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13 <head>
14 <title>GNU gettext utilities: 3. The Format of PO Files</title>
15
16 <meta name="description" content="GNU gettext utilities: 3. The Format of PO Files">
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41
42 <body lang="en" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" vlink="#800080" alink="#FF0000">
43
44 <table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
45 <tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_2.html#SEC7" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
46 <td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_4.html#SEC17" title="Next chapter"> &gt;&gt; </a>]</td>
47 <td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
48 <td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
49 <td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
50 <td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
51 <td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
52 <td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_toc.html#SEC_Top" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
53 <td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_toc.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents">Contents</a>]</td>
54 <td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_21.html#SEC389" title="Index">Index</a>]</td>
55 <td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_abt.html#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
56 </tr></table>
57
58 <hr size="2">
59 <a name="PO-Files"></a>
60 <a name="SEC16"></a>
61 <h1 class="chapter"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC16">3. The Format of PO Files</a> </h1>
62
63 <p>The GNU <code>gettext</code> toolset helps programmers and translators
64 at producing, updating and using translation files, mainly those
65 PO files which are textual, editable files. This chapter explains
66 the format of PO files.
67 </p>
68 <p>A PO file is made up of many entries, each entry holding the relation
69 between an original untranslated string and its corresponding
70 translation. All entries in a given PO file usually pertain
71 to a single project, and all translations are expressed in a single
72 target language. One PO file <em>entry</em> has the following schematic
73 structure:
74 </p>
75 <table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example"><var>white-space</var>
76 # <var>translator-comments</var>
77 #. <var>extracted-comments</var>
78 #: <var>reference</var>&hellip;
79 #, <var>flag</var>&hellip;
80 #| msgid <var>previous-untranslated-string</var>
81 msgid <var>untranslated-string</var>
82 msgstr <var>translated-string</var>
83 </pre></td></tr></table>
84
85 <p>The general structure of a PO file should be well understood by
86 the translator. When using PO mode, very little has to be known
87 about the format details, as PO mode takes care of them for her.
88 </p>
89 <p>A simple entry can look like this:
90 </p>
91 <table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">#: lib/error.c:116
92 msgid &quot;Unknown system error&quot;
93 msgstr &quot;Error desconegut del sistema&quot;
94 </pre></td></tr></table>
95
96 <a name="IDX43"></a>
97 <a name="IDX44"></a>
98 <a name="IDX45"></a>
99 <p>Entries begin with some optional white space. Usually, when generated
100 through GNU <code>gettext</code> tools, there is exactly one blank line
101 between entries. Then comments follow, on lines all starting with the
102 character <code>#</code>. There are two kinds of comments: those which have
103 some white space immediately following the <code>#</code> - the <var>translator
104 comments</var> -, which comments are created and maintained exclusively by the
105 translator, and those which have some non-white character just after the
106 <code>#</code> - the <var>automatic comments</var> -, which comments are created and
107 maintained automatically by GNU <code>gettext</code> tools. Comment lines
108 starting with <code>#.</code> contain comments given by the programmer, directed
109 at the translator; these comments are called <var>extracted comments</var>
110 because the <code>xgettext</code> program extracts them from the program's
111 source code. Comment lines starting with <code>#:</code> contain references to
112 the program's source code. Comment lines starting with <code>#,</code> contain
113 flags; more about these below. Comment lines starting with <code>#|</code>
114 contain the previous untranslated string for which the translator gave
115 a translation.
116 </p>
117 <p>All comments, of either kind, are optional.
118 </p>
119 <p>References to the program's source code, in lines that start with <code>#:</code>,
120 are of the form <code><var>file_name</var>:<var>line_number</var></code> or just
121 <var>file_name</var>. If the <var>file_name</var> contains spaces. it is enclosed
122 within Unicode characters U+2068 and U+2069.
123 </p>
124 <a name="IDX46"></a>
125 <a name="IDX47"></a>
126 <p>After white space and comments, entries show two strings, namely
127 first the untranslated string as it appears in the original program
128 sources, and then, the translation of this string. The original
129 string is introduced by the keyword <code>msgid</code>, and the translation,
130 by <code>msgstr</code>. The two strings, untranslated and translated,
131 are quoted in various ways in the PO file, using <code>&quot;</code>
132 delimiters and <code>\</code> escapes, but the translator does not really
133 have to pay attention to the precise quoting format, as PO mode fully
134 takes care of quoting for her.
