This not a bug report, but a feature request. I like Xfce a lot, for a number of reasons. However, I am missing a feature to set the locale in the Xfce settings.

Of course, it is easy to create a file ~/.profile with a line like the following:

  export LANG="de_DE.UTF-8"

However, this approach lags a bit behind other desktop environments, such as KDE and Enlightenment, in terms of usability (for end-users), as it requires some background knowledge about Linux/Unix --- definitely too much for a newbie!
This is a pity, as otherwise Xfce is *very* newbie friendly!

Another advantage is that by setting the locale in the above mentioned way not only affects the desktop of the logged in user, but also the CLI, even if the user su's to root. All the messages appear in the language set by the locale. This can be annoying, as in the case of problems it is much easier to find help by searching the internet for the English error message, than for any other language.

The (IMHO) best approach to localisation is, what KDE does, and my request is to add similar capabilities to Xfce, so please:

1. Support setting the locale in the Xfce settings.
2. Find a way to have the setting for the logged in user independent of su root sesssions, that the user might open from within a terminal window in Xfce.
3. But also allow setting the locale for su root sessions, e.g. within the setup of the terminal window.

As I said, Enlightenment has found a good approach to this, and KDE an even better one, so there are real-life examples available to learn from. This might help to develop a concept, how to add these capabilities to Xfce.

I am pretty sure, that I am not the only one, who would appreciate the requested feature, but, of course, it must fit in the development roadmap, and I know that a proper solution will take its time. So I'll be patient, as a quick an immature solution wouldn't help anyone.

Best regards


Alex