1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907
908
909
910
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
921
922
923
924
925
926
927
928
929
930
|
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<!-- This HTML file has been created by texi2html 1.51
from gettext.texi on 19 April 2001 -->
<TITLE>GNU gettext utilities - 6 Updating Existing PO Files</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
Go to the <A HREF="gettext_1.html">first</A>, <A HREF="gettext_5.html">previous</A>, <A HREF="gettext_7.html">next</A>, <A HREF="gettext_14.html">last</A> section, <A HREF="gettext_toc.html">table of contents</A>.
<P><HR><P>
<H1><A NAME="SEC22" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC22">6 Updating Existing PO Files</A></H1>
<H2><A NAME="SEC23" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC23">6.1 Invoking the <CODE>msgmerge</CODE> Program</A></H2>
<H2><A NAME="SEC24" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC24">6.2 Translated Entries</A></H2>
<P>
Each PO file entry for which the <CODE>msgstr</CODE> field has been filled with
a translation, and which is not marked as fuzzy (see section <A HREF="gettext_6.html#SEC25">6.3 Fuzzy Entries</A>),
is a said to be a <STRONG>translated</STRONG> entry. Only translated entries will
later be compiled by GNU <CODE>msgfmt</CODE> and become usable in programs.
Other entry types will be excluded; translation will not occur for them.
</P>
<P>
Some commands are more specifically related to translated entry processing.
</P>
<DL COMPACT>
<DT><KBD>t</KBD>
<DD>
Find the next translated entry.
<DT><KBD>M-t</KBD>
<DD>
Find the previous translated entry.
</DL>
<P>
The commands <KBD>t</KBD> (<CODE>po-next-translated-entry</CODE>) and <KBD>M-t</KBD>
(<CODE>po-previous-transted-entry</CODE>) move forwards or backwards, chasing
for an translated entry. If none is found, the search is extended and
wraps around in the PO file buffer.
</P>
<P>
Translated entries usually result from the translator having edited in
a translation for them, section <A HREF="gettext_6.html#SEC28">6.6 Modifying Translations</A>. However, if the
variable <CODE>po-auto-fuzzy-on-edit</CODE> is not <CODE>nil</CODE>, the entry having
received a new translation first becomes a fuzzy entry, which ought to
be later unfuzzied before becoming an official, genuine translated entry.
See section <A HREF="gettext_6.html#SEC25">6.3 Fuzzy Entries</A>.
</P>
<H2><A NAME="SEC25" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC25">6.3 Fuzzy Entries</A></H2>
<P>
Each PO file entry may have a set of <STRONG>attributes</STRONG>, which are
qualities given a name and explicitely associated with the translation,
using a special system comment. One of these attributes
has the name <CODE>fuzzy</CODE>, and entries having this attribute are said
to have a fuzzy translation. They are called fuzzy entries, for short.
</P>
<P>
Fuzzy entries, even if they account for translated entries for
most other purposes, usually call for revision by the translator.
Those may be produced by applying the program <CODE>msgmerge</CODE> to
update an older translated PO files according to a new PO template
file, when this tool hypothesises that some new <CODE>msgid</CODE> has
been modified only slightly out of an older one, and chooses to pair
what it thinks to be the old translation for the new modified entry.
The slight alteration in the original string (the <CODE>msgid</CODE> string)
should often be reflected in the translated string, and this requires
the intervention of the translator. For this reason, <CODE>msgmerge</CODE>
might mark some entries as being fuzzy.
</P>
<P>
Also, the translator may decide herself to mark an entry as fuzzy
for her own convenience, when she wants to remember that the entry
has to be later revisited. So, some commands are more specifically
related to fuzzy entry processing.
</P>
<DL COMPACT>
<DT><KBD>f</KBD>
<DD>
Find the next fuzzy entry.
<DT><KBD>M-f</KBD>
<DD>
Find the previous fuzzy entry.
<DT><KBD><KBD>TAB</KBD></KBD>
<DD>
Remove the fuzzy attribute of the current entry.
</DL>
<P>
The commands <KBD>f</KBD> (<CODE>po-next-fuzzy</CODE>) and <KBD>M-f</KBD>
(<CODE>po-previous-fuzzy</CODE>) move forwards or backwards, chasing for
a fuzzy entry. If none is found, the search is extended and wraps
around in the PO file buffer.
</P>
<P>
The command <KBD><KBD>TAB</KBD></KBD> (<CODE>po-unfuzzy</CODE>) removes the fuzzy
attribute associated with an entry, usually leaving it translated.
