Multilingual site with Falang -December 2025

Introduction

A different approach to creating a multilingual site is to add the Falang Component to a regular non-multilingual Joomla site. This article describes installing the Falang Component, which is available from Joomla extensions-Farlang (opens in a new window/tab). As an example French and German languages are installed and configured.

Typically a web site has are some 'regular' articles and article categories in English together with a Menu and Menu Items. The French and German versions are then created with Falang. Here we are using the 'Pro' version of Falang which may be used on many sites. This is a paid version. There are also versions that are restricted to a single site at a lower cost and there is also a free version with limited capability.

Falang is compatible with both Joomla 4, Joomla 5 and Joomla 6. The following notes relate to installing faLang 6.1.

There is a 'continuation' article on adding Falang support for jDownloads (opens in a new window/tab) but obviously Falang needs to be istalled in Joomla first.

Download from Faboba

You will first need to get an account at www.faboba.com .

Assuming you have an account, then click on the

. It will ask for your login details.
V4 login details

Enter the details and click on

. After logging in

It will show your login name, which in this article has been obscured.

Next click on

then on

This gives a list of Falang Official Releases as shown on the right.

Click on

This lists the available versions of Falang Pro with the most recent version at the top of the list.
At the time of wrting this is version 6.1 .

Now click on the

button.

Finally Click on the

button as indiated in the image on the right.

This initiates the downloading sequence as shown below.

V4 falang package download

Ensure Save File is set. Next click on OK.

This initiates Win10 downloaing the pkg_falang_6-1-pro.zip file to its stanadard location.
(it may be different for Win-11).

On your tool bar find the 'down arrow' symbol

and click on it. This will give a view V4 download arrow02

Now click on the

on righthand side. This opens up the list of downloaded files. At the top of the list you should find file

Copy the zip file to a suitable location. V4 download 6 1 sequence01

Installing Falang

This follows the usual procedure for installing a component. Here it is assumed that Falang has been downloaded and is located in a suitable directory on your PC or laptop.

In the Joomla Menu, click on the

button

This gives the system dashboard page.

Near the top left, find the section

and click on

This shows the various ways of installing an extension.

If using the

method then either browse for or drop the Falang Component zip file onto the web page.

This goes through two stages:
(1) Uploading and (2) Installation. A progress bar is shown as the installion proceeds. drag and drop

As well as the usual acknowledgement of a successful installation by Joomla, Falang shows a message such as illustrated opposite.

NOTE as at December 2025, the latest version is 6.1 as shown opposite. V4 installation succesfull

Verify Installation

To verify click on

then in the

section click on

. Next set the search to

In total nine items that should be installed are shown below. There is the Compoment, the Falang Package, the FarlangLanguage Switcher Module and six plugins.
Ensure that the Status of each of the nine items is enabled, that is each item has a

symbol in the Status Column.
The ID values are specific to each installation and will not in general be the same as those shown below.

To find the plugins another time, click on

then in the

section click on

. Next type falang into the search bar, as indicated

, and click in the Search Button

Update Plugins

Occaisionally an update may be required to a Falang plugin. In this example we are updating the Falang Smart Seach Plugin. The first step is to download the plugin to your local device.
To check if an update is availableclick on

, next click on

. Then click on

. This will bring up a view as shown below. In the bottom right section of the image below it indicates that an update of three plugins is required:
(i) Missing Translation from version 1.8 to version 2.0
: (ii) Smart Search Plugin from version 2.9 to to 3.1
(iii) Content Tag

An example, Smart Search Content, is shown oppopsite.

Others Include:
(a) Falang Plugin (used in K2 content search)
(b) Smart Search Content
(c) Joomla Content Search
(d) Extra Params
(e) Missing Translation
(f) Extra Fields K2
(g) K2 Content Search
(h) Content Tag
The items of interest here are shown in bold.
Each has a

button

TEXT

Next click on

then in the

section, click on

. Set the search box to falang and click on the search button. This will list the Falang plugins. Now tick the box on the Smart Search line as indicated. Then click on

This initiates the Downloading sequence of the selected plug in a zip file. For the Smart Search the downloaded zip has a name like 'plg_finder_farlangcontent_ V4 update plugin01

Falang Status Indicators

One of the most useful items are what is referred to here as 'Status Indicators'. They are particularly useful when adding content items.

FaLang Status Indicators

As indicated in the image opposite there are FaLang translation status indicators

, showing the 'status' of an item, such as a menu item, an article and so on. The image opposite is showng the status of the 'Home' menu item in the main menu.

Interpreting Farlang Status indicator

It is useful to understand the FaLang status indicators in the 'Farlang' column of content such as menu items, articles and so on. There is a status indicators for each addional languages.
The status indicators have:
(i) a language code, such as DE or FR as those are the extra languages installed in this example;
(i) a coloured line on the top which has three states: red, orange or green;
(ii) the other is a coloured 'dot' at bottom right which has two states: red or green.

The indicators are independent of each other.
The various combinations of these status indicators are:

Status indicator

means that all FaLang requirements for that item have been met.

