Languages and Manual Translations

You can configure your Stacks site to support multi-languages to ensure all of your users/patrons are able to access content in a language most suited to them.

There are different options available to you when it comes to translating your site, you can: 

• Manually translate all content
• Use Google Translate for translating your content
• Or use a combination of both, manually translating some content while also using GTranslate to fill in any gaps

This article will focus on installing languages, setting a default language, and manually translating your content. For more information on Google Translate and the Language switcher, see that article. 

Installing Languages

When manually creating content in multiple languages, it is important to make sure those other language(s) are installed prior to creating content.

1. From the Dashboard, click System Configuration, then click Languages
2. Click +Add language
   1. Choose the desired language from the Language name drop-down list
   2. Click Add language
      1. A progress bar will appear indicating the installation process, do not leave the page or cancel this process
   3. Once the installation is complete, the new language will appear on the Languages dashboard page
3. Click Save configuration when done

Setting a Default Language

Once a new language has been installed, from the list of Languages:

1. Under the Default column, click the radio button for the desired default language
2. Click Save Configuration

Manual Translations

Machine translations provide a quick and easy way for organizations to translate their Stacks site for users who speak different languages; however, nuances in regional dialects and not knowing context can be a cause for poor translations. 

In these circumstances administrators can manually translate content to ensure proper translations are displayed for users viewing your site in different languages. 

To translate content:

1. Ensure the alternate language(s) have been installed as per the instructions above
2. Navigate to the appropriate dashboard tile for the content type that you want to translate (Callouts, News Articles, etc.)
3. From the list, locate the content that requires translation
4. Under the Operations column, click the drop-down arrow, then click Translate
5. In the window that opens, under the Operations column, click Add beside the desired language you are translating the content to
6. A new page will open displaying the content, in the language it was originally created in
   1. Edit the content to translate as needed
7. Click Save (all translations) when finished

Once saved, you will be returned to the dashboard list view for the content. A new entry will appear in the list for the content, note the Language column to see the two versions, one in the default language and the other in the translated language.