Add checkbox in installer to enable content translation (if in foreign language)

this seems like wont fix to me... slippery slope to showing all modules (or a bunch anyway) at install to pick from.

lets see what insights people have.

But, lets also watch tour and see if that helps this issue (of people knowing how to get content translation).
#1809352: Write tour.module and add it to core

Suppose having checkbox could confuse people. 80% of multilingual cases will require not only enable module but configure a content types and their fields. But this could not be done before the content types are created

@Gabor I like the idea to choose the content types within installer but this will require big changes in install profile and could confuse newcomers

Ultimately, a checkbox like this would special-case the multilingual content site use-case, whereas there are many other possible features/apps.

Also, just enabling a few additional modules won't cut anything at all. You still need to configure blocks, enable translatability, configure roles and permissions, etc.pp.

So why don't we have a new Multilingual installation profile?

Note that #1356276: Allow profiles to define a base/parent profile is not possible yet (and is definitely not a trivial task).

That said, I would actually prefer to have a Multilingual installation profile that would rather be tailored for "from-scratch" site builders — i.e., rather along the lines of Minimal, but obviously with some basic plumbing in place; e.g.:

• Language switcher blocks + default language negotiation configuration.
• Translatable "page" and "article" node types.
• Multilingual blocks.
• Multilingual user accounts, or rather profiles? (#1668292: Move simplified Profile module into core)
• etc.pp.

In other words, I think it would be much more interesting for many to have a base building block for multilingual sites. Whether it's going to be a community site, online commerce site, or business or brochure-ware site in the end, shouldn't matter.

Also, in a sense, if I'd want to know what individual aspects and plumbing is needed for a multilingual site, then I'd simply check what kind of configuration is contained in that installation profile and how it's all glued together.

If you'd ask me, that would be helpful.

...it was suggested that at sometime around the "You're done - Visit your new Drupal site" stage, there could be some hinds (tour.module perhaps) in place to guide installations made in a language other that English to the "Add another language - Enable translation/multilingual" steps.

I believe we're missing the root of the confusion here and that IMHO is the fact that during installation the users are requested to select a single language. This language serves as both the installation UI language as well as the site's default language after installation. So here's what I propose:

1. We allow users to add languages during installation (by providing a "add another language" link/button)

At this point:

a. users that keep English (the language that ships by default with Drupal) can simply ignore the "add another language" link/button and thus we have 99,9% same behavior as the currently one.

b. users that simply want to install Drupal in a different language other than the default English (but still a single-language site), will simply select the desired language from the drop-down and proceed as normal. Again, 99,9% same behavior.

2. If the user actually uses this feature and selects any additional language(s), it means that they intent to set up a multilingual site. So, we additionally offer some way to select which of these selected languages will be the one that the installer UI will use to continue with the installation (perhaps also set that language as the site's default too in the end). This series of user actions also fires all the necessary sub-routines that enable a multilanguage setup (enables required modules and makes all content types translatable by default for example).

Thoughts?

...so in essence, I propose that instead of:

1. Start installation.
2. Select a single language.
3. Finish installation.
4. Enable required modules.
5. Add more languages.
6. Configure all multilanguage settings.

we go with:

1. Start installation.
2. Add languages.
3. Enable required modules.
4. Configure basic multilanguage settings.
5. Finish installation.
6. Tweak the multilanguage settings.

I was thinking that making a special case out of sites that pick a non english language (and assuming they would want translation), or adding a special checkbox, would make me lean toward wont fix.

But #12 and #11 are a very interesting idea.

Add another language. very interesting.

I think I'd rather:

1. Start installation.
2. Add languages.
3. Enable required modules (locale/languages) and optional content translation (makes an assumption translation is wanted. not always true even with more than one language).
4. Finish installation.
5. Configure basic multilanguage settings.

see related point 4 and 16 in user testing: http://groups.drupal.org/node/285978#comment-894708

I am not really sure about this idea, its quite common for people to build a website in one language even when you chose a different UI language. The installer should be about the 80% usecase, I dont think multilingual is a 80% usecase even when you select a foreign language. Also pretty sure that educating people about the multilingual module and its setting pages is a better long-term module, than trowing a checkbox onto the installer.

...its quite common for people to build a website in one language even when you chose a different UI language.

That's right. Which is why in my proposal back in #11 I state (point 1b.) that if a user selects *only one* language other than the default English, then the only change would be that the installer would run in that language and they'd end up with a Drupal site in this single language too. That's 99.9% same behavior as we currently have.

The installer should be about the 80% usecase, I dont think multilingual is a 80% usecase even when you select a foreign language.

The 0.1% change lies in the fact that users would now have the added choice to select *multiple* languages during installation instead of one only. It is only this choice (more than one language selected) that triggers multi-site setup/settings and is covered in point 2 of the same post.

Again, just to clarify things, what I'm talking about is these choices:

1. Leave the default English language selected: single-language site setup
2. Choose a different language: single-language site setup again
3. Choose more than one language: multi-language site setup

From the above choices, only 3 would be something new.

PS: as for the "80% use case", as I've said countless times before: we can only assume and argue unless we get #1274766: Collect stats on enabled sub-modules, not just projects / #1036780: Drupal.org should collect stats on enabled sub-modules and core modules / #1439316: Provide means for module maintainers to collect heuristics on certain settings of their modules. / #1273344: Establish heuristics for core feature evaluation in place and have some hard evidence in hand to present. Till then, it's all speculations to me.

I was thinking about changing this issue's title to something like:

"Allow multiple languages to be selected during installation - Enable multi-language settings when so."

So, should we re-purpose this issue here to allow multiple language selection during installation or should I file a different issue for that and keep the proposal to add a checkbox here?

@klonos My thought: make a new issue to allow selecting more than one language during the install.
There are some things to work out UI wise with that, like: how do they pick *the* language to use during install.
I have another concern, that we are making them stop during the install to figure out all the languages they might ever want on their site....
but anyway, lets talk about in another issue. It's a big conversation to have.

On the topic of enabling content translation in the install, I think no.

We should figure out how we can document, guide, tour people to that end result.

I think there are some related issues to this to gather and put in the summary. I'll keep my eye out for them. For now, #1868058: Open Issues based on the Drupal 8 multilingual user testing results might have some. This one also comes to mind: #1164760: [meta] New users universally did NOT understand that you can extend Drupal

Added a related issue based on comments from @klonos et al: #2007632: Create multilingual install profile.

@klonos added one for the "add another language" idea for the installer language page: #2010008: Multilingual site installation, Step #1: Allow selecting more than one language during installation.