Status indicator

probably means that the translation steps have not been started yet for that particular item.

The orange top on the Status Indicator

means we have set 'Use Original Parameters' to be used. It shows as

. We should have

which means we are not using the original parameters in the translated item.

The Red Button at bottom right

means the item is not Published.

The green top means the item has been translated satisfactorily. We now just need to publish the menu item.

Install Language Packs

It is convenient at this stage to install/update the relevant Joomla Language Packs. In this example we will install French and German.
First we will install the French Language Pack. So go to

- then in the

section click on

. Next in the top bar click on

.Scroll down the list of languages to find French and click on the

button.

This should reply with a message such as

.
Repeat the process for the German Language Pack.

At the time of writing both the French and the German Language packs were at version 5.3.2.1 . The English Language pack is set as the default language as denoted by a

symbol.
Note if you had already installed languages with an earlier version of FaLang you might need to ReInstall to get the latest versions.

Publish Languages

We now have to publish the languages. So go to

, then in the

section, this time click on

The recently installed languages may have a

symbol. So click on each of those with a

symbol. This will change to a

indicating the language is published. V4 content languages enabld

When doing an update also check if any of the languages you are using have an update available. So go to

then in the

section click on

. Next click on

. This will list the languages you have installed, which in this example, are French and German. If there is an update it will be shown in Yellow in the Version column as illustrated below. Specifically it indicates version 5.3.3 of French and version 5.3.3.1 of German are available.
Note that the default language, English in this article, is shown with a

in the Default column.
V4 languages update available

The available updates are shown in the yellow version numbers in the version column. That is in this example to update the French language click on the

. This will initiate the actual language update. Repeat for the German language.
After updating the relevant languages to the latest versions they will be shown with a green background as shown below. V4 languages update available

System Language Filter

We also need the System-Language Filter and the System-Language Code plugins. The Web Service-Languages plugin is also useful. To find these click on

. Then in section

click on

. Then in the Search Bar set 'language'.
Then click on the Search bar

The three system language plugins are illustrated opposite. If they are not enabled, that is there are one or more

symbols in the Status column, then click on the

so.it shows a

. This idicates the item is published.

V4 system plugins02

Configure FaLang Language Switcher

Go to

then in the

section select

. Then search for FaLang. This will show the

module which we need to configure.

Select the Position, which in Joomla is typically sidebar-right.

Ensure that the Status is

and that the Access is Public

V4 language switcher module

Click on the module title

to open it.

1. On the lefthand side ensure both Use Dropdown and Use advanced dropdown are both set to No.

2. Set the Options Horizontal Display, Active Language, Use Image Flags and Language Full Names to Yes.

3. Set Show Name to No.

4. Set status to Published.

5. Set access to Public.

6. Now select the

tab and ensure it is set to show On all pages.

Leave both Pre-text and Post-text empty. V4 Language module moduletab settings

Finally on the top bar click on

Translating Content

Content basically means those items that appear on the normal user page. This includes Articles, Menu items, Modules and so on. For jDownloads this includes the views generated by Layouts.
If in the FaLang column the status of a content item shows any red bar or red dot, then this means that some translation actions are required. On a new installation the status will normally be

for all content items.

After clicking on the French status indicator,

, the view opposite is shown. Note in the Reference section there is a title with the Enlish text "FaLang Language Switcher". V4 language switcher fr

The first step is to copy the English on the left side to the right side by clicking on

. Next take a copy of the text and use your translation service to translate to French and overwrite the English on the righthand side. After ensuring the item is

then Save and Close.

Repeat using the German language by clcking on

The result is that the language shown by the 'Switcher' in the front end matches the flag that was clicked on. Essentially a Translation process has been completed, V4 language switcher frontend en

Add your Falang ID

To find your unique Download ID you need to login to your to your faboba account (opens in a new window/tab) Then at top select

This shows a pulldown menu. Next click on

.This will show your Download ID. So make a copy somewhere safe. Then enter your Download ID into

- then at top right

tab.and then copy the ID into the Download ID field as shown opposite

V4 download id add

Setup Previews language translation service

This Translation Service is required to provide Previews In Falang. The actual translations are done externally by say DeepL or Google Translate ( Each Link opens in a new window/tab). Google is free to use and DeepL has a free option.

Select

then in the

section at top left, click on

. Below this, on the left hand side, is long list of Components in alphabetical order as illustrated opposite. Scroll down until you find

. This opens up a set of choices
V4 farlang choices

This will allow selection of the actual translation service. In this example we will select Deepl as it has a free translation service as well as a paid one. So click on

Use the Translation Service * pulldown to select Deepl. V4 select Deppl

Then ensure you set Yes in 'Use Deepl Free Version' V4 use deepl free version

The actual translations are done externally. I have used either Google Translate or Deepl Free when creating language content in my demonstration site.
V4 choose translation service

You will see a message

Install Optional Plugins

There are thee optional plugins that may be installed to provide facilities for:
a. finding missing translations in the Language files;
b. support Smart Search in Falang;
c. supportTags inFalang.

