Changing the SOLIDWORKS Language Pack

If you’re in need of a non-English SOLIDWORKS installation, the Installation Manager for SOLIDWORKS provides the option to change the language of the program without having to change all of Windows to a different language.

The available, non-English, SOLIDWORKS language packs in 2024 are:

• Chinese
• Chinese Simplified
• Czech
• French
• German
• Italian
• Japanese
• Korean
• Polish
• Portuguese Brazilian
• Russian
• Spanish
• Turkish

Modify the Installation

1. To modify your SOLIDWORKS installation, open “Add or Remove Programs” in Windows
2. You can access this page by searching “Add or Remove Programs” in the Windows Search bar or by opening Settings and going to Apps > Installed Apps
3. Scroll to your SolidWorks installation, click the ” . . .” to the right, and select “Modify”

Inside the Installation Manager

1. Once you select “Modify”, the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager will launch. Select “Modify your installation”
2. Press “Next” twice to get to the Product Selection screen

3. Now you can click the arrow next to “SOLIDWORKS Languages”
4. You can now select the SOLIDWORKS language pack you’d like to install, simply by checking the box next to the language

5. For this example, I’ll install the German language pack
6. Once you select “Next”, you’ll get a warning that you need to download the EXE for that SOLIDWORKS language pack, which is normal. Simply click OK and keep going!

7. Now, you’ll be on the last page in the Installation Manager. Be sure that under “Products to Add” you see the language pack you wish to install.
8. Be sure to check the box for the License Agreement in the bottom left corner, and then click “Download and Modify”
9. Once you do that, SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager will install the German Language Pack.

Renaming Files in Windows Explorer

We need to do one last thing to make sure SOLIDWORKS is going to use the German Language Pack and not the English one.

1. Navigate to C:\ProgramData\SOLIDWORKS\SOLIDWORKS 2024\lang
   • Note that this path will vary slightly based on your year of SOLIDWORKS.
   • If you cannot see the Program Data folder, please follow the instructions here: My SOLIDWORKS ProgramData Folder is not Visible?

2. We’ll now need to rename the “english” and “german” folder, or “english” and whatever language you’re going to use.

3. We’re going to rename “english” to “english_backup”.
4. Then rename “german” to “english”.

5. Now when you launch SOLIDWORKS, it will be in the SOLIDWORKS language pack you installed.

Note: Any features created with a different SOLIDWORKS language pack active, will not change to the new language.