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14 <title>GNU gettext utilities: 8. Editing PO Files</title>
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44 <table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
45 <tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_7.html#SEC53" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
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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="Editing"></a>
60 <a name="SEC63"></a>
61 <h1 class="chapter"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC56">8. Editing PO Files</a> </h1>
62
63
64
65 <a name="KBabel"></a>
66 <a name="SEC64"></a>
67 <h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC57">8.1 KDE's PO File Editor</a> </h2>
68
69
70 <a name="Gtranslator"></a>
71 <a name="SEC65"></a>
72 <h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC58">8.2 GNOME's PO File Editor</a> </h2>
73
74
75 <a name="PO-Mode"></a>
76 <a name="SEC66"></a>
77 <h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC59">8.3 Emacs's PO File Editor</a> </h2>
78
79
80 <p>For those of you being
81 the lucky users of Emacs, PO mode has been specifically created
82 for providing a cozy environment for editing or modifying PO files.
83 While editing a PO file, PO mode allows for the easy browsing of
84 auxiliary and compendium PO files, as well as for following references into
85 the set of C program sources from which PO files have been derived.
86 It has a few special features, among which are the interactive marking
87 of program strings as translatable, and the validation of PO files
88 with easy repositioning to PO file lines showing errors.
89 </p>
90 <p>For the beginning, besides main PO mode commands
91 (see section <a href="#SEC68">Main PO mode Commands</a>), you should know how to move between entries
92 (see section <a href="#SEC69">Entry Positioning</a>), and how to handle untranslated entries
93 (see section <a href="#SEC73">Untranslated Entries</a>).
94 </p>
95
96
97 <a name="Installation"></a>
98 <a name="SEC67"></a>
99 <h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC60">8.3.1 Completing GNU <code>gettext</code> Installation</a> </h3>
100
101 <p>Once you have received, unpacked, configured and compiled the GNU
102 <code>gettext</code> distribution, the &lsquo;<samp>make install</samp>&rsquo; command puts in
103 place the programs <code>xgettext</code>, <code>msgfmt</code>, <code>gettext</code>, and
104 <code>msgmerge</code>, as well as their available message catalogs. To
105 top off a comfortable installation, you might also want to make the
106 PO mode available to your Emacs users.
107 </p>
108 <a name="IDX312"></a>
109 <a name="IDX313"></a>
110 <p>During the installation of the PO mode, you might want to modify your
111 file &lsquo;<tt>.emacs</tt>&rsquo;, once and for all, so it contains a few lines looking
112 like:
113 </p>
114 <table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">(setq auto-mode-alist
115 (cons '(&quot;\\.po\\'\\|\\.po\\.&quot; . po-mode) auto-mode-alist))
116 (autoload 'po-mode &quot;po-mode&quot; &quot;Major mode for translators to edit PO files&quot; t)
117 </pre></td></tr></table>
118
119 <p>Later, whenever you edit some &lsquo;<tt>.po</tt>&rsquo;
120 file, or any file having the string &lsquo;<samp>.po.</samp>&rsquo; within its name,
121 Emacs loads &lsquo;<tt>po-mode.elc</tt>&rsquo; (or &lsquo;<tt>po-mode.el</tt>&rsquo;) as needed, and
122 automatically activates PO mode commands for the associated buffer.
123 The string <em>PO</em> appears in the mode line for any buffer for
124 which PO mode is active. Many PO files may be active at once in a
125 single Emacs session.
126 </p>
127 <p>If you are using Emacs version 20 or newer, and have already installed
128 the appropriate international fonts on your system, you may also tell
129 Emacs how to determine automatically the coding system of every PO file.
130 This will often (but not always) cause the necessary fonts to be loaded
131 and used for displaying the translations on your Emacs screen. For this
132 to happen, add the lines:
133 </p>
134 <table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">(modify-coding-system-alist 'file &quot;\\.po\\'\\|\\.po\\.&quot;
135 'po-find-file-coding-system)
136 (autoload 'po-find-file-coding-system &quot;po-mode&quot;)
137 </pre></td></tr></table>
138
139 <p>to your &lsquo;<tt>.emacs</tt>&rsquo; file. If, with this, you still see boxes instead
140 of international characters, try a different font set (via Shift Mouse
141 button 1).
142 </p>
143
144 <a name="Main-PO-Commands"></a>
145 <a name="SEC68"></a>
146 <h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC61">8.3.2 Main PO mode Commands</a> </h3>
147
148 <p>After setting up Emacs with something similar to the lines in
149 <a href="#SEC67">Completing GNU <code>gettext</code> Installation</a>, PO mode is activated for a window when Emacs finds a
150 PO file in that window. This puts the window read-only and establishes a
151 po-mode-map, which is a genuine Emacs mode, in a way that is not derived
152 from text mode in any way. Functions found on <code>po-mode-hook</code>,
153 if any, will be executed.
154 </p>
155 <p>When PO mode is active in a window, the letters &lsquo;<samp>PO</samp>&rsquo; appear
156 in the mode line for that window. The mode line also displays how
157 many entries of each kind are held in the PO file. For example,
158 the string &lsquo;<samp>132t+3f+10u+2o</samp>&rsquo; would tell the translator that the
159 PO mode contains 132 translated entries (see section <a href="#SEC71">Translated Entries</a>,
160 3 fuzzy entries (see section <a href="#SEC72">Fuzzy Entries</a>), 10 untranslated entries
161 (see section <a href="#SEC73">Untranslated Entries</a>) and 2 obsolete entries (see section <a href="#SEC74">Obsolete Entries</a>). Zero-coefficients items are not shown. So, in this example, if
162 the fuzzy entries were unfuzzied, the untranslated entries were translated
163 and the obsolete entries were deleted, the mode line would merely display
164 &lsquo;<samp>145t</samp>&rsquo; for the counters.
165 </p>
166 <p>The main PO commands are those which do not fit into the other categories of
167 subsequent sections. These allow for quitting PO mode or for managing windows
168 in special ways.
169 </p>
170 <dl compact="compact">
171 <dt> <kbd>_</kbd></dt>
172 <dd><a name="IDX314"></a>
173 <p>Undo last modification to the PO file (<code>po-undo</code>).
174 </p>
175 </dd>
176 <dt> <kbd>Q</kbd></dt>
177 <dd><a name="IDX315"></a>
178 <p>Quit processing and save the PO file (<code>po-quit</code>).
179 </p>
180 </dd>
181 <dt> <kbd>q</kbd></dt>
182 <dd><a name="IDX316"></a>
183 <p>Quit processing, possibly after confirmation (<code>po-confirm-and-quit</code>).
184 </p>
185 </dd>
186 <dt> <kbd>0</kbd></dt>
187 <dd><a name="IDX317"></a>
188 <p>Temporary leave the PO file window (<code>po-other-window</code>).
189 </p>
190 </dd>
191 <dt> <kbd>?</kbd></dt>
192 <dt> <kbd>h</kbd></dt>
193 <dd><a name="IDX318"></a>
194 <a name="IDX319"></a>
195 <p>Show help about PO mode (<code>po-help</code>).
196 </p>
197 </dd>
198 <dt> <kbd>=</kbd></dt>
199 <dd><a name="IDX320"></a>
200 <p>Give some PO file statistics (<code>po-statistics</code>).
201 </p>
202 </dd>
203 <dt> <kbd>V</kbd></dt>
204 <dd><a name="IDX321"></a>
205 <p>Batch validate the format of the whole PO file (<code>po-validate</code>).
206 </p>
207 </dd>
208 </dl>
209
210 <a name="IDX322"></a>
211 <a name="IDX323"></a>
212 <p>The command <kbd>_</kbd> (<code>po-undo</code>) interfaces to the Emacs
213 <em>undo</em> facility. See <a href="../emacs/Undo.html#Undo">(emacs)Undo</a> section `Undoing Changes' in <cite>The Emacs Editor</cite>. Each time <kbd>_</kbd> is typed, modifications which the translator
214 did to the PO file are undone a little more. For the purpose of
215 undoing, each PO mode command is atomic. This is especially true for
216 the <kbd>&lt;RET&gt;</kbd> command: the whole edition made by using a single
217 use of this command is undone at once, even if the edition itself
218 implied several actions. However, while in the editing window, one
219 can undo the edition work quite parsimoniously.
220 </p>
221 <a name="IDX324"></a>
222 <a name="IDX325"></a>
223 <a name="IDX326"></a>
224 <a name="IDX327"></a>
225 <p>The commands <kbd>Q</kbd> (<code>po-quit</code>) and <kbd>q</kbd>
226 (<code>po-confirm-and-quit</code>) are used when the translator is done with the
227 PO file. The former is a bit less verbose than the latter. If the file
228 has been modified, it is saved to disk first. In both cases, and prior to
229 all this, the commands check if any untranslated messages remain in the
230 PO file and, if so, the translator is asked if she really wants to leave
231 off working with this PO file. This is the preferred way of getting rid
232 of an Emacs PO file buffer. Merely killing it through the usual command
233 <kbd>C-x k</kbd> (<code>kill-buffer</code>) is not the tidiest way to proceed.
234 </p>
235 <a name="IDX328"></a>
236 <a name="IDX329"></a>
237 <p>The command <kbd>0</kbd> (<code>po-other-window</code>) is another, softer way,
238 to leave PO mode, temporarily. It just moves the cursor to some other
239 Emacs window, and pops one if necessary. For example, if the translator
240 just got PO mode to show some source context in some other, she might
241 discover some apparent bug in the program source that needs correction.
