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17 <H1><A NAME=
"SEC23" HREF=
"gettext_toc.html#TOC23">Updating Existing PO Files
</A></H1>
21 <H2><A NAME=
"SEC24" HREF=
"gettext_toc.html#TOC24">Invoking the
<CODE>msgmerge
</CODE> Program
</A></H2>
25 <H2><A NAME=
"SEC25" HREF=
"gettext_toc.html#TOC25">Translated Entries
</A></H2>
28 Each PO file entry for which the
<CODE>msgstr
</CODE> field has been filled with
29 a translation, and which is not marked as fuzzy (see section
<A HREF=
"gettext_5.html#SEC26">Fuzzy Entries
</A>),
30 is a said to be a
<STRONG>translated
</STRONG> entry. Only translated entries will
31 later be compiled by GNU
<CODE>msgfmt
</CODE> and become usable in programs.
32 Other entry types will be excluded; translation will not occur for them.
36 Some commands are more specifically related to translated entry processing.
43 Find the next translated entry.
47 Find the previous translated entry.
52 The commands
<KBD>t
</KBD> (
<CODE>po-next-translated-entry
</CODE>) and
<KBD>M-t
</KBD>
53 (
<CODE>po-previous-transted-entry
</CODE>) move forwards or backwards, chasing
54 for an translated entry. If none is found, the search is extended and
55 wraps around in the PO file buffer.
59 Translated entries usually result from the translator having edited in
60 a translation for them, section
<A HREF=
"gettext_5.html#SEC29">Modifying Translations
</A>. However, if the
61 variable
<CODE>po-auto-fuzzy-on-edit
</CODE> is not
<CODE>nil
</CODE>, the entry having
62 received a new translation first becomes a fuzzy entry, which ought to
63 be later unfuzzied before becoming an official, genuine translated entry.
64 See section
<A HREF=
"gettext_5.html#SEC26">Fuzzy Entries
</A>.
69 <H2><A NAME=
"SEC26" HREF=
"gettext_toc.html#TOC26">Fuzzy Entries
</A></H2>
72 Each PO file entry may have a set of
<STRONG>attributes
</STRONG>, which are
73 qualities given an name and explicitely associated with the entry
74 translation, using a special system comment. One of these attributes
75 has the name
<CODE>fuzzy
</CODE>, and entries having this attribute are said
76 to have a fuzzy translation. They are called fuzzy entries, for short.
80 Fuzzy entries, even if they account for translated entries for
81 most other purposes, usually call for revision by the translator.
82 Those may be produced by applying the program
<CODE>msgmerge
</CODE> to
83 update an older translated PO files according to a new PO template
84 file, when this tool hypothesises that some new
<CODE>msgid
</CODE> has
85 been modified only slightly out of an older one, and chooses to pair
86 what it thinks to be the old translation for the new modified entry.
87 The slight alteration in the original string (the
<CODE>msgid
</CODE> string)
88 should often be reflected in the translated string, and this requires
89 the intervention of the translator. For this reason,
<CODE>msgmerge
</CODE>
90 might mark some entries as being fuzzy.
94 Also, the translator may decide herself to mark an entry as fuzzy
95 for her own convenience, when she wants to remember that the entry
96 has to be later revisited. So, some commands are more specifically
97 related to fuzzy entry processing.
104 Find the next fuzzy entry.
108 Find the previous fuzzy entry.
112 Remove the fuzzy attribute of the current entry.
117 The commands
<KBD>f
</KBD> (
<CODE>po-next-fuzzy
</CODE>) and
<KBD>M-f
</KBD>
118 (
<CODE>po-previous-fuzzy
</CODE>) move forwards or backwards, chasing for
119 a fuzzy entry. If none is found, the search is extended and wraps
120 around in the PO file buffer.
124 The command
<KBD>TAB
</KBD> (
<CODE>po-unfuzzy
</CODE>) removes the fuzzy
125 attribute associated with an entry, usually leaving it translated.
