Languages, Protocols and Clients

Your WebMail language setting does more than change the words you see on screen. It can also affect folder names, calendar items, contacts, email apps, PST imports and mailbox migrations. For the best experience, make sure your WebMail language matches the language you want to use before importing mail or setting up your account in an email app.

Why your WebMail language matters

The language selected in WebMail controls more than the display language of the webmail screen. It can also affect how default folders and mailbox items are named and displayed.

This may include:

Inbox, Sent Items, Drafts and Deleted Items folders
Calendar names and appointments
Contact groups
Mailbox settings
Imported email content
Mail app folder mappings

Because of this, it is important to choose the correct WebMail language before importing mail, migrating a mailbox or setting up your account in an email app such as Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird, eM Client or iOS Mail.

Before importing a PST file

Before importing a PST file from Microsoft Outlook, make sure the language selected in WebMail matches the language used in the PST file.

If the languages do not match, you may end up with duplicate folders. For example, you may see your existing WebMail folders in one language and imported Outlook folders in another language.

This can result in duplicate versions of folders such as:

Inbox
Sent Items
Deleted Items
Drafts
Calendar
Contacts

You may then need to manually move messages, delete incorrect folders, fix calendar entries or clean up contacts. This can take time and may cause confusion when trying to find older messages or appointments.

Email apps may show folder names differently

Different email apps handle language settings in different ways.

Some apps use the language saved in WebMail. Others use the language of the app or the device operating system. This means your folders may not always look exactly the same in WebMail and in your email app.

For example, if your phone or computer is set to English, your mail app may still show folders in English, even if WebMail is set to another language.

This is controlled by the email app or device. WebMail cannot force the app or operating system to use the same language.

IMAP, Exchange and folder names

If your account is set up using IMAP, your email app usually manages how folder names are displayed. In most cases, it is best to let the app handle the folder names.

If your account is set up using Exchange-type protocols such as EAS, EWS or MAPI, WebMail sends folder names to the email app using the language saved in WebMail. However, some apps may still use their own folder names for default folders.

Because of this, folder names in WebMail and your email app may not always match perfectly.

Browser language can also affect WebMail

WebMail also uses your browser language for some interactive parts of the screen, such as date pickers, time pickers and layout behaviour.

For the best experience, your browser language should match your WebMail language.

If they do not match, you may notice:

Date or time formats displaying differently
Mixed language labels
AM or PM showing instead of local language time markers
Layout issues in languages that read from right to left
Some items appearing translated while others are not

If WebMail detects a mismatch, you may see a one-time notification when logging in.

Changing your WebMail language

To change your WebMail language:

Sign in to Mweb WebMail.
Open Settings.
Go to your account or user settings.
Find the Language option.
Select the language you want to use.
Save your changes.
Sign out and sign back in.

After changing your WebMail language, we recommend removing and re-adding your email account in any email app linked to the mailbox. This helps the app sync the correct folder names from the start.

Important note about existing folders

Changing your WebMail language may update default folder names, but it will not always rename custom folders.

Custom folders normally keep the names they were originally given.

For example, if you created a folder called “Work”, it will remain “Work” even if you change WebMail to another language.

What to do if you see duplicate folders

Duplicate folders can happen if the language was changed after the account was already synced to an email app, or if mail was imported from a PST file using a different language.

If you see duplicate folders:

Check which folder contains the correct messages.
Move any missing messages into the correct folder.
Remove the email account from your email app.
Add the email account again.
Once you are sure everything is correct, delete the duplicate empty folders.

Do not delete folders until you have confirmed that no important mail, contacts or calendar items are stored in them.

How common email apps behave

Email app	What may happen
Outlook for Windows	Duplicate default folders may appear after a language change. Removing and re-adding the account is recommended.
Outlook for Mac	Usually maps folders correctly, but duplicate folders can appear over time. Folder mappings can be reset in Outlook settings.
Windows Mail	Folder names may update automatically, but some duplicate folders may appear locally.
Thunderbird	Folder names may update, but Thunderbird may need to be restarted. You may also need to check subscribed folders.
Apple Mail	Usually maps folders correctly during initial setup and after language changes.

Best practice

To avoid folder and language issues:

Set your WebMail language before importing a PST file.
Use the same language in WebMail, your browser and your device where possible.
Avoid changing the WebMail language after your mailbox has already been synced to multiple email apps.
Remove and re-add your email account in your email app after changing the WebMail language.
Check folders carefully before deleting duplicates.