphen for email.

Hyphenate OData service in German.

Example:
  DE: OData-Service

Do not add manual hyphens to wrap texts (for example, on tiles or in column headings).

Colons after field labels

Place a colon after the field label if the field label and value are visually separate and do not form a running phrase or sentence.

Examples:
  Description:   Laser Jet Printer
  Valid From:    09/13/2013
  Forwarded by Joe Bloggs

For form fields, the colon is added automatically by the UI control. For other field labels, the colon must be added manually by the app development team.

Do not add a colon after titles (for example, in an object page header).

Colon as a separator

Use a colon to separate concatenated texts that would otherwise be hard to translate.
Note: If possible, avoid concatenated texts in the first place.

Example:
  Search In: Sales Orders

Here, this format ensures that the verb comes at the beginning in all languages, and is never truncated.

Only use the ellipsis in the following cases:

• The user is waiting for the system to do something.
  Note: In SAP Fiori, this is normally depicted by a graphical busy state, rather than a text. Check with your UX designer.
• A menu item leads to a set of further menu options.
  In this case, do not leave a space between the last letter and the ellipsis. Also, remember to capitalize the last word before the ellipsis, even if it is a short preposition.

Exception:
Use the ellipsis if you offer a browse button for selecting files.
Example:
  Browse…  (for example, in a file selection dialog)

Do not use the ellipsis for placeholders (input prompts) in entry fields. These are texts that show for empty field values, but disappear as soon as the user starts typing or selects a value.

Examples:
  Search
  www.example.com/
  Search…
  Enter a numeric key…

Many SAP Fiori apps use texts from back-end systems that were written without an ending period, based on the ABAP guidelines. To avoid changing (and retranslating) a large number of legacy texts, we have adopted the following approach for SAP Fiori:

Use periods at the end of complete sentences:

• If your sentence is written out in full with all its grammatical components, use a period.
  Rule of thumb: Add a period if your text is obviously incorrect without one.
  
  Examples:
    You don’t have authorization to view this page.
    To start, enter your filter settings.

• If your sentence is incomplete, written in short form (implicit sentence), or very short, leave out the period.
  Rule of thumb: The text does not look “wrong” without a period.
  
  Examples:
    Leave request created
    No matching items found

Exception: Do not use a period for placeholders (input prompt texts).
Reason: This avoids a mixture of prompt texts with and without periods on one page.

Examples:

  Enter an alphanumeric key
  Enter a 3-digit code.

Avoid using hyphens, colons, or parentheses in button texts. Use a preposition instead.

Examples:

  Material Number for Receipt
  Material Number – Receipt

Only use quotation marks if you really need them. Note that numerical values are often easier to read without quotes.

Example:
  Purchase order 12345678 was deleted.

If your string includes text variables, use double quotation marks to set off the inserted text from the rest of the text.

Example:
  We can’t find the product “Printer XYZ”.

Titles

Avoid using quotation marks for concatenated title texts with text variables. Use a colon instead. If in doubt, check with your translation team.
Note: If possible, avoid concatenated texts in the first place.

Example:
  Select: Products
  Select “Products”

If you are using a slash to separate entirely distinct concepts, include a space before and after the slash. In this case, all the text before the slash belongs to one concept, and all the text after the slash belongs to another.

Example:

  Insurance Type / Tax Rate
  Amount in Local Currency / Due Date
  Amount in Local Currency/Due Date

This is typically the case in SAP Fiori if:

• You have two adjacent field labels in a form.

• You have two labels in a table column header.

• You are using the slash to separate items shown on one line.
  Note: This is an exception. Normally, SAP Fiori uses commas to separate listed items.

If all the texts separated by a slash (or slashes) qualify a term that precedes or follows, do not include a space before and after the slash

Example:

  Plan/Actual Costs      (both Plan and Actual relate to costs)
  Configure Rules and Approved List of Suppliers/Manufacturers      (list contains both suppliers and manufacturers)
  Configure Rules and Approved List of Suppliers / Manufacturers     (Manufacturers is not a standalone concept here)

Note: Even if you can use a slash to avoid redundancy (as in First/Last Name), we still recommend writing out both labels in full in forms and column headers (First Name / Last Name) – space permitting.

Exception: Tile Subtitles

In tile subtitles, space is very limited. You may need to leave out spaces before and after a slash even if the concepts are distinct.

However, you should be sure that the text can’t be misunderstood, especially if you are using compound terms.

Also bear in mind that if space is already tight in English, there may still not be space for the translated text.

Do not use the label Country for politically controversial territories, such as “Taiwan”, or special regions like “Hong Kong”. This affects all values or selection lists that may contain such territories. An alternative label might be Country/Region, depending on your context.

