## Localization

The **Localization** settings allow you to set global defaults for your Metabase instance. Localization settings include options for:

- **Language**
- **Date and time**
- **Numbers**
- **Currency**

The **Localization** settings can be found in the **Admin Panel** under the **Settings** tab.

### Instance language

The default language for all users across the Metabase UI, system emails, pulses, and alerts. Users can pick a different language from their own account settings page.

See a [list of languages Metabase supports](https://www.metabase.com/docs/latest/faq/general/what-languages-can-be-used-with-metabase.html).

### Localization settings

**Dates and Times**
* `Date style:` the way dates should be displayed in tables, axis labels, and tooltips.
* `Date separators:` you can choose between slashes, dashes, and dots here.
* `Abbreviate names of days and months:` whenever a date is displayed with the day of the week and/or the month written out, turning this setting on will display e.g. `January` as `Jan` or `Monday` as `Mon`.
* `Time style:` this lets you choose between a 12-hour or 24-hour clock to display the time by default where applicable.

**Numbers**
* `Separator style:` some folks use commas to separate thousands places, and others use periods. Here's where you can indicate which camp you belong to.

**Currency**
* `Unit of currency:` if you do most of your business in a particular currency, you can specify that here.
* `Currency label style:` whether you want to have your currencies labeled with a symbol, a code (like `USD`), or its full name.
* `Where to display the unit of currency:` this pertains specifically to tables, and lets you choose if you want the currency labels to appear only in the column heading, or next to each value in the column.
