Language FAQ: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 14:57, 24 October 2011

Where can I set the default language for the site?

Site Administration > Language > Language settings

How can I change a word or phrase used in Moodle?

In Settings > Site Administration > Language > Language customization.

See Language customization for details.

Why are my changes not saved if I edit a language pack with the Moodle language pack editor?

This could be caused by a PHP accelerator. Try switching it off (usually in php.ini).

I've set a default site language but when I log in it switches to English. Why?

By default, Moodle detects a user's language from their browser setting. This language auto-detection may be disabled so that the default site language is used instead in Site administration > Language > Language settings.

How can I provide course content in more than one language?

Labels, web pages, activity descriptions etc. may be provided in more than one language using the Multi language content filter.

Are there any short cuts for editing a language?

Yes, but be careful. You can make use of the customize language process. Basically copy the php files that contain the strings you want to change to the moodledata/lang/local folder. For example, copy the /lang/en/moodle.php file to someplace. Edit the file with a search and replace with whole word and case sensitive turned on, change Teacher to Instructor and Teachers to Instructors, do the same for teacher and teachers. Now copy that saved copy of the moodle.php file to the moodledata/lang/en_local folder. Be careful not to change the String name.

Because it is a customization, Moodle will not erase the xx_local language files in Moodledata with an upgrade. Moodle will upgrade any language folders it finds in the moodle/lang folder.

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-{{stub}}
+{{Language}}
 ==Where can I set the default language for the site?==
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 ==How can I change a word or phrase used in Moodle?==
-#Access ''Administration > Language > [[Language editing]]''.
+In ''Settings > Site Administration > Language > Language customization''.
-#Click the "Edit words or phrases" link in the middle of the page.
-#On the edit words or phrases page click the "Switch lang directory" button and a local language folder, ''parentlanguage_local'', will automatically be created in ''moodledata/lang''. Files of edited strings will then be saved in this folder. This is necessary to prevent changes that you make being overwritten by a newer language pack when updating your Moodle site.
+See [[Language customization]] for details.
-#Choose a file to edit. You may need to search through a few files before finding the file containing the word you wish to change. The file ''moodle.php'' contains all common site-wide phrases.
-#Change the word or phrase.
+==Why are my changes not saved if I edit a language pack with the Moodle language pack editor?==
-#Click the "Save changes" button. The changed phrase will be highlighted in a different colour.
+This could be caused by a PHP accelerator. Try switching it off (usually in php.ini).
+==I've set a default site language but when I log in it switches to English. Why?==
+By default, Moodle detects a user's language from their browser setting. This language auto-detection may be disabled so that the default site language is used instead in ''Site administration > Language > [[Language settings]]''.
+==How can I provide course content in more than one language?==
-==I want to help improving a existing language pack. Where do I start?==
+Labels, web pages, activity descriptions etc. may be provided in more than one language using the [[Multi language content|Multi language content filter]].
-You can contact the maintainer of the language pack and ask where you can help. See [[Translation credits]] for a list of translators. The top name of each language pack is the current language pack maintainer. If you don't get any response, you can email [mailto:translation@moodle.org translation@moodle.org].
-==I've found an error in a language pack. Who do I contact?==
+==Are there any short cuts for editing a language?==
+Yes, but be careful.  You can make use of the customize language process.  Basically copy the php files that contain the strings you want to change to the moodledata/lang/local folder.   For example, copy the /lang/en/moodle.php file to someplace.  Edit the file with a search and replace with whole word and case sensitive turned on, change Teacher to Instructor and Teachers to Instructors, do the same for teacher and teachers.  Now copy that saved copy of the moodle.php file to the  moodledata/lang/en_local folder.   Be careful not to change the String name.
-Please contact the language pack maintainer. See [[Translation credits]] for contact details.
+Because it is a customization, Moodle will not erase the xx_local language files in Moodledata with an upgrade.   Moodle will upgrade any language folders it finds in the moodle/lang folder.
 == See also ==
+* [[Translation FAQ]]
 * Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?f=26 Languages forum]
-* [[Language editing]]
-* Using Moodle [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=131927#p604462 Edited Strings Not Visible] forum discussion
-[[Category:Language]]
+Using Moodle forum discussions
+* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=131927#p604462 Edited Strings Not Visible]
+* [http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=163375 Language customization in 2.0]
 [[Category:FAQ]]
 [[fr:FAQ de langue]]

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