Universal Language Selector/FAQ

What is the Universal Language Selector
Universal Language Selector is a MediaWiki Extension that allows users to change language settings and configurations as per their preference. It uses the jQuery libraries from Project Milkshake.

What are the Language Settings that I can modify using ULS
Universal Language Selector offers the following features on Wikimedia wikis:
 * 1) User interface language selection for logged in users.
 * 2) Web fonts
 * 3) Input methods

How does Universal Language Selector determine which languages I may understand
ULS queries a service that determines your originating country based on your IP address. This is inaccurate in some cases. Based on the country code, most often spoken languages are suggested for you.

My MediaWiki installation already has Narayam and WebFonts installed. Do I still need the Universal Language Selector
Universal Language Selector provides the functionalities of Narayam and WebFonts and some more features. However, Narayam and WebFonts will not be maintained any more and you will lose out on the updates that will introduce more language configuration features through ULS

When do I have to stop using Narayam and WebFonts on my Wiki
Sooner the better.

If your Wiki is part of the Wikimedia project wikis, then Narayam and WebFonts will be removed during the ULS deployment phases. The wiki admins will be informed when the removal date is set.

My wiki has Inter-language links. Can I use ULS with it
Yes. ULS will be available next to the list of languages on the side-bar, and can be activated using the cog/gear icon. ULS will also be available from the Special:Preferences page for logged-in users. (Needs Screenshot)

My wiki does not use Inter-language links. Can I use ULS with it
Yes. ULS will be available and can be activated from the link near the user account information at the top of the page. (Needs Screenshot)

Where is Universal Language Selector available
The current planning is to make Universal Language Selector available on all Wikimedia wikis as soon as possible. Check the deployment planning for details.

How can I use Universal Language Selector
On projects with language versions (Wikipedia, Wikibooks, Wikiversity, Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikivoyage, Wikinews, Wikisource) Universal Language Selector is visible as a cog icon in the menu area for interlanguage links. In Wikimedia projects without language versions (for example Wikimedia Commons, Meta-Wiki, Wikispecies and this wiki mediawiki.org), ULS is available as an icon in the personal toolbar at the top of the page.

Click the icon, make settings and confirm them to have the settings remain active.

A small keyboard icon will appear for all fields that allow text input. Select it to make changes to the settings.

How can I change the Display language
The language used to display the MediaWiki interface messages can be changed using the Language Settings panel of ULS.

This feature is only available for logged-in users.

After logging-in, you can open the Language Settings panel and navigate to the Language tab of the Display settings.

For quick selection, ULS will display a list of prevalent languages based on your location. You can click to select the language of your choice.

If the language you are looking for is not on the panel, you can click on the ... button to open the longer list of languages to search and select.

Do I need to be logged in to be able to change the Display language
Yes. The display language can only be changed by logged-in users.

If I change the Display language, will this change the language of the content on the page I am viewing
No. ULS does not change the language of the content on the page. It can be used to only change the language of the interface messages of MediaWiki.

I see boxes in the text when I select my language
We call these boxes 'tofu' and this occurs when there are no fonts for the language that has been selected.

You can install a local font on your system to correct this situation.

But to prevent a similar in future we would like to ensure that our web-fonts library has fonts for your language.

Please let us know, preferably through http://bugzilla.wikimedia.org

Why can anonymous users not use Universal Language Selector to change their interface language
The Wikimedia cache infrastructure currently does not support this. We are looking into making this possible in the future. There is no timeline for this.

How can I disable Universal Language Selector
Only part of the functionality can be disabled.

Input methods can be completely disabled by clicking the keyboard icon and clicking "Disable input tools".

Web fonts can only be disabled per language in the settings.

Where can I report a problem
Please report problems and suggestions in Bugzilla. Please ensure to report as much detail as you can.