Further, if the variable <CODE>po-auto-select-on-unfuzzy</CODE> has not
the <CODE>nil</CODE> value, the <KBD><KBD>TAB</KBD></KBD> command will automatically chase
for another interesting entry to work on. The initial value of
<CODE>po-auto-select-on-unfuzzy</CODE> is <CODE>nil</CODE>.
</P>
<P>
The initial value of <CODE>po-auto-fuzzy-on-edit</CODE> is <CODE>nil</CODE>. However,
if the variable <CODE>po-auto-fuzzy-on-edit</CODE> is set to <CODE>t</CODE>, any entry
edited through the <KBD><KBD>RET</KBD></KBD> command is marked fuzzy, as a way to
ensure some kind of double check, later. In this case, the usual paradigm
is that an entry becomes fuzzy (if not already) whenever the translator
modifies it. If she is satisfied with the translation, she then uses
<KBD><KBD>TAB</KBD></KBD> to pick another entry to work on, clearing the fuzzy attribute
on the same blow. If she is not satisfied yet, she merely uses <KBD><KBD>SPC</KBD></KBD>
to chase another entry, leaving the entry fuzzy.
</P>
<P>
The translator may also use the <KBD><KBD>DEL</KBD></KBD> command
(<CODE>po-fade-out-entry</CODE>) over any translated entry to mark it as being
fuzzy, when she wants to easily leave a trace she wants to later return
working at this entry.
</P>
<P>
Also, when time comes to quit working on a PO file buffer with the <KBD>q</KBD>
command, the translator is asked for confirmation, if fuzzy string
still exists.
</P>
<H2><A NAME="SEC26" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC26">6.4 Untranslated Entries</A></H2>
<P>
When <CODE>xgettext</CODE> originally creates a PO file, unless told
otherwise, it initializes the <CODE>msgid</CODE> field with the untranslated
string, and leaves the <CODE>msgstr</CODE> string to be empty. Such entries,
having an empty translation, are said to be <STRONG>untranslated</STRONG> entries.
Later, when the programmer slightly modifies some string right in
the program, this change is later reflected in the PO file
by the appearance of a new untranslated entry for the modified string.
</P>
<P>
The usual commands moving from entry to entry consider untranslated
entries on the same level as active entries. Untranslated entries
are easily recognizable by the fact they end with <SAMP>`msgstr ""'</SAMP>.
</P>
<P>
The work of the translator might be (quite naively) seen as the process
of seeking for an untranslated entry, editing a translation for
it, and repeating these actions until no untranslated entries remain.
Some commands are more specifically related to untranslated entry
processing.
</P>
<DL COMPACT>
<DT><KBD>u</KBD>
<DD>
Find the next untranslated entry.
<DT><KBD>M-u</KBD>
<DD>
Find the previous untranslated entry.
<DT><KBD>k</KBD>
<DD>
Turn the current entry into an untranslated one.
</DL>
<P>
The commands <KBD>u</KBD> (<CODE>po-next-untranslated-entry</CODE>) and <KBD>M-u</KBD>
(<CODE>po-previous-untransted-entry</CODE>) move forwards or backwards,
chasing for an untranslated entry. If none is found, the search is
extended and wraps around in the PO file buffer.
</P>
<P>
An entry can be turned back into an untranslated entry by
merely emptying its translation, using the command <KBD>k</KBD>
(<CODE>po-kill-msgstr</CODE>). See section <A HREF="gettext_6.html#SEC28">6.6 Modifying Translations</A>.
</P>
<P>
Also, when time comes to quit working on a PO file buffer
with the <KBD>q</KBD> command, the translator is asked for confirmation,
if some untranslated string still exists.
</P>
<H2><A NAME="SEC27" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC27">6.5 Obsolete Entries</A></H2>
<P>
By <STRONG>obsolete</STRONG> PO file entries, we mean those entries which are
commented out, usually by <CODE>msgmerge</CODE> when it found that the
translation is not needed anymore by the package being localized.
</P>
<P>
The usual commands moving from entry to entry consider obsolete
entries on the same level as active entries. Obsolete entries are
easily recognizable by the fact that all their lines start with
<KBD>#</KBD>, even those lines containing <CODE>msgid</CODE> or <CODE>msgstr</CODE>.
</P>
<P>
Commands exist for emptying the translation or reinitializing it
to the original untranslated string. Commands interfacing with the
kill ring may force some previously saved text into the translation.