Use the following standard labels for download icons in a toolbar:

• Export to PDF
• Export to Spreadsheet

Do not refer to specific products.

Example:
  Export to Excel

Use the following standard labels for the global actions toolbar:

Use the following  labels for standard actions in the table toolbar:

Use “please” judiciously:

• Do not use “please” unless you would also use it naturally in a spoken conversation.
• Consider using “please” if you are inconveniencing the user.
• Base your decision on your target group and language.

The tooltip label for the Favorite icon ( ) depends on how the app handles favorites:

For more information, see Flag and Favorite and Object Marker.

With SAP Fiori 2.0 (SAPUI5 version 1.40), Log On and Log Out were replaced by Sign In and Sign Out in the SAP Fiori launchpad.

For a validity period, use the labels Valid From and Valid To.

If you have only one label for both values, use the label Valid From/To.

Formulate button texts as actions, starting with a verb, and keep them as short as possible.

Examples:
  Approve Order
  Simulate Payment Run          
  Payment Run     

Use tooltips only to show the labels for elements that have no text, such as icons.

Use title case.

Icon Buttons

If the icon represents an action, formulate the tooltip as an action, starting with a verb.
Exception: Standard labels used across the IT industry, such as Settings.

Describe the action that will be triggered by pressing the button. For example,  Expand Header,  Collapse Header.

If the icon button is a toggle button that merely changes its state (same icon button, “on” or “off” state), always use the positive action for the label. For example,   Pin Header for both pinned and unpinned states.

Do not use tooltips if:

• A text label already exists. Do not create (redundant) tooltips for field labels that are written out in full and visible on the desktop.
• You want to abbreviate a text label. Instead, write the label out in full and ask development/UX to allow enough space for texts in all languages to avoid truncation. Always aim for a responsive solution that will allow users to view the full text on all devices.
• You want to provide an explanation. Use the Web Assistant instead.

Examples:
    Share
    Export to Spreadsheet
    Maximize
    Minimize   
  Displays the orders you have already processed   (Additional tooltip for “Completed” label) 

For more information, see Using Tooltips.

Instruct the user what to do to correct the error. Avoid generic error messages.

Examples:
  Select a supplier
  Invalid entry
  Enter a valid value

If a value for a required field is missing, use the standard formulation:

<Field Label> is a required field (*).

Example:
  Email is a required field (*).

For more information, see Form Field Validation.

For more information, see Message Box.

Use title case for the headings in anchors or tabs.

Avoid repeating the section/anchor heading in a subsection heading.

Exception: If you need explicit subsection headers, and the only meaningful term for a subsection is the same as the overall section name, use the same term. Do not use different terms for exactly the same concept. Instead, think about framing your content differently so that the concept for an overall section doesn’t overlap too much with the concept for an individual subsection.

If different apps in your app family group data in similar ways, consider aligning the section headings.

If you are using the wizard floorplan, formulate the texts for each step as follows:

Use a noun for the name of the step (for example, Customer). This text appears in 3 places:

• The header of the walkthrough screen (showing all steps)
• The heading for each step on the walkthrough screen
• The heading for each section on the summary screen

Offer an explanatory text for each step in the walkthrough screen (sap.m.text). Phrase this text as an instruction (for example, Enter the payment details.)
Note: This explanatory text does not show in the wizard summary.

Ensure that the title of app (initial screen) matches the title on the tile.

Do not use the tile subtitle for explanations. Use the subtitle only for differentiating information.
Background: Explanations are often redundant, and will typically be truncated in some target languages.

If the user can make changes to the data on the database, start the app name with a verb.

Exceptions:
For employee self-service apps, start the name with My.
If the key focus of the app is to process items assigned to the user, start the name with My.
For approval apps, start the name with Approve.

Use the plural for the business object, as the user can generally process more than one object within the app.

Examples:
  Create Billing Documents
  My Timesheet
  My Open Worklists
  Approve Supplier Invoices

Use a noun-based name and avoid the word “analysis” (to avoid unnecessary repetition across all analytical apps).
Exception: If your app offers analytical data that is specific to the current user, you may start the name with My.

Use the plural for the business object where it makes sense.

Examples:
  Journal Entries
  Liquidity Forecast
  Cash Flow
  Cash Flow Analysis

If your app also allows users to take action after analyzing the data (hybrid app), use the naming guidelines for transactional/hybrid apps.

Use a noun-based name.

Do not use the term “Overview Page”. This is just the name of the floorplan. However, it’s fine to use “Overview” on its own.

Examples:
  Quality Engineer Overview
  My Sales Overview
  Quality Technician Overview Page

Use the three-letter currency code instead of the currency symbol. This prevents ambiguity when multiple currencies share the same symbol.

