Wow. Do you have an English version of InDesign but you wish the menus were in Italian? Do you have a Swedish version but you wish the dialog boxes were in English? I just found a free application on the Web that will change the UI (user interface) to any one of a dozen or so languages.
[Editor’s note: This script no longer works in later versions of Mac OS. And it doesn’t work in CS6 or CC. However, see links at bottom of this article for more options.]
Unfortunately, this app appears to be Mac OS only, but the fact that it works would imply that Adobe actually puts all those languages into the program. If so, then perhaps there is a trick on Windows that would do it, too. (My guess is that it has to do with the Registry. Everything seems to involve the Registry!)
The app works like this: You double-click the app and it asks you to find your copy of InDesign. (No, it doesn’t appear to work with anything other than ID.) Then you choose a language:
When you click OK, it quits. But the next time you launch InDesign, it’s in the different language! If you run the app again, it says it can restore you back to your original language, which is very handy.
Look, I have no idea if this causes any other weirdness with InDesign. One person on the InDesign team at Adobe who saw it said, “this is totally a ‘use at your own risk’ scenario.” But I was so excited that I went and tried a bunch of different languages, and it seems to work fine… with one significant exception: In CS4, all my panels and keyboard shortctuts disappeared! That’s bad. But I poked around for a while and found a workaround. More on that in a minute. But first, check out these two screen shots from my (US) copy of InDesign:
Not all the interface elements work perfectly. For example, sometimes text gets cut off weirdly:
But in general, all the languages I tried seem to work okay.
Workspaces and Shortcuts
When I tested this in CS3, the panels and shortcuts all worked without a hiccup. But CS4 seems to be different, and it opens with no panels at all–not even a Tools panel! Fortunately, I found that you can manually choose each of the panels from the Window menu (or whatever that menu is called in the language you’re using). It’s tedious, but it mostly works. Note that at first, most of the panels are docked into a single panel:
But there appears to be an easier way to “reset” the panels. At least this worked for me on my US English version. Tell me if it works in other languages.
First, note that in Applications/Adobe InDesign/Presets/InDesign Workspaces there is a folder called en_US. Let’s say you are switching to Russian. You need to duplicate the folder you have and call it ru_RU . Then, when you launch InDesign, you have to choose one of the workspaces (such as “Advanced”) from the Window>Workspace menu:
Similarly, you can get your keyboard shortcuts by duplicating the en_EN folder inside Presets/InDesign Shortcut Sets (and then renaming it, of course). Then, after launching InDesign, you have to choose Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts (using whatever language you’re in now) and choose Default from the Keyboard Shortcut set popup menu. When you click OK, the KBSC should work again.
Of course, the tricky thing is to figure out what the duplicate folder should be named. For example, if you switch to German, it should be de_DE, Korean is ko_KR, and Finnish is he_IL… I think. Or maybe that’s Italian. I can’t remember. Here is the trick to finding out: After you switch to a language and launch InDesign, the program creates a new folder inside the Home/Library/Preferences/Adobe InDesign/Version 6.0 folder. Look inside that folder and you will see how InDesign named the folder. Use that same name in the Presets locations above!
Fortunately, you only have to do this once for each language you want to use.
How Good is the Translation?
My foreign language experience is limited to high school Spanish and the ability to order a beer in Germany and Japan. So I cannot pass judgement on how good these translations are. From what I’ve heard from other users, this may not be exactly the same as the versions that Adobe ships in other countries, but it’s pretty close.
One person I talked with also pointed out that changing your version of InDesign may break the terms of your license agreement with Adobe. So I’m not encouraging you or inciting you to do this! But I have to tell you that it’s dang cool that this little app works at all, as it’s something I’ve wanted to be able to do ever since I started demoing InDesign to groups overseas. (Quark Passport used to have a menu item right in the program that let you do this. Very convenient!)
Oh, that reminds me of something else: Changing the user interface language doesn’t add any additional features. For example, you can change the UI to Japanese, but that won’t give you any of the cool Japanese features (rubi, vertical text, and so on). And I found it interesting that you can not change the language to Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Chinese, or Klingon. (Yes, there is an “Other” field, so I felt compelled to try.)
