Multilingual sites in SharePoint 2013

SharePoint 2013 and SharePoint online has feature to enable languages support for users in different regions. To enable users to see sites in their preferred language, we can use these features. There are two type of translation in SharePoint:

a) Multilingual User Interface

b) Variations

Multilingual User Interface:

With Multilingual User Interface (MUI) feature users are enabled to see the SharePoint site in their preferred language instead of default language. MUI will translates the user interface in your preferred language. User interface include menus, navigations, site title and description, web parts, managed metadata, default columns etc.

How to configure MUI:

1) Download and install language packs on all SharePoint front end servers. You can download the language packs from the same location where you downloaded the SharePoint 2013.

2) Run the SharePoint product configuration wizard.

3)In SharePoint site setting, go to Alternate Language and check the languages you want your users to be enable to use to display the user interfaces.

Now there are two ways to configure MUI.

a) Change the language preference settings in User Profile settings to your preferred language.

·        Open MySites and go to About me

·        Click Edit your profile and Language and Regions

·        Select the language of your choice

b)  Change the language setting in your browser

i)  Select menu Tools

ii)  Select menu item Internet Options.

iii) Select tab General.

iv)Click button Languages.
v) Click button Add...

vi) Mark a language e.g. English (United Kingdom) and click OK.

vii) Reload webpage

Next time when you will visit the SharePoint site, it will be display in your preferred language instead of site collection default language.

Variations

Variation feature is used to translate the content if SharePoint site in other languages other than default language. Variation can only be used with publishing sites or the SharePoint with Publishing Infrastructure feature activated. Variations are designed to use when your content has to use for different regions, different markets and different cultures.

You can use variations to create sites, lists, and page content for specific languages. In this scenario, most of the content is authored in the language of the source variation site and synced to some or all of the target variation sites for translation into different languages. For example, the content might be authored in English and be synced to target variation sites for translation into German, French, and Spanish.

Source variation and target variation

The source variation site and the target variation sites are always created as subsites of the variation root site. Source variation and target variation sites are always created below the root site level. Each variation site will use the same master page as root site by default.  But each variation site can also use separate master page. Page layout and CSS files.

How to configure variations:

Below are the steps to configure variation source site.

1)      Create the site with publishing template and go to site settings--> variation settings

2)      On variation page Create Every Where will be selected. This means any content created in the source label is will be copied to all target sites. You can leave the other settings on page as default and proceed to next step.

3)      Select the language form drop down

4)      Select the locale for your site

Note: Locale is a regional setting that specifies the way numbers, dates and times are displayed on a site. The locale setting does not change the language in which the site is displayed. For example, selecting the Thai locale changes the default sort order of list items and uses the Buddhist calendar instead of the default calendar. Not to be confused between Language and Locale settings, even if language packs are not installed, Variation Labels for different locale can still be created and content can be translated into different languages. Language packs will only affect SharePoint user interface for content authors and admins

5)      Variations Home  is the location site where sub sites for all labels will be created

6)      Select label name, display name and template for your publishing site.

Now source label is created, a wizard will be shown in SharePoint 2013 to create the target label by following below steps:

1)      Select language of the site from drop down and select locales for the target variation

2)      On next page select the target label display name and site templates

1)      On next page there are two options for translation i.e. Human translation or Machine translation

2)      Next option is whether you wanted to automatically sync variations from source site or manually.

3)      Last step is to review all your settings. If everything is OK press Finish.