The user may interactively edit the translation. All these commands
may apply to obsolete entries, carefully leaving the entry obsolete
after the fact.
</P>
<P>
Moreover, some commands are more specifically related to obsolete
entry processing.
</P>
<DL COMPACT>
<DT><KBD>o</KBD>
<DD>
Find the next obsolete entry.
<DT><KBD>M-o</KBD>
<DD>
Find the previous obsolete entry.
<DT><KBD><KBD>DEL</KBD></KBD>
<DD>
Make an active entry obsolete, or zap out an obsolete entry.
</DL>
<P>
The commands <KBD>o</KBD> (<CODE>po-next-obsolete-entry</CODE>) and <KBD>M-o</KBD>
(<CODE>po-previous-obsolete-entry</CODE>) move forwards or backwards,
chasing for an obsolete entry. If none is found, the search is
extended and wraps around in the PO file buffer.
</P>
<P>
PO mode does not provide ways for un-commenting an obsolete entry
and making it active, because this would reintroduce an original
untranslated string which does not correspond to any marked string
in the program sources. This goes with the philosophy of never
introducing useless <CODE>msgid</CODE> values.
</P>
<P>
However, it is possible to comment out an active entry, so making
it obsolete. GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE> utilities will later react to the
disappearance of a translation by using the untranslated string.
The command <KBD><KBD>DEL</KBD></KBD> (<CODE>po-fade-out-entry</CODE>) pushes the current entry
a little further towards annihilation. If the entry is active (it is a
translated entry), then it is first made fuzzy. If it is already fuzzy,
then the entry is merely commented out, with confirmation. If the entry
is already obsolete, then it is completely deleted from the PO file.
It is easy to recycle the translation so deleted into some other PO file
entry, usually one which is untranslated. See section <A HREF="gettext_6.html#SEC28">6.6 Modifying Translations</A>.
</P>
<P>
Here is a quite interesting problem to solve for later development of
PO mode, for those nights you are not sleepy. The idea would be that
PO mode might become bright enough, one of these days, to make good
guesses at retrieving the most probable candidate, among all obsolete
entries, for initializing the translation of a newly appeared string.
I think it might be a quite hard problem to do this algorithmically, as
we have to develop good and efficient measures of string similarity.
Right now, PO mode completely lets the decision to the translator,
when the time comes to find the adequate obsolete translation, it
merely tries to provide handy tools for helping her to do so.
</P>
<H2><A NAME="SEC28" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC28">6.6 Modifying Translations</A></H2>
<P>
PO mode prevents direct edition of the PO file, by the usual
means Emacs give for altering a buffer's contents. By doing so,
it pretends helping the translator to avoid little clerical errors
about the overall file format, or the proper quoting of strings,
as those errors would be easily made. Other kinds of errors are
still possible, but some may be caught and diagnosed by the batch
validation process, which the translator may always trigger by the
<KBD>V</KBD> command. For all other errors, the translator has to rely on
her own judgment, and also on the linguistic reports submitted to her
by the users of the translated package, having the same mother tongue.
</P>
<P>
When the time comes to create a translation, correct an error diagnosed
mechanically or reported by a user, the translators have to resort to
using the following commands for modifying the translations.
</P>
<DL COMPACT>
<DT><KBD><KBD>RET</KBD></KBD>
<DD>
Interactively edit the translation.
<DT><KBD><KBD>LFD</KBD></KBD>
<DD>
Reinitialize the translation with the original, untranslated string.
<DT><KBD>k</KBD>
<DD>
Save the translation on the kill ring, and delete it.
<DT><KBD>w</KBD>
<DD>
Save the translation on the kill ring, without deleting it.
<DT><KBD>y</KBD>
<DD>
Replace the translation, taking the new from the kill ring.
</DL>
<P>
The command <KBD><KBD>RET</KBD></KBD> (<CODE>po-edit-msgstr</CODE>) opens a new Emacs
window meant to edit in a new translation, or to modify an already existing
translation. The new window contains a copy of the translation taken from
the current PO file entry, all ready for edition, expunged of all quoting
marks, fully modifiable and with the complete extent of Emacs modifying
commands. When the translator is done with her modifications, she may use
<KBD>C-c C-c</KBD> to close the subedit window with the automatically requoted
results, or <KBD>C-c C-k</KBD> to abort her modifications. See section <A HREF="gettext_6.html#SEC30">6.8 Details of Sub Edition</A>,
for more information.
