Chapter 6. Changing the System Language with YaST

openSUSE Documentation Part I. Installation and Setup / Chapter 6. Changing the System Language with YaST
	5.3. Changing the User Authentication Method		6.2. Installing Additional System Languages

Contents

6.1. Switching the Desktop Language
6.2. Installing Additional System Languages
6.3. Switching the System Language

Working in different countries or having to work in a multilingual environment requires your computer to be set up to support this kind of work. Use the YaST language module to install additional system languages. Also use it to change your system language or determine a primary language that you use most often. You can also install secondary languages to to get optional localizations if you need to start applications or desktops in languages other than the primary one.

6.1. Switching the Desktop Language

Depending on how you use your desktop and whether you want to switch the entire system to another language or just the desktop environment itself, there are several ways to achieve this:

Change the System Language Globally

Proceed as described in Section 6.2, “Installing Additional System Languages” and Section 6.3, “Switching the System Language” to install additional localized packages with YaST and set the default language. Changes are effective after relogin. To ensure that the entire system reflects the change, reboot the system or close and restart all running services, applications, and programs.

Change the Language for the Desktop Only

Provided you have previously installed the desired language packages for your desktop environment with YaST as described below, you can switch the language of your desktop using the desktop's control center. After X has been restarted, your entire desktop reflects your new choice of language. Applications not belonging to your desktop framework are not affected by this change and may still appear in the language that was set in YaST.

Temporarily Switch Languages for One Application Only

To run a single application in another language (that has already been installed with YaST), use one of the following commands:

LANG=de_DE application to start any standard X application or GNOME application in German. For other languages, use the appropriate language code.
KDE_LANG=de application to start any KDE application in German. For other languages, use the appropriate language code.