If you decide you want to use it, you can download it from here. Let me know (below) what works and (if anything) what doesn’t.
Update: Some users have had trouble with that app in Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion). Here is an updated version that should work!
Update 2: If you’re using CS6 or CC or later, you’ll need this newer technique.
Update 3: If you’re using CS3, CS4, or CS5 with a new Mac OS, the app itself may not work. Here’s a (geeky, technical) way to do it manually.
This article was last modified on December 20, 2021
This article was first published on October 7, 2009
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Thank you very very much! It works perfectly.
I am getting this message any idea??
Screen Shot 2017-06-11 at 11.11.46 PM
Great help David! muchas gracias :)
Great!!! the geeky way worked fine for me, thanks!
Thanks David, your guide worked. I actually edited the language pref with xcode. Worked flawlessly. Much appreciated.
If you’re using CS3, CS4, or CS5 and the app doesn’t work for you (because of your Mac operating system), I think I may have found a solution. It’s geeky and potentially dangerous, but it seems to work.
0. Quit InDesign first.
1. Right-click the InDesign application and choose Show Package Contents
2. Navigate to: /Applications/Adobe InDesign CS4/Adobe InDesign CS4.app/Contents/Info.plist
3. Use a plist editor utility (there are free ones you can find on the web, like Pref Setter) to open that plist file
4. Look for a key in the plist file called CFBundleDevelopmentRegion
5. In the US version, this says “English”. Try changing it to Spanish or some other language (Swedish, French, Dutch, German, Greek, Norwegian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Italian, etc.), then save the plist and relaunch InDesign.
6. You’ll likely have the same workspace problems described in the article above, so read that over to see how to get your panels back.
Warning: I don’t actually know if this violates the EULA, and I am not responsible if it messes up your copy of InDesign. Make sure you have a backup. It worked for me, and it appears to be how the applescript above works.
Thanks, this worked!
I finally get it working! That:
“Update: Some users have had trouble with that app in Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion). Here is an updated version that should work!”
-file.
It said first its damaged but when i changed mac privacy settings it worked perfectly. Thank you!
///If the file comes up damaged in OSX 9.5 (Mavericks) you can solve it by going to System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> Click little padlock to make changes -> Type your password -> Choose “Everywhere” in the previously greyed out, now clickable area.
And I have CS5. I also have JAVA6 downloaded.
Doesn’t work on OS X El Capitan 10.11.2. Says “file is damaged”, even the newest one (i tried all links on this site). Do anyone have any solutions for this?
Hey david, thanks a bunch, this is a life saving feature for those of us working out of our home countries.
i was able to change the language, everything worked/
but i wasnt able to put back the keyboard shortcuts.
i duplicated the folder, renamed it in english, but when i go to
Edit > Keyboard Shortcut, i can not choose Default from the popup menu. i can not click on that menu to open it, and when i try New Set… or Show Set… nothing happens. i am able to open the other popup menu Product Area, and navigate through the different menus, but is there a way to not have to rewrite every command? i am not even aware of them.
then i tried what Catherine said earlier about toggling through all the options.
however, when i hit ok it shot me a message saying ”cant update the file for the set ””. the set ”” is probably locked.’
any ideas on how to fix this or other alternative methods to get the keyboard shortcuts back? i cant even navigate with the arrows, it’s maddening.
thank you!
Hello! How can I do to change the indesign language which was installed with german language to english version?
thanks,
Read or at least skim ALL the comments, all your questions have already been answered.
I Have mac 0s 10.9.5, nothings works to change my language which is greek! I tried everything you said, is there another way?? Thanks
Hi there! I am using Yosemite and I get the message that the app is broken. Please help. Anna
Is there any update for Mac OS X Yosemite ?
Thank you
Thx got an old Mac ox 10.6.8 & couldn’t find a version fitting my still 32 bit (; so it was very hepful :)
My Mac 10.9.3 can you help me
I have mac 10.9.5 did you got change language with this program?
