Configuring your browser for multiple languages

Some web sites (such as this one) can take advantage of a feature that is unfortunately seldom used by other sites: the automatic language negotiation. When you request one of these pages, your browser tells this server about the list of languages that you can read, by order of preference. This server looks at this list of languages, compares it with the files that are available in different languages, and then gives you the most appropriate version. This is very convenient because everything is done automatically and you do not have to click on several links to select the version of the page that you prefer to read.

It is recommended that you configure your browser to accept several languages instead of only one. If you specify only one language and if the server cannot find any file written in the language that you requested, then it will return an error message (and it may provide a list of available variants). In order to avoid this error message, it is better to provide a list of languages that you can read (even if you prefer another language) so that at least one language matches what is available on the server. Many web pages are available in English (en). So if you understand English (hopefully you do, if you are reading this), then you should always include it as one of the options that you accept. This will save you from getting an error message when you visit sites that offer pages in several languages.

Configuring Netscape Communicator or Mozilla

If you are using Netscape Communicator (4.x, 6.x or later) or Mozilla, you can modify your list of accepted languages in the following way:

• In the Edit menu, select Preferences.
• In the category tree that appears on the left side of the window, select Navigator (click on the little triangle to expand the list) and then Languages.
• In the Languages window, you can click Add... to add a new language to the list of languages that you accept. You can also use the arrows or the Move Up and Move Down buttons to move them up or down in the list and change their order.

Configuring Microsoft Internet Explorer

If you are using MSIE (4.x, 5.x, 6.x or later), you can modify your list of accepted languages in the following way:

• In the Tools menu, select Internet Options. You can also access this via the Control Panel.
• At the bottom of the Internet Options window, there is a button labeled "Languages...". Press it to go to the selection of languages.
• In the Languages window, you can click Add... to add a new language to the list of languages that you accept. You can also use the Up and Down buttons to move them up or down in the list and change their order.