135 </p>
136 <p>The <code>msgid</code> strings, as well as automatic comments, are produced
137 and managed by other GNU <code>gettext</code> tools, and PO mode does not
138 provide means for the translator to alter these. The most she can
139 do is merely deleting them, and only by deleting the whole entry.
140 On the other hand, the <code>msgstr</code> string, as well as translator
141 comments, are really meant for the translator, and PO mode gives her
142 the full control she needs.
143 </p>
144 <p>The comment lines beginning with <code>#,</code> are special because they are
145 not completely ignored by the programs as comments generally are. The
146 comma separated list of <var>flag</var>s is used by the <code>msgfmt</code>
147 program to give the user some better diagnostic messages. Currently
148 there are two forms of flags defined:
149 </p>
150 <dl compact="compact">
151 <dt> <code>fuzzy</code></dt>
152 <dd><a name="IDX48"></a>
153 <p>This flag can be generated by the <code>msgmerge</code> program or it can be
154 inserted by the translator herself. It shows that the <code>msgstr</code>
155 string might not be a correct translation (anymore). Only the translator
156 can judge if the translation requires further modification, or is
157 acceptable as is. Once satisfied with the translation, she then removes
158 this <code>fuzzy</code> attribute. The <code>msgmerge</code> program inserts this
159 when it combined the <code>msgid</code> and <code>msgstr</code> entries after fuzzy
160 search only. See section <a href="gettext_8.html#SEC72">Fuzzy Entries</a>.
161 </p>
162 </dd>
163 <dt> <code>c-format</code></dt>
164 <dd><a name="IDX49"></a>
165 </dd>
166 <dt> <code>no-c-format</code></dt>
167 <dd><a name="IDX50"></a>
168 <p>These flags should not be added by a human. Instead only the
169 <code>xgettext</code> program adds them. In an automated PO file processing
170 system as proposed here, the user's changes would be thrown away again as
171 soon as the <code>xgettext</code> program generates a new template file.
172 </p>
173 <p>The <code>c-format</code> flag indicates that the untranslated string and the
174 translation are supposed to be C format strings. The <code>no-c-format</code>
175 flag indicates that they are not C format strings, even though the untranslated
176 string happens to look like a C format string (with &lsquo;<samp>%</samp>&rsquo; directives).
177 </p>
178 <p>When the <code>c-format</code> flag is given for a string the <code>msgfmt</code>
179 program does some more tests to check the validity of the translation.
180 See section <a href="gettext_10.html#SEC174">Invoking the <code>msgfmt</code> Program</a>, <a href="gettext_4.html#SEC30">Special Comments preceding Keywords</a> and <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC267">C Format Strings</a>.
181 </p>
182 </dd>
183 <dt> <code>objc-format</code></dt>
184 <dd><a name="IDX51"></a>
185 </dd>
186 <dt> <code>no-objc-format</code></dt>
187 <dd><a name="IDX52"></a>
188 <p>Likewise for Objective C, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC268">Objective C Format Strings</a>.
189 </p>
190 </dd>
191 <dt> <code>c++-format</code></dt>
192 <dd><a name="IDX53"></a>
193 </dd>
194 <dt> <code>no-c++-format</code></dt>
195 <dd><a name="IDX54"></a>
196 <p>Likewise for C++, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC269">C++ Format Strings</a>.
197 </p>
198 </dd>
199 <dt> <code>python-format</code></dt>
200 <dd><a name="IDX55"></a>
201 </dd>
202 <dt> <code>no-python-format</code></dt>
203 <dd><a name="IDX56"></a>
204 <p>Likewise for Python, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC270">Python Format Strings</a>.
205 </p>
206 </dd>
207 <dt> <code>python-brace-format</code></dt>
208 <dd><a name="IDX57"></a>
209 </dd>
210 <dt> <code>no-python-brace-format</code></dt>
211 <dd><a name="IDX58"></a>
212 <p>Likewise for Python brace, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC270">Python Format Strings</a>.