I download it put it dose not work with me it appear as fy signal
I have ID cs5
what should I do
Worked like a charm to disable the security Gateway and then run the application to switch to English.
Perfect! Thank you!
T
Same problem as Jordan – Mac OSX 10.7.5, Indesign CS6
How to switch the interface language from Russian to English?
Please HELP!!!
Lina (and others): Did you see that there is a different blog post (see link at end of article above) for CS6 and CC?
Hi,
I am using Indesign CS5 on Yosemite. I have been getting this error “You can’t open the application “ChangeIDmenuLanguage” because PowerPC applications are no longer supported.”
Any help on this please is appreciated.
I’m running greek cs5 on Mountain Lion, and I still can’t get the updated version of the app to work. My GateKeeper preferences are set to allow all apps, whether or not they are sanctioned by apple. Every time I try to run the language change app, I get a message that says “Application not Running”, and I never get the dialogue box that tells me which language to select. Naturally my InDesign is still in Greek. Can anyone help me out here? I’m running disk utilities on my mac but somehow I doubt that will help…
To fix the problem with numbers, you need to go into the paragraph style settings. Under ‘middle east character formats’, make sure ‘digits’ says ‘arabic’. In indents and spacing, change ‘paragraph direction’ to ‘left to right’.
I also found that the shortcuts problem could be taken care of by opening ‘keyboard shortcuts’ under ‘edit’ and toggling through all the options (not changing any) then pressing okay.
HEY Catherine,
everything worked but i wasnt able to change the keyboard shortcuts back,
so i tried what you said about toggling through all the options.
however, it shot me a message saying ”cant update the file for the set ””. the set ”” is probably locked.’
any ideas on how to fix this or other alternative methods to get the keyboard shortcuts back? i cant even navigate with the arrows, it’s maddening.
thank you!
Worked for me. Thanks mate
Hi, my numbers remain in greek or arabe. This concerns only the working document. How can I change this?? If i type 1,2,3 or other numbers i only see greek numbers…
@sig: Do you mean numbers you type in a text frame? or numbers in dialog boxes and panels? Generally, this is controlled by your operating system, not InDesign.
Hiii, when I type numbers, it’s still in the default language, help please :(
Hi guys,
Wont work with ID CS6. I’ve been playing around with the language files, tried renaming them, and swapping them around etc. as was the fix for some of the other applications within CS6.
Can anyone point me in the right direction? I’m happy to dive around in the language files if required (although if this app worked with CS6, it’d be quicker and simpler).
Cheers
YAYYY THANK YOU
This language change Lion app worked great for me. The only issue now seems to be the workspace toolbar is still showing up in the original language. Can the workspace be changed too?
Hopefully there is a solution to change 100% of the language. Thanks!
When i open the app it keeps saying that there is it unexpected closed what do i do?
Vanessa. Go to System Preferences> Security & Privacy>
Then allow “Applications downloaded from anywhere”
That should fix it. Did for me :)
We’ve moved to a new server system and we’re having some trouble with the files; please try back in a couple of days and it should be available again.
Please upload again !! Error 404 please !!!! i need this app
the page error. i cannot find that app
Okay, I think the file is available now. Try again?
I’m running 10.8.3 and get an error message that says that the app is damaged and cant be opened. Any fix for this?
I’m having the same problem as well please help!
thanks, it really works.
…not in cs6 osx 10.8
Hi everybody
I made it on my greek version.
First of all i duplicated the folder (el_GR – it_IT) for the 2 folders.
Afterwards I launched the language app (IT).
Everything is ok but worspace doesn’t appear.
I found it out by clicking on the 4th of workspace (don’t know what it is, i cant get Greek).
it worked out
what about cs6?! please help! my indesign is in spanish and im not used to it!
Has anyone tried using this on 10.8, it keeps quitting unexpectedly.
Anyone have any ideas?
Rats!
No work on CS7.
Mac Lion.
Seems to work with CS7 in OSX 10.7.5.
Though during startup the program says it seems to be damaged and that I should reinstall.
Did not comply, of course.
Marie who changed from greek to swedish.
