Enable the use of other languages in your Office programs

You can change the editing, display, ScreenTip, and Help languages of your Microsoft Office programs so that they are different languages. The languages available depend on the language version of Microsoft Office and any additional language pack, language interface pack, or ScreenTip languages that are installed on your computer. If the proofing tools, display or Help language that you want is not available, you might need to obtain and install a language pack or language interface pack. For more information, see Determine if you need a language pack or language interface pack or Microsoft Office language interface pack overview.

 Note   To type or check the spelling and grammar in another language, see Enable keyboard layouts for different languages or Check spelling and grammar in a different language. For information about how to set the default language and dictionary, see Change the default language for Office programs.

What do you want to do?

Add or set the default editing language

The editing language consists of the keyboard layout and proofing tools for that language. The proofing tools include language-specific features, such as dictionaries for spelling and grammar checking, or paragraph direction buttons.

Add an editing language

Office or Office 2010 programs

  1. Click Start, and then click All Programs.
  2. Click Microsoft Office, and then click Microsoft Office Tools.
  3. Click Microsoft Office Language Preferences.
  4. Under Choose Editing Languages, click the Add additional Editing Languages arrow, select the language that you want to add, and then click Add.
  5. Click OK.


 Notes 

  • After you change the default language, you need to close all Office programs, and then open them again for the change to take effect.
  • If your computer is not properly configured for the editing language that you have added, Not enabled or Not installed may appear in the Keyboard Layout or Proofing columns. If you see either of these alerts, read What does Not enabled or Not installed mean?
  • To enable language-specific options, such as the Hangul Hanja Conversion and Enclose Characters buttons, you must enable an editing language that includes those options.

Office 2007 programs

  1. Click Start, and then click All Programs.
  2. Click Microsoft Office, and then click Microsoft Office Tools.
  3. Click Microsoft Office 2007 Language Settings.
  4. On the Editing Languages tab, select the language or languages you want to add from the Available editing languages list, and then click Add.
  5. Click OK.

Set the default editing language

The default editing language is the language that is used by the proofing tools for all of your documents, unless you select text and change the editing language manually. The language with <default> after the language name is the default editing language. For information on how to manually change the language of text, see Switch between different languages by setting the proofing language.

 Note   To enable language-specific options, such as the Hangul Hanja Conversion and Enclose Characters buttons, you must enable an editing language that includes those options.

Office or Office 2010 programs

  1. Click Start, and then click All Programs.
  2. Click Microsoft Office, and then click Microsoft Office Tools.
  3. Click Microsoft Office Language Preferences.
  4. Under Choose Editing Languages, select the language that you want to be the default editing language, and then click Set as Default.
  5. Click OK.


 Notes 

  • If the language that you want is not listed, you might need to add an additional editing language. For more information, see Add an editing language.
  • After you change the default language, you need to close all Office programs, and then open them again for the change to take effect.

Office 2007 programs

  1. Click Start, and then click All Programs.
  2. Click Microsoft Office, and then click Microsoft Office Tools.
  3. Click Microsoft Office 2007 Language Settings.
  4. On the Editing Languages tab, under Primary editing language, select the language that you want to set as the default.
  5. Click OK.

Is your keyboard layout "Not enabled"?

After you select a language from the language list, you might need to enable a keyboard layout if it says Not enabled.

ShowIn Windows 7

  1. To enable a keyboard layout, click Not enabled.
  2. In the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box, click Add.
  3. In the Add Input Languages dialog box, click the Input language arrow, select the language that you want, and then click Add.

 Note   If you are using more than one language's keyboard layout, you might want to use the Language bar to switch between the different keyboards. Click Language Bar, and then select the options that you want. For more information about the Language bar, see Switch between different languages using the Language bar.

  1. Expand the language that you want to use as the default input language, and then expand Keyboard.
  2. Select the check box for the keyboard or Input Method Editor (IME) (IME: A program that enters East Asian text (Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, or Korean) into programs by converting keystrokes into complex East Asian characters. The IME is treated as an alternate type of keyboard layout.) that you want to use, and then click OK. The language is added to the Default input language list.
  3. Under Default input language, select the language you want to use as the default language.
  4. To close the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box, click OK.

ShowIn Windows Vista

  1. To enable a keyboard layout, click Not enabled.
  2. In the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box, click Add.
  3. In the Add Input Languages dialog box, click the Input language arrow, select the language that you want, and then click Add.

 Note   If you are using more than one language's keyboard layout, you might want to use the Language bar to switch between the different keyboards. Click Language Bar, and then select the options that you want. For more information about the Language bar, see Switch between different languages using the Language bar.

  1. Expand the language that you want to use as the default input language, and then expand Keyboard.
  2. Select the check box for the keyboard or Input Method Editor (IME) (IME: A program that enters East Asian text (Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, or Korean) into programs by converting keystrokes into complex East Asian characters. The IME is treated as an alternate type of keyboard layout.) that you want to use, and then click OK. The language is added to the Default input language list.
  3. Under Default input language, select the language you want to use as the default language.
  4. To close the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box, click OK.

ShowIn Windows XP

  1. To enable a keyboard layout, click Not enabled.
  2. In the Date, Time, Language, and Regional Options dialog box, under Pick a task, click Add other languages.

  3.  Note   In Classic View, double-click Regional and Language Options.

In the Regional and Language Options dialog box, on the Languages tab, click Details.