126 Further, if the variable
<CODE>po-auto-select-on-unfuzzy
</CODE> has not
127 the
<CODE>nil
</CODE> value, the
<KBD>TAB
</KBD> command will automatically chase
128 for another interesting entry to work on. The initial value of
129 <CODE>po-auto-select-on-unfuzzy
</CODE> is
<CODE>nil
</CODE>.
133 The initial value of
<CODE>po-auto-fuzzy-on-edit
</CODE> is
<CODE>nil
</CODE>. However,
134 if the variable
<CODE>po-auto-fuzzy-on-edit
</CODE> is set to
<CODE>t
</CODE>, any entry
135 edited through the
<KBD>RET
</KBD> command is marked fuzzy, as a way to ensure
136 some kind of double check, later. In this case, the usual paradigm is
137 that an entry becomes fuzzy (if not already) whenever the translator
138 modifies it. If she is satisfied with the translation, she then uses
139 <KBD>TAB
</KBD> to pick another entry to work on, clearing the fuzzy attribute
140 on the same blow. If she is not satisfied yet, she merely uses
<KBD>SPC
</KBD>
141 to chase another entry, leaving the entry fuzzy.
145 The translator may also use the
<KBD>DEL
</KBD> command
146 (
<CODE>po-fade-out-entry
</CODE>) over any translated entry to mark it as being
147 fuzzy, when she wants to easily leave a trace she wants to later return
148 working at this entry.
152 Also, when time comes to quit working on a PO file buffer with the
<KBD>q
</KBD>
153 command, the translator is asked for confirmation, if fuzzy string
159 <H2><A NAME=
"SEC27" HREF=
"gettext_toc.html#TOC27">Untranslated Entries
</A></H2>
162 When
<CODE>xgettext
</CODE> originally creates a PO file, unless told
163 otherwise, it initializes the
<CODE>msgid
</CODE> field with the untranslated
164 string, and leaves the
<CODE>msgstr
</CODE> string to be empty. Such entries,
165 having an empty translation, are said to be
<STRONG>untranslated
</STRONG> entries.
166 Later, when the programmer slightly modifies some string right in
167 the program, this change is later reflected in the PO file
168 by the appearance of a new untranslated entry for the modified string.
172 The usual commands moving from entry to entry consider untranslated
173 entries on the same level as active entries. Untranslated entries
174 are easily recognizable by the fact they end with
<SAMP>`msgstr ""'
</SAMP>.
178 The work of the translator might be (quite naively) seen as the process
179 of seeking after an untranslated entry, editing a translation for
180 it, and repeating these actions until no untranslated entries remain.
181 Some commands are more specifically related to untranslated entry
189 Find the next untranslated entry.
193 Find the previous untranslated entry.
197 Turn the current entry into an untranslated one.
202 The commands
<KBD>u
</KBD> (
<CODE>po-next-untranslated-entry
</CODE>) and
<KBD>M-u
</KBD>
203 (
<CODE>po-previous-untransted-entry
</CODE>) move forwards or backwards,
204 chasing for an untranslated entry. If none is found, the search is
205 extended and wraps around in the PO file buffer.
209 An entry can be turned back into an untranslated entry by
210 merely emptying its translation, using the command
<KBD>k
</KBD>
211 (
<CODE>po-kill-msgstr
</CODE>). See section
<A HREF=
"gettext_5.html#SEC29">Modifying Translations
</A>.
215 Also, when time comes to quit working on a PO file buffer
216 with the
<KBD>q
</KBD> command, the translator is asked for confirmation,
217 if some untranslated string still exists.
222 <H2><A NAME=
"SEC28" HREF=
"gettext_toc.html#TOC28">Obsolete Entries
</A></H2>
225 By
<STRONG>obsolete
</STRONG> PO file entries, we mean those entries which are
226 commented out, usually by
<CODE>msgmerge
</CODE> when it found that the
227 translation is not needed anymore by the package being localized.
231 The usual commands moving from entry to entry consider obsolete
232 entries on the same level as active entries. Obsolete entries are
233 easily recognizable by the fact that all their lines start with
234 <KBD>#
</KBD>, even those lines containing
<CODE>msgid
</CODE> or
<CODE>msgstr
</CODE>.
