Lightroom 1.2 has support for four languages: English, French, German, and Japanese. With the 1.2 release, English, French, and German are packaged in the same installer. So how do you choose which language Lightroom uses? The answer depends on which operating system you use.
Note: The Japanese release of Lightroom 1.2 uses the same logic as the English, French, and German release, so you can use these same techniques described below with that release.
Windows
On windows, Lightroom bases its language choice off of the “Current Format” selection in the “Regional and Language Options” control panel. Simply select any of the “English”, “French” or “German” language options
If your primary language is not French, German or English, Lightroom on Windows will use English.
If you want to select one language in the “Regional and Language Options” control panel, but prefer to use Lightroom in English, this is possible… but it requires that you modify the Lightroom installation. So proceed with caution:
- Open “C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1.2” in Windows Explorer.
- Create a new folder called “Disabled Languages”
- Open the “Resources” folder.
- Move “fr” and “de” to the “Disabled Languages” folder.
Now Lightroom will be in English regardless of what language setting you make in the “Regional and Language Options” control panel. To revert this change, move the “fr” and “de” folder back into the Resources folder.
Note: On Windows XP, the control panel is called “Regional and Language Settings” (Microsoft renamed the control panel in Vista).
Macintosh
On a Macintosh computer, you can rank your preferred languages in order by using the International control panel. Drag the language you want to use to the top of the list. Then relaunch Lightroom: The user interface will be presented in that language.
If your primary language is not French, German, or English, Lightroom will scan down the list and use the first language that we support. For example, if your primary language is “Español”, but you also speak French, you can set Lightroom to use French by making sure “Français” appears second in the list of Languages in the International control panel.
If you want your operating system to be French or German, but prefer to use Lightroom in English, this is simple:
- Open the /Applications folder in the Finder
- Select “Adobe Lightroom.app”
- Right click on “Adobe Lightroom.app” and select “Get Info”
- Expand the “Languages” tab
- Uncheck “de” and “fr”
Now Lightroom will be in English regardless of what language setting you make in the International control panel. To restore the French and German functionality, follow the same steps, except this time check them back on.