Joomla! Documentation™

Description

In the Language Manager you can set the default Language for both the frontend and backend of your Joomla! website.

How to Access

• Click the Language(s) button in the Control Panel.

• Select Extensions → Language(s) from the dropdown menu of the Administrator Panel.

Screenshot

Column Headers

In the table containing languages these are the different columns as shown below. Click on the column heading to sort the list by that column's value.

• Title. The name of the installed language.

• Native Title. The name of the installed language in that language.

• Language Tag. Language Tag of the Installed Language.

• Default. The default language of the site, marked with a yellow star symbol in this column. Note: to every user a language can be assigned (see "User Management"), user from groups "Administrator" and "Super Users" can select their preferred language themself at login.

• Version. The version number of the installed language.

• Date. The creation date of the language.

• Author. The name of the language translator is displayed in this column.

• Author Email. The email address of the translator.

• ID. This is a unique identification number for this language assigned automatically by Joomla. It is used to identify the language internally, and you cannot change this number.

Column Filters

Above the column headers on the right, there are 2 dropdown input fields, Sort Table By: (preset to 'Language ascending') and a number (preset to '20') to display.

These column sorting input fields shows the current method of sorting applied to the table. Use the dropdown field choices and click the column heading name. Alternatively, click on the column heading to sort the list by that column's value.

This will also change the value in the drop field to correspond with the column header name. The list will then be sorted in order by that column and a sort icon (up or down arrow) will show next to the column name. Click a second time to reverse the sort, which will change the corresponding drop field.

• Language ascending (default). Shows ordering of selected column, ascending or descending.

• Number of languages to display. Shows the number of languages to display on one page, default is 20 languages. If there are more languages than this number, you can use the page navigation buttons to navigate between pages.

List Filters

The List Filters are a series of controls that let you limit what languages show in the screen. More than one filter may be entered. In this case, only languages that meet all of the filter conditions will show on the list.

Site and Administrator filter

At the top you will see the following filter:

• Site: Filters on Site languages. This is the default selection and allows you to manage the languages for the Frontend.
• Administrator: This allows you to manage the languages for the Backend.

Filter by Partial Title or ID

In the upper left is a search field and 2 buttons.

• To filter by partial title, enter part of the title and click 'Search'
• To filter by ID number, enter "id:xx", where "xx" is the ID number (for example, "id:29").
• Click 'Clear' to clear the Filter field and restore the list to its unfiltered state.

Automatic Pagination

Page Controls. When the number of languages is more than one page, you will see a page control bar as shown below. The current page number being viewed is shaded.

• Start: Click to go to the first page.
• Prev: Click to go to the previous page.
• Page numbers: Click to go to the desired page.
• Next: Click to go to the next page.
• End: Click to go to the last page.

Toolbar

At the top left you will see the toolbar.

The functions are:

• Default. Makes the selected language the default language. The default star symbol will show in the Default column, indicating that this is now the default language.

• Install Languages. Links to the Install Languages Screen.

• Help. Opens this help screen.

• Options. Opens the Options window where settings such as default parameters can be edited.

Quick Tips

• Users can use any Language from the list of installed Languages, either by having it assigned in the User Manager or by filling out a Menu Item Manager - New/Edit - User Form Layout at the Frontend. This will cause the Joomla system prompts to be generated in this Language just for this User. For example, if a User chooses Spanish as their language, then the Search Module will show with prompts in Spanish.
• This User's choice is not affected by the Default Language set for the Frontend.
• Changing a User's Language or the Default Language does not affect the web site's Articles and other content.
• Important: Do not delete the default language files (for example, with FTP). This will create errors on both the Frontend and Backend.
• Additional Languages can be added using the Install Languages Screen.
• If desired, you can show the Frontend site in one Language and show the Backend administration pages in a different Language. Also, individual articles can be configured to use a different language in the Sidebar when editing the Article.

Related Information

• To install more Languages: Install Languages Screen
• To uninstall a Language: Extension Manager - Manage
• To change the Language for a User: User Manager - New/Edit
• To set the Language of an Article: Article Manager - New/Edit - Parameters - Advanced