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Bilingual portals

What renders in which language

How boveDAM resolves which language to render for a portal visitor.

When a visitor opens a boveDAM portal, the system checks four signals in sequence to determine which language to display. The first signal that resolves to a supported locale wins. Understanding this order helps you predict what your clients will see and configure portals correctly.

The language resolution order

boveDAM resolves the display language using this priority chain:

1. Visitor's explicit preference (cookie)

If the visitor has previously used the language switcher in any portal, or set a language preference in their boveDAM account settings, that preference is stored in a bovedam_locale cookie. This is always checked first and takes priority over everything else.

Example: A client switches the portal to Spanish on Monday. When they return on Friday, they see Spanish — even if the portal default is English.

2. Browser Accept-Language header

If no cookie is present, boveDAM reads the visitor's browser language settings. If the browser reports a language that matches either en-US or es-MX, that locale is used.

Example: A client in Mexico visits a portal for the first time on a phone set to Spanish. The portal renders in Spanish automatically, with no action required.

3. Portal default locale

If neither a cookie nor a matching browser language is found, boveDAM uses the locale configured in the portal's own settings (Settings → General → Default locale). See Per-portal default locale for how to configure this.

4. Workspace default locale

If no portal-level locale is configured, boveDAM falls back to the workspace's default locale. This is the setting found in Settings → Workspace → Default language.

What "rendering in a language" means

When boveDAM applies a locale, it changes the portal shell and UI — not the asset content. The following elements render in the resolved locale:

  • Navigation labels and module tab names (Logos, Colors, Typography, Brand Guidelines, etc.)
  • Action buttons and form labels throughout the portal
  • Empty states, tooltips, and system messages
  • Date formatting and number conventions
  • Any portal description or welcome copy that the editor entered in that locale

The following elements are not affected by locale resolution:

  • Asset filenames — always shown as uploaded
  • Asset metadata (descriptions, tags, notes, alt text) — shown in whichever language the editor typed them
  • Color token names, typography typeface names, and other editor-defined labels

This distinction matters for bilingual brand teams: boveDAM provides the bilingual portal shell, but editorial content within modules is the team's responsibility to manage in the appropriate language.

Practical examples

Example 1 — New client, no preferences set: A client in San Francisco opens a portal link for the first time. Their browser is set to en-US. The portal default is es-MX. The workspace default is es-MX. Resolution: the browser's Accept-Language header matches en-US at step 2, so the client sees English — despite the portal default being Spanish.

Example 2 — Returning client who switched languages: The same client previously used the language switcher to select Spanish. Their cookie is now es-MX. On their next visit, step 1 resolves immediately to Spanish. Browser settings and portal defaults are irrelevant.

Example 3 — Incognito browser, no cookie, no browser match: A reviewer opens the portal in a private/incognito window with a browser language set to French (not a supported locale). Steps 1 and 2 both fail to resolve. boveDAM uses the portal's configured default at step 3.

When a visitor clicks the language switcher in the portal header, boveDAM:

  1. Writes the selected locale to the bovedam_locale cookie with a long expiry (one year)
  2. Re-renders the portal UI in the new locale without a full page reload
  3. Logs the preference to the visitor's account profile if they are signed in

The cookie is set at the root domain level so it applies across all portals on boveDAM. Clearing the cookie or using a private browsing window returns the visitor to step 2 of the resolution chain on the next visit.

For instructions on manually clearing the preference, see Setting your language.