213 </p>
214 </dd>
215 <dt> <code>java-format</code></dt>
216 <dd><a name="IDX59"></a>
217 </dd>
218 <dt> <code>no-java-format</code></dt>
219 <dd><a name="IDX60"></a>
220 <p>Likewise for Java <code>MessageFormat</code> format strings, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC271">Java Format Strings</a>.
221 </p>
222 </dd>
223 <dt> <code>java-printf-format</code></dt>
224 <dd><a name="IDX61"></a>
225 </dd>
226 <dt> <code>no-java-printf-format</code></dt>
227 <dd><a name="IDX62"></a>
228 <p>Likewise for Java <code>printf</code> format strings, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC271">Java Format Strings</a>.
229 </p>
230 </dd>
231 <dt> <code>csharp-format</code></dt>
232 <dd><a name="IDX63"></a>
233 </dd>
234 <dt> <code>no-csharp-format</code></dt>
235 <dd><a name="IDX64"></a>
236 <p>Likewise for C#, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC272">C# Format Strings</a>.
237 </p>
238 </dd>
239 <dt> <code>javascript-format</code></dt>
240 <dd><a name="IDX65"></a>
241 </dd>
242 <dt> <code>no-javascript-format</code></dt>
243 <dd><a name="IDX66"></a>
244 <p>Likewise for JavaScript, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC273">JavaScript Format Strings</a>.
245 </p>
246 </dd>
247 <dt> <code>scheme-format</code></dt>
248 <dd><a name="IDX67"></a>
249 </dd>
250 <dt> <code>no-scheme-format</code></dt>
251 <dd><a name="IDX68"></a>
252 <p>Likewise for Scheme, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC274">Scheme Format Strings</a>.
253 </p>
254 </dd>
255 <dt> <code>lisp-format</code></dt>
256 <dd><a name="IDX69"></a>
257 </dd>
258 <dt> <code>no-lisp-format</code></dt>
259 <dd><a name="IDX70"></a>
260 <p>Likewise for Lisp, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC275">Lisp Format Strings</a>.
261 </p>
262 </dd>
263 <dt> <code>elisp-format</code></dt>
264 <dd><a name="IDX71"></a>
265 </dd>
266 <dt> <code>no-elisp-format</code></dt>
267 <dd><a name="IDX72"></a>
268 <p>Likewise for Emacs Lisp, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC276">Emacs Lisp Format Strings</a>.
269 </p>
270 </dd>
271 <dt> <code>librep-format</code></dt>
272 <dd><a name="IDX73"></a>
273 </dd>
274 <dt> <code>no-librep-format</code></dt>
275 <dd><a name="IDX74"></a>
276 <p>Likewise for librep, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC277">librep Format Strings</a>.
277 </p>
278 </dd>
279 <dt> <code>ruby-format</code></dt>
280 <dd><a name="IDX75"></a>
281 </dd>
282 <dt> <code>no-ruby-format</code></dt>
283 <dd><a name="IDX76"></a>
284 <p>Likewise for Ruby, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC278">Ruby Format Strings</a>.
285 </p>
286 </dd>
287 <dt> <code>sh-format</code></dt>
288 <dd><a name="IDX77"></a>
289 </dd>
290 <dt> <code>no-sh-format</code></dt>
291 <dd><a name="IDX78"></a>
292 <p>Likewise for Shell, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC279">Shell Format Strings</a>.
293 </p>
294 </dd>
295 <dt> <code>awk-format</code></dt>
296 <dd><a name="IDX79"></a>
297 </dd>
298 <dt> <code>no-awk-format</code></dt>
299 <dd><a name="IDX80"></a>
300 <p>Likewise for awk, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC280">awk Format Strings</a>.
301 </p>
302 </dd>
303 <dt> <code>lua-format</code></dt>
304 <dd><a name="IDX81"></a>
305 </dd>
306 <dt> <code>no-lua-format</code></dt>
307 <dd><a name="IDX82"></a>
308 <p>Likewise for Lua, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC281">Lua Format Strings</a>.
