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How to manage the languages of a collection

Prerequisites​

  • Admin access to your Uwazi instance

Steps​

Install a language​

Uwazi supports 183 languages. The install dialog marks 11 of them with *. These 11 ship with pre-built interface translations. For all other languages, Uwazi seeds the interface with English text at install time.

  1. Go to Settings > Languages.
  2. Select Install Language(s) at the bottom of the table.
  3. Choose one or more languages from the list. A * marks languages with pre-built translations. The button updates to show the count, for example Install (2).
  4. Select Install (N) to confirm. Uwazi adds each language to the table and starts a background job. The job copies your content into the new language. A task notice appears at the top of the page while the job runs. Uwazi locks the new row until the job finishes.

If you install a right-to-left language like Arabic or Hebrew, Uwazi adapts the page layout. Users see right-to-left text when they select that language.

Set a default language​

The default language is the source Uwazi copies from when you add a new language. It's also the fallback for users who haven't chosen a language. Changing the default doesn't translate your existing content.

  1. Go to Settings > Languages.
  2. Select the star icon in the Default language column next to your chosen language. The star fills in on the new default and clears on the old one. Uwazi shows "Default language change success".

Reset interface translations​

Reset restores the pre-built interface text for a language. Use it if you've edited any interface text and want the originals back. The Reset button only appears for languages with a * mark.

  1. Go to Settings > Languages.
  2. Select Reset in the Reset language column.
  3. Type CONFIRM in the dialog and select Reset. Uwazi shows "Language reset success".

Switch the interface language​

Any user can switch the language they see the interface in from the header.

  1. Select the language button in the top-right header. The drop-down lists every installed language using its local name, for example "Español" or "Français".
  2. Select a language. The page reloads with the interface in that language.

Uninstall a language​

warning

Uninstalling a language deletes all entity records and translations for that language. This can't be undone.

You can't uninstall the default language. Set another language as default first.

  1. Go to Settings > Languages.
  2. Select Uninstall in the Uninstall language column.
  3. Type CONFIRM in the dialog and select Uninstall. Uwazi removes the language and all its data.

Result​

Your collection is now available in the languages you installed. Users switch between languages from the header.

tip

To translate interface text like button labels or menu items, go to Settings > Translations and select a context to edit. You can also enable Live translate from the language drop-down to edit text in place on any page.

See also​