Language packs add additional display, help, and proofing tools to Microsoft 365. You can install additional language accessory packs after installing Microsoft 365. If a language accessory pack is described as having partial localization, some parts of Microsoft 365 may still display in the language of your copy of Microsoft 365.
If you're an administrator who has deployed a volume licensed version of Office 2016 to your users, you can download an ISO image of the language packs, language interface packs, and proofing tools from the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC).
Select the version of Microsoft 365 you're using from the tabs below, then select the language desired from the drop-down list. Then choose the appropriate architecture (32-bit or 64-bit) from the download links provided. If you're not sure what you're using, see What version am I using?
If the language accessory pack includes proofing tools for that language, its status appears as Proofing installed. If the status is Proofing available, click the link to install the proofing tools.
You can change the default language for all your Microsoft 365 applications in the Set the Office Language Preferences dialog. For more information, see Add a language or set language preferences in Office.
This article covers the options for deploying languages for Microsoft 365 Apps, including what method to use, where to deploy languages from, how to deploy proofing tools, and best practices. We recommend using this article as part of planning your Office deployment.
You can't use language resources for Windows Installer (MSI) versions of Office with Microsoft 365 Apps, which uses Click-to-Run. For example, you can't use language packs downloaded from the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) with Microsoft 365 Apps.
In general, you deploy languages for Microsoft 365 Apps with the same process and tools that you use to deploy Office itself. You can deploy multiple languages by including those languages directly in the Office packages, or you can deploy languages as a separate package, after Office is already installed. The steps in this article assume that you're deploying with Configuration Manager or the Office Deployment Tool, and that you use the Office Customization Tool (OCT) to create the configuration files for your deployment. If a setting isn't yet available in the OCT, steps are given for creating the configuration file in a text editor.
If your organization allows it, users can install Microsoft 365 Apps languages directly from the Office 365 portal. When users install Office from the Software page, they select a language from the Language drop-down box. If a user needs another language, they can just rerun the process for each required language. The setup will add the selected language to the user's device.
To deploy Microsoft 365 Apps in multiple languages, you need to include the additional languages in the Office packages you create. To do so, select the languages you want to deploy in the Language section when creating the configuration file in the Office Customization Tool.
If you deploy Office from a local source on your network, you must download your languages to that source, in the same way that you download the Office package. For more information, see Download the installation files for Microsoft 365 Apps. When deploying from a local source, we recommend that you use the Office Content Delivery Network (CDN) as a backup source for language packs.
The primary language selected in the Office Customization Tool determines the Shell UI language. The Shell UI is the language that is used to display shortcuts, right-click context menus, and tooltips. If you decide that you want to change the Shell UI language after an initial installation, you must uninstall Office and reinstall it.
After deploying Microsoft 365 Apps, you can deploy more languages for Office. To do so, use the same process and tools you used to deploy Office, such as Configuration Manager or the Office Deployment Tool.
By default, users must have local administrator permissions on their devices to install more languages for Office. To allow users who aren't local admins on their devices to install another language, you can enable the "Allow users who aren't admins to install language accessory packs" policy setting.
The policy setting applies to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. Users can install another language by going to File > Options > Language > Office display language > Add a Language... in their Office app.
If you're using a local source to deploy Office, we recommend that you use the AllowCdnFallback attribute in your configuration.xml file. This attribute enables you to use the Office CDN on the internet as a backup source location for the language files if they aren't available on your local source. For more information, see Use the Office CDN as a backup source for language packs.
If you've enabled the "Delay downloading and installing updates for Office" policy setting, the installation of additional languages by users will also be delayed by the number of days that you've specified in the policy setting.
Each language version of Microsoft 365 Apps includes proofing tools for a set of companion languages. For example, when you deploy the English version of Office, users receive proofing tools for English, Spanish, and French. These proofing tools include spelling and grammar checkers, thesauruses, and hyphenators. They might also include language-specific editing features such as Language AutoDetect, AutoSummarize, and Intelligent AutoCorrect.
If you want to deploy proofing tools in other languages beyond the companion languages, you can deploy the full language pack for that language or you can deploy just the proofing tools for that language. Many administrators choose to deploy just the proofing tools to conserve bandwidth on the network and speed up installation on client computers.
When deploying Office, you can automatically install the same languages that are in use by the operating system. To do so, include the steps below when deploying Office with your standard process and tools:
When Match Operating System is used, the base language of the operating system and all active display languages for user profiles on the device are installed. Match Operating System can be used in combination with a fixed list of languages.
You can automatically deploy Visio and Project in the languages that are in use by an existing version of Microsoft 365 Apps. To do so, use the same process and tools you used to deploy Office, such as Configuration Manager or the Office Deployment Tool.
To remove a language pack or proofing tool, you can use the Remove element, just as you would for a product. For product ID, specify LanguagePack or ProofingTools. In the example, the German language pack is removed across all installed products:
If you deploy Office from a local source on your network, you can use the Office CDN as a backup source for language packs that might not be available at that local source. To do so, use the same process and tools you used to deploy Office, such as Configuration Manager or the Office Deployment Tool.
When installing languages, the ODT looks first for source files in the source path location. If the language pack isn't available at that location and the Fallback setting is selected, then the ODT will use source files from the Office CDN.
When you use the Office Deployment Tool (ODT) to download the installation files for Office to a folder that already contains that version of Office, the ODT will conserve your network bandwidth by downloading only the missing files. For example, if you use the ODT to download Office in English and German to a folder that already contains Office in English, only the German language pack will be downloaded.
Language-neutral product resources for Microsoft 365 Apps are packaged into a single file that contains all the neutral resources. Language-specific resources are packaged into language-specific files such as en-us for English (United States) resources.
On some computers, Microsoft Office may still display in the English language instead of the language that is selected for Windows. In such a scenario, the user must download the language pack for Microsoft Office and choose the language of their preference.
This article describes methods of deploying and managing language packs for versions of Office 2016 that use the Windows Installer (MSI) installation technology, which are available for enterprises through volume licensing. If you have an Office subscription and you're deploying Microsoft 365 Apps, which uses the Click-to-Run installation technology, see Overview of deploying languages for Microsoft 365 Apps.
Office 2016 is available in many languages. In an international setting, you can deploy multiple language versions of Office 2016 in a single installation process. Setup combines a language-neutral core product with one or more language-specific packages to create a complete product.
On the source media, language-specific packages are organized into separate folders. Each folder name has a language tag appended to it, in the form ll-cc. That tag identifies the language and culture. For example, U.S. English language folders are identified by the folder name extension en-us. The language tags help you determine the folders that you have to copy to the network installation point.
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