309 </p>
310 </dd>
311 <dt> <code>object-pascal-format</code></dt>
312 <dd><a name="IDX83"></a>
313 </dd>
314 <dt> <code>no-object-pascal-format</code></dt>
315 <dd><a name="IDX84"></a>
316 <p>Likewise for Object Pascal, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC282">Object Pascal Format Strings</a>.
317 </p>
318 </dd>
319 <dt> <code>smalltalk-format</code></dt>
320 <dd><a name="IDX85"></a>
321 </dd>
322 <dt> <code>no-smalltalk-format</code></dt>
323 <dd><a name="IDX86"></a>
324 <p>Likewise for Smalltalk, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC283">Smalltalk Format Strings</a>.
325 </p>
326 </dd>
327 <dt> <code>qt-format</code></dt>
328 <dd><a name="IDX87"></a>
329 </dd>
330 <dt> <code>no-qt-format</code></dt>
331 <dd><a name="IDX88"></a>
332 <p>Likewise for Qt, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC284">Qt Format Strings</a>.
333 </p>
334 </dd>
335 <dt> <code>qt-plural-format</code></dt>
336 <dd><a name="IDX89"></a>
337 </dd>
338 <dt> <code>no-qt-plural-format</code></dt>
339 <dd><a name="IDX90"></a>
340 <p>Likewise for Qt plural forms, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC285">Qt Format Strings</a>.
341 </p>
342 </dd>
343 <dt> <code>kde-format</code></dt>
344 <dd><a name="IDX91"></a>
345 </dd>
346 <dt> <code>no-kde-format</code></dt>
347 <dd><a name="IDX92"></a>
348 <p>Likewise for KDE, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC286">KDE Format Strings</a>.
349 </p>
350 </dd>
351 <dt> <code>boost-format</code></dt>
352 <dd><a name="IDX93"></a>
353 </dd>
354 <dt> <code>no-boost-format</code></dt>
355 <dd><a name="IDX94"></a>
356 <p>Likewise for Boost, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC288">Boost Format Strings</a>.
357 </p>
358 </dd>
359 <dt> <code>tcl-format</code></dt>
360 <dd><a name="IDX95"></a>
361 </dd>
362 <dt> <code>no-tcl-format</code></dt>
363 <dd><a name="IDX96"></a>
364 <p>Likewise for Tcl, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC289">Tcl Format Strings</a>.
365 </p>
366 </dd>
367 <dt> <code>perl-format</code></dt>
368 <dd><a name="IDX97"></a>
369 </dd>
370 <dt> <code>no-perl-format</code></dt>
371 <dd><a name="IDX98"></a>
372 <p>Likewise for Perl, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC290">Perl Format Strings</a>.
373 </p>
374 </dd>
375 <dt> <code>perl-brace-format</code></dt>
376 <dd><a name="IDX99"></a>
377 </dd>
378 <dt> <code>no-perl-brace-format</code></dt>
379 <dd><a name="IDX100"></a>
380 <p>Likewise for Perl brace, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC290">Perl Format Strings</a>.
381 </p>
382 </dd>
383 <dt> <code>php-format</code></dt>
384 <dd><a name="IDX101"></a>
385 </dd>
386 <dt> <code>no-php-format</code></dt>
387 <dd><a name="IDX102"></a>
388 <p>Likewise for PHP, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC291">PHP Format Strings</a>.
389 </p>
390 </dd>
391 <dt> <code>gcc-internal-format</code></dt>
392 <dd><a name="IDX103"></a>
393 </dd>
394 <dt> <code>no-gcc-internal-format</code></dt>
395 <dd><a name="IDX104"></a>
396 <p>Likewise for the GCC sources, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC292">GCC internal Format Strings</a>.
397 </p>
398 </dd>
399 <dt> <code>gfc-internal-format</code></dt>
400 <dd><a name="IDX105"></a>
401 </dd>
402 <dt> <code>no-gfc-internal-format</code></dt>
403 <dd><a name="IDX106"></a>
404 <p>Likewise for the GNU Fortran Compiler sources, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC293">GFC internal Format Strings</a>.
