Site languages: add, turn on, update, delete

A site language is a translation pack: the words of the engine and of all installed modules in one language, without a single line of code. Some languages come with the engine, the rest are installed as packs from the catalog or from a file. Everything is done in System → Languages → Installed languages; each language there carries a mark: “Built-in” (comes with the engine), “From the catalog” or “Third-party” (installed from your own archive).

Worth knowing in advance:

• a visitor sees a language only once it is turned on; while a language is off, it is in the panel but hidden on the site;
• whatever a language lacks is shown in English, so a site with an incomplete translation keeps working instead of breaking;
• the panel language does not depend on the site language: each person chooses theirs in their profile.

Who can do it

The catalog, installing a pack, turning a pack on, turning it off and deleting it are done only by the site owner, and each time with a repeated password. All owners receive an email about it, and the journal keeps a record.

Install a language from the catalog

1. Open System → Languages → Installed languages and press “Add a language →”. Add-on catalogue → Languages opens: language packs from our server, with the version and size of each.
2. Press “Install” next to the language you need. Nothing is downloaded by itself: a pack is fetched only when you press the button. Before installation the Nex1on signature, the size and the fingerprint of the file are checked: only packs with our signature are installed from the catalog.
3. The pack is installed turned off. Open the page of that language, check the translation and press “Turn on”.

If it says “The catalog is not available yet.” or “The language server did not answer.”, the “Try again” and “Refresh the list” buttons ask the catalog once more; most often you simply need to wait. The catalog does not depend on the “Install from archive” switch: that one concerns only files from your computer.

Install a language from a file

For closed hosting and for packs that are not in the catalog: on the Add-on catalogue → Languages page there is the “Install from an archive” strip. Choose the kind “Language pack” and a .zip file, press “Inspect”, then “Install”. Such a language gets the “Third-party” mark. What lies in such a pack and how to build one yourself is in the article Your own language and a language pack; how the installation goes and why an archive may be refused is in the article Installing your own add-on.

A pack without a Nex1on signature is installed only if “Allow unsigned archives” is on. It also stays turned off, and it can be turned on only with the box “I understand: the texts of this pack will be shown to all visitors” ticked: turn on such a pack only if you trust its source.

Turn on, hide, turn off

On the language page:

Main language

The main language is the one visitors see until they choose something themselves. It cannot be turned off or deleted: “The main language of the site cannot be turned off or deleted. Choose another main language first.” The main language is chosen when the site is installed. It cannot be replaced by a pack from scratch (“The main language of the site cannot be replaced by a pack.”), but if it is already installed, it can be updated with a pack signed by Nex1on.

Update

• Together with the engine. When you update the engine from the panel, the translations of the installed languages are updated by themselves; at the end of the run it says “Translations updated: …”. If there is no connection to the catalog, the engine is still updated, and the end says “Translations can be updated later: System → Languages.”
• By the button. If a pack came out between engine updates, the catalog shows “Installed …, a newer one is available” next to the language and the “Update” button appears. A copy of the previous files is made before the replacement; if it fails, nothing changes.
• A pack older than the installed one is not installed: “The installed pack is newer than the one in the catalog.”

Delete

First the language must be turned off, then press “Delete the language” and type the language code to confirm. The translation files are not erased: they are moved aside into the “_trash” folder next to them, and they can be brought back. Entries of the site in this language keep their text. People who chose this language in their profile go back to the default site language.

Installation wizard

When the site is installed, the language choice also includes languages from the catalog: the chosen one is downloaded and installed by itself. If the pack could not be downloaded, the site is still installed, in English, and the end says “… could not be downloaded, so the installation went on in English. Add it later: System → Languages → Add a language.”

A server without internet access

If the server cannot reach the catalog, take the engine archive “With all languages”: all the languages are already inside it, and no packs need to be installed. It is provided by the site where you got the engine. Languages on such a server are updated with a new archive.

Fix individual words

System → Languages → Edit interface texts: find a phrase and replace it; the edit lies on top of the pack and survives its update.

If a language is not fully translated

Missing words are shown in English. Update the pack (“Update” or a new archive), complete the translation following the article Your own language and a language pack, or fix individual words in “Edit interface texts”.