Language Preferences

MakerVera lets you choose your preferred language for both the interface and email notifications. When a translation is available, the entire UI and all transactional emails — booking confirmations, event reminders, membership notices, and more — use that language automatically.

Supported Languages

Language
English (US)
Spanish (Mexico)
French (Canada)

English is the default. If no preference is set, emails are sent in the language configured by your makerspace administrator.

Setting Your Language

You can change your language from two places:

From Profile Settings:

1. Go to your Profile (click your name or avatar in the top right)
2. Select the Settings tab
3. Find the Language Preference card
4. Select your preferred language
5. Your preference is saved automatically

From the footer: You can also use the language selector in the page footer. When you’re logged in, changing the language there saves your preference too.

Both options update the interface immediately and save your preference for future email notifications.

How Language Is Determined

MakerVera uses a priority chain to decide which language to use for your emails:

1. Your preference — if you’ve set a preferred language, that’s used
2. Makerspace default — if you haven’t set a preference, your makerspace’s default language is used
3. English — if neither is set, emails default to English

This means you can override your makerspace’s default without affecting other members.

What Gets Translated

• Email subject lines — the subject of every notification email
• Email body content — the full content of the email, including greetings, instructions, and footers
• Template variables — dynamic content like your name, event titles, and dates are inserted into the translated template

Translation availability

Some email templates may show English content with a placeholder marker while translations are being prepared. If you see [TODO: translate] in an email subject, it means the translated version for that specific template is still in progress. The rest of your emails will use the selected language as translations become available.

Cognito Emails (Sign-up & Password Reset)

Account verification and password reset emails are sent through a separate system (AWS Cognito). These emails use the language set in your browser at the time of the action — not your profile language preference. Full translation of these emails is planned for a future update.

Frequently Asked Questions

I changed my language but still received an email in English?

There are a few possible reasons:

• The template hasn’t been translated yet — check for a [TODO: translate] marker in the subject line
• The email was already queued — emails scheduled before your change may still use the previous language. Future emails will use your new preference.
• It’s a Cognito email (sign-up verification or password reset) — these use browser language, not your profile setting

Can my makerspace admin set a default language for everyone?

Yes. Makerspace administrators can set a default language in the makerspace’s General Settings. This applies to all members who haven’t set their own preference. Your personal preference always takes priority over the makerspace default.

I set my language but the makerspace admin changed the default — what happens?

Your personal preference is not affected. If you’ve set your language to Spanish, you’ll continue receiving emails in Spanish regardless of the makerspace default. Only members without a personal preference are affected by the makerspace default.