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From: David Farough
Date: Thu, Feb 06 2025 8:14AM
Subject: Problem with saving language settings in a word document
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We are having a problem setting language in the table of contents and on links in a document.

This document has it' language set to French ,
All text except for links and the table of contents are spoken correctly.
If we set the Language to French for the Links and the table of contents and links, all works as expected.
Once we save the document our language changes are removed.

Can anyone suggest what may be happening?

Is there something in styles or templates that may be overriding our changes?

Any suggestions appreciated.

From: David Farough
Date: Thu, Feb 06 2025 1:39PM
Subject: Re: Problem with saving language settings in a word document
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Just in case someone else experiences this issue I will provide the following information that was extremely helpful.
I have to say that this highlights the importance of using the correct template and styles for your documents.

** copied text follows **
It sounds like your language settings for the Table of Contents (ToC) and links are being overridden upon saving, likely due to one of the following reasons:
Potential Causes and Solutions:
1. Styles and Templates Overriding Language Settings
• Cause: If the document is based on a template (.dotx or .dotm), styles may be pre-set to a specific language, and any manual changes revert upon saving.
• Solution:
1. Open the Styles Pane (Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S).
2. Find the styles used for the ToC (e.g., "TOC 1", "TOC 2") and hyperlinks.
3. Modify these styles by clicking Modify → Format → Language and set it to French.
4. Ensure "Do not check spelling or grammar" is unchecked.
2. ToC Regeneration Resetting Language
• Cause: When the Table of Contents is updated (F9), it pulls formatting from the original source, which might be in a different language.
• Solution:
1. Before updating, change the ToC styles (as mentioned above).
2. After updating, select the ToC, apply the language setting, and immediately save the document.
3. Linked Text Adopting Default Language
• Cause: Hyperlinks may inherit language settings from the Normal template or underlying styles.
• Solution:
1. Select all hyperlinks (Ctrl + A might help).
2. Set the language manually (Review → Language → Set Proofing Language → French).
3. If that does not persist, check the Hyperlink style under the Styles Pane and apply the language setting there.
4. Document Template (Normal.dotm) Enforcing Defaults
• Cause: The default Normal.dotm template may be overriding your document settings.
• Solution:
1. Open Word and go to File → Options → Language.
2. Ensure that French is the default language.
3. Open Normal.dotm (found in %APPDATA%MicrosoftTemplates) and set the language for styles there.
5. Corrupt Document Formatting
• Cause: If the document was converted from another format (e.g., PDF to Word), hidden metadata may be interfering.
• Solution:
1. Copy all text (except the last paragraph mark) into a new blank Word document.
2. Manually set language settings.
3. Save the new document and test if changes persist.

From: Christine Hogenkamp
Date: Fri, Feb 07 2025 9:01AM
Subject: Re: Problem with saving language settings in a word document
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Hi David,

I'm glad you were able to find some possible solutions for troubleshooting
the language issue. I was also going to ask if you had highlighted the
text/links before changing the language, since the pop up mentions "Mark
selected text as" and if you don't select any text first, the change in
language won't get applied to any text and thus when you reopen your saved
document, the language change wouldn't be captured. It may also help to
uncheck the box "Detect language automatically" before clicking the OK
button.

Also noting that in Word on a Mac computer, we don't have File > Options to
change the language, it's under Tools > Language or Review > Language
(since Microsoft loves to mess around with the ribbon layouts in the Mac
versions of their software sigh)

*x*
*Christine Hogenkamp (She, Her)*
Front-end Developer & Accessibility Lead
Context Creative – a Mod Op company
416.972.1439 | contextcreative.com


>

From: David Farough
Date: Fri, Feb 07 2025 9:43AM
Subject: Re: Problem with saving language settings in a worddocument
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Hi Christine;
I know that it is essential to select all characters within the link to insure that the item is spoken using the correct language.

In this case the document was based on a template containing multiple styles which had the language set to English.
I was able to change the language for all the toc and links, and all worked as expected.
However after saving the document, All the work was undone because of the styles in use.
Therefore it was necessary to fix the styles before the changes could be retained after the save.
I hope this clarifies the issue.
Thanks