</P>
<P>
The command <KBD><KBD>LFD</KBD></KBD> (<CODE>po-msgid-to-msgstr</CODE>) initializes, or
reinitializes the translation with the original string. This command is
normally used when the translator wants to redo a fresh translation of
the original string, disregarding any previous work.
</P>
<P>
It is possible to arrange so, whenever editing an untranslated
entry, the <KBD><KBD>LFD</KBD></KBD> command be automatically executed. If you set
<CODE>po-auto-edit-with-msgid</CODE> to <CODE>t</CODE>, the translation gets
initialised with the original string, in case none exists already.
The default value for <CODE>po-auto-edit-with-msgid</CODE> is <CODE>nil</CODE>.
</P>
<P>
In fact, whether it is best to start a translation with an empty
string, or rather with a copy of the original string, is a matter of
taste or habit. Sometimes, the source language and the
target language are so different that is simply best to start writing
on an empty page. At other times, the source and target languages
are so close that it would be a waste to retype a number of words
already being written in the original string. A translator may also
like having the original string right under her eyes, as she will
progressively overwrite the original text with the translation, even
if this requires some extra editing work to get rid of the original.
</P>
<P>
The command <KBD>k</KBD> (<CODE>po-kill-msgstr</CODE>) merely empties the
translation string, so turning the entry into an untranslated
one. But while doing so, its previous contents is put apart in
a special place, known as the kill ring. The command <KBD>w</KBD>
(<CODE>po-kill-ring-save-msgstr</CODE>) has also the effect of taking a
copy of the translation onto the kill ring, but it otherwise leaves
the entry alone, and does <EM>not</EM> remove the translation from the
entry. Both commands use exactly the Emacs kill ring, which is shared
between buffers, and which is well known already to Emacs lovers.
</P>
<P>
The translator may use <KBD>k</KBD> or <KBD>w</KBD> many times in the course
of her work, as the kill ring may hold several saved translations.
From the kill ring, strings may later be reinserted in various
Emacs buffers. In particular, the kill ring may be used for moving
translation strings between different entries of a single PO file
buffer, or if the translator is handling many such buffers at once,
even between PO files.
</P>
<P>
To facilitate exchanges with buffers which are not in PO mode, the
translation string put on the kill ring by the <KBD>k</KBD> command is fully
unquoted before being saved: external quotes are removed, multi-line
strings are concatenated, and backslash escaped sequences are turned
into their corresponding characters. In the special case of obsolete
entries, the translation is also uncommented prior to saving.
</P>
<P>
The command <KBD>y</KBD> (<CODE>po-yank-msgstr</CODE>) completely replaces the
translation of the current entry by a string taken from the kill ring.
Following Emacs terminology, we then say that the replacement
string is <STRONG>yanked</STRONG> into the PO file buffer.
See section `Yanking' in <CITE>The Emacs Editor</CITE>.
The first time <KBD>y</KBD> is used, the translation receives the value of
the most recent addition to the kill ring. If <KBD>y</KBD> is typed once
again, immediately, without intervening keystrokes, the translation
just inserted is taken away and replaced by the second most recent
addition to the kill ring. By repeating <KBD>y</KBD> many times in a row,
the translator may travel along the kill ring for saved strings,
until she finds the string she really wanted.
</P>
<P>
When a string is yanked into a PO file entry, it is fully and
automatically requoted for complying with the format PO files should
have. Further, if the entry is obsolete, PO mode then appropriately
push the inserted string inside comments. Once again, translators
should not burden themselves with quoting considerations besides, of
course, the necessity of the translated string itself respective to
the program using it.
</P>
<P>
Note that <KBD>k</KBD> or <KBD>w</KBD> are not the only commands pushing strings
on the kill ring, as almost any PO mode command replacing translation
strings (or the translator comments) automatically saves the old string
on the kill ring. The main exceptions to this general rule are the
yanking commands themselves.
</P>
<P>
To better illustrate the operation of killing and yanking, let's
use an actual example, taken from a common situation. When the
programmer slightly modifies some string right in the program, his
change is later reflected in the PO file by the appearance
of a new untranslated entry for the modified string, and the fact
that the entry translating the original or unmodified string becomes
obsolete. In many cases, the translator might spare herself some work
by retrieving the unmodified translation from the obsolete entry,
then initializing the untranslated entry <CODE>msgstr</CODE> field with
this retrieved translation. Once this done, the obsolete entry is
not wanted anymore, and may be safely deleted.
