Language

What it is

Language is a format of the Whole Number column. The form shows a drop-down of language names instead of a number. The value saved is the Locale Identifier (LCID) of the chosen language, for example 1033 for English (United States). In the demo you can type in the list to narrow it down.

When to use it

Use it to record the language of a customer, document or contact. If you only have a short list of languages, a Choice gives you full control over labels and order. Use the Language format when you want the same codes the platform uses.

Licensing and configuration

No extra licence. Create a Whole Number column and set its Format to Language in the table designer. The list contains the languages enabled for the environment. If no other languages are enabled, the base language is the only option. Admins enable languages in the Power Platform admin center.

Pitfalls

• A language that is not enabled for the environment does not appear in the list.
• The stored value is a number, so reports and exports show the code and not the name.
• The column is independent from the user's own language setting. Changing one does not change the other.
• Existing values that point to a language that is later disabled still show as a number.

Try it in the demo

1. Open the first accelerator and find the Language field.
2. Open the list and type a few letters of a language name.
3. Pick a language, save, and reopen the record to see it kept.