405 </p>
406 </dd>
407 <dt> <code>ycp-format</code></dt>
408 <dd><a name="IDX107"></a>
409 </dd>
410 <dt> <code>no-ycp-format</code></dt>
411 <dd><a name="IDX108"></a>
412 <p>Likewise for YCP, see <a href="gettext_15.html#SEC294">YCP Format Strings</a>.
413 </p>
414 </dd>
415 </dl>
416
417 <a name="IDX109"></a>
418 <a name="IDX110"></a>
419 <p>It is also possible to have entries with a context specifier. They look like
420 this:
421 </p>
422 <table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example"><var>white-space</var>
423 # <var>translator-comments</var>
424 #. <var>extracted-comments</var>
425 #: <var>reference</var>&hellip;
426 #, <var>flag</var>&hellip;
427 #| msgctxt <var>previous-context</var>
428 #| msgid <var>previous-untranslated-string</var>
429 msgctxt <var>context</var>
430 msgid <var>untranslated-string</var>
431 msgstr <var>translated-string</var>
432 </pre></td></tr></table>
433
434 <p>The context serves to disambiguate messages with the same
435 <var>untranslated-string</var>. It is possible to have several entries with
436 the same <var>untranslated-string</var> in a PO file, provided that they each
437 have a different <var>context</var>. Note that an empty <var>context</var> string
438 and an absent <code>msgctxt</code> line do not mean the same thing.
439 </p>
440 <a name="IDX111"></a>
441 <a name="IDX112"></a>
442 <p>A different kind of entries is used for translations which involve
443 plural forms.
444 </p>
445 <table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example"><var>white-space</var>
446 # <var>translator-comments</var>
447 #. <var>extracted-comments</var>
448 #: <var>reference</var>&hellip;
449 #, <var>flag</var>&hellip;
450 #| msgid <var>previous-untranslated-string-singular</var>
451 #| msgid_plural <var>previous-untranslated-string-plural</var>
452 msgid <var>untranslated-string-singular</var>
453 msgid_plural <var>untranslated-string-plural</var>
454 msgstr[0] <var>translated-string-case-0</var>
455 ...
456 msgstr[N] <var>translated-string-case-n</var>
457 </pre></td></tr></table>
458
459 <p>Such an entry can look like this:
460 </p>
461 <table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">#: src/msgcmp.c:338 src/po-lex.c:699
462 #, c-format
463 msgid &quot;found %d fatal error&quot;
464 msgid_plural &quot;found %d fatal errors&quot;
465 msgstr[0] &quot;s'ha trobat %d error fatal&quot;
466 msgstr[1] &quot;s'han trobat %d errors fatals&quot;
467 </pre></td></tr></table>
468
469 <p>Here also, a <code>msgctxt</code> context can be specified before <code>msgid</code>,
470 like above.
471 </p>
472 <p>Here, additional kinds of flags can be used:
473 </p>
474 <dl compact="compact">
475 <dt> <code>range:</code></dt>
476 <dd><a name="IDX113"></a>
477 <p>This flag is followed by a range of non-negative numbers, using the syntax
478 <code>range: <var>minimum-value</var>..<var>maximum-value</var></code>. It designates the
479 possible values that the numeric parameter of the message can take. In some
480 languages, translators may produce slightly better translations if they know
481 that the value can only take on values between 0 and 10, for example.
482 </p></dd>
483 </dl>
484
485 <p>The <var>previous-untranslated-string</var> is optionally inserted by the
486 <code>msgmerge</code> program, at the same time when it marks a message fuzzy.
487 It helps the translator to see which changes were done by the developers
488 on the <var>untranslated-string</var>.
489 </p>
490 <p>It happens that some lines, usually whitespace or comments, follow the
491 very last entry of a PO file. Such lines are not part of any entry,
492 and will be dropped when the PO file is processed by the tools, or may
493 disturb some PO file editors.
494 </p>
495 <p>The remainder of this section may be safely skipped by those using
496 a PO file editor, yet it may be interesting for everybody to have a better
497 idea of the precise format of a PO file. On the other hand, those
498 wishing to modify PO files by hand should carefully continue reading on.
499 </p>
500 <p>An empty <var>untranslated-string</var> is reserved to contain the header
501 entry with the meta information (see section <a href="gettext_6.html#SEC52">Filling in the Header Entry</a>). This header
502 entry should be the first entry of the file. The empty
503 <var>untranslated-string</var> is reserved for this purpose and must
504 not be used anywhere else.