238 Commands exist for emptying the translation or reinitializing it
239 to the original untranslated string. Commands interfacing with the
240 kill ring may force some previously saved text into the translation.
241 The user may interactively edit the translation. All these commands
242 may apply to obsolete entries, carefully leaving the entry obsolete
247 Moreover, some commands are more specifically related to obsolete
255 Find the next obsolete entry.
259 Find the previous obsolete entry.
263 Make an active entry obsolete, or zap out an obsolete entry.
268 The commands
<KBD>o
</KBD> (
<CODE>po-next-obsolete-entry
</CODE>) and
<KBD>M-o
</KBD>
269 (
<CODE>po-previous-obsolete-entry
</CODE>) move forwards or backwards,
270 chasing for an obsolete entry. If none is found, the search is
271 extended and wraps around in the PO file buffer.
275 PO mode does not provide ways for un-commenting an obsolete entry
276 and making it active, because this would reintroduce an original
277 untranslated string which does not correspond to any marked string
278 in the program sources. This goes with the philosophy of never
279 introducing useless
<CODE>msgid
</CODE> values.
283 However, it is possible to comment out an active entry, so making
284 it obsolete. GNU
<CODE>gettext
</CODE> utilities will later react to the
285 disappearance of a translation by using the untranslated string.
286 The command
<KBD>DEL
</KBD> (
<CODE>po-fade-out-entry
</CODE>) pushes the current entry
287 a little further towards annihilation. If the entry is active (it is a
288 translated entry), then it is first made fuzzy. If it is already fuzzy,
289 then the entry is merely commented out, with confirmation. If the entry
290 is already obsolete, then it is completely deleted from the PO file.
291 It is easy to recycle the translation so deleted into some other PO file
292 entry, usually one which is untranslated. See section
<A HREF=
"gettext_5.html#SEC29">Modifying Translations
</A>.
296 Here is a quite interesting problem to solve for later development of
297 PO mode, for those nights you are not sleepy. The idea would be that
298 PO mode might become bright enough, one of these days, to make good
299 guesses at retrieving the most probable candidate, among all obsolete
300 entries, for initializing the translation of a newly appeared string.
301 I think it might be a quite hard problem to do this algorithmically, as
302 we have to develop good and efficient measures of string similarity.
303 Right now, PO mode completely lets the decision to the translator,
304 when the time comes to find the adequate obsolete translation, it
305 merely tries to provide handy tools for helping her to do so.
310 <H2><A NAME=
"SEC29" HREF=
"gettext_toc.html#TOC29">Modifying Translations
</A></H2>
313 PO mode prevents direct edition of the PO file, by the usual
314 means Emacs give for altering a buffer's contents. By doing so,
315 it pretends helping the translator to avoid little clerical errors
316 about the overall file format, or the proper quoting of strings,
317 as those errors would be easily made. Other kinds of errors are
318 still possible, but some may be caught and diagnosed by the batch
319 validation process, which the translator may always trigger by the
320 <KBD>V
</KBD> command. For all other errors, the translator has to rely on
321 her own judgment, and also on the linguistic reports submitted to her
322 by the users of the translated package, having the same mother tongue.
326 When the time comes to create a translation, correct an error diagnosed
327 mechanically or reported by a user, the translators have to resort to
328 using the following commands for modifying the translations.
335 Interactively edit the translation.
339 Reinitialize the translation with the original, untranslated string.
343 Save the translation on the kill ring, and delete it.
347 Save the translation on the kill ring, without deleting it.
351 Replace the translation, taking the new from the kill ring.
356 The command
<KBD>RET
</KBD> (
<CODE>po-edit-msgstr
</CODE>) opens a new Emacs window
357 containing a copy of the translation taken from the current PO file entry,
358 all ready for edition, fully modifiable and with the complete extent of
359 GNU Emacs modifying commands. The string is presented to the translator
360 expunged of all quoting marks, and she will modify the
<EM>unquoted
</EM>
361 string in this window to heart's content. Once done, the regular Emacs
362 command
<KBD>M-C-c
</KBD> (
<CODE>exit-recursive-edit
</CODE>) may be used to return the
363 edited translation into the PO file, replacing the original translation.