242 This command allows the translator to change sex, become a programmer,
243 and have the cursor right into the window containing the program she
244 (or rather <em>he</em>) wants to modify. By later getting the cursor back
245 in the PO file window, or by asking Emacs to edit this file once again,
246 PO mode is then recovered.
247 </p>
248 <a name="IDX330"></a>
249 <a name="IDX331"></a>
250 <a name="IDX332"></a>
251 <p>The command <kbd>h</kbd> (<code>po-help</code>) displays a summary of all available PO
252 mode commands. The translator should then type any character to resume
253 normal PO mode operations. The command <kbd>?</kbd> has the same effect
254 as <kbd>h</kbd>.
255 </p>
256 <a name="IDX333"></a>
257 <a name="IDX334"></a>
258 <p>The command <kbd>=</kbd> (<code>po-statistics</code>) computes the total number of
259 entries in the PO file, the ordinal of the current entry (counted from
260 1), the number of untranslated entries, the number of obsolete entries,
261 and displays all these numbers.
262 </p>
263 <a name="IDX335"></a>
264 <a name="IDX336"></a>
265 <p>The command <kbd>V</kbd> (<code>po-validate</code>) launches <code>msgfmt</code> in
266 checking and verbose
267 mode over the current PO file. This command first offers to save the
268 current PO file on disk. The <code>msgfmt</code> tool, from GNU <code>gettext</code>,
269 has the purpose of creating a MO file out of a PO file, and PO mode uses
270 the features of this program for checking the overall format of a PO file,
271 as well as all individual entries.
272 </p>
273 <a name="IDX337"></a>
274 <p>The program <code>msgfmt</code> runs asynchronously with Emacs, so the
275 translator regains control immediately while her PO file is being studied.
276 Error output is collected in the Emacs &lsquo;<samp>*compilation*</samp>&rsquo; buffer,
277 displayed in another window. The regular Emacs command <kbd>C-x`</kbd>
278 (<code>next-error</code>), as well as other usual compile commands, allow the
279 translator to reposition quickly to the offending parts of the PO file.
280 Once the cursor is on the line in error, the translator may decide on
281 any PO mode action which would help correcting the error.
282 </p>
283
284 <a name="Entry-Positioning"></a>
285 <a name="SEC69"></a>
286 <h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC62">8.3.3 Entry Positioning</a> </h3>
287
288 <p>The cursor in a PO file window is almost always part of
289 an entry. The only exceptions are the special case when the cursor
290 is after the last entry in the file, or when the PO file is
291 empty. The entry where the cursor is found to be is said to be the
292 current entry. Many PO mode commands operate on the current entry,
293 so moving the cursor does more than allowing the translator to browse
294 the PO file, this also selects on which entry commands operate.
295 </p>
296 <a name="IDX338"></a>
297 <p>Some PO mode commands alter the position of the cursor in a specialized
298 way. A few of those special purpose positioning are described here,
299 the others are described in following sections (for a complete list try
300 <kbd>C-h m</kbd>):
301 </p>
302 <dl compact="compact">
303 <dt> <kbd>.</kbd></dt>
304 <dd><a name="IDX339"></a>
305 <p>Redisplay the current entry (<code>po-current-entry</code>).
306 </p>
307 </dd>
308 <dt> <kbd>n</kbd></dt>
309 <dd><a name="IDX340"></a>
310 <p>Select the entry after the current one (<code>po-next-entry</code>).
311 </p>
312 </dd>
313 <dt> <kbd>p</kbd></dt>
314 <dd><a name="IDX341"></a>
315 <p>Select the entry before the current one (<code>po-previous-entry</code>).
316 </p>
317 </dd>
318 <dt> <kbd>&lt;</kbd></dt>
319 <dd><a name="IDX342"></a>
320 <p>Select the first entry in the PO file (<code>po-first-entry</code>).
321 </p>
322 </dd>
323 <dt> <kbd>&gt;</kbd></dt>
324 <dd><a name="IDX343"></a>
325 <p>Select the last entry in the PO file (<code>po-last-entry</code>).
326 </p>
327 </dd>
328 <dt> <kbd>m</kbd></dt>
329 <dd><a name="IDX344"></a>
330 <p>Record the location of the current entry for later use
331 (<code>po-push-location</code>).
332 </p>
333 </dd>
334 <dt> <kbd>r</kbd></dt>
335 <dd><a name="IDX345"></a>
336 <p>Return to a previously saved entry location (<code>po-pop-location</code>).
337 </p>
338 </dd>
339 <dt> <kbd>x</kbd></dt>
340 <dd><a name="IDX346"></a>
341 <p>Exchange the current entry location with the previously saved one
342 (<code>po-exchange-location</code>).
343 </p>
344 </dd>
345 </dl>
346
347 <a name="IDX347"></a>
348 <a name="IDX348"></a>
349 <p>Any Emacs command able to reposition the cursor may be used
350 to select the current entry in PO mode, including commands which
351 move by characters, lines, paragraphs, screens or pages, and search
352 commands. However, there is a kind of standard way to display the
353 current entry in PO mode, which usual Emacs commands moving
354 the cursor do not especially try to enforce. The command <kbd>.</kbd>
355 (<code>po-current-entry</code>) has the sole purpose of redisplaying the
356 current entry properly, after the current entry has been changed by
357 means external to PO mode, or the Emacs screen otherwise altered.
358 </p>
359 <p>It is yet to be decided if PO mode helps the translator, or otherwise
360 irritates her, by forcing a rigid window disposition while she
361 is doing her work. We originally had quite precise ideas about
362 how windows should behave, but on the other hand, anyone used to
363 Emacs is often happy to keep full control. Maybe a fixed window
364 disposition might be offered as a PO mode option that the translator
365 might activate or deactivate at will, so it could be offered on an
366 experimental basis. If nobody feels a real need for using it, or
367 a compulsion for writing it, we should drop this whole idea.
368 The incentive for doing it should come from translators rather than
369 programmers, as opinions from an experienced translator are surely
370 more worth to me than opinions from programmers <em>thinking</em> about
371 how <em>others</em> should do translation.
372 </p>
373 <a name="IDX349"></a>
374 <a name="IDX350"></a>
375 <a name="IDX351"></a>
376 <a name="IDX352"></a>
377 <p>The commands <kbd>n</kbd> (<code>po-next-entry</code>) and <kbd>p</kbd>
378 (<code>po-previous-entry</code>) move the cursor the entry following,
379 or preceding, the current one. If <kbd>n</kbd> is given while the
380 cursor is on the last entry of the PO file, or if <kbd>p</kbd>
381 is given while the cursor is on the first entry, no move is done.
382 </p>
383 <a name="IDX353"></a>
384 <a name="IDX354"></a>
385 <a name="IDX355"></a>
386 <a name="IDX356"></a>
387 <p>The commands <kbd>&lt;</kbd> (<code>po-first-entry</code>) and <kbd>&gt;</kbd>
388 (<code>po-last-entry</code>) move the cursor to the first entry, or last
389 entry, of the PO file. When the cursor is located past the last
390 entry in a PO file, most PO mode commands will return an error saying
391 &lsquo;<samp>After last entry</samp>&rsquo;. Moreover, the commands <kbd>&lt;</kbd> and <kbd>&gt;</kbd>
392 have the special property of being able to work even when the cursor
393 is not into some PO file entry, and one may use them for nicely
394 correcting this situation. But even these commands will fail on a
395 truly empty PO file. There are development plans for the PO mode for it
396 to interactively fill an empty PO file from sources. See section <a href="gettext_4.html#SEC29">Marking Translatable Strings</a>.
397 </p>
398 <p>The translator may decide, before working at the translation of
399 a particular entry, that she needs to browse the remainder of the
400 PO file, maybe for finding the terminology or phraseology used
401 in related entries. She can of course use the standard Emacs idioms
402 for saving the current cursor location in some register, and use that
403 register for getting back, or else, use the location ring.
404 </p>
405 <a name="IDX357"></a>
406 <a name="IDX358"></a>
407 <a name="IDX359"></a>
408 <a name="IDX360"></a>
409 <p>PO mode offers another approach, by which cursor locations may be saved
410 onto a special stack. The command <kbd>m</kbd> (<code>po-push-location</code>)
411 merely adds the location of current entry to the stack, pushing
412 the already saved locations under the new one. The command
413 <kbd>r</kbd> (<code>po-pop-location</code>) consumes the top stack element and
414 repositions the cursor to the entry associated with that top element.
415 This position is then lost, for the next <kbd>r</kbd> will move the cursor
416 to the previously saved location, and so on until no locations remain
417 on the stack.
418 </p>
419 <p>If the translator wants the position to be kept on the location stack,
420 maybe for taking a look at the entry associated with the top
421 element, then go elsewhere with the intent of getting back later, she
422 ought to use <kbd>m</kbd> immediately after <kbd>r</kbd>.
423 </p>
424 <a name="IDX361"></a>
425 <a name="IDX362"></a>
426 <p>The command <kbd>x</kbd> (<code>po-exchange-location</code>) simultaneously
427 repositions the cursor to the entry associated with the top element of
428 the stack of saved locations, and replaces that top element with the
429 location of the current entry before the move. Consequently, repeating
430 the <kbd>x</kbd> command toggles alternatively between two entries.
