I have a user with the windows OS Regional format set to German (Switzerland).
Their Excel however is set to English as this is their preference when working across multi-lingual workbooks etc.

The PAfE Ribbon shows button labels tips etc. as German based on the following files:
Cognos.Office.Reporting.Resource.msgs.cormsgs.de.resources
Cognos.Office.Framework.Resources.msgs.coimsgs.de.resources

So the question is:
 Is there a setting somewhere to override the language PAfE uses or have it default to the same language as Excel is set to rather than the OS Regional format?

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George Tonkin
Business Partner
MCI Consultants
Johannesburg
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Hello Georgen, 

as far as I know, unfortunately no. 

Here are some possible workarounds. 
Maybe you know them already or you could test it. 

########

1. Temporarily change the Regional format to English (United States) or English (United Kingdom) → Go to Control Panel → Region → Formats tab → Set "Format" to English (United States) → The PAfE ribbon will then display in English. → Disadvantage: This also changes decimal/thousands separators, date formats, etc., across all applications - often not desired in Switzerland (where you typically want to keep comma as decimal separator).
2. Use a hybrid locale like "English (South Africa)" → Some users report that setting the format to "English (South Africa)" provides an English UI while still using European-style number and date formats (comma as decimal, period as thousands separator). → Worth testing - success varies depending on Windows version and PAfE version.
3. Manual override by replacing files in the LanguageResources folder (most commonly recommended workaround)
   • Path: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Cognos\Office Connection\LanguageResources (or sometimes under Local instead of Roaming, depending on setup)
   • This folder contains the .resources files for each language (e.g., files with "de" for German).
   • Solution: Copy the English ("en") .resources files and rename them to replace the German ("de") ones (overwrite the de.* files with renamed copies of en.*). → PAfE will then load the English resources when it expects "de".
   • Advantage: Keeps your Swiss regional format settings intact while forcing the PAfE ribbon UI to English.
   • Disadvantage: Needs to be done per user; may need to be repeated after updates or reinstalls; not centrally manageable without deployment scripting.
4. No real override available in configuration files IBM documentation (e.g., articles about "Run Cognos Office components in English in localized Microsoft Windows environment") confirms that the file replacement method (option 3) is the supported/officially mentioned approach. There is no registry key, TM1Features.json setting, CognosOfficeReportingSettings.xml entry, or similar that directly allows overriding the language independently of the system locale.

The cleanest non-disruptive solution for most users is option 3 (the LanguageResources file rename trick), as it preserves regional number/date formatting while only changing the PAfE UI language.

#####

Maybe you get some different feedback.
With best regards, 
Vitalij

I have a user with the windows OS Regional format set to German (Switzerland).
Their Excel however is set to English as this is their preference when working across multi-lingual workbooks etc.

The PAfE Ribbon shows button labels tips etc. as German based on the following files:
Cognos.Office.Reporting.Resource.msgs.cormsgs.de.resources
Cognos.Office.Framework.Resources.msgs.coimsgs.de.resources

So the question is:
 Is there a setting somewhere to override the language PAfE uses or have it default to the same language as Excel is set to rather than the OS Regional format?

Thanks Vitalij, I got the same when searching but looking to avoid hacks and changing file names which need to be updated with each new version of PAfE.

Hello Georgen, 

as far as I know, unfortunately no. 

Here are some possible workarounds. 
Maybe you know them already or you could test it. 

########

1. Temporarily change the Regional format to English (United States) or English (United Kingdom) → Go to Control Panel → Region → Formats tab → Set "Format" to English (United States) → The PAfE ribbon will then display in English. → Disadvantage: This also changes decimal/thousands separators, date formats, etc., across all applications - often not desired in Switzerland (where you typically want to keep comma as decimal separator).
2. Use a hybrid locale like "English (South Africa)" → Some users report that setting the format to "English (South Africa)" provides an English UI while still using European-style number and date formats (comma as decimal, period as thousands separator). → Worth testing - success varies depending on Windows version and PAfE version.
3. Manual override by replacing files in the LanguageResources folder (most commonly recommended workaround)
   • Path: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Cognos\Office Connection\LanguageResources (or sometimes under Local instead of Roaming, depending on setup)
   • This folder contains the .resources files for each language (e.g., files with "de" for German).
   • Solution: Copy the English ("en") .resources files and rename them to replace the German ("de") ones (overwrite the de.* files with renamed copies of en.*). → PAfE will then load the English resources when it expects "de".
   • Advantage: Keeps your Swiss regional format settings intact while forcing the PAfE ribbon UI to English.
   • Disadvantage: Needs to be done per user; may need to be repeated after updates or reinstalls; not centrally manageable without deployment scripting.
4. No real override available in configuration files IBM documentation (e.g., articles about "Run Cognos Office components in English in localized Microsoft Windows environment") confirms that the file replacement method (option 3) is the supported/officially mentioned approach. There is no registry key, TM1Features.json setting, CognosOfficeReportingSettings.xml entry, or similar that directly allows overriding the language independently of the system locale.

The cleanest non-disruptive solution for most users is option 3 (the LanguageResources file rename trick), as it preserves regional number/date formatting while only changing the PAfE UI language.

#####

Maybe you get some different feedback.
With best regards, 
Vitalij

I have a user with the windows OS Regional format set to German (Switzerland).
Their Excel however is set to English as this is their preference when working across multi-lingual workbooks etc.

The PAfE Ribbon shows button labels tips etc. as German based on the following files:
Cognos.Office.Reporting.Resource.msgs.cormsgs.de.resources
Cognos.Office.Framework.Resources.msgs.coimsgs.de.resources

So the question is:
 Is there a setting somewhere to override the language PAfE uses or have it default to the same language as Excel is set to rather than the OS Regional format?