Localization & Formats

Available since 7.4.1

The dedicated Localization & Formats page was introduced in ChurchCRM 7.4.1. In earlier versions, these settings were split between Church Info and System Settings.

All locale and format settings live in one place: Admin → Localization & Formats (path: admin/system/localization).

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Language & Region

ChurchCRM supports 42 languages.

Updated in 7.4.3

All 42 supported languages were reviewed and updated in ChurchCRM 7.4.3 to cover new menu options and alert messages added in this release. If you use a non-English locale, update to 7.4.3 to get the latest translations for your language.

Setting	Description
Application language	Default UI language for all users. Overridable per user in User Settings.
Time zone	Server time zone used for all date/time calculations and displays.
Distance unit	Miles or kilometers — used in mapping and address features.

The language picker shows each locale's native name, translation completeness %, and whether the GNU locale is installed on your server.

Browser language auto-detection

When an unauthenticated user visits ChurchCRM (e.g., the login page), the application detects the browser's preferred language and displays the UI in that language automatically — if a translation exists. No configuration is required. Once a user logs in, their saved locale preference takes effect.

Per-user locale override

Each user can set their own preferred language in My Settings → Localization, overriding the system-wide default. This allows multilingual teams to work in their own language on the same installation.

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Date & Time Formats

Setting	Description
Long date format	Used in reports, event details, and member records (e.g. %B %d, %Y → June 23, 2026)
Short date format	Used in tables and compact displays (e.g. %m/%d/%Y → 06/23/2026)
Time format	12-hour (%I:%M %p) or 24-hour (%H:%M)
Week starts on	Sunday or Monday — affects calendar display

Live preview

As you type or select a format string, a live preview updates instantly showing how today's date renders with that format. Three quick-select presets are available:

Preset	Example
US	June 23, 2026 / 06/23/2026
EU	23 June 2026 / 23/06/2026
ISO	2026-06-23

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Phone Number Formats

Configure how phone numbers are displayed and masked in input fields. International presets (North America, EU, UK, and others) are available for quick setup.

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How to translate ChurchCRM

If you'd like to contribute translations or add a new language, follow this short workflow:

1. Extract terms:

npm run locale:build
# produces: locale/terms/messages.po

2. Translate:

   • Recommended: Upload locale/terms/messages.po to POEditor (project-managed translations) and translate there.
   • Alternative: Edit the .po file locally with Poedit or similar.

3. Download & build translated assets:

npm run locale:download
npm run deploy   # or npm run build

4. Restart webserver / containers so PHP picks up installed .mo files.

5. Verify:

   • Use Admin → System → Debug and open the Locale Support card to confirm the OS locale is installed and translations are available.
   • Browse the UI to confirm translated strings render correctly.

6. Commit & publish:

   • Commit locale/terms/messages.po (and generated frontend JSON if your workflow requires it) and open a PR, or sync via POEditor integration.

For a complete developer-oriented guide (commands, POEditor API examples, and troubleshooting), see the Localization management guide.