505 </p>
506 <p>Each of <var>untranslated-string</var> and <var>translated-string</var> respects
507 the C syntax for a character string, including the surrounding quotes
508 and embedded backslashed escape sequences, except that universal character
509 escape sequences (<code>\u</code> and <code>\U</code>) are not allowed. When the time
510 comes to write multi-line strings, one should not use escaped newlines.
511 Instead, a closing quote should follow the last character on the
512 line to be continued, and an opening quote should resume the string
513 at the beginning of the following PO file line. For example:
514 </p>
515 <table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">msgid &quot;&quot;
516 &quot;Here is an example of how one might continue a very long string\n&quot;
517 &quot;for the common case the string represents multi-line output.\n&quot;
518 </pre></td></tr></table>
519
520 <p>In this example, the empty string is used on the first line, to
521 allow better alignment of the <code>H</code> from the word &lsquo;<samp>Here</samp>&rsquo;
522 over the <code>f</code> from the word &lsquo;<samp>for</samp>&rsquo;. In this example, the
523 <code>msgid</code> keyword is followed by three strings, which are meant
524 to be concatenated. Concatenating the empty string does not change
525 the resulting overall string, but it is a way for us to comply with
526 the necessity of <code>msgid</code> to be followed by a string on the same
527 line, while keeping the multi-line presentation left-justified, as
528 we find this to be a cleaner disposition. The empty string could have
529 been omitted, but only if the string starting with &lsquo;<samp>Here</samp>&rsquo; was
530 promoted on the first line, right after <code>msgid</code>.<a name="DOCF2" href="gettext_fot.html#FOOT2">(2)</a> It was not really necessary
531 either to switch between the two last quoted strings immediately after
532 the newline &lsquo;<samp>\n</samp>&rsquo;, the switch could have occurred after <em>any</em>
533 other character, we just did it this way because it is neater.
534 </p>
535 <a name="IDX114"></a>
536 <p>One should carefully distinguish between end of lines marked as
537 &lsquo;<samp>\n</samp>&rsquo; <em>inside</em> quotes, which are part of the represented
538 string, and end of lines in the PO file itself, outside string quotes,
539 which have no incidence on the represented string.
540 </p>
541 <a name="IDX115"></a>
542 <p>Outside strings, white lines and comments may be used freely.
543 Comments start at the beginning of a line with &lsquo;<samp>#</samp>&rsquo; and extend
544 until the end of the PO file line. Comments written by translators
545 should have the initial &lsquo;<samp>#</samp>&rsquo; immediately followed by some white
546 space. If the &lsquo;<samp>#</samp>&rsquo; is not immediately followed by white space,
547 this comment is most likely generated and managed by specialized GNU
548 tools, and might disappear or be replaced unexpectedly when the PO
549 file is given to <code>msgmerge</code>.
550 </p>
551 <p>For a PO file to be valid, no two entries without <code>msgctxt</code> may have
552 the same <var>untranslated-string</var> or <var>untranslated-string-singular</var>.
553 Similarly, no two entries may have the same <code>msgctxt</code> and the same
554 <var>untranslated-string</var> or <var>untranslated-string-singular</var>.
555 </p>
556
557 <table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
558 <tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_2.html#SEC7" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
559 <td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_4.html#SEC17" title="Next chapter"> &gt;&gt; </a>]</td>
560 <td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
561 <td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
562 <td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
563 <td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
564 <td valign="middle" align="left"> &nbsp; </td>
565 <td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_toc.html#SEC_Top" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
566 <td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_toc.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents">Contents</a>]</td>
567 <td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_21.html#SEC389" title="Index">Index</a>]</td>
568 <td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_abt.html#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
569 </tr></table>
570 <p>
571 <font size="-1">
572 This document was generated by <em>Bruno Haible</em> on <em>February, 21 2024</em> using <a href="https://www.nongnu.org/texi2html/"><em>texi2html 1.78a</em></a>.
573 </font>
574 <br>
575
576 </p>
577 </body>
578 </html>