364 The keys
<KBD>C-c C-c
</KBD> are bound so they have the same effect as
369 If the translator becomes unsatisfied with her translation to the extent
370 she prefers keeping the translation which was existent prior to the
371 <KBD>RET
</KBD> command, she may use the standard Emacs command
<KBD>C-]
</KBD>
372 (
<CODE>abort-recursive-edit
</CODE>) to merely get rid of edition, while
373 preserving the original translation. The keys
<KBD>C-c C-k
</KBD> are
374 bound so they have the same effect as
<KBD>C-]
</KBD>. Another way would
375 be for her to exit normally with
<KBD>C-c C-c
</KBD>, then type
<CODE>U
</CODE>
376 once for undoing the whole effect of last edition.
380 Functions found on
<CODE>po-subedit-mode-hook
</CODE>, if any, are executed after
381 the string has been inserted in the edit buffer and before recursive edit
386 While editing her translation, the translator should pay attention to
387 not inserting unwanted
<KBD><KBD>RET
</KBD></KBD> (carriage returns) characters at
388 the end of the translated string if those are not meant to be there,
389 or to removing such characters when they are required. Since these
390 characters are not visible in the editing buffer, they are easily
391 introduced by mistake. To help her,
<KBD><KBD>RET
</KBD></KBD> automatically puts
392 the character
<KBD><</KBD> at the end of the string being edited, but this
393 <KBD><</KBD> is not really part of the string. On exiting the editing
394 window with
<KBD>C-c C-c
</KBD>, PO mode automatically removes such
395 <KBD><</KBD> and all whitespace added after it. If the translator adds
396 characters after the terminating
<KBD><</KBD>, it looses its delimiting
397 property and integrally becomes part of the string. If she removes
398 the delimiting
<KBD><</KBD>, then the edited string is taken
<EM>as
399 is
</EM>, with all trailing newlines, even if invisible. Also, if the
400 translated string ought to end itself with a genuine
<KBD><</KBD>, then the
401 delimiting
<KBD><</KBD> may not be removed; so the string should appear,
402 in the editing window, as ending with two
<KBD><</KBD> in a row.
406 When a translation (or a comment) is being edited, the translator
407 may move the cursor back into the PO file buffer and freely
408 move to other entries, browsing at will. The edited entry will
409 be recovered as soon as the edit ceases, because it is this entry
410 only which is being modified. If, with an edition still opened, the
411 translator wanders in the PO file buffer, she cannot modify
412 any other entry. If she tries to, PO mode will react by suggesting
413 that she abort the current edit, or else, by inviting her to finish
414 the current edit prior to any other modification.
418 The command
<KBD>LFD
</KBD> (
<CODE>po-msgid-to-msgstr
</CODE>) initializes, or
419 reinitializes the translation with the original string. This command
420 is normally used when the translator wants to redo a fresh translation
421 of the original string, disregarding any previous work.
425 It is possible to arrange so, whenever editing an untranslated
426 entry, the
<KBD>LFD
</KBD> command be automatically executed. If you set
427 <CODE>po-auto-edit-with-msgid
</CODE> to
<CODE>t
</CODE>, the translation gets
428 initialised with the original string, in case none exist already.
429 The default value for
<CODE>po-auto-edit-with-msgid
</CODE> is
<CODE>nil
</CODE>.
433 In fact, whether it is best to start a translation with an empty
434 string, or rather with a copy of the original string, is a matter of
435 taste or habit. Sometimes, the source language and the
436 target language are so different that is simply best to start writing
437 on an empty page. At other times, the source and target languages
438 are so close that it would be a waste to retype a number of words
439 already being written in the original string. A translator may also
440 like having the original string right under her eyes, as she will
441 progressively overwrite the original text with the translation, even
442 if this requires some extra editing work to get rid of the original.
