Installing languages in Lightweight Edition [SOLVED]

palbertsma · **Joined:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 8:34 pm **Posts:** 5

Hi,

I just downloaded the ISO of the Lightweight version of UberStudent and installed it, as I choose during installation for Dutch as language.

I like this Linux distro very much, but actually the language is still English. I tried to install the Dutch language from within UberStudent, but I didn't succeed!

I tried to uninstall English and then to install Dutch, but to no avail! I logged out and back in again: no solution. I rebooted into UberStudent: no solution either!

Does anybody know how to manage to turn US into the Dutch language?

Many thanks in advance for helping!

Paul

Stephen Ewen · **Posted:** Mon Jan 21, 2013 4:58 am

Updated directions after issue pointed out below. These steps work to install multi-language support in to UberStudent 2.0 Lightweight.

I did a clean install of the Lightweight Edition and did the following things to transform almost everything in to Dutch language. The same steps apply to installing any language.

Steps to Switch Languages in UberStudent Lightweight Edition

1. Boot in to the system.

2. Open a terminal and input the following and run it:

Code:

sudo apt-get install --reinstall locales lxpanel lxpanel-indicator-applet-plugin pcmanfm lightdm-gtk-greeter lxsession

And then:

Code:

sudo apt-get install xdg-user-dirs-gtk localization-config

3. Go to Applications → Preferences → Language Support → Install / Remove Languages ... and tick the box for the language you wish to install, and then click 'Apply Changes' and input your password. This will install a bunch of packages for support of that language.

4. Once the language pack installations complete, find the grayed-out language you just installed and click on it and drag it upward, all the way to the top of the available languages, and drop it there. This will turn the text of that language black. Then click 'Apply System Wide.' Then in the tab 'Regional Formats' apply the setting for dates and numbers for your language.

5. Go to Applications → System Tools → UberStudent Control Center → Autostart and tick User folders update so it starts at startup.

6. Now log out and log back in.

7. After you log in, a dialog will open from xdg-user-dirs-gtk, which you installed and made autorun at startup above, asking you if you want to create home directories in your language. If you choose so, it will make the directories. Now, first move any old files from the old directories in to the new ones for your language (!) and then simply delete the English directories manually.

8. Done. The result:

Caveats
1. A variety of programs may not have language support for your language. If you think a program ought but the translations are not appearing, search in Synaptic for a language pack for the program and install it. If no language pack appears, try reinstalling the program itself. Then log out and log back in. If neither works, then that program has not yet been translated in to your language. You might consider helping the developer in that regard.

2. It should work just fine, but I have not tested app2menu with menus in a language other than English.

3. The Applications and Places menus will not change languages, because they are SVG images that are part of the default theme. The menu images are located at /usr/share/themes/A+DarkSilver/menu-bg/. You can copy the images somwhere to your home directory and then open them in a program such as Inkscape and edit/translate them, if you wish. Then move the images back with a new name, and change the images from the panel. If you do that, email the translated images to UberStudent so they can be considered for inclusion in the next release.

4. When later installing new packages, if you get a perl warning about locales, take these steps.

palbertsma · **Joined:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 8:34 pm **Posts:** 5

It's amazing how thoroughly you explained the whole procedure for adding a language and make it the system wide default one! Thank you very, very much! I greatly apreciate your wonderful job.

In fact I don't dare to say, but it didn't solve MY problem! I understand that you added the word "[SOLVED]" to this subject, but this is not the case for me.
As I understand that in your case it IS SOLVED, I can state that my problem IS my problem; in other words: something must have gone wrong, and so I plan to start all over again with the installation of UberStudent. I know it's the hard way, but I can't see another way-out now.

I will let you know how things went afterwards.

But again: thank you very, very much for doing so much to try to solve my problem!

palbertsma · **Joined:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 8:34 pm **Posts:** 5

Unfortunately, it did not work out! :cry:

I followed your instructions, but the Dutch language still does not show up in the list, let alone grayed-out, let alone to be put to the top of the list, let alone to be assigned the default system wide language!

So, as far as me concerned: this thread/problem IS NOT SOLVED!

I have done whatever is possible: I literally followed your detailed and good instructions, but it did not bring me the solution!

I will be looking to http://www.distrowatch.com and have to look for another distro...

Again: thank you very much for being so supportive and explanatory!

Paul

Stephen Ewen · **Posted:** Wed Jan 23, 2013 10:11 am

That there was trouble with this really bothered me, so I did another clean installation of the Lightweight Edition and worked through the steps.

I'm sorry to say I missed one tiny thing that made all the difference.

Above I stated to run this:

Code:

sudo apt-get install locales

It SHOULD have been written as this:

Code:

sudo apt-get install --reinstall locales

I.e., I forgot to write in the --reinstall switch.

I apologize for this. :oops:

I've corrected the directions. While I was at it, I condensed two of the steps.

After I did the correction and condensed the two steps, I again did a clean installation of the Lightweight Edition and worked through the above directions step-by-step. Here's the result:

palbertsma · **Joined:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 8:34 pm **Posts:** 5

Thank you very much, as I really like to try out UberStudent! And I must say that Ubuntu is too heavy for my netbook, so I really want to give it another try!

Now I will be out very soon, but I will re-install US this evening or tomorrow and then I'll let you know how things worked out.

For now: thanks again for being so empathetic and helpful: I really appreciate this!

Paul

palbertsma · **Joined:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 8:34 pm **Posts:** 5

YES!!

It finally worked!

Steven, I found that your corrections in your tutorial are just fine right now :!:

Now I can confirm that this issue about the lack of installing languages is SOLVED!!

Again, Steven: due to your exhausting trials of installing UberStudent and writing a tutorial that is fine in the end, I am able to use your fine OS: thanks again!

I will save this thread as a pdf - very easy because of the built-in feature - in Google Chrome; but hopefully you are able to implement these after-install instructions in your future release of UberStudent, or even in a update in this present release?

B.T.W.: I didn't see a feature to automatically update the OS, as in e.g. Ubuntu: is this present in UberStudent?

Thank you for your help and your reply!

Paul

Stephen Ewen · **Posted:** Wed Jan 23, 2013 11:50 pm

Yes, excellent idea, in the next release I will include an "Install Multi-language Support" item that does everything with a few clicks.

You can run Updates from the System menu.

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Installing languages in Lightweight Edition [SOLVED]

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