431 For achieving this, the translator will position the cursor on the
432 first entry, use <kbd>m</kbd>, then position to the second entry, and
433 merely use <kbd>x</kbd> for making the switch.
434 </p>
435
436 <a name="Normalizing"></a>
437 <a name="SEC70"></a>
438 <h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC63">8.3.4 Normalizing Strings in Entries</a> </h3>
439
440 <p>There are many different ways for encoding a particular string into a
441 PO file entry, because there are so many different ways to split and
442 quote multi-line strings, and even, to represent special characters
443 by backslashed escaped sequences. Some features of PO mode rely on
444 the ability for PO mode to scan an already existing PO file for a
445 particular string encoded into the <code>msgid</code> field of some entry.
446 Even if PO mode has internally all the built-in machinery for
447 implementing this recognition easily, doing it fast is technically
448 difficult. To facilitate a solution to this efficiency problem,
449 we decided on a canonical representation for strings.
450 </p>
451 <p>A conventional representation of strings in a PO file is currently
452 under discussion, and PO mode experiments with a canonical representation.
453 Having both <code>xgettext</code> and PO mode converging towards a uniform
454 way of representing equivalent strings would be useful, as the internal
455 normalization needed by PO mode could be automatically satisfied
456 when using <code>xgettext</code> from GNU <code>gettext</code>. An explicit
457 PO mode normalization should then be only necessary for PO files
458 imported from elsewhere, or for when the convention itself evolves.
459 </p>
460 <p>So, for achieving normalization of at least the strings of a given
461 PO file needing a canonical representation, the following PO mode
462 command is available:
463 </p>
464 <a name="IDX363"></a>
465 <dl compact="compact">
466 <dt> <kbd>M-x po-normalize</kbd></dt>
467 <dd><a name="IDX364"></a>
468 <p>Tidy the whole PO file by making entries more uniform.
469 </p>
470 </dd>
471 </dl>
472
473 <p>The special command <kbd>M-x po-normalize</kbd>, which has no associated
474 keys, revises all entries, ensuring that strings of both original
475 and translated entries use uniform internal quoting in the PO file.
476 It also removes any crumb after the last entry. This command may be
477 useful for PO files freshly imported from elsewhere, or if we ever
478 improve on the canonical quoting format we use. This canonical format
479 is not only meant for getting cleaner PO files, but also for greatly
480 speeding up <code>msgid</code> string lookup for some other PO mode commands.
481 </p>
482 <p><kbd>M-x po-normalize</kbd> presently makes three passes over the entries.
483 The first implements heuristics for converting PO files for GNU
484 <code>gettext</code> 0.6 and earlier, in which <code>msgid</code> and <code>msgstr</code>
485 fields were using K&amp;R style C string syntax for multi-line strings.
486 These heuristics may fail for comments not related to obsolete
487 entries and ending with a backslash; they also depend on subsequent
488 passes for finalizing the proper commenting of continued lines for
489 obsolete entries. This first pass might disappear once all oldish PO
490 files would have been adjusted. The second and third pass normalize
491 all <code>msgid</code> and <code>msgstr</code> strings respectively. They also
492 clean out those trailing backslashes used by XView's <code>msgfmt</code>
493 for continued lines.
494 </p>
495 <a name="IDX365"></a>
496 <p>Having such an explicit normalizing command allows for importing PO
497 files from other sources, but also eases the evolution of the current
498 convention, evolution driven mostly by aesthetic concerns, as of now.
499 It is easy to make suggested adjustments at a later time, as the
500 normalizing command and eventually, other GNU <code>gettext</code> tools
501 should greatly automate conformance. A description of the canonical
502 string format is given below, for the particular benefit of those not
503 having Emacs handy, and who would nevertheless want to handcraft
504 their PO files in nice ways.
505 </p>
506 <a name="IDX366"></a>
507 <p>Right now, in PO mode, strings are single line or multi-line. A string
508 goes multi-line if and only if it has <em>embedded</em> newlines, that
509 is, if it matches &lsquo;<samp>[^\n]\n+[^\n]</samp>&rsquo;. So, we would have:
510 </p>
511 <table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">msgstr &quot;\n\nHello, world!\n\n\n&quot;
512 </pre></td></tr></table>
513
514 <p>but, replacing the space by a newline, this becomes:
515 </p>
516 <table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">msgstr &quot;&quot;
517 &quot;\n&quot;
518 &quot;\n&quot;
519 &quot;Hello,\n&quot;
520 &quot;world!\n&quot;
521 &quot;\n&quot;
522 &quot;\n&quot;
523 </pre></td></tr></table>
524
525 <p>We are deliberately using a caricatural example, here, to make the
526 point clearer. Usually, multi-lines are not that bad looking.
527 It is probable that we will implement the following suggestion.
528 We might lump together all initial newlines into the empty string,
529 and also all newlines introducing empty lines (that is, for <var>n</var>
530 &gt; 1, the <var>n</var>-1'th last newlines would go together on a separate
531 string), so making the previous example appear:
532 </p>
533 <table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">msgstr &quot;\n\n&quot;
534 &quot;Hello,\n&quot;
535 &quot;world!\n&quot;
536 &quot;\n\n&quot;
537 </pre></td></tr></table>
538
539 <p>There are a few yet undecided little points about string normalization,
540 to be documented in this manual, once these questions settle.
541 </p>
542
543 <a name="Translated-Entries"></a>
544 <a name="SEC71"></a>
545 <h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC64">8.3.5 Translated Entries</a> </h3>
546
547 <p>Each PO file entry for which the <code>msgstr</code> field has been filled with
548 a translation, and which is not marked as fuzzy (see section <a href="#SEC72">Fuzzy Entries</a>),
549 is said to be a <em>translated</em> entry. Only translated entries will
550 later be compiled by GNU <code>msgfmt</code> and become usable in programs.
551 Other entry types will be excluded; translation will not occur for them.
552 </p>
553 <a name="IDX367"></a>
554 <p>Some commands are more specifically related to translated entry processing.
555 </p>
556 <dl compact="compact">
557 <dt> <kbd>t</kbd></dt>
558 <dd><a name="IDX368"></a>
559 <p>Find the next translated entry (<code>po-next-translated-entry</code>).
560 </p>
561 </dd>
562 <dt> <kbd>T</kbd></dt>
563 <dd><a name="IDX369"></a>
564 <p>Find the previous translated entry (<code>po-previous-translated-entry</code>).
565 </p>
566 </dd>
567 </dl>
568
569 <a name="IDX370"></a>
570 <a name="IDX371"></a>
571 <a name="IDX372"></a>
572 <a name="IDX373"></a>
573 <p>The commands <kbd>t</kbd> (<code>po-next-translated-entry</code>) and <kbd>T</kbd>
574 (<code>po-previous-translated-entry</code>) move forwards or backwards, chasing
575 for an translated entry. If none is found, the search is extended and
576 wraps around in the PO file buffer.
577 </p>
578 <a name="IDX374"></a>
579 <p>Translated entries usually result from the translator having edited in
580 a translation for them, <a href="#SEC75">Modifying Translations</a>. However, if the
581 variable <code>po-auto-fuzzy-on-edit</code> is not <code>nil</code>, the entry having
582 received a new translation first becomes a fuzzy entry, which ought to
583 be later unfuzzied before becoming an official, genuine translated entry.
584 See section <a href="#SEC72">Fuzzy Entries</a>.
585 </p>
586
587 <a name="Fuzzy-Entries"></a>
588 <a name="SEC72"></a>
589 <h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC65">8.3.6 Fuzzy Entries</a> </h3>
590
591 <p>Each PO file entry may have a set of <em>attributes</em>, which are
592 qualities given a name and explicitly associated with the translation,
593 using a special system comment. One of these attributes
594 has the name <code>fuzzy</code>, and entries having this attribute are said
595 to have a fuzzy translation. They are called fuzzy entries, for short.
596 </p>
597 <p>Fuzzy entries, even if they account for translated entries for
598 most other purposes, usually call for revision by the translator.
599 Those may be produced by applying the program <code>msgmerge</code> to
600 update an older translated PO files according to a new PO template
601 file, when this tool hypothesises that some new <code>msgid</code> has
602 been modified only slightly out of an older one, and chooses to pair
603 what it thinks to be the old translation for the new modified entry.
604 The slight alteration in the original string (the <code>msgid</code> string)
605 should often be reflected in the translated string, and this requires
606 the intervention of the translator. For this reason, <code>msgmerge</code>
607 might mark some entries as being fuzzy.
608 </p>
609 <a name="IDX375"></a>
610 <p>Also, the translator may decide herself to mark an entry as fuzzy
611 for her own convenience, when she wants to remember that the entry
612 has to be later revisited. So, some commands are more specifically
613 related to fuzzy entry processing.
614 </p>
615 <dl compact="compact">
616 <dt> <kbd>f</kbd></dt>
617 <dd><a name="IDX376"></a>
618 <p>Find the next fuzzy entry (<code>po-next-fuzzy-entry</code>).
619 </p>
620 </dd>
621 <dt> <kbd>F</kbd></dt>
622 <dd><a name="IDX377"></a>
623 <p>Find the previous fuzzy entry (<code>po-previous-fuzzy-entry</code>).