</P>
<P>
When the translator finds an untranslated entry and suspects that a
slight variant of the translation exists, she immediately uses <KBD>m</KBD>
to mark the current entry location, then starts chasing obsolete
entries with <KBD>o</KBD>, hoping to find some translation corresponding
to the unmodified string. Once found, she uses the <KBD><KBD>DEL</KBD></KBD> command
for deleting the obsolete entry, knowing that <KBD><KBD>DEL</KBD></KBD> also <EM>kills</EM>
the translation, that is, pushes the translation on the kill ring.
Then, <KBD>r</KBD> returns to the initial untranslated entry, and <KBD>y</KBD>
then <EM>yanks</EM> the saved translation right into the <CODE>msgstr</CODE>
field. The translator is then free to use <KBD><KBD>RET</KBD></KBD> for fine
tuning the translation contents, and maybe to later use <KBD>u</KBD>,
then <KBD>m</KBD> again, for going on with the next untranslated string.
</P>
<P>
When some sequence of keys has to be typed over and over again, the
translator may find it useful to become better acquainted with the Emacs
capability of learning these sequences and playing them back under request.
See section `Keyboard Macros' in <CITE>The Emacs Editor</CITE>.
</P>
<H2><A NAME="SEC29" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC29">6.7 Modifying Comments</A></H2>
<P>
Any translation work done seriously will raise many linguistic
difficulties, for which decisions have to be made, and the choices
further documented. These documents may be saved within the
PO file in form of translator comments, which the translator
is free to create, delete, or modify at will. These comments may
be useful to herself when she returns to this PO file after a while.
</P>
<P>
Comments not having whitespace after the initial <SAMP>`#'</SAMP>, for example,
those beginning with <SAMP>`#.'</SAMP> or <SAMP>`#:'</SAMP>, are <EM>not</EM> translator
comments, they are exclusively created by other <CODE>gettext</CODE> tools.
So, the commands below will never alter such system added comments,
they are not meant for the translator to modify. See section <A HREF="gettext_2.html#SEC9">2.2 The Format of PO Files</A>.
</P>
<P>
The following commands are somewhat similar to those modifying translations,
so the general indications given for those apply here. See section <A HREF="gettext_6.html#SEC28">6.6 Modifying Translations</A>.
</P>
<DL COMPACT>
<DT><KBD>#</KBD>
<DD>
Interactively edit the translator comments.
<DT><KBD>K</KBD>
<DD>
Save the translator comments on the kill ring, and delete it.
<DT><KBD>W</KBD>
<DD>
Save the translator comments on the kill ring, without deleting it.
<DT><KBD>Y</KBD>
<DD>
Replace the translator comments, taking the new from the kill ring.
</DL>
<P>
These commands parallel PO mode commands for modifying the translation
strings, and behave much the same way as they do, except that they handle
this part of PO file comments meant for translator usage, rather
than the translation strings. So, if the descriptions given below are
slightly succinct, it is because the full details have already been given.
See section <A HREF="gettext_6.html#SEC28">6.6 Modifying Translations</A>.
</P>
<P>
The command <KBD>#</KBD> (<CODE>po-edit-comment</CODE>) opens a new Emacs window
containing a copy of the translator comments on the current PO file entry.
If there are no such comments, PO mode understands that the translator wants
to add a comment to the entry, and she is presented with an empty screen.
Comment marks (<KBD>#</KBD>) and the space following them are automatically
removed before edition, and reinstated after. For translator comments
pertaining to obsolete entries, the uncommenting and recommenting operations
are done twice. Once in the editing window, the keys <KBD>C-c C-c</KBD>
allow the translator to tell she is finished with editing the comment.
See section <A HREF="gettext_6.html#SEC30">6.8 Details of Sub Edition</A>, for further details.
</P>
<P>
Functions found on <CODE>po-subedit-mode-hook</CODE>, if any, are executed after
the string has been inserted in the edit buffer.
</P>
<P>
The command <KBD>K</KBD> (<CODE>po-kill-comment</CODE>) gets rid of all
translator comments, while saving those comments on the kill ring.
The command <KBD>W</KBD> (<CODE>po-kill-ring-save-comment</CODE>) takes
a copy of the translator comments on the kill ring, but leaves
them undisturbed in the current entry. The command <KBD>Y</KBD>
(<CODE>po-yank-comment</CODE>) completely replaces the translator comments
by a string taken at the front of the kill ring. When this command
is immediately repeated, the comments just inserted are withdrawn,
and replaced by other strings taken along the kill ring.