This is fantastic! Worked on CS5 on my Mac. Was in Greek originally @_@ Works perfectly in English now.
Also see message “PowerPC applications no longer supported”
Any suggestions how to get around this?
Hey guys, any tips about the message from apple “Can’t open PowerPC applications”… ???
Please help me, greek language is just hurting my eyes :)
Just thank you for your post!
Is this app legal? where can I find more information about it?
thanks masta…:)
hey i downloaded the changeIDmenuLanguage app but i open the zip file and get this response ” You cant open the application because PowerPC applications are no longer supported”
can anybody help me
I’m having the same issue as Jordan. Recently changed my Indesign from Greek to English however numbers remain in Greek! Can anyone help here please????
Thanks,
B
Thanks for the advice on this. Installed the ChangeIDmenulanguage_lion app and changed the language of my CS5 Indesign to English.
Now the problem is that all of the numbers (0~9) are in Arabic working within a document. Outside of the document and within the menus, the numbers are normal.
I even tried installing a new font from an English website and it converted the numbers to Arabic.
The default dictionary was also in Arabic when we restarted the program. I’ve tried reusing the changeIDmenulanguage app to reinstall English, but it doesn’t work.
Anyone know how to change the working numbers within a document from Arabic to English?
did you find a solution? would be really nice to hear it!
@Van: Can you try turning off GateKeeper in Mountain Lion and trying the script then? Then you can turn GateKeeper back on. https://support.apple.com/kb/HT5290?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
I had the same problem. But onnce I turning off the GateKeeper, the app’s doing fine. Thank you very much :)
I can also confirm that the updated fix doesn’t work with Mountain Lion. Any chance of another update? :)
The language fix doesn’t seem to work for Mountain Lion. Says file is damaged.
@David: Ah, Thanks a bunch!
@Steven: Yes, see the link at the end of the blog post that directs to the new Lion version.
It appears that this script no longer works in CS6, but you’re still on CS5, so that’s good.
When i try to open the unzipped file a message pops up saying that maybe the files is damaged and i should send it to the trashcan…
I receive the same notification that the files are damaged
I keep getting a message that says it no longer runs power PC applications when I run this :/ am I doing something wrong? this is indesign 5 and I am running Lion 10.7.3
one language policy sucks, sometimes ppl gets more comfy with another language
Yeah tried to figure it out but came up with nothing.. Hope someone else is able to..
Does not work on InDesign CS6, they changed something here…
Hi David,
I’ve changed the UI language from English to Italian and everything worked perfectly!
Even Workspaces and Shortcuts have been transleted in Italian, using your trick!
Tested on Mac OS 10.7 with ID CS5.5
Thanks :)
Hi!
I just tried it with my brand-new CS6 and it doesn’t seem to work :(
I tried to figure it out myself but came up empty.. Would there be any chance to make it work? I’m a Dutch guy living in Turkey and although I speak Turkish I am really -lost- in the Turkish interface :s
Thanks a lot in advance
So easy, thanks David!
Absolutely brilliant! Thanks for the post.
¡¡¡¡¡¡ Thanks !!!!! I used the google translator to let this comment hehehehe: 0)
It worked! thank you very much.
I have Mac Os Lion and this worked well.
I’m from Guatemala, used the English, but I made ??Spanish thanks to you.
I wanted to receive my thanks for this I used the google translator!
Great contribution brother!
I hope you understand!
Thanks again!
I have just received an updated version of this script that should work for people using Lion. See the link at the end of the article, above.
You can donate to the scripter by clicking the donate button on this web site: https://scriptingevents.com/
Thanks!
Have been using English CS3 on Mac OS X for several years, but had to (gulp) buy Japanese InDesign 5.5 to get the Japanese-only features. (I live in Japan and self-publish bilingual materials.) Today I changed the menus, workspaces, and keyboard shortcuts to English just as explained, and all seems to be working as promised. (It’s important to do all three of these changes or you’ll be frustrated.) Hopefully I will not run into any problems. So far it looks like this will be a great timesaver!
I have just run this script and i can say that is the best, the easiest and the most useful application i’ve never seen.
