# Selecting the Document Language

/text/shared/guide/language_select.xhp
languages; selecting for text
documents; languages
characters; language selection
character styles;language selection
text; language selection
paragraph styles; languages
drawings; languages
defaults;languages
spellcheck; default languages
dictionaries, see also languages
mw deleted "applying;" and changed "languages;"
Selecting the Document Language
The language you select for your document determines the dictionary used for spellcheck, thesaurus and hyphenation, the decimal and thousands delimiter used and the default currency format.
- The language you select applies to the whole document.
- Within the document, you can apply a separate language to any paragraph style. This has priority over the language of the whole document.
- You can assign a language to selected pieces of text in a paragraph, either by direct formatting or with a character style. This assignment has priority over the paragraph style and document language.
Selecting a language for the whole document
- Choose %PRODUCTNAME - Preferences Tools - Options. Go to Language Settings - Languages.
- Under Default languages for documents, select the document language for all newly created documents. If you mark For the current document only, your choice will only apply to the current document. Close the dialog with OK.
Selecting a language for a Paragraph Style
- Place the cursor in the paragraph whose paragraph style you want to edit.
- Open the context menu and select Edit Paragraph Style. This opens the Paragraph Style dialog.
- Select the Font tab.
- Select the Language and click OK.
  All paragraphs formatted with the current paragraph style will have the selected language.
Applying a language directly to selected text
- Select the text to which you want to apply a language.
- Choose Format - Character. This opens the Character dialog.
- Select the Font tab.
- Select the Language and click OK.
In %PRODUCTNAME Calc, choose Format - Cells and proceed accordingly.
Selecting a language for a Character Style
- Open the Styles and Formatting window and click on the Character Styles icon.
- Click on the name of the character style to which you want to apply a different language.
- Then open the context menu in the Styles and Formatting window and select Modify. This opens the Character Style dialog.
- Select the Font tab.
- Select the Language and click OK.
  Now you can apply the character style to your selected text.
UFI: see i76182
Adding More Text Languages
- Dictionaries are supplied and installed as extensions. Choose Tools - Language - More Dictionaries Online to open the dictionaries page in your default web browser.
- Select a dictionary in the list of descriptions. Click the heading in a dictionary description that you want to get.
- In the next page, click the Get It icon to download the dictionary extension. Note the folder name to which your browser downloads the file. Download additional dictionaries as you like.
- In %PRODUCTNAME, choose Tools - Extension Manager and click Add to install the downloaded extensions.
- After you installed the extensions, you should close %PRODUCTNAME (including the Quickstarter), and restart.
Setting UI Language
A standard installation of %PRODUCTNAME software will give you a user interface (UI) of your chosen language.
Most users download the American English version, which gives you English menu commands and English application help. If you want another language for the menus (and for the application help, if available in that language), change the UI language as follows.
- Choose %PRODUCTNAME - Preferences Tools - Options - Language Settings - Languages.
- Select another UI language in the "User interface" listbox.
- Click OK and restart the %PRODUCTNAME software.
- If the listbox doesn't list the language that you want, see "Adding More UI Languages".
Adding More UI Languages
- Close %PRODUCTNAME software (also close the Quickstarter, if you enabled it).
- Run %PRODUCTNAME installer, choose Modify, then select the language that you would like to install from the Additional user interface languages group.
If you use %PRODUCTNAME packages maintaned by your Linux distribution, follow the steps below.
- Close %PRODUCTNAME software (also close the Quickstarter, if you enabled it).
- Open your favourite package manager, look for %PRODUCTNAME language packs, and install the languages that you would like to use.
If you downloaded %PRODUCTNAME packages from the main %PRODUCTNAME Web site, follow the steps below.
- Open your Web browser and enter http://www.libreoffice.org/download/
- Select and download the correct language pack for your version of %PRODUCTNAME software.
- Close %PRODUCTNAME software (also close the Quickstarter, if you enabled it).
- Install the language pack. Unpack tar.gz file and install the packages according to standard practice on your platform.
- Open your Web browser and enter http://www.libreoffice.org/download/
- Select and download the correct language pack for your version of %PRODUCTNAME software.
- Close %PRODUCTNAME software (also close the Quickstarter, if you enabled it).
- Install the language pack by double-clicking the dmg file.
%PRODUCTNAME - Preferences
Tools - Options
- Language Settings - Languages
Format - Character - Font