2854672 - Special Characters in the Picklist Label Causing Error in UI and Report

You would receive an application error when using picklist field with special chararcter in UI or Reporting

The application error id would be accompanied by showing following characters {value:"x", label:"x", externalCode:"x"} instead of Picklist Label.

Picklist Label displays following Characters  in Employee HRIS Element Portlets E.g Job information.

"Image/data in this KBA is from SAP internal systems, sample data, or demo systems. Any resemblance to real data is purely coincidental." 

• SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central - Picklist Management
• SAP SuccessFactors HCM Suite

1. Go to the Profile of any Employee.
2. Navigate to any HRIS Element Portlet that contains a field with Data Type of Picklist.
3. Look for that field and notice that it is showing following characters {value:"x", label:"x", externalCode:"x"} instead of Picklist Label.

Example:

1. Run story report
2. Error occurs in logs in Story reports

Error Log :Root cause -

Failed to convert SQL expression "PICKLISTID='workers' representatives Yes/No' and LOCALE='en_US'" to column store expression at node "projection_5". Reason: Evaluation of expression failed.;Failed to parse the expression: parsing failed
-> picklistid='workers' representatives Yes/No' and LOCALE='en_US'
->                      ^
; Condition 'isConverted' failed.

• This behavior is caused by having special characters such ( .*[!@#$%^&*()_+={}"?;:<>\\\[\]\-\'].*) as double quotes, slashes, etc. on the Picklist Label.
• Picklist Labels containing special characters do not render appropriately when the field value is shown in Profile.

Another Example: <picklist id="workers' representatives Yes/No"></picklist>

<hris-field id="custom-string10" max-length="256" visibility="both">
<label xml:lang="en-US">Covered by workers representatives</label>
<picklist id="workers' representatives Yes/No"></picklist>
</hris-field>

Step 1: Run Adhoc Report

1. Go to Analytic then Adhoc Report
2. Create new Report
3. Select  sub domain: Person and Employment Export
4. In Column, Select only column Employee Job Infos or In Column, Select only column "Employee Compensation Info"
5. Filter Test user or all user
6. Save
7. Back up your report into Your Desktop (will be used as a Backup)

Step 2: Remove the special characters in the Picklist  Center or export and import  

• Remove the special characters in the Picklist Label Via Picklist center or import and export data - Picklist - Value View
• If Picklist Labels contain special characters, these characters are not displayed on UI.
• This has nothing to do with the imports but the general behavior of the Application.

Another Example: <picklist id="workers representatives YesNo"></picklist>

<hris-field id="custom-string10" max-length="256" visibility="both">
<label xml:lang="en-US">Covered by workers representatives</label>
<picklist id="workers representatives YesNo"></picklist>
</hris-field>

After:

Run MDF cache

• 2473257 - MDF Objects not available in Configure Object Definitions
• 2534674 - How To Fix Inconsistencies In Metadata Framework (MDF)
• 2776882 - EC Advanced Reporting Metadata Sync / Reload (View Based Metadata)

Note: please use your report backup for any data correction via import ( example: 2317955 - Correct or Remove Job Information record via Import in Full Purge mode )

FAQ - Additional Information

Q) Where can I get information on this from the Guide?

A) Guide:Implementing Picklists

    Chapter: Odd characters in picklist file

   Chapter: Guide for Deletion: Deleting Picklists, Picklist versions or Picklist values

Picklist Management Tools

• 2472648 - Using the Check Tool to Check a SuccessFactors Configuration
• 2537488 - Best Practice to delete/inactivate a Picklist, Picklist versions or Picklist Values
• 2080801 - How to update Foundation Objects, and the respective Employee Data - Employee Central
• 2551350 - How to Update Generic Objects and the Respective Employee Data - Employee Central

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