</P>
<P>
On the kill ring, all strings have the same nature. There is no
distinction between <EM>translation</EM> strings and <EM>translator
comments</EM> strings. So, for example, let's presume the translator
has just finished editing a translation, and wants to create a new
translator comment to document why the previous translation was
not good, just to remember what was the problem. Foreseeing that she
will do that in her documentation, the translator may want to quote
the previous translation in her translator comments. To do so, she
may initialize the translator comments with the previous translation,
still at the head of the kill ring. Because editing already pushed the
previous translation on the kill ring, she merely has to type <KBD>M-w</KBD>
prior to <KBD>#</KBD>, and the previous translation will be right there,
all ready for being introduced by some explanatory text.
</P>
<P>
On the other hand, presume there are some translator comments already
and that the translator wants to add to those comments, instead
of wholly replacing them. Then, she should edit the comment right
away with <KBD>#</KBD>. Once inside the editing window, she can use the
regular Emacs commands <KBD>C-y</KBD> (<CODE>yank</CODE>) and <KBD>M-y</KBD>
(<CODE>yank-pop</CODE>) to get the previous translation where she likes.
</P>
<H2><A NAME="SEC30" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC30">6.8 Details of Sub Edition</A></H2>
<P>
The PO subedit minor mode has a few peculiarities worth being described
in fuller detail. It installs a few commands over the usual editing set
of Emacs, which are described below.
</P>
<DL COMPACT>
<DT><KBD>C-c C-c</KBD>
<DD>
Complete edition.
<DT><KBD>C-c C-k</KBD>
<DD>
Abort edition.
<DT><KBD>C-c C-a</KBD>
<DD>
Consult auxiliary PO files.
</DL>
<P>
The window's contents represents a translation for a given message,
or a translator comment. The translator may modify this window to
her heart's content. Once this done, the command <KBD>C-c C-c</KBD>
(<CODE>po-subedit-exit</CODE>) may be used to return the edited translation into
the PO file, replacing the original translation, even if it moved out of
sight or if buffers were switched.
</P>
<P>
If the translator becomes unsatisfied with her translation or comment,
to the extent she prefers keeping what was existent prior to the
<KBD><KBD>RET</KBD></KBD> or <KBD>#</KBD> command, she may use the command <KBD>C-c C-k</KBD>
(<CODE>po-subedit-abort</CODE>) to merely get rid of edition, while preserving
the original translation or comment. Another way would be for her to exit
normally with <KBD>C-c C-c</KBD>, then type <CODE>U</CODE> once for undoing the
whole effect of last edition.
</P>
<P>
The command <KBD>C-c C-a</KBD> allows for glancing through translations
already achieved in other languages, directly while editing the current
translation. This may be quite convenient when the translator is fluent
at many languages, but of course, only makes sense when such completed
auxiliary PO files are already available to her (see section <A HREF="gettext_6.html#SEC32">6.10 Consulting Auxiliary PO Files</A>).
</P>
<P>
Functions found on <CODE>po-subedit-mode-hook</CODE>, if any, are executed after
the string has been inserted in the edit buffer.
</P>
<P>
While editing her translation, the translator should pay attention to not
inserting unwanted <KBD><KBD>RET</KBD></KBD> (newline) characters at the end of
the translated string if those are not meant to be there, or to removing
such characters when they are required. Since these characters are not
visible in the editing buffer, they are easily introduced by mistake.
To help her, <KBD><KBD>RET</KBD></KBD> automatically puts the character <KBD><</KBD>
at the end of the string being edited, but this <KBD><</KBD> is not really
part of the string. On exiting the editing window with <KBD>C-c C-c</KBD>,
PO mode automatically removes such <KBD><</KBD> and all whitespace added after
it. If the translator adds characters after the terminating <KBD><</KBD>, it
looses its delimiting property and integrally becomes part of the string.
If she removes the delimiting <KBD><</KBD>, then the edited string is taken
<EM>as is</EM>, with all trailing newlines, even if invisible. Also, if
the translated string ought to end itself with a genuine <KBD><</KBD>, then
the delimiting <KBD><</KBD> may not be removed; so the string should appear,
in the editing window, as ending with two <KBD><</KBD> in a row.
</P>
<P>
When a translation (or a comment) is being edited, the translator may move
the cursor back into the PO file buffer and freely move to other entries,
browsing at will. If, with an edition pending, the translator wanders in the
PO file buffer, she may decide to start modifying another entry. Each entry
being edited has its own subedit buffer. It is possible to simultaneously
edit the translation <EM>and</EM> the comment of a single entry, or to
edit entries in different PO files, all at once. Typing <KBD><KBD>RET</KBD></KBD>
on a field already being edited merely resumes that particular edit. Yet,
the translator should better be comfortable at handling many Emacs windows!