To find these Click on

then on

and then on

.

As shown opposite, these optional plugins that are inititially not installed as indicated by the red crosses.

To obtain these additional plugins you need to be Logged in to your faboba account (opens in a new window/tab) .

First click on the Missing Translation

This will take you to a download section of your Fabola account

V4 status config tools extra plugins

In your Fabola account, Click on the

button and save the 'plg_system_falangmissing_v1.8.zip' in a suitable place on your device.

Now repeat for Smart Search - Falang Content Plugin 'plg_finder_falangcontent_v2.8.zip' and similarly for the Content Tag Plugin 'plg_content_falangtag_v2.0.zip'. V4 missing translation download

Install as normal by going to

, then in the

section select

Next Drag or Drop one of the plugin zip files onto the Joomla Upload& Install page. Repeat for each of the optional plugins.
The view opposite shows the standard and the optional plugins.
After Installing the extra plugins, ensure they are enabled as shown in the image on the right. V4 extra plugins03A

Translate Menu Items

The first action is to add menu items to the Main Menu. This will then allow checking in the front end on the progress as items are added.

A suitable Menu Item is Article Category List so click on the menu item name to get a view as shown opposite.

Ensure the item language is All.

Note the FaLang

buttons. These are added after the menu is Saved. They enable us to create the corresponding French and German Menu items as described below.

Actually there are two ways to initiate creating the equivalent French and German language equivalents.

One method is to use the menu item details as shown opposite.
The other method is to click on

, and then click on the

This shows the Article Category List menu item for English. Note the two FaLang status buttons on the far right

These are the FaLang 'buttons' to initiate making the equivalent French and German corresponding menu items. As noted earlier, the red 'bar' at the top and the red 'dot' at bottom right indicate that no translation of this menu item has been made.
It is essential that you use the

Button each time after you have added all the translations for each menu item

NOTE FaLang does not do any translations itself. It provides the infrastructure and organisation. I used either Deepl or Google Translate as both have free versions.

Create corresponding menu items for Other Languages

The English menu item now has

buttons as shown on the righthand side.

To generate the equivalent French menu click on the

button.

This brings up the basic "translation page" with the Reference English on the Left side and space for the translated equivalent on the right side

Now use the

button which will copy the English on the left to the French side on the right. At this stage it will of course still be in English.

We are now able to take a copy those parts on the righthand side. to translate them

Using a translation faciilty such as Deepl or Google in a separate window or tab, paste the English language text on the left side and set French as the target language.

When the translation is done, copy the result into the appropriate part of the target.

Repeat until all parts have been translated V4 translation example01

When all parts have been translated and copied back into the form then click on the

at the top of the form.

Now repeat the entire process for the German language by clicking on the

in the Article Category List menu item

Translate Article Categories

In my test website there is an article category with the name 'General Articles Category'.

There is also a column called FaLang with French and German options,

showing the status of the translation process.
So to generate say the French translation click on the FR option
V4 articlecategories untranslated

This gives a view of the English Language on the Left. Initially the righthand side items Title, Alias and so on are blank. As previously use the

button to copy the English from the left to the right. Copy an item on the 'French' side, then use an external translation service to translate this to French. Copy the translation over the original English part.

Actually there is in general no need to translate the Alias as it will be generated automatically if absent

Also note the need to ensure it is Published V4 translate to french category

Using the FaLang Language Switcher in the front end

The article shown opposite is the Hare and Tortoise in English V4 engilsh hare tortoise

The article shown opposite is the Hare and Tortoise in French V4 french hare tortoise

The article shown opposite is the Hare and Tortoise in German V4 hare tortoise german

Set Modules Multilingual

As well as aticles and similar, Falang supports multilingual Modules. As an example we will use the login modue as that is always required..
So in the main Joomla administration Menu, click on

and then in the

section click on

. This opens up the list of modules. Scroll down to

. and click on it. Note it is presumed all the usual login settings have been made.

Click on the French

part of the language selector.

The only thing normally required is the translation of the Title as shown opposite. When done click on the

button.

Next repeat for the German language.

If you examine the list of modules, then the Falang column shows

for the login module V4 french login

Falang is now Installed/Updated and Configured for a regular multilingual site.

There is a 'continuation' article on adding Falang support for jDownloads (opens in a new window/tab)

ColinM February 2025, Updated May 2025, July 2025, Sept 2025, December 2025

Introduction

Download from Faboba

Installing Falang

Verify Installation

Update Plugins

Falang Status Indicators

FaLang Status Indicators

Interpreting Farlang Status indicator

Install Language Packs

Publish Languages

System Language Filter

Configure FaLang Language Switcher

Translating Content

Add your Falang ID

Setup Previews language translation service

Install Optional Plugins

Translate Menu Items

Create corresponding menu items for Other Languages

Translate Article Categories

Using the FaLang Language Switcher in the front end

Set Modules Multilingual

What is jDownloads?

jDownloads is an extensive Download Manager for the Content Management System Joomla. It is a free GPL Extension with many special features!