How to Change System Locale in Windows 10
The system locale controls the language used when displaying text on programs that do not support Unicode.
Changing the system locale will not affect the language in menus and dialog boxes for Windows or other programs that do use Unicode.
This setting has three main purposes:
- Specifies the default ANSI, OEM, MAC, and EBCDIC code pages to use for non-Unicode programs.
- Specifies some of the font linking preferences for CJK fonts and for legacy bitmap fonts.
- Specifies application behavior when developers incorrectly use this setting rather than the DEFAULT USER LOCALE.
See also:
- SystemLocale - Windows 10 hardware dev
- SystemLocale | Microsoft Docs
- System Locale - Globalization | Microsoft Docs
- INFO: The Difference Between the System Locale and the User Locale | Microsoft Support
This tutorial will show you how to change the system locale language used for non-Unicode programs in Windows 10.
You must be signed in as an administrator to change the system locale.
Here's How:
1 Do step 2 (Control Panel) or step 3 (Settings) for how you would like to open administrative language settings.
3 Open the Control Panel (icons view), click/tap on the Region icon, and go to step 4 below.
4 Open Settings, and click/tap on the Time & Language icon.
A) Click/tap on Language on the left side, click/tap on the Administrative language settings link on the right side under Related settings, and go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below)
4 Click/tap on the Administrative tab, and click/tap on the Change system locale button. (see screenshot below)
5 Select the language in the drop menu you want for the system locale, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)
If wanted, you can check the BETA: Use Unicode UTF-8 for worldwide language support box.
6 When ready, click/tap on the Restart now button to restart the computer to apply. (see screenshot below)
This will restart the computer immediately. Be sure to save and close everything first.
7 The language you selected to be used for the system locale will also be automatically added as a language in Windows 10. (see screenshots below)
That's it,
Shawn