Windows: spell check does not behave as expected / per documentation (the top/preferred language is not used)

[kyle0r]

• [x] I have searched open and closed issues for duplicates
• [x] I am using Signal-Desktop as provided by the Signal team, not a 3rd-party package.

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Bug Description

Per title, the docs say that the top/preferred windows "language" should be used for the UX locale and I'm assuming the spelling dictionary too?

Locales and languages for Signal are now based on your system preferences of your computer's operating system. This should result in better default behavior when multiple languages are configured.

To change the language:

• Within the Language & Region settings on your computer, the top language from the list of “Preferred languages” will be used for Signal Desktop, regardless of what is selected for the “Windows display language” or “Country or region” settings.
  • Change the top language in the list.

cite: https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360049188372-Language-Options

The UX locale seems OK but the spelling dictionary is not following this pattern.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Have at least two locales in windows settings. I had (1st) English (UK) and (2nd) German (Germany).
2. Enter whateeer (whatever) and right click for the spelling suggestion

Actual Result:

See screenshot. A German word is suggested.

Expected Result:

One would expect "whatever" to be suggested as a correction

Screenshots

Platform Info

Signal Version: Desktop production 6.25.0

Operating System: Windows

Linked Device Version: Signal 6.25.5, Android 12

Link to Debug Log

Logs: I think this should not be required for this bug? I can do this on-demand if requested.

[indutny-signal]

Sorry about this. Debug log still might be useful. Thanks!

[jamiebuilds-signal]

@kyle0r Any chance you could send us debuglogs? It would be useful to see what locales we're getting for spell checking dictionaries

[kyle0r]

Hey @jamiebuilds-signal happy to. However it won't be until mid to late August (don't have access to the physical machine until then). I'll set a reminder.

[jamiebuilds-signal]

Hey @kyle0r, I'm going to close this for now, please let me know if you're able to get debuglogs

[kyle0r]

@jamiebuilds-signal I've installed the latest version and re-tested, BUG still present.

Please find the debug log here: https://sh4re.eu/misc/debuglog.7z

[scottnonnenberg-signal]

I see these lines in your log, so we are trying to set up spellcheck with both english and german:

INFO  2023-09-08T19:49:28.783Z spellcheck: user locales: ["en-GB","de-DE"]
INFO  2023-09-08T19:49:28.783Z spellcheck: available spellchecker languages: ["af","bg","ca","cs","cy","da","de","de-DE","el","en","en-AU","en-CA","en-GB","en-GB-oxendict","en-US","es","es-419","es-AR","es-ES","es-MX","es-US","et","fa","fo","fr","fr-FR","he","hi","hr","hu","hy","id","it","it-IT","ko","lt","lv","nb","nl","pl","pt","pt-BR","pt-PT","ro","ru","sh","sk","sl","sq","sr","sv","ta","tg","tr","uk","vi"]
INFO  2023-09-08T19:49:28.783Z spellcheck: setting languages to: ["en-GB","de-DE"]

Do properly-spelled english words show the red squiggly underline? Or is it just the suggestions that are german-only?

[kyle0r]

@scottnonnenberg-signal

Do properly-spelled english words show the red squiggly underline? Or is it just the suggestions that are german-only?

Please see a screenshot. It would seem correctly spelt English words are not squiggly underlined. Incorrectly spelled words are getting spelling suggestions in the incorrect locale.

[jamiebuilds-signal]

@kyle0r I'm not able to reproduce this. I'm going to add some more logging, but could you go to your Windows Settings > Time & Language > Language > Preferred Languages and check if each language there has the expected 'Installed spellchecker and dictionaries' icon:

[Ross-Sherlock]

I have just reproduced this. Working on a solution now.