I am working with InDesign CS5 but i wish if it’s possible get the same software for the others programs in Adobe Suit package (Photoshop, Flash, Acrobat…)
Sincerely, THANKS!!!
How to make a donation to contribute to the development of release for Mac 10.7? This application is incredibly useful!
I’ve tried on cs5 and it works but i have one little question…
Does this app works with the rest of the adobe suite as well? if not is there any other app for illustrator, photoshop etc…?
thanks
I tried running the free app but said I can not open the application because PowerPC applications are no longer supported. I have Indesign CS5 in German, which is a nightmare, and would like to shane it to spanish or, at least, to English. Any help?
Thanks,
Enrique
Unfortunately need rosetta.
I hope to be updated soon.
for me ok with cs5 on mac
I just try to indesign 5.5 and works perfect!!!
I switched from English to Spanish
I believe one of your commercials caused my web browser to resize, you probably want to put that in your blacklist. Change InDesign’s UI Language with Free App | InDesignSecrets is a cool name for a blog BTW ;)
Leo: “all shortcuts stopped working, unfortunately!” Yep. That’s what David said in his post, didn’t he?
“[…] you can get your keyboard shortcuts by duplicating the en_EN folder inside Presets/InDesign Shortcut Sets (and then renaming it, of course).”
Hi, I used the plug in and it worked, although all my shortcuts arent working anymore…any ideas how to solve this problem?
Thanks,
L
thanks for your advice, it works fine with CS3.
I encountered a minor problem with the online help that, after changing the registry key, does not open
…sorry for my english
@Eli: That sounds very strange. When you run the script again, it should ask if you want to change it back to French. Do you only have CS on your computer? Are you on mac or windows?
I tried running the script for my version of InDesign CS, which was in French and I wanted in English. Now when I open ID there is only the “InDesign” and “Help” menu bar options and it is totally unfunctional. I have tried quitting and reopening and there is no option to revert. I have deleted the script as well and that didn’t do anything. Any help on undoing/unrunning the script would be greatly appreciated.
THANK YOU for this information! Using Marek’s directions to change CS3 from Spanish to English on Windows XP worked like a charm, and my life is suddenly much, much easier. I am grateful.
I’ve recently bought CS5 Design Premium in my native Dutch only to realize later that all tutorials are in english…. As the above relates to older CS versions. Can anyone pleaseplease tell me how to change the language of any or all CS5 programs to English??? Via registry (Windows 7 Pro) or otherwise?
LE: “all shortcuts stopped working, unfortunately!” Yep. That’s what David said in his post, didn’t he?
“Similarly, you can get your keyboard shortcuts by duplicating the en_EN folder inside Presets/InDesign Shortcut Sets (and then renaming it, of course).”
AT: is your macbook running Leopard or Sno Lep? (Not because that would lead a solution; I have seen it work on both…) Can you run other Applescripts w/o hitches?
Although this worked fine on my old macbook pro, on my new one (i5 10.6) unfortunately it doesn’t – tells me to install Rosetta..
Hi – I am working in a Japanese CS4 and have the same problem as someone above working in a Japanese office. The app does change the menu to English – but, all shortcuts stopped working, unfortunately!
So I think I need to go back to Japanese…
Thanks anyway.
LE
This works also perfectly on Adobe indesign CS5.
I turned my English version into Dutch.
Work great with InDesign CS3 on a iMac Intel OS 10.6.
Change menu from US to french.
Thanks.
Just to add on, the Windows version does NOT contain all the UI in one collection (Except with the one the user had installed), and it means that either somebody releases the languages file only and use the tip above (Changing registry key) OR a reinstall in order just to change the UI language.
By the way, the reason why you CANNOT change the UI to Chinese, Korean, Japanese is because you have lacked a plugin called “CJK” in folder and a filename called CJKLayout.rpln in folder.
Consequently, the Arabic, Hebrew and Greek version (Middle Eastern version) has the entire application different from what the standard version has. (Latest build from InDesign CS5 English / European is 7.0.0.355 by End of March while Middle Eastern one is 7.0.0.357 by Mid of April.)