624 </p>
625 </dd>
626 <dt> <kbd>&lt;TAB&gt;</kbd></dt>
627 <dd><a name="IDX378"></a>
628 <p>Remove the fuzzy attribute of the current entry (<code>po-unfuzzy</code>).
629 </p>
630 </dd>
631 </dl>
632
633 <a name="IDX379"></a>
634 <a name="IDX380"></a>
635 <a name="IDX381"></a>
636 <a name="IDX382"></a>
637 <p>The commands <kbd>f</kbd> (<code>po-next-fuzzy-entry</code>) and <kbd>F</kbd>
638 (<code>po-previous-fuzzy-entry</code>) move forwards or backwards, chasing for
639 a fuzzy entry. If none is found, the search is extended and wraps
640 around in the PO file buffer.
641 </p>
642 <a name="IDX383"></a>
643 <a name="IDX384"></a>
644 <a name="IDX385"></a>
645 <p>The command <kbd>&lt;TAB&gt;</kbd> (<code>po-unfuzzy</code>) removes the fuzzy
646 attribute associated with an entry, usually leaving it translated.
647 Further, if the variable <code>po-auto-select-on-unfuzzy</code> has not
648 the <code>nil</code> value, the <kbd>&lt;TAB&gt;</kbd> command will automatically chase
649 for another interesting entry to work on. The initial value of
650 <code>po-auto-select-on-unfuzzy</code> is <code>nil</code>.
651 </p>
652 <p>The initial value of <code>po-auto-fuzzy-on-edit</code> is <code>nil</code>. However,
653 if the variable <code>po-auto-fuzzy-on-edit</code> is set to <code>t</code>, any entry
654 edited through the <kbd>&lt;RET&gt;</kbd> command is marked fuzzy, as a way to
655 ensure some kind of double check, later. In this case, the usual paradigm
656 is that an entry becomes fuzzy (if not already) whenever the translator
657 modifies it. If she is satisfied with the translation, she then uses
658 <kbd>&lt;TAB&gt;</kbd> to pick another entry to work on, clearing the fuzzy attribute
659 on the same blow. If she is not satisfied yet, she merely uses <kbd>&lt;SPC&gt;</kbd>
660 to chase another entry, leaving the entry fuzzy.
661 </p>
662 <a name="IDX386"></a>
663 <a name="IDX387"></a>
664 <p>The translator may also use the <kbd>&lt;DEL&gt;</kbd> command
665 (<code>po-fade-out-entry</code>) over any translated entry to mark it as being
666 fuzzy, when she wants to easily leave a trace she wants to later return
667 working at this entry.
668 </p>
669 <p>Also, when time comes to quit working on a PO file buffer with the <kbd>q</kbd>
670 command, the translator is asked for confirmation, if fuzzy string
671 still exists.
672 </p>
673
674 <a name="Untranslated-Entries"></a>
675 <a name="SEC73"></a>
676 <h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC66">8.3.7 Untranslated Entries</a> </h3>
677
678 <p>When <code>xgettext</code> originally creates a PO file, unless told
679 otherwise, it initializes the <code>msgid</code> field with the untranslated
680 string, and leaves the <code>msgstr</code> string to be empty. Such entries,
681 having an empty translation, are said to be <em>untranslated</em> entries.
682 Later, when the programmer slightly modifies some string right in
683 the program, this change is later reflected in the PO file
684 by the appearance of a new untranslated entry for the modified string.
685 </p>
686 <p>The usual commands moving from entry to entry consider untranslated
687 entries on the same level as active entries. Untranslated entries
688 are easily recognizable by the fact they end with &lsquo;<samp>msgstr &quot;&quot;</samp>&rsquo;.
689 </p>
690 <a name="IDX388"></a>
691 <p>The work of the translator might be (quite naively) seen as the process
692 of seeking for an untranslated entry, editing a translation for
693 it, and repeating these actions until no untranslated entries remain.
694 Some commands are more specifically related to untranslated entry
695 processing.
696 </p>
697 <dl compact="compact">
698 <dt> <kbd>u</kbd></dt>
699 <dd><a name="IDX389"></a>
700 <p>Find the next untranslated entry (<code>po-next-untranslated-entry</code>).
701 </p>
702 </dd>
703 <dt> <kbd>U</kbd></dt>
704 <dd><a name="IDX390"></a>
705 <p>Find the previous untranslated entry (<code>po-previous-untransted-entry</code>).
706 </p>
707 </dd>
708 <dt> <kbd>k</kbd></dt>
709 <dd><a name="IDX391"></a>
710 <p>Turn the current entry into an untranslated one (<code>po-kill-msgstr</code>).
711 </p>
712 </dd>
713 </dl>
714
715 <a name="IDX392"></a>
716 <a name="IDX393"></a>
717 <a name="IDX394"></a>
718 <a name="IDX395"></a>
719 <p>The commands <kbd>u</kbd> (<code>po-next-untranslated-entry</code>) and <kbd>U</kbd>
720 (<code>po-previous-untransted-entry</code>) move forwards or backwards,
721 chasing for an untranslated entry. If none is found, the search is
722 extended and wraps around in the PO file buffer.
723 </p>
724 <a name="IDX396"></a>
725 <a name="IDX397"></a>
726 <p>An entry can be turned back into an untranslated entry by
727 merely emptying its translation, using the command <kbd>k</kbd>
728 (<code>po-kill-msgstr</code>). See section <a href="#SEC75">Modifying Translations</a>.
729 </p>
730 <p>Also, when time comes to quit working on a PO file buffer
731 with the <kbd>q</kbd> command, the translator is asked for confirmation,
732 if some untranslated string still exists.
733 </p>
734
735 <a name="Obsolete-Entries"></a>
736 <a name="SEC74"></a>
737 <h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC67">8.3.8 Obsolete Entries</a> </h3>
738
739 <p>By <em>obsolete</em> PO file entries, we mean those entries which are
740 commented out, usually by <code>msgmerge</code> when it found that the
741 translation is not needed anymore by the package being localized.
742 </p>
743 <p>The usual commands moving from entry to entry consider obsolete
744 entries on the same level as active entries. Obsolete entries are
745 easily recognizable by the fact that all their lines start with
746 <code>#</code>, even those lines containing <code>msgid</code> or <code>msgstr</code>.
747 </p>
748 <p>Commands exist for emptying the translation or reinitializing it
749 to the original untranslated string. Commands interfacing with the
750 kill ring may force some previously saved text into the translation.
751 The user may interactively edit the translation. All these commands
752 may apply to obsolete entries, carefully leaving the entry obsolete
753 after the fact.
754 </p>
755 <a name="IDX398"></a>
756 <p>Moreover, some commands are more specifically related to obsolete
757 entry processing.
758 </p>
759 <dl compact="compact">
760 <dt> <kbd>o</kbd></dt>
761 <dd><a name="IDX399"></a>
762 <p>Find the next obsolete entry (<code>po-next-obsolete-entry</code>).
763 </p>
764 </dd>
765 <dt> <kbd>O</kbd></dt>
766 <dd><a name="IDX400"></a>
767 <p>Find the previous obsolete entry (<code>po-previous-obsolete-entry</code>).
768 </p>
769 </dd>
770 <dt> <kbd>&lt;DEL&gt;</kbd></dt>
771 <dd><a name="IDX401"></a>
772 <p>Make an active entry obsolete, or zap out an obsolete entry
773 (<code>po-fade-out-entry</code>).
774 </p>
775 </dd>
776 </dl>
777
778 <a name="IDX402"></a>
779 <a name="IDX403"></a>
780 <a name="IDX404"></a>
781 <a name="IDX405"></a>
782 <p>The commands <kbd>o</kbd> (<code>po-next-obsolete-entry</code>) and <kbd>O</kbd>
783 (<code>po-previous-obsolete-entry</code>) move forwards or backwards,
784 chasing for an obsolete entry. If none is found, the search is
785 extended and wraps around in the PO file buffer.
786 </p>
787 <p>PO mode does not provide ways for un-commenting an obsolete entry
788 and making it active, because this would reintroduce an original
789 untranslated string which does not correspond to any marked string
790 in the program sources. This goes with the philosophy of never
791 introducing useless <code>msgid</code> values.
792 </p>
793 <a name="IDX406"></a>
794 <a name="IDX407"></a>
795 <a name="IDX408"></a>
796 <a name="IDX409"></a>
797 <p>However, it is possible to comment out an active entry, so making
798 it obsolete. GNU <code>gettext</code> utilities will later react to the
799 disappearance of a translation by using the untranslated string.
800 The command <kbd>&lt;DEL&gt;</kbd> (<code>po-fade-out-entry</code>) pushes the current entry
801 a little further towards annihilation. If the entry is active (it is a
802 translated entry), then it is first made fuzzy. If it is already fuzzy,
803 then the entry is merely commented out, with confirmation. If the entry
804 is already obsolete, then it is completely deleted from the PO file.
805 It is easy to recycle the translation so deleted into some other PO file
806 entry, usually one which is untranslated. See section <a href="#SEC75">Modifying Translations</a>.
807 </p>
808 <p>Here is a quite interesting problem to solve for later development of
809 PO mode, for those nights you are not sleepy. The idea would be that
810 PO mode might become bright enough, one of these days, to make good
811 guesses at retrieving the most probable candidate, among all obsolete
812 entries, for initializing the translation of a newly appeared string.
813 I think it might be a quite hard problem to do this algorithmically, as
814 we have to develop good and efficient measures of string similarity.