446 The command
<KBD>k
</KBD> (
<CODE>po-kill-msgstr
</CODE>) merely empties the
447 translation string, so turning the entry into an untranslated
448 one. But while doing so, its previous contents is put apart in
449 a special place, known as the kill ring. The command
<KBD>w
</KBD>
450 (
<CODE>po-kill-ring-save-msgstr
</CODE>) has also the effect of taking a
451 copy of the translation onto the kill ring, but it otherwise leaves
452 the entry alone, and does
<EM>not
</EM> remove the translation from the
453 entry. Both commands use exactly the Emacs kill ring, which is shared
454 between buffers, and which is well known already to GNU Emacs lovers.
458 The translator may use
<KBD>k
</KBD> or
<KBD>w
</KBD> many times in the course
459 of her work, as the kill ring may hold several saved translations.
460 From the kill ring, strings may later be reinserted in various
461 Emacs buffers. In particular, the kill ring may be used for moving
462 translation strings between different entries of a single PO file
463 buffer, or if the translator is handling many such buffers at once,
464 even between PO files.
468 To facilitate exchanges with buffers which are not in PO mode, the
469 translation string put on the kill ring by the
<KBD>k
</KBD> command is fully
470 unquoted before being saved: external quotes are removed, multi-lines
471 strings are concatenated, and backslashed escaped sequences are turned
472 into their corresponding characters. In the special case of obsolete
473 entries, the translation is also uncommented prior to saving.
477 The command
<KBD>y
</KBD> (
<CODE>po-yank-msgstr
</CODE>) completely replaces the
478 translation of the current entry by a string taken from the kill ring.
479 Following GNU Emacs terminology, we then say that the replacement
480 string is
<STRONG>yanked
</STRONG> into the PO file buffer.
481 See section `Yanking' in
<CITE>The Emacs Editor
</CITE>.
482 The first time
<KBD>y
</KBD> is used, the translation receives the value of
483 the most recent addition to the kill ring. If
<KBD>y
</KBD> is typed once
484 again, immediately, without intervening keystrokes, the translation
485 just inserted is taken away and replaced by the second most recent
486 addition to the kill ring. By repeating
<KBD>y
</KBD> many times in a row,
487 the translator may travel along the kill ring for saved strings,
488 until she finds the string she really wanted.
492 When a string is yanked into a PO file entry, it is fully and
493 automatically requoted for complying with the format PO files should
494 have. Further, if the entry is obsolete, PO mode then appropriately
495 push the inserted string inside comments. Once again, translators
496 should not burden themselves with quoting considerations besides, of
497 course, the necessity of the translated string itself respective to
498 the program using it.
502 Note that
<KBD>k
</KBD> or
<KBD>w
</KBD> are not the only commands pushing strings
503 on the kill ring, as almost any PO mode command replacing translation
504 strings (or the translator comments) automatically save the old string
505 on the kill ring. The main exceptions to this general rule are the
506 yanking commands themselves.
510 To better illustrate the operation of killing and yanking, let's
511 use an actual example, taken from a common situation. When the
512 programmer slightly modifies some string right in the program, his
513 change is later reflected in the PO file by the appearance
514 of a new untranslated entry for the modified string, and the fact
515 that the entry translating the original or unmodified string becomes
516 obsolete. In many cases, the translator might spare herself some work
517 by retrieving the unmodified translation from the obsolete entry,
518 then initializing the untranslated entry
<CODE>msgstr
</CODE> field with
519 this retrieved translation. Once this done, the obsolete entry is
520 not wanted anymore, and may be safely deleted.
524 When the translator finds an untranslated entry and suspects that a
525 slight variant of the translation exists, she immediately uses
<KBD>m
</KBD>
526 to mark the current entry location, then starts chasing obsolete
527 entries with
<KBD>o
</KBD>, hoping to find some translation corresponding
528 to the unmodified string. Once found, she uses the
<KBD>DEL
</KBD> command
529 for deleting the obsolete entry, knowing that
<KBD>DEL
</KBD> also
<EM>kills
</EM>
530 the translation, that is, pushes the translation on the kill ring.
