Language and copy
DropAFinder finders support English and Spanish out of the box. The Language & Copy section of the Finder Builder lets you switch the finder’s display language and override any individual text string — search bar labels, button text, empty states, hours badges, and more — to match your brand’s voice.
The builder interface itself always stays in English. The language setting only affects what your site visitors see in the embedded finder.
🟡 [SCREENSHOT: language/copy section of builder — language card grid at top, Text Overrides groups below]
Where to find it
- Open the Finder Builder for the finder you want to edit.
- In the left sidebar, click Language & Copy (listed under the content/display group of sections).
The section has two subsections:
- Language — a card grid to choose the finder’s display language.
- Text Overrides — a searchable list of every string the finder displays, grouped by area of the UI.
Choosing a language
The Language subsection shows a card for each supported language. Click a card to activate it; the selected card gets a highlighted border.
| Language | Value | Default |
|---|---|---|
| English | en | Yes |
| Spanish | es | No |
Switching the language immediately updates the Live Preview so you can confirm how the finder looks before publishing.
💡 Tip: If your audience is bilingual or your site serves multiple regions, consider creating a separate finder per language rather than switching a single finder back and forth. Each finder has its own embed key, so you can target the right one per page.
🔴 [NEEDS CLARIFICATION: Is right-to-left (RTL) layout planned? Current widget CSS does not include RTL rules.]
What changes when you switch language
Switching from English to Spanish (or back) replaces every default UI string in the embedded finder — nothing on the builder side changes. The affected areas are:
| Area | Example English | Example Spanish |
|---|---|---|
| Search bar | ”Search locations” / “Search city, state, ZIP, or location name" | "Buscar ubicaciones” / “Busca ciudad, estado, código postal o nombre de ubicación” |
| Search button | ”Search" | "Buscar” |
| Filters button | ”Filters" | "Filtros” |
| Autocomplete suggestions | ”Matching your locations" | "Coincidencias en tus ubicaciones” |
| Results header | ”Nearby results” · “X locations" | "Resultados cercanos” · “X ubicaciones” |
| Empty state | ”No locations found” / “Try adjusting your search or filters." | "No se encontraron ubicaciones” / “Ajusta tu búsqueda o filtros.” |
| Directions button | ”Get directions" | "Cómo llegar” |
| Show more | ”Show more locations" | "Mostrar más ubicaciones” |
| Map popup | ”View” / “Directions" | "Ver” / “Cómo llegar” |
| Refinements panel | ”Filter by tag” / “Apply filters” / “Search radius" | "Filtrar por etiqueta” / “Aplicar filtros” / “Radio de búsqueda” |
| Sort options | ”Distance” / “Name” / “City” / “State" | "Distancia” / “Nombre” / “Ciudad” / “Estado” |
| Hours badges | ”Open” / “Closed” / “Closing soon" | "Abierto” / “Cerrado” / “Cierra pronto” |
| Day names | ”Monday” – “Sunday" | "lunes” – “domingo” |
| Error fallback | ”Finder unavailable" | "Buscador no disponible” |
Number and time formatting also adapts to the locale. Distance values and business hours use the browser’s Intl APIs with the selected locale, so decimal separators and time formats (12 h vs. 24 h) follow the locale’s conventions automatically.
Overriding individual text strings
The Text Overrides subsection lets you replace any default string with your own copy — for example, changing “Search locations” to “Find a store near you” — without affecting the language setting.
Strings are grouped by UI area:
| Group | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Search | Search bar label, placeholder, button, filters button, and autocomplete headings |
| List | Results eyebrow, location count labels (singular/plural), empty state title and body, directions and show-more buttons |
| Map | Popup buttons (View, Directions) and ARIA labels for map markers |
| Refinements | Filter group headings, selected-count labels, sort option names, Apply filters button |
| Hours | Open/Closed/Closing soon badges, detail templates, day names |
| System | Error fallback message (“Finder unavailable”) |
How to override a string
- Scroll to the group that contains the string you want to change, or use your browser’s in-page search to locate it.
- Each row shows:
- The field’s human-readable label (e.g., “Empty state title”)
- The key name (e.g.,
list.emptyTitle) — for reference only; you do not need to enter keys manually - The Default value for the currently selected language — shown as grayed placeholder text in the input
- Type your replacement text into the input field. The Live Preview updates as you type.
- To remove an override and revert to the language default, click Reset next to that field, or clear the input and leave it blank.
To remove all overrides at once, click Reset all overrides at the top of the Text Overrides subsection. This button is disabled when no overrides are active.
💡 Tip: Overrides apply on top of whichever language is active. If you switch the language after adding overrides, the overrides are kept — they continue to replace the new language’s defaults for any key you have customized.
Placeholder tokens
Some strings contain dynamic values. These appear in curly braces and must be preserved exactly as shown when writing an override. Examples:
| Key | Template | Token(s) |
|---|---|---|
refinements.selectedCount.one | {count} selected | {count} |
refinements.selectedCount.other | {count} selected | {count} |
hours.opensTodayAt | Opens today at {time} | {time} |
hours.opensDayAt | Opens {day} at {time} | {day}, {time} |
hours.open.until | Open until {time} | {time} |
hours.badgeDetail | {badge} · {detail} | {badge}, {detail} |
⚠️ Warning: If you omit a required token in your override (for example, writing “Opens at” instead of “Opens at {time}”), the finder will display the override text literally without substituting the value. Always keep every {token} from the default template.
Live Preview
Every change — language switch or text override — is reflected immediately in the Live Preview panel on the right side of the builder. You do not need to save or publish to see the result.
The preview loads the exact localized strings the embedded finder will use, so what you see in the builder is what your visitors will see.
Saving and publishing
Language and copy settings are saved as part of the finder’s design configuration when you click Save in the builder. They go live to embedded finders when you Publish.
For more on the save / publish workflow, see Finder Builder.
Related pages
- Finder Builder — full builder overview, sidebar navigation, and Live Preview
- Language customization reference — deeper reference for the localization config structure