815 Right now, PO mode completely lets the decision to the translator,
816 when the time comes to find the adequate obsolete translation, it
817 merely tries to provide handy tools for helping her to do so.
818 </p>
819
820 <a name="Modifying-Translations"></a>
821 <a name="SEC75"></a>
822 <h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC68">8.3.9 Modifying Translations</a> </h3>
823
824 <p>PO mode prevents direct modification of the PO file, by the usual
825 means Emacs gives for altering a buffer's contents. By doing so,
826 it pretends helping the translator to avoid little clerical errors
827 about the overall file format, or the proper quoting of strings,
828 as those errors would be easily made. Other kinds of errors are
829 still possible, but some may be caught and diagnosed by the batch
830 validation process, which the translator may always trigger by the
831 <kbd>V</kbd> command. For all other errors, the translator has to rely on
832 her own judgment, and also on the linguistic reports submitted to her
833 by the users of the translated package, having the same mother tongue.
834 </p>
835 <p>When the time comes to create a translation, correct an error diagnosed
836 mechanically or reported by a user, the translators have to resort to
837 using the following commands for modifying the translations.
838 </p>
839 <dl compact="compact">
840 <dt> <kbd>&lt;RET&gt;</kbd></dt>
841 <dd><a name="IDX410"></a>
842 <p>Interactively edit the translation (<code>po-edit-msgstr</code>).
843 </p>
844 </dd>
845 <dt> <kbd>&lt;LFD&gt;</kbd></dt>
846 <dt> <kbd>C-j</kbd></dt>
847 <dd><a name="IDX411"></a>
848 <a name="IDX412"></a>
849 <p>Reinitialize the translation with the original, untranslated string
850 (<code>po-msgid-to-msgstr</code>).
851 </p>
852 </dd>
853 <dt> <kbd>k</kbd></dt>
854 <dd><a name="IDX413"></a>
855 <p>Save the translation on the kill ring, and delete it (<code>po-kill-msgstr</code>).
856 </p>
857 </dd>
858 <dt> <kbd>w</kbd></dt>
859 <dd><a name="IDX414"></a>
860 <p>Save the translation on the kill ring, without deleting it
861 (<code>po-kill-ring-save-msgstr</code>).
862 </p>
863 </dd>
864 <dt> <kbd>y</kbd></dt>
865 <dd><a name="IDX415"></a>
866 <p>Replace the translation, taking the new from the kill ring
867 (<code>po-yank-msgstr</code>).
868 </p>
869 </dd>
870 </dl>
871
872 <a name="IDX416"></a>
873 <a name="IDX417"></a>
874 <p>The command <kbd>&lt;RET&gt;</kbd> (<code>po-edit-msgstr</code>) opens a new Emacs
875 window meant to edit in a new translation, or to modify an already existing
876 translation. The new window contains a copy of the translation taken from
877 the current PO file entry, all ready for edition, expunged of all quoting
878 marks, fully modifiable and with the complete extent of Emacs modifying
879 commands. When the translator is done with her modifications, she may use
880 <kbd>C-c C-c</kbd> to close the subedit window with the automatically requoted
881 results, or <kbd>C-c C-k</kbd> to abort her modifications. See section <a href="#SEC77">Details of Sub Edition</a>,
882 for more information.
883 </p>
884 <a name="IDX418"></a>
885 <a name="IDX419"></a>
886 <a name="IDX420"></a>
887 <p>The command <kbd>&lt;LFD&gt;</kbd> (<code>po-msgid-to-msgstr</code>) initializes, or
888 reinitializes the translation with the original string. This command is
889 normally used when the translator wants to redo a fresh translation of
890 the original string, disregarding any previous work.
891 </p>
892 <a name="IDX421"></a>
893 <p>It is possible to arrange so, whenever editing an untranslated
894 entry, the <kbd>&lt;LFD&gt;</kbd> command be automatically executed. If you set
895 <code>po-auto-edit-with-msgid</code> to <code>t</code>, the translation gets
896 initialised with the original string, in case none exists already.
897 The default value for <code>po-auto-edit-with-msgid</code> is <code>nil</code>.
898 </p>
899 <a name="IDX422"></a>
900 <p>In fact, whether it is best to start a translation with an empty
901 string, or rather with a copy of the original string, is a matter of
902 taste or habit. Sometimes, the source language and the
903 target language are so different that is simply best to start writing
904 on an empty page. At other times, the source and target languages
905 are so close that it would be a waste to retype a number of words
906 already being written in the original string. A translator may also
907 like having the original string right under her eyes, as she will
908 progressively overwrite the original text with the translation, even
909 if this requires some extra editing work to get rid of the original.
910 </p>
911 <a name="IDX423"></a>
912 <a name="IDX424"></a>
913 <a name="IDX425"></a>
914 <a name="IDX426"></a>
915 <a name="IDX427"></a>
916 <p>The command <kbd>k</kbd> (<code>po-kill-msgstr</code>) merely empties the
917 translation string, so turning the entry into an untranslated
918 one. But while doing so, its previous contents is put apart in
919 a special place, known as the kill ring. The command <kbd>w</kbd>
920 (<code>po-kill-ring-save-msgstr</code>) has also the effect of taking a
921 copy of the translation onto the kill ring, but it otherwise leaves
922 the entry alone, and does <em>not</em> remove the translation from the
923 entry. Both commands use exactly the Emacs kill ring, which is shared
924 between buffers, and which is well known already to Emacs lovers.
925 </p>
926 <p>The translator may use <kbd>k</kbd> or <kbd>w</kbd> many times in the course
927 of her work, as the kill ring may hold several saved translations.
928 From the kill ring, strings may later be reinserted in various
929 Emacs buffers. In particular, the kill ring may be used for moving
930 translation strings between different entries of a single PO file
931 buffer, or if the translator is handling many such buffers at once,
932 even between PO files.
933 </p>
934 <p>To facilitate exchanges with buffers which are not in PO mode, the
935 translation string put on the kill ring by the <kbd>k</kbd> command is fully
936 unquoted before being saved: external quotes are removed, multi-line
937 strings are concatenated, and backslash escaped sequences are turned
938 into their corresponding characters. In the special case of obsolete
939 entries, the translation is also uncommented prior to saving.
940 </p>
941 <a name="IDX428"></a>
942 <a name="IDX429"></a>
943 <p>The command <kbd>y</kbd> (<code>po-yank-msgstr</code>) completely replaces the
944 translation of the current entry by a string taken from the kill ring.
945 Following Emacs terminology, we then say that the replacement
946 string is <em>yanked</em> into the PO file buffer.
947 See <a href="../emacs/Yanking.html#Yanking">(emacs)Yanking</a> section `Yanking' in <cite>The Emacs Editor</cite>.
948 The first time <kbd>y</kbd> is used, the translation receives the value of
949 the most recent addition to the kill ring. If <kbd>y</kbd> is typed once
950 again, immediately, without intervening keystrokes, the translation
951 just inserted is taken away and replaced by the second most recent
952 addition to the kill ring. By repeating <kbd>y</kbd> many times in a row,
953 the translator may travel along the kill ring for saved strings,
954 until she finds the string she really wanted.
955 </p>
956 <p>When a string is yanked into a PO file entry, it is fully and
957 automatically requoted for complying with the format PO files should
958 have. Further, if the entry is obsolete, PO mode then appropriately
959 push the inserted string inside comments. Once again, translators
960 should not burden themselves with quoting considerations besides, of
961 course, the necessity of the translated string itself respective to
962 the program using it.
963 </p>
964 <p>Note that <kbd>k</kbd> or <kbd>w</kbd> are not the only commands pushing strings
965 on the kill ring, as almost any PO mode command replacing translation
966 strings (or the translator comments) automatically saves the old string
967 on the kill ring. The main exceptions to this general rule are the
968 yanking commands themselves.
969 </p>
970 <a name="IDX430"></a>
971 <p>To better illustrate the operation of killing and yanking, let's
972 use an actual example, taken from a common situation. When the
973 programmer slightly modifies some string right in the program, his
974 change is later reflected in the PO file by the appearance
975 of a new untranslated entry for the modified string, and the fact
976 that the entry translating the original or unmodified string becomes
977 obsolete. In many cases, the translator might spare herself some work
978 by retrieving the unmodified translation from the obsolete entry,
979 then initializing the untranslated entry <code>msgstr</code> field with
980 this retrieved translation. Once this done, the obsolete entry is
981 not wanted anymore, and may be safely deleted.
982 </p>
983 <p>When the translator finds an untranslated entry and suspects that a
984 slight variant of the translation exists, she immediately uses <kbd>m</kbd>
985 to mark the current entry location, then starts chasing obsolete
986 entries with <kbd>o</kbd>, hoping to find some translation corresponding
987 to the unmodified string. Once found, she uses the <kbd>&lt;DEL&gt;</kbd> command
988 for deleting the obsolete entry, knowing that <kbd>&lt;DEL&gt;</kbd> also <em>kills</em>
989 the translation, that is, pushes the translation on the kill ring.
990 Then, <kbd>r</kbd> returns to the initial untranslated entry, and <kbd>y</kbd>
991 then <em>yanks</em> the saved translation right into the <code>msgstr</code>
992 field. The translator is then free to use <kbd>&lt;RET&gt;</kbd> for fine
993 tuning the translation contents, and maybe to later use <kbd>u</kbd>,
994 then <kbd>m</kbd> again, for going on with the next untranslated string.
