<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/"
      xmlns:its="http://www.w3.org/2005/11/its"
      type="topic"
      style="task"
      id="session-language">

  <info>
    <link type="guide" xref="prefs-language"/>

    <revision pkgversion="3.8.0" version="0.3" date="2013-03-13" status="candidate"/>
    <revision pkgversion="3.13.92" date="2014-09-22" status="candidate"/>
    <revision pkgversion="3.38.4" date="2021-03-11" status="candidate"/>
    <revision version="gnome:46" status="candidate" date="2024-03-02"/>

    <credit type="author">
      <name>GNOME Documentation Project</name>
      <email>gnome-doc-list@gnome.org</email>
    </credit>
    <credit type="author">
      <name>Shaun McCance</name>
      <email>shaunm@gnome.org</email>
    </credit>
    <credit type="author">
      <name>Andre Klapper</name>
      <email>ak-47@gmx.net</email>
    </credit>
    <credit type="editor">
      <name>Michael Hill</name>
      <email>mdhillca@gmail.com</email>
    </credit>

    <include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>

    <desc>Switch to a different language for user interface and help
    text.</desc>
  </info>

  <title>Change which language you use</title>

  <comment>
    <cite date="2012-02-19">shaunm</cite>
    <p>Explain how to install support for other languages. Requires us
    to document software installation.</p>
  </comment>

  <p>You can use your desktop and applications in any of dozens of languages,
  provided you have the proper language packs installed on your computer.</p>

  <steps>
    <item>
      <p>Open the <gui xref="shell-introduction#activities">Activities</gui> overview and
      start typing <gui>System</gui>.</p>
    </item>
    <item>
      <p>Select <guiseq><gui>Settings</gui><gui>System</gui></guiseq> from the
      results. This will open the <gui>System</gui> panel.</p>
    </item>
    <item>
      <p>Select <gui>Region &amp; Language</gui> to open the panel.</p>
    </item>
    <item>
      <p>In the <gui>Your Account</gui> section, click <gui>Language</gui>.</p>
    </item>
    <item>
      <p>Select your desired region and language. If your region and language
      are not listed, click
      <gui><media its:translate="no" type="image" mime="image/svg" src="figures/view-more-symbolic.svg"><span its:translate="yes">…</span></media></gui>
      at the bottom of the list to select from all available regions and
      languages.</p>
    </item>
    <item>
      <p>Click <gui style="button">Select</gui> to save.</p>
    </item>
    <item>
      <p>Your session needs to be restarted for changes to take effect. Either click
      <gui style="button">Restart…</gui>, or manually log back in later.</p>
    </item>
  </steps>

  <p>Some translations may be incomplete, and certain applications may not
  support your language at all. Any untranslated text will appear in the
  language in which the software was originally developed, usually American
  English.</p>

  <p>There are some special folders in your home folder where applications
  can store things like music, pictures, and documents. These folders use
  standard names according to your language. When you log back in, you will
  be asked if you want to rename these folders to the standard names for
  your selected language. If you plan to use the new language all the time,
  you should update the folder names.</p>

  <note style="tip">
    <p>If there are multiple user accounts on your system, there is a separate
    section for the <gui>Login Screen</gui> in the
    <gui>Region &amp; Language</gui> panel.</p>
  </note>

</page>
