I'd like to introduce a feature that I added to Ascender: a per-user interface language preference. The PR is now merged (#335) and is already available in v25.4.0 for all to use.
What Is the Language Preference?
Until now, the language Ascender displayed was decided for you by your browser's locale, with English as the fallback. There was no way to say "I want my Ascender in Japanese, even if my browser is in french", and have it stick.
This feature adds a Language setting to your own user profile. You pick your language once, Ascender saves it server-side against your account, and from then on the interface greets you in that language every time you log in, on any browser, on any machine. It travels with the account, not the device.
You set it from your User profile: open Edit, choose your language from the Language field, and Save. The interface switches over immediately. No reload needed, no logging back in.
Under the hood, Ascender now resolves your language in a clear order, first match wins:
- A
?lang= parameter in the URL (handy for a quick look)
- Then your saved profile preference
- Then your browser's language
- And finally English
So a brand-new user still lands on a sensible default, and the moment you set a preference it takes over everywhere.
The Problem It Solves
Picture a single Ascender shared by a regional team: an operator in Madrid who works best in Spanish, a colleague in Osaka who wants Japanese, and an admin who prefers English. Today they're all stuck with whatever the laptop browser hands them, and there's no way to make a choice that survives a new laptop or a fresh login.
With this feature, each of them sets their language once on their own profile and forgets about it. Same server, same data, three different interface languages: each person's choice following their account wherever they sign in.
Available Languages
The set of available languages today is English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Chinese, and Zulu, with German and Italian coming as the translation catalogs are refreshed. Translations are a community effort, so if your language is thin or missing, contributions to the catalogs are always welcome.