531 Then,
<KBD>r
</KBD> returns to the initial untranslated entry,
<KBD>y
</KBD>
532 then
<EM>yanks
</EM> the saved translation right into the
<CODE>msgstr
</CODE>
533 field. The translator is then free to use
<KBD><KBD>RET
</KBD></KBD> for fine
534 tuning the translation contents, and maybe to later use
<KBD>u
</KBD>,
535 then
<KBD>m
</KBD> again, for going on with the next untranslated string.
539 When some sequence of keys has to be typed over and over again, the
540 translator may find it useful to become better acquainted with the GNU
541 Emacs capability of learning these sequences and playing them back under
542 request. See section `Keyboard Macros' in
<CITE>The Emacs Editor
</CITE>.
547 <H2><A NAME=
"SEC30" HREF=
"gettext_toc.html#TOC30">Modifying Comments
</A></H2>
550 Any translation work done seriously will raise many linguistic
551 difficulties, for which decisions have to be made, and the choices
552 further documented. These documents may be saved within the
553 PO file in form of translator comments, which the translator
554 is free to create, delete, or modify at will. These comments may
555 be useful to herself when she returns to this PO file after a while.
559 Comments not having whitespace after the initial
<SAMP>`#'
</SAMP>, for example,
560 those beginning with
<SAMP>`#.'
</SAMP> or
<SAMP>`#:'
</SAMP>, are
<EM>not
</EM> translator
561 comments, they are exclusively created by other
<CODE>gettext
</CODE> tools.
562 So, the commands below will never alter such system added comments,
563 they are not meant for the translator to modify. See section
<A HREF=
"gettext_2.html#SEC9">The Format of PO Files
</A>.
567 The following commands are somewhat similar to those modifying translations,
568 so the general indications given for those apply here. See section
<A HREF=
"gettext_5.html#SEC29">Modifying Translations
</A>.
575 Interactively edit the translator comments.
579 Save the translator comments on the kill ring, and delete it.
583 Save the translator comments on the kill ring, without deleting it.
587 Replace the translator comments, taking the new from the kill ring.
592 These commands parallel PO mode commands for modifying the translation
593 strings, and behave much the same way as they do, except that they handle
594 this part of PO file comments meant for translator usage, rather
595 than the translation strings. So, if the descriptions given below are
596 slightly succinct, it is because the full details have already been given.
597 See section
<A HREF=
"gettext_5.html#SEC29">Modifying Translations
</A>.
601 The command
<KBD>#
</KBD> (
<CODE>po-edit-comment
</CODE>) opens a new Emacs
602 window containing a copy of the translator comments on the current
603 PO file entry. If there are no such comments, PO mode
604 understands that the translator wants to add a comment to the entry,
605 and she is presented with an empty screen. Comment marks (
<KBD>#
</KBD>) and
606 the space following them are automatically removed before edition,
607 and reinstated after. For translator comments pertaining to obsolete
608 entries, the uncommenting and recommenting operations are done twice.
609 Once in the editing window, the keys
<KBD>C-c C-c
</KBD> allow the
610 translator to tell she is finished with editing the comment.
614 Functions found on
<CODE>po-subedit-mode-hook
</CODE>, if any, are executed after
615 the string has been inserted in the edit buffer and before recursive edit
620 The command
<KBD>K
</KBD> (
<CODE>po-kill-comment
</CODE>) get rid of all
621 translator comments, while saving those comments on the kill ring.
622 The command
<KBD>W
</KBD> (
<CODE>po-kill-ring-save-comment
</CODE>) takes
623 a copy of the translator comments on the kill ring, but leaves
624 them undisturbed in the current entry. The command
<KBD>Y
</KBD>
625 (
<CODE>po-yank-comment
</CODE>) completely replaces the translator comments
626 by a string taken at the front of the kill ring. When this command
627 is immediately repeated, the comments just inserted are withdrawn,
628 and replaced by other strings taken along the kill ring.
