Language, units and dark mode

Modified on Wed, 29 Jul at 12:09 AM

Language, units and how the app looks at night are all in Settings — and all of them stay on the device you set them on.

Language

KnotWise speaks English, German and French. You choose under Settings → Appearance; the change takes effect immediately, and your logbook content is untouched by it — only the app's own labels change.

On iPad it works differently. There the app follows the system language. Change it in iOS Settings under Apps › KnotWise › Preferred Language — the app has no language picker of its own on that platform.

Colour scheme, and the night mode

Under Settings → Appearance you pick between four schemes:

Scheme	When to use it
System	Follows your device — light by day, dark by night
Light	Daylight in the cockpit
Dark	At the chart table in the evening
Night	On watch — red light, so your night vision survives a glance at the screen

Night mode has its own brightness slider, from darker to brighter. It is the setting worth finding before the first night watch rather than during it.

Units

Under Settings → Units you set distance, speed and temperature, plus the default currency used for maintenance costs. The choice applies to what the app displays; existing entries are converted for display, not rewritten.

These settings do not sync

Language, colour scheme and units are per device. Setting them on the laptop leaves the iPad as it was. That is deliberate — the tablet on watch wants night mode, the laptop in the marina does not. Your logbook content syncs; the way you look at it does not. Full list of what syncs: Syncing your logbook — advanced guide.

Last updated: 28 July 2026