995 </p>
996 <p>When some sequence of keys has to be typed over and over again, the
997 translator may find it useful to become better acquainted with the Emacs
998 capability of learning these sequences and playing them back under request.
999 See <a href="../emacs/Keyboard-Macros.html#Keyboard-Macros">(emacs)Keyboard Macros</a> section `Keyboard Macros' in <cite>The Emacs Editor</cite>.
1000 </p>
1001
1002 <a name="Modifying-Comments"></a>
1003 <a name="SEC76"></a>
1004 <h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC69">8.3.10 Modifying Comments</a> </h3>
1005
1006 <p>Any translation work done seriously will raise many linguistic
1007 difficulties, for which decisions have to be made, and the choices
1008 further documented. These documents may be saved within the
1009 PO file in form of translator comments, which the translator
1010 is free to create, delete, or modify at will. These comments may
1011 be useful to herself when she returns to this PO file after a while.
1012 </p>
1013 <p>Comments not having whitespace after the initial &lsquo;<samp>#</samp>&rsquo;, for example,
1014 those beginning with &lsquo;<samp>#.</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp>#:</samp>&rsquo;, are <em>not</em> translator
1015 comments, they are exclusively created by other <code>gettext</code> tools.
1016 So, the commands below will never alter such system added comments,
1017 they are not meant for the translator to modify. See section <a href="gettext_3.html#SEC16">The Format of PO Files</a>.
1018 </p>
1019 <p>The following commands are somewhat similar to those modifying translations,
1020 so the general indications given for those apply here. See section <a href="#SEC75">Modifying Translations</a>.
1021 </p>
1022 <dl compact="compact">
1023 <dt> <kbd>#</kbd></dt>
1024 <dd><a name="IDX431"></a>
1025 <p>Interactively edit the translator comments (<code>po-edit-comment</code>).
1026 </p>
1027 </dd>
1028 <dt> <kbd>K</kbd></dt>
1029 <dd><a name="IDX432"></a>
1030 <p>Save the translator comments on the kill ring, and delete it
1031 (<code>po-kill-comment</code>).
1032 </p>
1033 </dd>
1034 <dt> <kbd>W</kbd></dt>
1035 <dd><a name="IDX433"></a>
1036 <p>Save the translator comments on the kill ring, without deleting it
1037 (<code>po-kill-ring-save-comment</code>).
1038 </p>
1039 </dd>
1040 <dt> <kbd>Y</kbd></dt>
1041 <dd><a name="IDX434"></a>
1042 <p>Replace the translator comments, taking the new from the kill ring
1043 (<code>po-yank-comment</code>).
1044 </p>
1045 </dd>
1046 </dl>
1047
1048 <p>These commands parallel PO mode commands for modifying the translation
1049 strings, and behave much the same way as they do, except that they handle
1050 this part of PO file comments meant for translator usage, rather
1051 than the translation strings. So, if the descriptions given below are
1052 slightly succinct, it is because the full details have already been given.
1053 See section <a href="#SEC75">Modifying Translations</a>.
1054 </p>
1055 <a name="IDX435"></a>
1056 <a name="IDX436"></a>
1057 <p>The command <kbd>#</kbd> (<code>po-edit-comment</code>) opens a new Emacs window
1058 containing a copy of the translator comments on the current PO file entry.
1059 If there are no such comments, PO mode understands that the translator wants
1060 to add a comment to the entry, and she is presented with an empty screen.
1061 Comment marks (<code>#</code>) and the space following them are automatically
1062 removed before edition, and reinstated after. For translator comments
1063 pertaining to obsolete entries, the uncommenting and recommenting operations
1064 are done twice. Once in the editing window, the keys <kbd>C-c C-c</kbd>
1065 allow the translator to tell she is finished with editing the comment.
1066 See section <a href="#SEC77">Details of Sub Edition</a>, for further details.
1067 </p>
1068 <a name="IDX437"></a>
1069 <p>Functions found on <code>po-subedit-mode-hook</code>, if any, are executed after
1070 the string has been inserted in the edit buffer.
1071 </p>
1072 <a name="IDX438"></a>
1073 <a name="IDX439"></a>
1074 <a name="IDX440"></a>
1075 <a name="IDX441"></a>
1076 <a name="IDX442"></a>
1077 <a name="IDX443"></a>
1078 <p>The command <kbd>K</kbd> (<code>po-kill-comment</code>) gets rid of all
1079 translator comments, while saving those comments on the kill ring.
1080 The command <kbd>W</kbd> (<code>po-kill-ring-save-comment</code>) takes
1081 a copy of the translator comments on the kill ring, but leaves
1082 them undisturbed in the current entry. The command <kbd>Y</kbd>
1083 (<code>po-yank-comment</code>) completely replaces the translator comments
1084 by a string taken at the front of the kill ring. When this command
1085 is immediately repeated, the comments just inserted are withdrawn,
1086 and replaced by other strings taken along the kill ring.
1087 </p>
1088 <p>On the kill ring, all strings have the same nature. There is no
1089 distinction between <em>translation</em> strings and <em>translator
1090 comments</em> strings. So, for example, let's presume the translator
1091 has just finished editing a translation, and wants to create a new
1092 translator comment to document why the previous translation was
1093 not good, just to remember what was the problem. Foreseeing that she
1094 will do that in her documentation, the translator may want to quote
1095 the previous translation in her translator comments. To do so, she
1096 may initialize the translator comments with the previous translation,
1097 still at the head of the kill ring. Because editing already pushed the
1098 previous translation on the kill ring, she merely has to type <kbd>M-w</kbd>
1099 prior to <kbd>#</kbd>, and the previous translation will be right there,
1100 all ready for being introduced by some explanatory text.
1101 </p>
1102 <p>On the other hand, presume there are some translator comments already
1103 and that the translator wants to add to those comments, instead
1104 of wholly replacing them. Then, she should edit the comment right
1105 away with <kbd>#</kbd>. Once inside the editing window, she can use the
1106 regular Emacs commands <kbd>C-y</kbd> (<code>yank</code>) and <kbd>M-y</kbd>
1107 (<code>yank-pop</code>) to get the previous translation where she likes.
1108 </p>
1109
1110 <a name="Subedit"></a>
1111 <a name="SEC77"></a>
1112 <h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC70">8.3.11 Details of Sub Edition</a> </h3>
1113
1114 <p>The PO subedit minor mode has a few peculiarities worth being described
1115 in fuller detail. It installs a few commands over the usual editing set
1116 of Emacs, which are described below.
1117 </p>
1118 <dl compact="compact">
1119 <dt> <kbd>C-c C-c</kbd></dt>
1120 <dd><a name="IDX444"></a>
1121 <p>Complete edition (<code>po-subedit-exit</code>).
1122 </p>
1123 </dd>
1124 <dt> <kbd>C-c C-k</kbd></dt>
1125 <dd><a name="IDX445"></a>
1126 <p>Abort edition (<code>po-subedit-abort</code>).
1127 </p>
1128 </dd>
1129 <dt> <kbd>C-c C-a</kbd></dt>
1130 <dd><a name="IDX446"></a>
1131 <p>Consult auxiliary PO files (<code>po-subedit-cycle-auxiliary</code>).
1132 </p>
1133 </dd>
1134 </dl>
1135
1136 <a name="IDX447"></a>
1137 <a name="IDX448"></a>
1138 <a name="IDX449"></a>
1139 <p>The window's contents represents a translation for a given message,
1140 or a translator comment. The translator may modify this window to
1141 her heart's content. Once this is done, the command <kbd>C-c C-c</kbd>
1142 (<code>po-subedit-exit</code>) may be used to return the edited translation into
1143 the PO file, replacing the original translation, even if it moved out of
1144 sight or if buffers were switched.
1145 </p>
1146 <a name="IDX450"></a>
1147 <a name="IDX451"></a>
1148 <p>If the translator becomes unsatisfied with her translation or comment,
1149 to the extent she prefers keeping what was existent prior to the
1150 <kbd>&lt;RET&gt;</kbd> or <kbd>#</kbd> command, she may use the command <kbd>C-c C-k</kbd>
1151 (<code>po-subedit-abort</code>) to merely get rid of edition, while preserving
1152 the original translation or comment. Another way would be for her to exit
1153 normally with <kbd>C-c C-c</kbd>, then type <code>U</code> once for undoing the
1154 whole effect of last edition.
1155 </p>
1156 <a name="IDX452"></a>
1157 <a name="IDX453"></a>
1158 <p>The command <kbd>C-c C-a</kbd> (<code>po-subedit-cycle-auxiliary</code>)
1159 allows for glancing through translations
1160 already achieved in other languages, directly while editing the current
1161 translation. This may be quite convenient when the translator is fluent
1162 at many languages, but of course, only makes sense when such completed
1163 auxiliary PO files are already available to her (see section <a href="#SEC79">Consulting Auxiliary PO Files</a>).
1164 </p>
1165 <p>Functions found on <code>po-subedit-mode-hook</code>, if any, are executed after
1166 the string has been inserted in the edit buffer.
1167 </p>
1168 <p>While editing her translation, the translator should pay attention to not
1169 inserting unwanted <kbd>&lt;RET&gt;</kbd> (newline) characters at the end of
1170 the translated string if those are not meant to be there, or to removing
1171 such characters when they are required. Since these characters are not
1172 visible in the editing buffer, they are easily introduced by mistake.
