Languages

Overview

Language settings control which languages are available in your Online Ordering, Kiosk, and backoffice interfaces.

Key Purpose: Configure available languages for customers and staff.

Purpose

This page lets you add, publish, unpublish, and set a default language so that customers and staff see the interface and menu content in the correct language.

Key Concepts

• Language Status: Each language has a status of Published (visible to customers) or Unpublished (hidden); only published languages appear in the language selector.
• Default Language: One published language is set as the vendor-level default; it serves as the fallback when a customer's preferred language is unavailable or translations are missing.
• Translation Completeness Check: The LanguageService.checkTranslation method verifies whether all translatable entities (items, categories, modifiers, display groups, variant groups, loyalty rewards) have translations for a given language.
• Auto-Translate on Create: When a new language is created, the system automatically triggers ReceiptSettingService.translateReceiptSetting for every location to translate receipt custom text into the new language.
• Location Preferred Language: Each location can have its own preferred language; unpublishing a language that is in use by any location is blocked with an error message.

Actions

Add a Language

Select a language to add; the system creates it in Unpublished status and auto-translates receipt settings for all locations.

Publish or Unpublish a Language

Toggle a language between Published and Unpublished; unpublishing is blocked if the language is the default or is used as the preferred language by any location.

Set Default Language

Designate a published language as the vendor-wide default; only published languages can be set as default.

Check Translation Coverage

View which entities (items, categories, modifiers, etc.) have missing translations for each language.

Location

• Backoffice Route: /settings/languages
• Backend Controller: app/Http/Controllers/Api/LanguageController.php
• Vue Component: src/views/settings/LanguagesComponent.vue

Fields

Available Languages

Property	Value
Field ID	available_languages
Label	Available Languages
Type	Multi-select
Required	Yes (at least one)

Description: Languages available for customer-facing interfaces.

Supported Languages:

Code	Language	Native Name
en	English	English
nl	Dutch	Nederlands
fr	French	Français
de	German	Deutsch
es	Spanish	Español
pt	Portuguese	Português
it	Italian	Italiano

---

Default Language

Property	Value
Field ID	default_language
Label	Default Language
Type	Select
Required	Yes

Description: Language shown by default when customer first visits.

Business Logic:

• Used when no preference detected
• Fallback for missing translations

---

Auto-Detect Language

Property	Value
Field ID	auto_detect
Label	Auto-Detect Language
Type	Toggle
Default	true

Description: Automatically detect customer's preferred language from browser settings.

Business Logic:

• If enabled: Use browser language if available
• If disabled: Always use default language

---

Show Language Selector

Property	Value
Field ID	show_selector
Label	Show Language Selector
Type	Toggle
Default	true

Description: Show language selection option to customers.

Customer Impact:

• Enabled: Language dropdown/flags visible
• Disabled: No manual language selection

---

Per-Channel Settings

Online Ordering Languages

Property	Value
Field ID	online_languages
Label	Online Ordering Languages
Type	Multi-select
Default	All available

Description: Languages available in Online Ordering.

---

Kiosk Languages

Property	Value
Field ID	kiosk_languages
Label	Kiosk Languages
Type	Multi-select
Default	All available

Description: Languages available on kiosks.

---

Backoffice Language

Property	Value
Field ID	backoffice_language
Label	Backoffice Language
Type	Select
Default	English

Description: Language for the backoffice interface.

---

Business Logic

Language Selection Flow

Customer visits Online Ordering
        │
        ▼
Auto-detect enabled?
├── Yes → Check browser language
│         ├── Supported? → Use browser language
│         └── Not supported? → Use default
│
└── No → Use default language
        │
        ▼
Show interface in selected language
        │
        ▼
Customer can change via selector (if enabled)

Translation Fallback

Display text needed
        │
        ▼
Translation exists in selected language?
├── Yes → Use translation
│
└── No → Fallback to default language
        ├── Translation exists? → Use default
        └── No translation? → Show original text

---

Customer Impact

Online Ordering

• Interface in selected language
• Menu items in selected language (if translated)
• Checkout flow in selected language
• Confirmation emails in selected language

Kiosk

• Welcome screen with language selection
• Full interface in selected language
• Receipt in selected language

Receipts & Emails

• Order confirmation in customer's language
• Receipt text in location's language