</P>
<P>
Pending subedits may be completed or aborted in any order, regardless
of how or when they were started. When many subedits are pending and the
translator asks for quitting the PO file (with the <KBD>q</KBD> command), subedits
are automatically resumed one at a time, so she may decide for each of them.
</P>
<H2><A NAME="SEC31" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC31">6.9 C Sources Context</A></H2>
<P>
PO mode is particularily powerful when used with PO files
created through GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE> utilities, as those utilities
insert special comments in the PO files they generate.
Some of these special comments relate the PO file entry to
exactly where the untranslated string appears in the program sources.
</P>
<P>
When the translator gets to an untranslated entry, she is fairly
often faced with an original string which is not as informative as
it normally should be, being succinct, cryptic, or otherwise ambiguous.
Before chosing how to translate the string, she needs to understand
better what the string really means and how tight the translation has
to be. Most of times, when problems arise, the only way left to make
her judgment is looking at the true program sources from where this
string originated, searching for surrounding comments the programmer
might have put in there, and looking around for helping clues of
<EM>any</EM> kind.
</P>
<P>
Surely, when looking at program sources, the translator will receive
more help if she is a fluent programmer. However, even if she is
not versed in programming and feels a little lost in C code, the
translator should not be shy at taking a look, once in a while.
It is most probable that she will still be able to find some of the
hints she needs. She will learn quickly to not feel uncomfortable
in program code, paying more attention to programmer's comments,
variable and function names (if he dared chosing them well), and
overall organization, than to programmation itself.
</P>
<P>
The following commands are meant to help the translator at getting
program source context for a PO file entry.
</P>
<DL COMPACT>
<DT><KBD>s</KBD>
<DD>
Resume the display of a program source context, or cycle through them.
<DT><KBD>M-s</KBD>
<DD>
Display of a program source context selected by menu.
<DT><KBD>S</KBD>
<DD>
Add a directory to the search path for source files.
<DT><KBD>M-S</KBD>
<DD>
Delete a directory from the search path for source files.
</DL>
<P>
The commands <KBD>s</KBD> (<CODE>po-cycle-reference</CODE>) and <KBD>M-s</KBD>
(<CODE>po-select-source-reference</CODE>) both open another window displaying
some source program file, and already positioned in such a way that
it shows an actual use of the string to be translated. By doing
so, the command gives source program context for the string. But if
the entry has no source context references, or if all references
are unresolved along the search path for program sources, then the
command diagnoses this as an error.
</P>
<P>
Even if <KBD>s</KBD> (or <KBD>M-s</KBD>) opens a new window, the cursor stays
in the PO file window. If the translator really wants to
get into the program source window, she ought to do it explicitly,
maybe by using command <KBD>O</KBD>.
</P>
<P>
When <KBD>s</KBD> is typed for the first time, or for a PO file entry which
is different of the last one used for getting source context, then the
command reacts by giving the first context available for this entry,
if any. If some context has already been recently displayed for the
current PO file entry, and the translator wandered off to do other
things, typing <KBD>s</KBD> again will merely resume, in another window,
the context last displayed. In particular, if the translator moved
the cursor away from the context in the source file, the command will
bring the cursor back to the context. By using <KBD>s</KBD> many times
in a row, with no other commands intervening, PO mode will cycle to
the next available contexts for this particular entry, getting back
to the first context once the last has been shown.
</P>
<P>
The command <KBD>M-s</KBD> behaves differently. Instead of cycling through
references, it lets the translator choose a particular reference among
many, and displays that reference. It is best used with completion,
if the translator types <KBD><KBD>TAB</KBD></KBD> immediately after <KBD>M-s</KBD>, in
response to the question, she will be offered a menu of all possible
references, as a reminder of which are the acceptable answers.
This command is useful only where there are really many contexts
available for a single string to translate.
</P>
<P>
Program source files are usually found relative to where the PO
file stands. As a special provision, when this fails, the file is
also looked for, but relative to the directory immediately above it.
Those two cases take proper care of most PO files. However, it might
happen that a PO file has been moved, or is edited in a different
place than its normal location. When this happens, the translator
should tell PO mode in which directory normally sits the genuine PO
file. Many such directories may be specified, and all together, they
constitute what is called the <STRONG>search path</STRONG> for program sources.