Example:
  EUR
  USD
  €
  $

If the value you are describing is an item count that can be 1 or more, formulate the UI texts as follows:

• For labels and titles: Always use the plural, even if the field or list can contain just one item. This typically applies for list headings, table titles, column headings, icon tabs, and form fields.
• In descriptive or explanatory texts, such as messages: Differentiate between singular and plural cases, depending on the value.
  Do not use parentheses “(s)” to express the plural. It will not work in all languages.

Examples:
  Open Items [column heading in a table]
  Copies [field label in a form]
  Your subscription is due to expire in 1 day [message, singular case]
  Your subscription is due to expire in 3 days [message, plural case]
  Your subscription is due to expire in 1 day(s)

Unless otherwise specified for individual UI elements, use title case for all SAP Fiori user interface short texts (labels, headings, value help texts, and so on), and sentence case for all messages and explanations.

Exceptions:

Always use sentence case for:

• Relative times
• Values and statuses that start with a number

Examples:
  4 days ago
  4 items left

Consider using sentence case if a text is very long, making it difficult to read in title case.

For example, you might have a long status text, or long subtitles in the cards on an overview page.

Examples:
  Material damaged in transit   (status)
  Sorted by turnover and region  (card subtitle)

 If you opt to use sentence case for a certain text type, use it consistently across your UI or app.

Do not use a hyphen for email.

Hyphenate OData service in German.

Example:
  DE: OData-Service

Do not add manual hyphens to wrap texts (for example, on tiles or in column headings).

Colons after field labels

Place a colon after the field label if the field label and value are visually separate and do not form a running phrase or sentence.

Examples:
  Description:   Laser Jet Printer
  Valid From:    09/13/2013
  Forwarded by Joe Bloggs

For form fields, the colon is added automatically by the UI control. For other field labels, the colon must be added manually by the app development team.

Do not add a colon after titles (for example, in an object page header).

Colon as a separator

Use a colon to separate concatenated texts that would otherwise be hard to translate.
Note: If possible, avoid concatenated texts in the first place.

Example:
  Search In: Sales Orders

Here, this format ensures that the verb comes at the beginning in all languages, and is never truncated.

Only use the ellipsis in the following cases:

• The user is waiting for the system to do something.
  Note: In SAP Fiori, this is normally depicted by a graphical busy state, rather than a text. Check with your UX designer.
• A menu item leads to a set of further menu options.
  In this case, do not leave a space between the last letter and the ellipsis. Also, remember to capitalize the last word before the ellipsis, even if it is a short preposition.

Exception:
Use the ellipsis if you offer a browse button for selecting files.
Example:
  Browse…  (for example, in a file selection dialog)

Do not use the ellipsis for placeholders (input prompts) in entry fields. These are texts that show for empty field values, but disappear as soon as the user starts typing or selects a value.

Examples:
  Search
  www.example.com/
  Search…
  Enter a numeric key…

Many SAP Fiori apps use texts from back-end systems that were written without an ending period, based on the ABAP guidelines. To avoid changing (and retranslating) a large number of legacy texts, we have adopted the following approach for SAP Fiori:

Use periods at the end of complete sentences:

• If your sentence is written out in full with all its grammatical components, use a period.
  Rule of thumb: Add a period if your text is obviously incorrect without one.
  
  Examples:
    You don’t have authorization to view this page.
    To start, enter your filter settings.

• If your sentence is incomplete, written in short form (implicit sentence), or very short, leave out the period.
  Rule of thumb: The text does not look “wrong” without a period.
  
  Examples:
    Leave request created
    No matching items found

Exception: Do not use a period for placeholders (input prompt texts).
Reason: This avoids a mixture of prompt texts with and without periods on one page.

Examples:

  Enter an alphanumeric key
  Enter a 3-digit code.

Avoid using hyphens, colons, or parentheses in button texts. Use a preposition instead.

Examples:

  Material Number for Receipt
  Material Number – Receipt

Only use quotation marks if you really need them. Note that numerical values are often easier to read without quotes.

Example:
  Purchase order 12345678 was deleted.

If your string includes text variables, use double quotation marks to set off the inserted text from the rest of the text.

Example:
  We can’t find the product “Printer XYZ”.

Titles

Avoid using quotation marks for concatenated title texts with text variables. Use a colon instead. If in doubt, check with your translation team.
Note: If possible, avoid concatenated texts in the first place.

Example:
  Select: Products
  Select “Products”

If you are using a slash to separate entirely distinct concepts, include a space before and after the slash. In this case, all the text before the slash belongs to one concept, and all the text after the slash belongs to another.