---

Relations

Depends On

• Locations: Languages can be per-location

Affects

• Online Ordering: Interface language
• Kiosk: Interface language
• Translations: Which languages need translations
• Receipts: Receipt language

Related Features

• Translations
• Online Ordering
• Kiosk

---

Business Rules

• A language must be in Published status before it can be set as the default; attempting to set an unpublished language as default returns a 400 error.
• The default language cannot be unpublished; the system rejects the request with "Can't unpublish the default language."
• Unpublishing a language is blocked if any location uses it as its preferred language; the error message names the affected location(s).
• Creating a duplicate language (same name) returns a 400 "Duplicate language" error unless the throw parameter is set to false, in which case the existing language is returned.
• Publishing or unpublishing a language triggers a ReloadMenu event for every location under the vendor so all devices update immediately.

FAQs

• "Why can I not unpublish a language?" Either it is the default language or it is set as the preferred language on one or more locations; change the default or update the location settings first.
• "What happens when I add a new language?" The language is created in Unpublished status and receipt settings for all locations are auto-translated into the new language.
• "Do I need to translate every menu item manually?" Not necessarily; if auto-translate is enabled in Translations settings, the system can generate draft translations, but they should be reviewed for accuracy.
• "Can each location have a different default language?" Each location can have its own preferred language, but the vendor-wide default language serves as the global fallback.
• "What entities are checked for translation completeness?" Items, display groups, variant groups, categories, modifier groups, and loyalty rewards are all checked when you view translation status.

---

Troubleshooting

Problem: Wrong language showing

Causes:

1. Auto-detect using browser language
2. Default language incorrect
3. Cookie/cache storing old preference

Solutions:

1. Disable auto-detect or change browser settings
2. Set correct default language
3. Clear cookies/cache

---

Problem: Language selector not showing

Causes:

1. Show selector disabled
2. Only one language enabled
3. UI issue

Solutions:

1. Enable show_selector
2. Enable multiple languages
3. Check UI configuration

---

Problem: Some text not translated

Causes:

1. Translation missing
2. Custom content not translated
3. Fallback to default

Solutions:

1. Add missing translations
2. Translate custom content
3. Check translation coverage

---

Examples

Netherlands Restaurant

{
  "available_languages": ["nl", "en"],
  "default_language": "nl",
  "auto_detect": true,
  "show_selector": true,
  "online_languages": ["nl", "en"],
  "kiosk_languages": ["nl", "en"],
  "backoffice_language": "nl"
}

Tourist Area Restaurant

{
  "available_languages": ["en", "nl", "de", "fr", "es"],
  "default_language": "en",
  "auto_detect": true,
  "show_selector": true,
  "online_languages": ["en", "nl", "de", "fr", "es"],
  "kiosk_languages": ["en", "nl", "de", "fr"],
  "backoffice_language": "en"
}

Belgium Restaurant

{
  "available_languages": ["nl", "fr", "en"],
  "default_language": "nl",
  "auto_detect": true,
  "show_selector": true,
  "online_languages": ["nl", "fr", "en"],
  "kiosk_languages": ["nl", "fr"],
  "backoffice_language": "nl"
}

Single Language (Simple)

{
  "available_languages": ["nl"],
  "default_language": "nl",
  "auto_detect": false,
  "show_selector": false,
  "backoffice_language": "nl"
}

Language Selector UI

┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
│  🌐 Language                    ▼   │
├─────────────────────────────────────┤
│  🇳🇱 Nederlands                     │
│  🇬🇧 English              ✓         │
│  🇩🇪 Deutsch                        │
│  🇫🇷 Français                       │
└─────────────────────────────────────┘

Kiosk Welcome Screen

╔═══════════════════════════════════════╗
║                                       ║
║         Welcome / Welkom              ║
║                                       ║
║    Select your language:              ║
║                                       ║
║    ┌─────────┐    ┌─────────┐        ║
║    │   🇳🇱    │    │   🇬🇧    │        ║
║    │Nederlands│    │ English │        ║
║    └─────────┘    └─────────┘        ║
║                                       ║
║    ┌─────────┐    ┌─────────┐        ║
║    │   🇩🇪    │    │   🇫🇷    │        ║
║    │ Deutsch │    │Français │        ║
║    └─────────┘    └─────────┘        ║
║                                       ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