Interface Language

CARE can show menus, buttons, and messages in more than one language (for example English and German). This page explains what that setting does and how to use it.

What changes when you switch language

When you choose a language in Preferences, CARE translates the parts of the app that are built in:

  • Menu items and page titles

  • Button labels (Save, Cancel, …)

  • Form labels and placeholders

  • Short messages such as success or error toasts

Your choice is saved to your account, so you keep the same language the next time you log in.

What does not change

Switching the interface language does not translate content that you or others created:

  • Study names, document titles, usernames, workflow names

  • Text inside email or document templates (those have their own language versions)

Note

Interface language and template language are two different things.

  • Interface language — labels like “Settings” or “Save”.

  • Template language — the actual text of an email or document template (e.g. an English version and a German version).

Changing your interface language to German does not automatically change which template text is sent. Template languages are managed separately under Dashboard → Templates.

How to change your language

  1. Open Preferences (from the dashboard or your profile menu).

  2. In the Language section, choose English, Deutsch, or another language offered by your instance.

  3. Click Save.

Most of the interface updates right away. If a label does not update immediately, try refreshing the page.

Before you log in

On the login, registration, and password-reset pages, CARE tries to match your browser language. If that language is not available, English is used.

After you log in, your saved preference from Preferences takes over.

Which languages are available?

That depends on how your CARE instance was set up. Common options are English and German. If a translation for a particular label is missing, you may see English text or a short technical label as a fallback.

Restricting who can change the language

On most instances, every logged-in user can pick a language in Preferences (see above).

Administrators can turn off the language switcher for selected roles by assigning a user right whose description is “disables the ability to change the UI language in preferences”.

What affected users see

  • The Language block in Preferences is hidden — there is no dropdown to switch English / Deutsch.

  • They cannot save a different UI language themselves.

  • The interface still appears in a language: the instance default, the browser language before login, or a language an administrator set for their account.

Why use this

  • Keep a study or course on one interface language so all participants see the same menu labels and buttons.

  • Avoid confusion when template content is in one language but menus could be switched independently.

Who is affected by default

New installations often assign this right to the Guest role, so guest accounts cannot change the language. Other roles (e.g. teachers, reviewers) usually keep the switcher unless an administrator adds the same right to their role.

How administrators change it

  1. Open the Users area on the dashboard (admin access required).

  2. Manage roles and rights — add or remove the right above from the roles that should not be able to change language.

  3. Users need to open Preferences again (or refresh) for the change to take effect.

Administrators can still set a user’s language when needed; the restriction applies to self-service changes in Preferences.

See also