Futhermore, there is a restraint on the workspaces files (Yes, please look at the post / comment #9 on Change InDesign UI in Windows )
Thanks for this app!!
I actually used it to convert back to english because in my native language the functions are horribly translated even in the official version.
BTW I’m looking for something similar for Illustrator and Photoshop and Flash for OSX cause at work we have the whole suite in Slovak, and even though It’s my naive lanuage English is easier for me..
I’ve searched for it eveywhere
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Weird… well, I have the version I had downloaded last fall. I uploaded that and updated the links in the blog post above. Let me know if that works for you.
David,
The link referenced in this article is not working. At least I am unable to download the tool. Maybe its expired?
Thanks,
Bryant
David Blatner,
Thank you so much for your advice, your site help me a lot. I am working in an office in Japan and you can imagine working Indesign with UI in japanese is quite complicated.
I ll subscribe here, and will be waiting for more of your useful post.
Thanks so much
J
@J: Run the app again and it offers to reset it back to the original language.
Hi David Blatner,
I changed the language of my indesign but now I have a question, how can I go back to the original language?
Thanks in advance
J
Hey,
thanks for this. i ve bought a adobe cs 4 premium us-version for alot of dollars during a holliday in the staates. back in germany i try to change this into a german version (adobe language swap) – no chance. so this is very helpful. do you know any similair solutions with other apps like photoshop, iluustrator?
thanks
olli
@Mohammed: As I mentioned at the end of the post, it does not support Arabic. There are several other tools out there that give you ME support in CS4, including Harbs’ WorldTools, Winsoft’s ScribeDOOR, the idRTL script, and Thomas’ Create Arabic pstyle script.
For more information on right-to-left composition (hebrew, arabic, etc.) see this post.
Hi,
I just want to ask, does it support Arabic language?
Thanks.
Thanks, Marc. It seems I typed something wrong (as 111 instead of 11) and ID turned to default en_US.
As long as I konw, this procedure is not documented by Adobe. So, does anybody know if Adobe consider it legal?
I should by a new pair of glasses…
Marc Autret posted a Windows solution: https://www.indiscripts.com/post/2009/10/switching-indesigns-ui-language-in-windows
Thanks, Igor.
Are you sure that the value 11 (hexa) really corresponds to US English? I obtain en_US with 1, but nothing with 11.
A summary table is given at the end of this post: https://bit.ly/xSjZF
Under Windows Vista 64-bit the registry path is somewhat different:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SOFTWARE / Wow6432node / Adobe / InDesign / 6.0 / User Interface Locale Setting.
Values are numerical. As long as I tried, 02 is Int’l English (Britain), 05 is Japanese, 07 is Brazilian Portuguese and 11 is US English.
You can reuse settings already created to one tongue to another simply copying the folder:
C:UsersAdminAppDataRoamingAdobeAdobe InDesign CS4
Here you will find a folder like en_GB or en_US. Copy, paste and rename it to the language you set InDesign (v.g., pt_BR).
Interesting.
I bought a CS4 Standard version from a website a friend recommended, and while it’s in English, it’s actually British English. I can’t figure out how to change it to US English.
There is also a disk in there that says “For HP Installations only.” This in a Mac package that also had an OEM stamp or sticker on it.
It registered and activated fine. The only thing I haven’t tried yet is installing it on a third computer to see if I have unlimited usage. Wouldn’t that be a bargain!
Well, when I run the script, I had to use the “other” option, as Polish was not among the named set.
It worked fine. And when I tried to use the script again (after restoring to the original language, which is a nice option), Polish was on the list, waiting for me;-)
Did similar tricks, as described above to copy my International English presets to new locale and everything worked fine.
I also found that the script changes one plist file, and throws it to trash when you restore the settings.
Thanks, David, it might be a very useful thing in training or while writing books on ID…
Tomek
From what I’ve heard from many non-English speaking users, Adobe’s translations aren’t all that terrific anyway. This may actually be an improvement. :)
Hi David,
on Windows you can change InDesign?s UI language in: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\InDesign\6.0\User Interface Locale Setting.
Marek