Can two different languages co-exist on the same computer? I use the English(GB) version and would like to install the Italian language version. Is this possible? Or can only one version be used on a single computer?
Use the same approach as suggested in Change the location of macros or Best way to have multiple instances of soffice ?
Your question is ambiguous. It could mean you want to use the suite in various user interface (UI) languages or you want to write multi-lingual documents/ In bothe cases, the answer is Yes. And the good news is you need only one copy of LO, no need to install two of them.
##UI language
You didn’t mention you system (OS), so a only generic procedure is outlined.
Install the needed language packs and the corresponding help pack. This will bring in the dictionaries and spell-checker plugins.
When you want to switch from one UI language to another one, Tool>Options, Language Settings>Language. Select the desired UI language from the drop-down menu. Only the installed languages are listed.
For the new choice to be effective, you need to restart LO.
##Document languages
A document may be written in any language whether installed or not. However, spell-checking will work only if the language pack is installed and bits of the document (text paragraphs or spreadsheet cells) are marked as belonging to a specific language.
You can define the default language in Tool>Options, Language Settings>Language Default Languages for Documents. The drop-down menu contains all languages LO is aware of. This is because there is no specific constraint/requirement for you. You are free to write in any language, even the latest artificial language you invented last night. However,the languages ready for spell-checking have a small icon to the left of their name (LO has noticed you have installed the language packs).
This is for the default.
You may want to write a single document in a different language. There is no need to change the default only for this case. After creating the document, modify paragraph style Default Style, Font tab where you find a Language drop-down menu. The choice you make here is forwarded to *all other paragraph styles because Default Style is the common ancestor of all styles.
You may also have specific paragraphs in your document written in language different than the rest of the text. Duplicate the paragraph style you would have used in the default language, this is usually Text Body, and change the Language selection in the Font tab. You now only need to style the paragraphs with this style to automatically get the correct spell-checking.
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I did state that I " would like to install the Italian language version." of the program. However, thank you for the solution you propose. I’m sure that it will be useful.
LO is made of two parts: a language-independent engine containing the code and a “skin” for the language.
Thus, to install an xxx version, you tell which language(s) you want during the installation process. This process varies with the OS. Some are more flexible than others.