1173 To help her, <kbd>&lt;RET&gt;</kbd> automatically puts the character <code>&lt;</code>
1174 at the end of the string being edited, but this <code>&lt;</code> is not really
1175 part of the string. On exiting the editing window with <kbd>C-c C-c</kbd>,
1176 PO mode automatically removes such <kbd>&lt;</kbd> and all whitespace added after
1177 it. If the translator adds characters after the terminating <code>&lt;</code>, it
1178 looses its delimiting property and integrally becomes part of the string.
1179 If she removes the delimiting <code>&lt;</code>, then the edited string is taken
1180 <em>as is</em>, with all trailing newlines, even if invisible. Also, if
1181 the translated string ought to end itself with a genuine <code>&lt;</code>, then
1182 the delimiting <code>&lt;</code> may not be removed; so the string should appear,
1183 in the editing window, as ending with two <code>&lt;</code> in a row.
1184 </p>
1185 <a name="IDX454"></a>
1186 <p>When a translation (or a comment) is being edited, the translator may move
1187 the cursor back into the PO file buffer and freely move to other entries,
1188 browsing at will. If, with an edition pending, the translator wanders in the
1189 PO file buffer, she may decide to start modifying another entry. Each entry
1190 being edited has its own subedit buffer. It is possible to simultaneously
1191 edit the translation <em>and</em> the comment of a single entry, or to
1192 edit entries in different PO files, all at once. Typing <kbd>&lt;RET&gt;</kbd>
1193 on a field already being edited merely resumes that particular edit. Yet,
1194 the translator should better be comfortable at handling many Emacs windows!
1195 </p>
1196 <a name="IDX455"></a>
1197 <p>Pending subedits may be completed or aborted in any order, regardless
1198 of how or when they were started. When many subedits are pending and the
1199 translator asks for quitting the PO file (with the <kbd>q</kbd> command), subedits
1200 are automatically resumed one at a time, so she may decide for each of them.
1201 </p>
1202
1203 <a name="C-Sources-Context"></a>
1204 <a name="SEC78"></a>
1205 <h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC71">8.3.12 C Sources Context</a> </h3>
1206
1207 <p>PO mode is particularly powerful when used with PO files
1208 created through GNU <code>gettext</code> utilities, as those utilities
1209 insert special comments in the PO files they generate.
1210 Some of these special comments relate the PO file entry to
1211 exactly where the untranslated string appears in the program sources.
1212 </p>
1213 <p>When the translator gets to an untranslated entry, she is fairly
1214 often faced with an original string which is not as informative as
1215 it normally should be, being succinct, cryptic, or otherwise ambiguous.
1216 Before choosing how to translate the string, she needs to understand
1217 better what the string really means and how tight the translation has
1218 to be. Most of the time, when problems arise, the only way left to make
1219 her judgment is looking at the true program sources from where this
1220 string originated, searching for surrounding comments the programmer
1221 might have put in there, and looking around for helping clues of
1222 <em>any</em> kind.
1223 </p>
1224 <p>Surely, when looking at program sources, the translator will receive
1225 more help if she is a fluent programmer. However, even if she is
1226 not versed in programming and feels a little lost in C code, the
1227 translator should not be shy at taking a look, once in a while.
1228 It is most probable that she will still be able to find some of the
1229 hints she needs. She will learn quickly to not feel uncomfortable
1230 in program code, paying more attention to programmer's comments,
1231 variable and function names (if he dared choosing them well), and
1232 overall organization, than to the program code itself.
1233 </p>
1234 <a name="IDX456"></a>
1235 <p>The following commands are meant to help the translator at getting
1236 program source context for a PO file entry.
1237 </p>
1238 <dl compact="compact">
1239 <dt> <kbd>s</kbd></dt>
1240 <dd><a name="IDX457"></a>
1241 <p>Resume the display of a program source context, or cycle through them
1242 (<code>po-cycle-source-reference</code>).
1243 </p>
1244 </dd>
1245 <dt> <kbd>M-s</kbd></dt>
1246 <dd><a name="IDX458"></a>
1247 <p>Display of a program source context selected by menu
1248 (<code>po-select-source-reference</code>).
1249 </p>
1250 </dd>
1251 <dt> <kbd>S</kbd></dt>
1252 <dd><a name="IDX459"></a>
1253 <p>Add a directory to the search path for source files
1254 (<code>po-consider-source-path</code>).
1255 </p>
1256 </dd>
1257 <dt> <kbd>M-S</kbd></dt>
1258 <dd><a name="IDX460"></a>
1259 <p>Delete a directory from the search path for source files
1260 (<code>po-ignore-source-path</code>).
1261 </p>
1262 </dd>
1263 </dl>
1264
1265 <a name="IDX461"></a>
1266 <a name="IDX462"></a>
1267 <a name="IDX463"></a>
1268 <a name="IDX464"></a>
1269 <p>The commands <kbd>s</kbd> (<code>po-cycle-source-reference</code>) and <kbd>M-s</kbd>
1270 (<code>po-select-source-reference</code>) both open another window displaying
1271 some source program file, and already positioned in such a way that
1272 it shows an actual use of the string to be translated. By doing
1273 so, the command gives source program context for the string. But if
1274 the entry has no source context references, or if all references
1275 are unresolved along the search path for program sources, then the
1276 command diagnoses this as an error.
1277 </p>
1278 <p>Even if <kbd>s</kbd> (or <kbd>M-s</kbd>) opens a new window, the cursor stays
1279 in the PO file window. If the translator really wants to
1280 get into the program source window, she ought to do it explicitly,
1281 maybe by using command <kbd>O</kbd>.
1282 </p>
1283 <p>When <kbd>s</kbd> is typed for the first time, or for a PO file entry which
1284 is different of the last one used for getting source context, then the
1285 command reacts by giving the first context available for this entry,
1286 if any. If some context has already been recently displayed for the
1287 current PO file entry, and the translator wandered off to do other
1288 things, typing <kbd>s</kbd> again will merely resume, in another window,
1289 the context last displayed. In particular, if the translator moved
1290 the cursor away from the context in the source file, the command will
1291 bring the cursor back to the context. By using <kbd>s</kbd> many times
1292 in a row, with no other commands intervening, PO mode will cycle to
1293 the next available contexts for this particular entry, getting back
1294 to the first context once the last has been shown.
1295 </p>
1296 <p>The command <kbd>M-s</kbd> behaves differently. Instead of cycling through
1297 references, it lets the translator choose a particular reference among
1298 many, and displays that reference. It is best used with completion,
1299 if the translator types <kbd>&lt;TAB&gt;</kbd> immediately after <kbd>M-s</kbd>, in
1300 response to the question, she will be offered a menu of all possible
1301 references, as a reminder of which are the acceptable answers.
1302 This command is useful only where there are really many contexts
1303 available for a single string to translate.
1304 </p>
1305 <a name="IDX465"></a>
1306 <a name="IDX466"></a>
1307 <a name="IDX467"></a>
1308 <a name="IDX468"></a>
1309 <p>Program source files are usually found relative to where the PO
1310 file stands. As a special provision, when this fails, the file is
1311 also looked for, but relative to the directory immediately above it.
1312 Those two cases take proper care of most PO files. However, it might
1313 happen that a PO file has been moved, or is edited in a different
1314 place than its normal location. When this happens, the translator
1315 should tell PO mode in which directory normally sits the genuine PO
1316 file. Many such directories may be specified, and all together, they
1317 constitute what is called the <em>search path</em> for program sources.
1318 The command <kbd>S</kbd> (<code>po-consider-source-path</code>) is used to interactively
1319 enter a new directory at the front of the search path, and the command
1320 <kbd>M-S</kbd> (<code>po-ignore-source-path</code>) is used to select, with completion,
1321 one of the directories she does not want anymore on the search path.
1322 </p>
1323
1324 <a name="Auxiliary"></a>
1325 <a name="SEC79"></a>
1326 <h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC72">8.3.13 Consulting Auxiliary PO Files</a> </h3>
1327
1328 <p>PO mode is able to help the knowledgeable translator, being fluent in
1329 many languages, at taking advantage of translations already achieved
1330 in other languages she just happens to know. It provides these other
1331 language translations as additional context for her own work. Moreover,
1332 it has features to ease the production of translations for many languages
1333 at once, for translators preferring to work in this way.
1334 </p>
1335 <a name="IDX469"></a>
1336 <a name="IDX470"></a>
1337 <p>An <em>auxiliary</em> PO file is an existing PO file meant for the same
1338 package the translator is working on, but targeted to a different mother
1339 tongue language. Commands exist for declaring and handling auxiliary
1340 PO files, and also for showing contexts for the entry under work.
1341 </p>
1342 <p>Here are the auxiliary file commands available in PO mode.
1343 </p>
1344 <dl compact="compact">
1345 <dt> <kbd>a</kbd></dt>
1346 <dd><a name="IDX471"></a>
1347 <p>Seek auxiliary files for another translation for the same entry
1348 (<code>po-cycle-auxiliary</code>).
1349 </p>
1350 </dd>
1351 <dt> <kbd>C-c C-a</kbd></dt>
1352 <dd><a name="IDX472"></a>
1353 <p>Switch to a particular auxiliary file (<code>po-select-auxiliary</code>).
