# Allow users to translate plugins

**URL:** <https://forum.obsidian.md/t/allow-users-to-translate-plugins/84437>\
**Category:** Feature archive\
**Tags:** ui-ux\
**Created:** [June 28, 2024, 10:02am UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/allow-users-to-translate-plugins/84437 "2024-06-28T10:02:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mutzu](https://forum.obsidian.md/user_avatar/forum.obsidian.md/mutzu/32/59643_2.png) [@Mutzu](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/Mutzu)\
**Post date:** [June 28, 2024, 10:02am UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/allow-users-to-translate-plugins/84437/1 "2024-06-28T10:02:49Z")

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### Use case or problem

There are a lot of plugins out there, and it would take a lot of (unrealistic) effort for developers to translate their plugins into every language that Obsidian provides.

### Proposed solution

Allow users to translate/localize the plugins they have installed.

Add a table in the settings where the users can translate the texts for their installed plugins.

This shouldn’t require any changes to the current code of any plugin.

#### Optional

There could be a new API function for future plugins to add texts to the translation table for _texts that aren’t shown in the UI (DOM tree)._

```auto
addToDictionary(plugin: Plugin, textID: string); // Adds text that can be translated
dict = getDictionary(plugin: Plugin); // Returns the dictionary for the plugin
dict["textID"] // Returns localized text or default English text equal to textID if there is no translation

```

#### Optional:

There could be a **“Send to Obsidian”** button to send the translation to the Obsidian server. Then Obsidian could manage the translations in a download list within the settings with kudos from other users.

(The downloaded text needs to be sanitized to avoid code injections.)

### Current workaround

Probably by changing the UI texts in the JavaScript files in the .plugins folder. But when a plugin gets an update its files get overwritten.

Perhaps it’s better to change the UI texts during runtime.

### Related feature requests

> [@Translation of plugins to other languages](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/translation-of-plugins-to-other-languages/15715):
>
> I asked Liam the “Calendar” plugin developer to support other languages and he replied: “I would love to see settings and dialogs get translated! I’ll check with the Obsidian devs to see there’s anything they can expose via the API to help with plugin localization.” I think this would be a valuable feature. /Henrik slight_smile

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_[View the full topic](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/allow-users-to-translate-plugins/84437)._