A friend of mine just tried to install LibreOffice 3.3.2 under the German version of Windows XP. He already had the US version of OpenOffice.org 3.2 installed, which he uninstalled before installing LibreOffice. He does not recall whether the installer ran in English or German, but the installed LibreOffice had a German UI, which he did not want, as he prefers English. Not knowing that he could change the UI language from within the application, he uninstalled it, changed the locale to English, and reinstalled LibreOffice. However, the UI was still in German. I tried to reproduce this on my machine, where I have the English version of Windows XP, using the Greek locale. I switched to the German locale and reinstalled LibreOffice, without uninstalling the previously installed version. The installer ran in English, but the installed application did not run in German. In fact, when I checked the LibreOffice UI Language settings, the only available languages were English (US and UK) and Greek, with no sign of German. It would seem to me that, although the Windows installer is an international installer, not all of the available international support is exposed. Some things that could be improved are: * The installer should make it possible for the user to select the language that the installed programs will use. * Either all supported UI languages should be made available in the Language Preferences, or the user should be given the option to specify which UI languages to install, and only have those available in the preferences. Right now, it seems that the installer makes an arbitrary selection based on the Windows distribution (which is why my friend got the German UI), the current locale (which is why I have the Greek UI available) and the previous LibreOffice installation (which may be the reason why I didn't get the German UI, and he didn't get the English one).
I do not understand any of the problems except that it's difficult to predict with what UI language LibO will start when you have installed more than 1 UI language. @kyrimis@alumni.princeton.edu: please: - Write a meaningful Summary - Attach screenshots with comments if you believe that that might explain the problem better than a text comment. Best way is to insert your screenshots into a DRAW document and to add comments that explain what you want to show - Contribute a step by step instruction containing every key press and every mouse click how to reproduce your problem - add information -- what exactly is unexpected -- and why do you believe it's unexpected (cite Installation instructions on <http://www.libreoffice.org/>, Help or Documentation!) -- concerning your PC -- everything else crossing your mind after you read linked texts
I believe that all I've written boils down to the following: Please make the LibO installer ask the user which of the supported UIs they want to use. The installer should also install all supported UIs, instead of trying to guess which UIs to install, based on the current locale, the version of Windows used (English, German, etc.) and/or the previous installation. Regarding providing more specific details, I'm afraid I can't help you. I reported this bug eight months ago for a friend, using information he'd given me at the time. At this point, all I can do is summarize what I've already written: * My friend installed LibO under German Windows and got a German UI, even though he did not want it. (He probably could have switched to English from the LibO options, though.) * Trying to reproduce this, I switched my locale from Greek to German and reinstalled LibO on top of my US English Windows/Greek locale installation. I got the English UI that I had before, instead of German, and when I went to change the UI from the LibO options, German was not available; only English and Greek. I think you have summarized the problem quite precisely, when you said that "it's difficult to predict with what UI language LibO will start when you have installed more than 1 UI language", to which I will add that it is also difficult to predict *which* UI languages will get installed. Since then, my friend has gone back to OpenOffice 3.2, from which he refuses to budge.
I believe <http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/installation/windows/> explains clearly how UI language installation works ("English and the language of your operating system are selected by default."), so I do not see a bigger problem concerning available UI Languages. I doubt that there is a general interest in always installing all delivered UI languages, if you want, you can submit an Enhancement request for that, but I doubt that that would be integrated. I would resist. To be honest, I do not know how Installer decides what "language of your operating system" might be, but I believe it's the sold version and not the actual selected OS UI language. I think that should be appropriate for 99,9 % of all users. If you see a bigger interest in a more elaborated OS Language detection feature, you should submit a separate enhancement request. So the remaining problem might be "User can't preselect default UI language (with what LibO wil start when launched the first time) during installation. For this one I see (little) need (although also IMHO appropriate for 99,9 % of all users), and it might have Accessibility impact. @kyrimis@alumni.princeton.edu Thank you for additional information.
It looks like what I wanted was "hidden" in the obvious place: the custom installation options! I agree that installing the language of the sold version of the OS and/or the current locale, plus English, should be enough for most people, especially as one can install more UIs by doing a custom installation.
[This is an automated message.] This bug was filed before the changes to Bugzilla on 2011-10-16. Thus it started right out as NEW without ever being explicitly confirmed. The bug is changed to state NEEDINFO for this reason. To move this bug from NEEDINFO back to NEW please check if the bug still persists with the 3.5.0 beta1 or beta2 prereleases. Details on how to test the 3.5.0 beta1 can be found at: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/QA/BugHunting_Session_3.5.0.-1 more detail on this bulk operation: http://nabble.documentfoundation.org/RFC-Operation-Spamzilla-tp3607474p3607474.html
There have been many things discussed in this bug report, but I pick one. As title says: Option to determinate default UI language during installation required I think that option would make sense in a single user - single language environment, but when LibreOffice is installed for multiple users, who may use different languages, it is clear that we should not set a single default language for them at computer level during install. Therefore I resolve this bug as WONTFIX. Otherwise, I keep working on the installer to make it easily understandable, and intuitive. Thanks for your feedback.
(In reply to comment #6) According to my original bug report, not all supported languages were installed, so it wasn't always possible for users to select their preferred language. If all languages are installed now, then it is better to change the resolution to FIXED! If they still aren't, then the bug should be left open, until all supported languages are installed.