Sci2 Manual : Changing System Locale

In some instances, a user may receive an error like:

%%[ Error: undefined; OffendingCommand: 0,450000 ]%% 

This problem has been noticed when using PostScript to PDF converters. We have found that this error may be due to a mismatch between the user's input data locale and the system's locale. System locales determine how floating point numbers are formatted. For example, the number 4.294.967.295,000 in Italy represents a number larger than 4 billion. In the United States or Great Britain though, this number produces a decimal less than 5 if it can be parsed. Otherwise, you will generally get a message like the one above. Below are instructions to change your locale settings on Windows, Mac, or Linux.

Windows

  1. Click the Start button
  2. Find Control Panel
  3. Click Clock, Language, and Region
    1. You may need to switch from icons to categories to see this option
  4. Open up Region and Language
  5. On the far right, there should be a tab labelled Administrative, switch to it
  6. Click Change system locale...
  7. Make a note of your current locale settings
  8. Select a region from the drop-down menu and accept the changes
  9. You may need to restart your computer, even if you don't receive a prompt telling you so
  10. Repeat steps 1-6 to make sure your changes have taken affect

Mac

  1. Use the eyeglass icon on your dock to search for System Preferences
  2. Open the first result
  3. Find and select the Language & Text tab
  4. Find and select the Formats sub-tab
  5. Locate the Region drop-down menu
  6. Make a note of your current locale settings
  7. Select a region and close the window
  8. You may need to restart your computer, even if you don't receive a prompt telling you so
  9. Repeat steps 1-6 to make sure your changes have taken affect

Linux

  1. Open a command console
  2. Type locale to show your current locale. Make a note of this
  3. Navigate to /etc/locale.gen. Uncomment the line with the name of your desired locale
  4. Back in your console, type locale-gen to regenerate the list of locales