Steam client version (build number or date): 1785347151
Distribution (e.g. Ubuntu): CachyOS Linux (Arch-based), KDE Plasma 6 / Wayland
Opted into Steam client beta?: Yes (steam_client_publicbeta_ubuntu12)
Have you checked for system updates?: Yes
Interface language: Russian, locale ru_RU.UTF-8
Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible:
The .desktop entries the client writes into ~/.local/share/applications/ when you use "Add to desktop / application menu" are not localized. Every one of them gets the same hardcoded English comment, regardless of the interface language:
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Company of Heroes: Modern Combat
Comment=Play this game on Steam
Exec=steam steam://rungameid/341300
Icon=steam_icon_341300
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Game;
I have 21 such files here, and all 21 carry the identical line. In the application menu every Steam game therefore shows the same English sentence under its name, in an otherwise fully Russian desktop.
The desktop-entry spec has supported translated keys since forever — Comment[ru]=…, Comment[de]=…, and so on, in the same file. Nothing about the format is in the way.
Why I think this is worth a small fix rather than a "won't fix"
The client already ships per-language resources — steamui/localization/friendsui_<language>-json.js exists for every supported language, and there are language-specific data files elsewhere in the installation. So the string catalogue and the notion of "current interface language" are both already there at the moment these files are written. What is missing is only that this particular sentence never goes through them.
Concretely, the ask is: emit Comment[<lang>] alongside Comment using the language the user has already chosen in the client, for the languages Steam is translated into anyway.
Steps for reproduction
Set the Steam interface language to any non-English language.
Right-click a game → Manage → Add desktop shortcut (or Add to Start Menu on the equivalent path).
Open the generated file in ~/.local/share/applications/.
Comment=Play this game on Steam — in English, with no Comment[<lang>] sibling.
Impact
Minor, and I want to be honest about that: the shortcut works, and the game name — the part that matters — is correct. It is a polish issue that shows up in one place but shows up there for every game at once, which is what makes it noticeable: a menu full of native-language entries with one repeated English line under each.
Editing the files by hand works, but the client rewrites an entry whenever the shortcut is re-created, so it is not a durable workaround.
Your system information
steam_client_publicbeta_ubuntu12)ru_RU.UTF-8Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible:
The
.desktopentries the client writes into~/.local/share/applications/when you use "Add to desktop / application menu" are not localized. Every one of them gets the same hardcoded English comment, regardless of the interface language:I have 21 such files here, and all 21 carry the identical line. In the application menu every Steam game therefore shows the same English sentence under its name, in an otherwise fully Russian desktop.
The desktop-entry spec has supported translated keys since forever —
Comment[ru]=…,Comment[de]=…, and so on, in the same file. Nothing about the format is in the way.Why I think this is worth a small fix rather than a "won't fix"
The client already ships per-language resources —
steamui/localization/friendsui_<language>-json.jsexists for every supported language, and there are language-specific data files elsewhere in the installation. So the string catalogue and the notion of "current interface language" are both already there at the moment these files are written. What is missing is only that this particular sentence never goes through them.Concretely, the ask is: emit
Comment[<lang>]alongsideCommentusing the language the user has already chosen in the client, for the languages Steam is translated into anyway.Steps for reproduction
~/.local/share/applications/.Comment=Play this game on Steam— in English, with noComment[<lang>]sibling.Impact
Minor, and I want to be honest about that: the shortcut works, and the game name — the part that matters — is correct. It is a polish issue that shows up in one place but shows up there for every game at once, which is what makes it noticeable: a menu full of native-language entries with one repeated English line under each.
Editing the files by hand works, but the client rewrites an entry whenever the shortcut is re-created, so it is not a durable workaround.
Possibly related
StartupWMClassin the.desktopfile.Both are about the same generated files, but neither is about localization.