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How to Make SharePoint Navigation Use Each User's Preferred Language
Question details
The user configured SharePoint menu translations, but changing the computer's regional language to French did not update the SharePoint site menu language.
- Product
- Microsoft SharePoint
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Configuring multilingual site navigation so that menus and interface elements appear in each user's native or preferred language.
- Observed behavior
- The SharePoint navigation menu remains in the default language despite changing the computer OS language, because SharePoint relies on Microsoft 365 profile or browser settings rather than local regional settings.
Ensure you have Site Owner or Site Administrator permissions to access and modify the Language Settings for your SharePoint site.
Enable Multiple Language User Interface in Site Settings
Turn on SharePoint's built-in Multiple Language User Interface (MUI) feature to allow the site interface and navigation to display in alternate languages.
Before users can see navigation menus in their preferred language, the site administrator must explicitly enable those languages within the site's backend settings.
Navigate to your SharePoint site, click the gear icon in the top right corner to open the Settings pane, and select 'Site Information'.
At the bottom of the Site Information panel, click on 'View all site settings'.
Under the Site Administration section, click on 'Language Settings'.
Toggle on 'Enable pages and news to be translated into multiple languages' (or 'Enable multiple languages' for classic sites) and select your desired alternate languages, such as French, from the available list, then click Save.
Set Preferred Language in Microsoft 365 Profile or Browser
SharePoint reads the user's Microsoft 365 profile language or web browser language to determine which enabled language to display.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why didn't my SharePoint navigation language change when I changed my computer's language?
SharePoint does not use your computer's OS regional settings for its interface language. Instead, it reads the preferred language configured in your Microsoft 365 profile or your web browser's language settings.
How do I add multiple languages to a SharePoint site?
Site administrators can add multiple languages by navigating to Site Settings, selecting Language Settings, enabling the Multiple Language User Interface, and selecting the alternate languages to make available to users.
Will changing my SharePoint display language affect other users on the site?
No. If you change your preferred language in your Microsoft 365 profile or browser, the SharePoint navigation will only display in that language for your account, provided the site administrator has enabled that language.
Does the multilingual page selector change the site menus?
No, the multilingual publishing language selector typically redirects users to a translated version of a specific page's content, but it does not change the overall site navigation menus or backend interface language.