1354 </p>
1355 </dd>
1356 <dt> <kbd>A</kbd></dt>
1357 <dd><a name="IDX473"></a>
1358 <p>Declare this PO file as an auxiliary file (<code>po-consider-as-auxiliary</code>).
1359 </p>
1360 </dd>
1361 <dt> <kbd>M-A</kbd></dt>
1362 <dd><a name="IDX474"></a>
1363 <p>Remove this PO file from the list of auxiliary files
1364 (<code>po-ignore-as-auxiliary</code>).
1365 </p>
1366 </dd>
1367 </dl>
1368
1369 <a name="IDX475"></a>
1370 <a name="IDX476"></a>
1371 <a name="IDX477"></a>
1372 <a name="IDX478"></a>
1373 <p>Command <kbd>A</kbd> (<code>po-consider-as-auxiliary</code>) adds the current
1374 PO file to the list of auxiliary files, while command <kbd>M-A</kbd>
1375 (<code>po-ignore-as-auxiliary</code> just removes it.
1376 </p>
1377 <a name="IDX479"></a>
1378 <a name="IDX480"></a>
1379 <p>The command <kbd>a</kbd> (<code>po-cycle-auxiliary</code>) seeks all auxiliary PO
1380 files, round-robin, searching for a translated entry in some other language
1381 having an <code>msgid</code> field identical as the one for the current entry.
1382 The found PO file, if any, takes the place of the current PO file in
1383 the display (its window gets on top). Before doing so, the current PO
1384 file is also made into an auxiliary file, if not already. So, <kbd>a</kbd>
1385 in this newly displayed PO file will seek another PO file, and so on,
1386 so repeating <kbd>a</kbd> will eventually yield back the original PO file.
1387 </p>
1388 <a name="IDX481"></a>
1389 <a name="IDX482"></a>
1390 <p>The command <kbd>C-c C-a</kbd> (<code>po-select-auxiliary</code>) asks the translator
1391 for her choice of a particular auxiliary file, with completion, and
1392 then switches to that selected PO file. The command also checks if
1393 the selected file has an <code>msgid</code> field identical as the one for
1394 the current entry, and if yes, this entry becomes current. Otherwise,
1395 the cursor of the selected file is left undisturbed.
1396 </p>
1397 <p>For all this to work fully, auxiliary PO files will have to be normalized,
1398 in that way that <code>msgid</code> fields should be written <em>exactly</em>
1399 the same way. It is possible to write <code>msgid</code> fields in various
1400 ways for representing the same string, different writing would break the
1401 proper behaviour of the auxiliary file commands of PO mode. This is not
1402 expected to be much a problem in practice, as most existing PO files have
1403 their <code>msgid</code> entries written by the same GNU <code>gettext</code> tools.
1404 </p>
1405 <a name="IDX483"></a>
1406 <p>However, PO files initially created by PO mode itself, while marking
1407 strings in source files, are normalised differently. So are PO
1408 files resulting of the &lsquo;<samp>M-x normalize</samp>&rsquo; command. Until these
1409 discrepancies between PO mode and other GNU <code>gettext</code> tools get
1410 fully resolved, the translator should stay aware of normalisation issues.
1411 </p>
1412
1413 <a name="Compendium"></a>
1414 <a name="SEC80"></a>
1415 <h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC73">8.4 Using Translation Compendia</a> </h2>
1416
1417 <p>A <em>compendium</em> is a special PO file containing a set of
1418 translations recurring in many different packages. The translator can
1419 use gettext tools to build a new compendium, to add entries to her
1420 compendium, and to initialize untranslated entries, or to update
1421 already translated entries, from translations kept in the compendium.
1422 </p>
1423
1424
1425 <a name="Creating-Compendia"></a>
1426 <a name="SEC81"></a>
1427 <h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC74">8.4.1 Creating Compendia</a> </h3>
1428
1429 <p>Basically every PO file consisting of translated entries only can be
1430 declared as a valid compendium. Often the translator wants to have
1431 special compendia; let's consider two cases: <cite>concatenating PO
1432 files</cite> and <cite>extracting a message subset from a PO file</cite>.
1433 </p>
1434
1435 <a name="SEC82"></a>
1436 <h4 class="subsubsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC75">8.4.1.1 Concatenate PO Files</a> </h4>
1437
1438 <p>To concatenate several valid PO files into one compendium file you can
1439 use &lsquo;<samp>msgcomm</samp>&rsquo; or &lsquo;<samp>msgcat</samp>&rsquo; (the latter preferred):
1440 </p>
1441 <table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">msgcat -o compendium.po file1.po file2.po
1442 </pre></td></tr></table>
1443
1444 <p>By default, <code>msgcat</code> will accumulate divergent translations
1445 for the same string. Those occurrences will be marked as <code>fuzzy</code>
1446 and highly visible decorated; calling <code>msgcat</code> on
1447 &lsquo;<tt>file1.po</tt>&rsquo;:
1448 </p>
1449 <table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">#: src/hello.c:200
1450 #, c-format
1451 msgid &quot;Report bugs to &lt;%s&gt;.\n&quot;
1452 msgstr &quot;Comunicar `bugs' a &lt;%s&gt;.\n&quot;
1453 </pre></td></tr></table>
1454
1455 <p>and &lsquo;<tt>file2.po</tt>&rsquo;:
1456 </p>
1457 <table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">#: src/bye.c:100
1458 #, c-format
1459 msgid &quot;Report bugs to &lt;%s&gt;.\n&quot;
1460 msgstr &quot;Comunicar \&quot;bugs\&quot; a &lt;%s&gt;.\n&quot;
1461 </pre></td></tr></table>
1462
1463 <p>will result in:
1464 </p>
1465 <table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">#: src/hello.c:200 src/bye.c:100
1466 #, fuzzy, c-format
1467 msgid &quot;Report bugs to &lt;%s&gt;.\n&quot;
1468 msgstr &quot;&quot;
1469 &quot;#-#-#-#-# file1.po #-#-#-#-#\n&quot;
1470 &quot;Comunicar `bugs' a &lt;%s&gt;.\n&quot;
1471 &quot;#-#-#-#-# file2.po #-#-#-#-#\n&quot;
1472 &quot;Comunicar \&quot;bugs\&quot; a &lt;%s&gt;.\n&quot;
1473 </pre></td></tr></table>
1474
1475 <p>The translator will have to resolve this &ldquo;conflict&rdquo; manually; she
1476 has to decide whether the first or the second version is appropriate
1477 (or provide a new translation), to delete the &ldquo;marker lines&rdquo;, and
1478 finally to remove the <code>fuzzy</code> mark.
1479 </p>
1480 <p>If the translator knows in advance the first found translation of a
1481 message is always the best translation she can make use to the
1482 &lsquo;<samp>--use-first</samp>&rsquo; switch:
1483 </p>
1484 <table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">msgcat --use-first -o compendium.po file1.po file2.po
1485 </pre></td></tr></table>
1486
1487 <p>A good compendium file must not contain <code>fuzzy</code> or untranslated
1488 entries. If input files are &ldquo;dirty&rdquo; you must preprocess the input
1489 files or postprocess the result using &lsquo;<samp>msgattrib --translated --no-fuzzy</samp>&rsquo;.
1490 </p>
1491
1492 <a name="SEC83"></a>
1493 <h4 class="subsubsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC76">8.4.1.2 Extract a Message Subset from a PO File</a> </h4>
1494
1495 <p>Nobody wants to translate the same messages again and again; thus you
1496 may wish to have a compendium file containing &lsquo;<tt>getopt.c</tt>&rsquo; messages.
1497 </p>
1498 <p>To extract a message subset (e.g., all &lsquo;<tt>getopt.c</tt>&rsquo; messages) from an
1499 existing PO file into one compendium file you can use &lsquo;<samp>msggrep</samp>&rsquo;:
1500 </p>
1501 <table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">msggrep --location src/getopt.c -o compendium.po file.po
1502 </pre></td></tr></table>
1503
1504
1505 <a name="Using-Compendia"></a>
1506 <a name="SEC84"></a>
1507 <h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC77">8.4.2 Using Compendia</a> </h3>
1508
1509 <p>You can use a compendium file to initialize a translation from scratch
1510 or to update an already existing translation.
1511 </p>
1512
1513 <a name="SEC85"></a>
1514 <h4 class="subsubsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC78">8.4.2.1 Initialize a New Translation File</a> </h4>
1515
1516 <p>Since a PO file with translations does not exist the translator can
1517 merely use &lsquo;<tt>/dev/null</tt>&rsquo; to fake the &ldquo;old&rdquo; translation file.
1518 </p>
1519 <table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">msgmerge --compendium compendium.po -o file.po /dev/null file.pot
1520 </pre></td></tr></table>
1521
1522
1523 <a name="SEC86"></a>
1524 <h4 class="subsubsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC79">8.4.2.2 Update an Existing Translation File</a> </h4>
1525
1526 <p>Concatenate the compendium file(s) and the existing PO, merge the
1527 result with the POT file and remove the obsolete entries (optional,
1528 here done using &lsquo;<samp>msgattrib</samp>&rsquo;):
1529 </p>
1530 <table><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td><pre class="example">msgcat --use-first -o update.po compendium1.po compendium2.po file.po
1531 msgmerge update.po file.pot | msgattrib --no-obsolete &gt; file.po
1532 </pre></td></tr></table>
1533
1534
1535 <table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
1536 <tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC63" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> &lt;&lt; </a>]</td>
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