632 On the kill ring, all strings have the same nature. There is no
633 distinction between
<EM>translation
</EM> strings and
<EM>translator
634 comments
</EM> strings. So, for example, let's presume the translator
635 has just finished editing a translation, and wants to create a new
636 translator comment to document why the previous translation was
637 not good, just to remember what was the problem. Foreseeing that she
638 will do that in her documentation, the translator may want to quote
639 the previous translation in her translator comments. To do so, she
640 may initialize the translator comments with the previous translation,
641 still at the head of the kill ring. Because editing already pushed the
642 previous translation on the kill ring, she merely has to type
<KBD>M-w
</KBD>
643 prior to
<KBD>#
</KBD>, and the previous translation will be right there,
644 all ready for being introduced by some explanatory text.
648 On the other hand, presume there are some translator comments already
649 and that the translator wants to add to those comments, instead
650 of wholly replacing them. Then, she should edit the comment right
651 away with
<KBD>#
</KBD>. Once inside the editing window, she can use the
652 regular GNU Emacs commands
<KBD>C-y
</KBD> (
<CODE>yank
</CODE>) and
<KBD>M-y
</KBD>
653 (
<CODE>yank-pop
</CODE>) to get the previous translation where she likes.
658 <H2><A NAME=
"SEC31" HREF=
"gettext_toc.html#TOC31">Consulting Auxiliary PO Files
</A></H2>
661 PO mode is able to help the knowledgeable translator, being fluent in
662 many languages, at taking advantage of translations already achieved
663 in other languages she just happens to know. It provides these other
664 language translations as additional context for her own work. Moreover,
665 it has features to ease the production of translations for many languages
666 at once, for translators preferring to work in this way.
670 An
<STRONG>auxiliary
</STRONG> PO file is an existing PO file meant for the same
671 package the translator is working on, but targeted to a different mother
672 tongue language. Commands exist for declaring and handling auxiliary
673 PO files, and also for showing contexts for the entry under work.
677 Here are the auxiliary file commands available in PO mode.
684 Seek auxiliary files for another translation for the same entry.
688 Switch to a particular auxiliary file.
692 Declare this PO file as an auxiliary file.
696 Remove this PO file from the list of auxiliary files.
701 Command
<KBD>A
</KBD> (
<CODE>po-consider-as-auxiliary
</CODE>) adds the current
702 PO file to the list of auxiliary files, while command
<KBD>M-A
</KBD>
703 (
<CODE>po-ignore-as-auxiliary
</CODE> just removes it.
707 The command
<KBD>a
</KBD> (
<CODE>po-cycle-auxiliary
</CODE>) seeks all auxiliary PO
708 files, round-robin, searching for a translated entry in some other language
709 having an
<CODE>msgid
</CODE> field identical as the one for the current entry.
710 The found PO file, if any, takes the place of the current PO file in
711 the display (its window gets on top). Before doing so, the current PO
712 file is also made into an auxiliary file, if not already. So,
<KBD>a
</KBD>
713 in this newly displayed PO file will seek another PO file, and so on,
714 so repeating
<KBD>a
</KBD> will eventually yield back the original PO file.
718 The command
<KBD>M-a
</KBD> (
<CODE>po-select-auxiliary
</CODE>) asks the translator
719 for her choice of a particular auxiliary file, with completion, and
720 then switches to that selected PO file. The command also checks if
721 the selected file has an
<CODE>msgid
</CODE> field identical as the one for
722 the current entry, and if yes, this entry becomes current. Otherwise,
723 the cursor of the selected file is left undisturbed.
727 For all this to work fully, auxiliary PO files will have to be normalized,
728 in that way that
<CODE>msgid
</CODE> fields should be written
<EM>exactly
</EM>
729 the same way. It is possible to write
<CODE>msgid
</CODE> fields in various
730 ways for representing the same string, different writing would break the
731 proper behaviour of the auxiliary file commands of PO mode. This is not
732 expected to be much a problem in practice, as most existing PO files have
733 their
<CODE>msgid
</CODE> entries written by the same GNU
<CODE>gettext
</CODE> tools.
737 However, PO files initially created by PO mode itself, while marking
738 strings in source files, are normalised differently. So are PO
739 files resulting of the the
<SAMP>`M-x normalize'
</SAMP> command. Until these
740 discrepancies between PO mode and other GNU
<CODE>gettext
</CODE> tools get
741 fully resolved, the translator should stay aware of normalisation issues.
745 <p>Go to the
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