Once your site has two or more languages, WPResidence Translate adds two helpful controls inside wp-admin (outside the plugin’s own menu). They exist so editors can tell at a glance which language they are working in and can flip to another language without leaving the current screen. This article explains both, where to find them, and how to use them when you manage a multi-language real estate website.

1. The Admin Bar Language Switcher

This is a dropdown labeled Content language: {Language Name} on the top WordPress toolbar, visible on every admin page.

Where to Find It

Look at the top right of any wp-admin screen (next to the user avatar and Howdy menu). The control only appears when:

• You are logged in.
• Your user can edit_posts (contributor and above).
• At least two languages are configured as active in the plugin.
• The admin bar itself is showing.

What It Does

Clicking a language in the dropdown saves that choice against your user account and reloads the current admin page. From that moment, any admin screen that lists or filters translatable content (property list, agent list, page list, taxonomy tables, metaboxes) will show the language variants for the language you picked.

Important: this switcher does not change the language of the WordPress admin interface itself. Menu labels, button text, and dashboard widgets continue to display in your personal WordPress user-profile language. Only the content being shown is filtered.

How the Choice is Remembered

Your selection is stored per user, so each admin keeps their own preferred working language. Logging out and back in preserves the setting. To reset, pick the default language again from the same dropdown.

2. The Editor Header Language Selector

When you open a post, page, property, agent, or any translatable custom post type in the editor, the plugin shows the current language as a small flag-and-name badge near the top of the editor screen.

Where to Find It

Open any post in the block editor. The badge appears in the top header of the editor, alongside the regular Save Draft / Preview / Publish controls. It displays:

• The flag of the post’s language.
• The language name (or ISO code if no name was configured).

The alt text on the flag image is automatically “{Language} flag” for accessibility.

What It Tells You

The editor header badge answers one question at a glance: which language am I editing right now? This matters because:

• Every translatable post is tied to exactly one language behind the scenes.
• The Automatic Translation button in the publish panel targets the post’s language.
• Custom fields and meta sync rules behave differently depending on the language context.

What Language Does It Show?

The plugin picks the language in this order:

1. The language you chose in the admin bar switcher, if set.
2. The default language configured on the Languages screen.
3. As a final fallback, English (en).

For an existing translated post, the badge matches the post’s stored language (for example a French translation will always show French even when the admin bar is set to English).

How the Two Switchers Work Together

Think of them as different jobs for different moments:

Tool	Use it when…
Admin bar switcher	You are browsing list screens (All Posts, All Properties, categories, agents) and want to see a specific language’s content.
Editor header badge	You are editing a single post and want to confirm the language assigned to it before you publish or run auto-translation.

Who Sees What

• The admin bar switcher requires the edit_posts capability. Subscribers and logged-out visitors do not see it.
• The editor header badge is shown on post editor screens (post.php and post-new.php) for any user who can open the editor.
• Full language management (adding, removing, reordering) still requires the manage_options capability.

Non-Latin Languages

Both controls render language names exactly as you typed them on the Languages screen. Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Cyrillic, Thai, Greek, and other non-Latin labels display correctly without extra configuration.

Troubleshooting

• Admin bar switcher is missing: you likely have only one active language or the admin bar is turned off for your profile.
• Editor badge shows the wrong language: the post was saved against that language in a previous session. Re-link the post through the translation UI or use the admin bar switcher to open the correct variant.
• Flag is missing next to the language name: the language’s flag field is empty on the Languages screen.

For a broader picture of how languages flow through a real estate site, see our guide to a multi-language real estate website.

What To Read Next

• Managing Languages — add, reorder, and set the default language.
• Language Switcher Widget — the frontend equivalent of the admin bar switcher.
• Translating Posts & Pages — create and link language variants.