  1. In the Text Services and Input Languages dialog box, on the Settings tab, click the Default input language down arrow, and then select the default language that you want to use.
  2. In the Installed services box, select the language that you want to add to the Language bar.

 Note   If the language that you want to use as an additional language is not listed in the Installed services box, click Add to open the Add Input Languages dialog box, click the language that you want to expand the list, click Keyboard to expand the Keyboard list, click the check box next to the keyboard layout/IME that you want, click OK, and then click Apply.

  1. If you want to be able to switch keyboard layouts by using the Language bar, under Preferences, click Language Bar, and then select the Show the Language bar on the desktop check box.

For more information about the keyboard layout "Not enabled" message, see What does Not enabled or Not installed mean? To get more information about how to enable a keyboard layout, see Enable keyboard layouts for different languages.

Are your proofing tools "Not installed"?

If your language version of Office doesn't include the proofing tools for the language that you want, you might need to obtain a language pack or language interface pack.

  • To go online and get a language pack, click Not installed.

For more information about the proofing tool "Not installed" message, see What does Not enabled or Not installed mean?

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Set the default display and Help language

The display and Help languages are the languages used in Office for display elements, such as menu items, commands, and tabs in addition to the Help file display language.

Set the default display and Help language

Office or Office 2010 programs

  1. Click Start, and then click All Programs.
  2. Click Microsoft Office, and then click Microsoft Office Tools.
  3. Click Microsoft Office Language Preferences.
  4. Under Choose Display and Help Languages, select the language that you want to be the default language, and then click Set as Default. If you want your Office program language to match your Windows program language, select Match Microsoft Windows.
  5. Click OK.


 Notes 

  • After you change the default language, you need to close all of your Office programs, and then open them again for the change to take effect.
    • If, for some reason, your default display or Help language is not available, Microsoft Office uses the next language in the list that is available.
    • If the language that you want is not listed, you might need to add more language services by clicking How do I get more Display and Help languages from Office.com?

Office 2007 programs

  1. Click Start, and then click All Programs.
  2. Click Microsoft Office, and then click Microsoft Office Tools.
  3. Click Microsoft Office 2007 Language Settings.
  4. On the Display Language tab, under Primary editing language, do the following:
  • Select the Set the Microsoft Office display language to match the Windows display language if you want Office and Windows to display in the same language;
  • Select the language from the Display Microsoft Office menus and dialog boxes in list that that you want as the default language for your Office interface;
  • Select the language from the Display Help in list that you want as the default language for Help and How-to content.
  1. Click OK.

Set the order of the display and Help languages

The order of the languages in the display and Help lists is the order that the languages are used by Microsoft Office. For example, if your display language order is Spanish <default>, German, and Japanese, and the Spanish language tools are removed from your computer, German becomes your default display language.

You can have the display and Help languages match the language of your operating system, or you can have a different language for your operating system, display, and Help.

Office or Office 2010 programs

  1. In the Set the Office Language Preferences dialog box, under Choose display and Help languages, click the language that you want to be the default language, and then click the arrow until the language appears at the top of the list with <default> after its name.

 Note   If the language that you want is not listed, you might need to get a language pack or language interface pack by clicking How do I get more Display and Help languages from Office.com?

  1. Use the up and down arrows to set the order in which you want the languages to be used in the event that a language becomes unavailable.
  2. After you change the default language, you need to close all Office programs, and then open again them for the change to take effect.

Office 2007 programs

  1. In the Language Settings dialog box, under Display language priority order, click the language that you want to be the default language, and then click Up until the language appears at the top of the list.
  2. Use the Up and Down buttons to set the order in which you want the languages to be used in the event that a language becomes unavailable.
  3. Click OK.
  4. After you change the default language, you need to close all office programs, and then open them again for the change to take effect.

Which display language is being used for which Office program?

If you use multiple languages and have customized Office so that it fits the way that you want to work, you can survey all of the Office programs to see which language is the default display language for each.

  • In the Set the Office Language Preferences dialog box, under Choose display and Help languages, click View display languages installed for each Microsoft Office program.

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Choose your ScreenTip language in Office

ScreenTips are small pop-up windows that provide brief, context-sensitive help when you rest the pointer on a display element, such as a button, tab, dialog box control, or menu. Setting the ScreenTip language in one Office program sets it for all of the Office programs that you have installed.

 Note   This feature is only available for the following Office programs: Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, Visio, and Word.

  1. Open a Microsoft Office program, such as Word.
  2. Click the File tab.
  3. Click Options.
  4. Click Language.
  5. In the Set the Office Language Preferences dialog box, under Choose ScreenTip Language, click the arrow to select your ScreenTip language.


 Notes 

  • If the language that you want is not listed, you might need to add more language services. Click How do I get more ScreenTip languages from Office.com?, and then follow the download and installation instructions.
  • After you install a new ScreenTip language, it becomes your default ScreenTip language.

For more information about ScreenTips, see Show or hide ScreenTips.

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Applies to:
Access 2013, Excel 2013, OneNote 2013, Outlook 2013, PowerPoint 2013, Project Professional 2013, Project Standard 2013, Publisher 2013, Word 2013, Access 2010, Excel 2010, OneNote 2010, Outlook 2010, PowerPoint 2010, Project 2010, Publisher 2010, Word 2010