The command <KBD>S</KBD> (<CODE>po-consider-source-path</CODE>) is used to interactively
enter a new directory at the front of the search path, and the command
<KBD>M-S</KBD> (<CODE>po-ignore-source-path</CODE>) is used to select, with completion,
one of the directories she does not want anymore on the search path.
</P>
<H2><A NAME="SEC32" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC32">6.10 Consulting Auxiliary PO Files</A></H2>
<P>
PO mode is able to help the knowledgeable translator, being fluent in
many languages, at taking advantage of translations already achieved
in other languages she just happens to know. It provides these other
language translations as additional context for her own work. Moreover,
it has features to ease the production of translations for many languages
at once, for translators preferring to work in this way.
</P>
<P>
An <STRONG>auxiliary</STRONG> PO file is an existing PO file meant for the same
package the translator is working on, but targeted to a different mother
tongue language. Commands exist for declaring and handling auxiliary
PO files, and also for showing contexts for the entry under work.
</P>
<P>
Here are the auxiliary file commands available in PO mode.
</P>
<DL COMPACT>
<DT><KBD>a</KBD>
<DD>
Seek auxiliary files for another translation for the same entry.
<DT><KBD>M-a</KBD>
<DD>
Switch to a particular auxiliary file.
<DT><KBD>A</KBD>
<DD>
Declare this PO file as an auxiliary file.
<DT><KBD>M-A</KBD>
<DD>
Remove this PO file from the list of auxiliary files.
</DL>
<P>
Command <KBD>A</KBD> (<CODE>po-consider-as-auxiliary</CODE>) adds the current
PO file to the list of auxiliary files, while command <KBD>M-A</KBD>
(<CODE>po-ignore-as-auxiliary</CODE> just removes it.
</P>
<P>
The command <KBD>a</KBD> (<CODE>po-cycle-auxiliary</CODE>) seeks all auxiliary PO
files, round-robin, searching for a translated entry in some other language
having an <CODE>msgid</CODE> field identical as the one for the current entry.
The found PO file, if any, takes the place of the current PO file in
the display (its window gets on top). Before doing so, the current PO
file is also made into an auxiliary file, if not already. So, <KBD>a</KBD>
in this newly displayed PO file will seek another PO file, and so on,
so repeating <KBD>a</KBD> will eventually yield back the original PO file.
</P>
<P>
The command <KBD>M-a</KBD> (<CODE>po-select-auxiliary</CODE>) asks the translator
for her choice of a particular auxiliary file, with completion, and
then switches to that selected PO file. The command also checks if
the selected file has an <CODE>msgid</CODE> field identical as the one for
the current entry, and if yes, this entry becomes current. Otherwise,
the cursor of the selected file is left undisturbed.
</P>
<P>
For all this to work fully, auxiliary PO files will have to be normalized,
in that way that <CODE>msgid</CODE> fields should be written <EM>exactly</EM>
the same way. It is possible to write <CODE>msgid</CODE> fields in various
ways for representing the same string, different writing would break the
proper behaviour of the auxiliary file commands of PO mode. This is not
expected to be much a problem in practice, as most existing PO files have
their <CODE>msgid</CODE> entries written by the same GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE> tools.
</P>
<P>
However, PO files initially created by PO mode itself, while marking
strings in source files, are normalised differently. So are PO
files resulting of the the <SAMP>`M-x normalize'</SAMP> command. Until these
discrepancies between PO mode and other GNU <CODE>gettext</CODE> tools get
fully resolved, the translator should stay aware of normalisation issues.
</P>
<H2><A NAME="SEC33" HREF="gettext_toc.html#TOC33">6.11 Using Translation Compendiums</A></H2>
<P>
Compendiums are yet to be implemented.
</P>
<P>
An incoming PO mode feature will let the translator maintain a
compendium of already achieved translations. A <STRONG>compendium</STRONG>
is a special PO file containing a set of translations recurring in
many different packages. The translator will be given commands for
adding entries to her compendium, and later initializing untranslated
entries, or updating already translated entries, from translations
kept in the compendium. For this to work, however, the compendium
would have to be normalized. See section <A HREF="gettext_2.html#SEC12">2.5 Normalizing Strings in Entries</A>.
</P>
<P><HR><P>
Go to the <A HREF="gettext_1.html">first</A>, <A HREF="gettext_5.html">previous</A>, <A HREF="gettext_7.html">next</A>, <A HREF="gettext_14.html">last</A> section, <A HREF="gettext_toc.html">table of contents</A>.
</BODY>
</HTML>
|