Example:

  Insurance Type / Tax Rate
  Amount in Local Currency / Due Date
  Amount in Local Currency/Due Date

This is typically the case in SAP Fiori if:

• You have two adjacent field labels in a form.

• You have two labels in a table column header.

• You are using the slash to separate items shown on one line.
  Note: This is an exception. Normally, SAP Fiori uses commas to separate listed items.

If all the texts separated by a slash (or slashes) qualify a term that precedes or follows, do not include a space before and after the slash

Example:

  Plan/Actual Costs      (both Plan and Actual relate to costs)
  Configure Rules and Approved List of Suppliers/Manufacturers      (list contains both suppliers and manufacturers)
  Configure Rules and Approved List of Suppliers / Manufacturers     (Manufacturers is not a standalone concept here)

Note: Even if you can use a slash to avoid redundancy (as in First/Last Name), we still recommend writing out both labels in full in forms and column headers (First Name / Last Name) – space permitting.

Exception: Tile Subtitles

In tile subtitles, space is very limited. You may need to leave out spaces before and after a slash even if the concepts are distinct.

However, you should be sure that the text can’t be misunderstood, especially if you are using compound terms.

Also bear in mind that if space is already tight in English, there may still not be space for the translated text.

Do not use the label Country for politically controversial territories, such as “Taiwan”, or special regions like “Hong Kong”. This affects all values or selection lists that may contain such territories. An alternative label might be Country/Region, depending on your context.

Use the following standard labels for download icons in a toolbar:

• Export to PDF
• Export to Spreadsheet

Do not refer to specific products.

Example:
  Export to Excel

Use the following standard labels for the global actions toolbar:

Use the following  labels for standard actions in the table toolbar:

Use “please” judiciously:

• Do not use “please” unless you would also use it naturally in a spoken conversation.
• Consider using “please” if you are inconveniencing the user.
• Base your decision on your target group and language.

The tooltip label for the Favorite icon ( ) depends on how the app handles favorites:

For more information, see Flag and Favorite and Object Marker.

With SAP Fiori 2.0 (SAPUI5 version 1.40), Log On and Log Out were replaced by Sign In and Sign Out in the SAP Fiori launchpad.

For a validity period, use the labels Valid From and Valid To.

If you have only one label for both values, use the label Valid From/To.

Formulate button texts as actions, starting with a verb, and keep them as short as possible.

Examples:
  Approve Order
  Simulate Payment Run          
  Payment Run     

Use tooltips only to show the labels for elements that have no text, such as icons.

Use title case.

Icon Buttons

If the icon represents an action, formulate the tooltip as an action, starting with a verb.
Exception: Standard labels used across the IT industry, such as Settings.

Describe the action that will be triggered by pressing the button. For example,  Expand Header,  Collapse Header.

If the icon button is a toggle button that merely changes its state (same icon button, “on” or “off” state), always use the positive action for the label. For example,   Pin Header for both pinned and unpinned states.

Do not use tooltips if:

• A text label already exists. Do not create (redundant) tooltips for field labels that are written out in full and visible on the desktop.
• You want to abbreviate a text label. Instead, write the label out in full and ask development/UX to allow enough space for texts in all languages to avoid truncation. Always aim for a responsive solution that will allow users to view the full text on all devices.
• You want to provide an explanation.

Examples:
    Share
    Export to Spreadsheet
    Maximize
    Minimize   
  Displays the orders you have already processed   (Additional tooltip for “Completed” label) 

For more information, see Using Tooltips.

Instruct the user what to do to correct the error. Avoid generic error messages.

Examples:
  Select a supplier
  Invalid entry
  Enter a valid value

If a value for a required field is missing, use the standard formulation:

<Field Label> is a required field (*).

Example:
  Email is a required field (*).

For more information, see Form Field Validation.

For more information, see Message Box.

Use title case for the headings in anchors or tabs.

Avoid repeating the section/anchor heading in a subsection heading.

Exception: If you need explicit subsection headers, and the only meaningful term for a subsection is the same as the overall section name, use the same term. Do not use different terms for exactly the same concept. Instead, think about framing your content differently so that the concept for an overall section doesn’t overlap too much with the concept for an individual subsection.

If different apps in your app family group data in similar ways, consider aligning the section headings.

If you are using the wizard floorplan, formulate the texts for each step as follows:

Use a noun for the name of the step (for example, Customer). This text appears in 3 places:

• The header of the walkthrough screen (showing all steps)
• The heading for each step on the walkthrough screen
• The heading for each section on the summary screen

Offer an explanatory text for each step in the walkthrough screen (sap.m.text). Phrase this text as an instruction (for example, Enter the payment details.)
Note: This explanatory text does not show in the wizard summary.