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MagicPost keeps one JSON file per language in the lang folder at the root of your install, for example lang/en.json and lang/de.json. Each file maps an English phrase to its translation. The Language Manager loads those files into a database table so you can edit them in the browser, and writes them back to the files when you save. The install ships with language files for Arabic, Danish, German, Greek, English, Spanish, French, Indonesian, Italian, Kazakh, Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese, Swedish and Thai. English is the source language and is always complete. Several of the other files have empty values for phrases that have not been translated yet. Open Platform, Backend Settings, Language Manager. The page offers these tools:
  • Default Language and Add New Language at the top.
  • Installed Languages with one row per language.
  • Reinstall Language Files and Publish All JSON Files buttons.

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Add a language

1

Pick the language

In Add New Language, choose a language from Select language to add and click Add. The list contains every supported language that is not installed yet. When none is left it reads “All supported locales are already installed.”
2

Translate it

You land on the editing page for the new language. Its column starts empty.
Adding a language creates a column for it in the translations table. It does not create the JSON file yet. Follow Translate the interface and then generate the file.

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Translate the interface

1

Open the strings

In Installed Languages, open the menu at the end of the language’s row and choose Edit Strings.
2

Find a phrase

The page is titled Editing Language. Use Filter strings… to narrow the list. Source string (en) is the English phrase and Translation is where you type.
3

Save

Click Save. The message “Strings saved successfully” confirms it. Saving updates the database and rewrites that language’s JSON file in lang/ in the same step.
Keep placeholders such as :name or :count exactly as they are in the English phrase. They are replaced with real values when the text is shown.

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Translate with an online tool

For a full translation it is faster to translate a whole file.
  1. In the row menu choose Generate JSON File. This writes lang/CODE.json for that language.
  2. Download the file and translate it with the tool of your choice. Keep the English keys on the left unchanged.
  3. Upload the translated file to the lang folder, replacing the original.
  4. Click Reinstall Language Files so the Language Manager picks it up.

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Make a language available

The checkbox on each row in Installed Languages controls whether that language is offered to people. It saves as soon as you change it (“Saved successfully”). The checkbox of the language you are currently viewing the page in is disabled. People see the language switcher only when more than one language is switched on. It appears in the footer and menu of the public site and in the user menu inside the dashboard.

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Set the default language

In Default Language, choose a language and click Set. The default loads for new visitors. The list shows only languages whose checkbox is on, so switch a language on first and refresh the page if it is missing. The confirmation reads “Default language successfully set”. Only admins can change it, and it applies to everyone. The default language has no prefix in the address. Other languages appear in the address with their language code at the start of the path.

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Publish all language files

Publish All JSON Files writes lang/CODE.json for every language except English from the database in one go, including languages you just added. To write the file for one language only, use Generate JSON File in its row menu.

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Reinstall language files

Reinstall Language Files rebuilds the translations table from the JSON files in lang/. Use it:
  • after you upload or replace a language file, and
  • after an update adds new phrases to lang/en.json.
Reinstalling drops and recreates the translations table, then imports every lang/*.json file. Before it does, MagicPost tries to back up the database with mysqldump into storage/backups/ and keeps the latest 3 backups. If mysqldump is not available on your server, no backup is written. Keep your own backup, and make sure your edits are saved to the JSON files first.
If a language file contains a language MagicPost has no column for, the column is created during reinstall. After an update, check the changelog for a note about new phrases, see Changelog, and reinstall so they appear in your language files.

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Changing the language yourself

Each person chooses their own language from the user menu when more than one is switched on. See Language and theme.