Add files using upload-large-folder tool

fa85b49 verified 2 months ago

77.9 kB

	<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/loose.dtd">
	<html>
	<!-- Created on July, 2 2025 by texi2html 1.78a -->
	<!--
	Written by: Lionel Cons <Lionel.Cons@cern.ch> (original author)
	Karl Berry <karl@freefriends.org>
	Olaf Bachmann <obachman@mathematik.uni-kl.de>
	and many others.
	Maintained by: Many creative people.
	Send bugs and suggestions to <texi2html-bug@nongnu.org>

	-->
	<head>
	<title>GNU gettext utilities: 8. Editing PO Files</title>

	<meta name="description" content="GNU gettext utilities: 8. Editing PO Files">
	<meta name="keywords" content="GNU gettext utilities: 8. Editing PO Files">
	<meta name="resource-type" content="document">
	<meta name="distribution" content="global">
	<meta name="Generator" content="texi2html 1.78a">
	<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
	<style type="text/css">
	<!--
	a.summary-letter {text-decoration: none}
	pre.display {font-family: serif}
	pre.format {font-family: serif}
	pre.menu-comment {font-family: serif}
	pre.menu-preformatted {font-family: serif}
	pre.smalldisplay {font-family: serif; font-size: smaller}
	pre.smallexample {font-size: smaller}
	pre.smallformat {font-family: serif; font-size: smaller}
	pre.smalllisp {font-size: smaller}
	span.roman {font-family:serif; font-weight:normal;}
	span.sansserif {font-family:sans-serif; font-weight:normal;}
	ul.toc {list-style: none}
	-->
	</style>


	</head>

	<body lang="en" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" vlink="#800080" alink="#FF0000">

	<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
	<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_7.html#SEC61" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> << </a>]</td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_9.html#SEC100" title="Next chapter"> >> </a>]</td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">   </td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">   </td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">   </td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">   </td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">   </td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_toc.html#SEC_Top" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_toc.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents">Contents</a>]</td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_21.html#SEC410" title="Index">Index</a>]</td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_abt.html#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
	</tr></table>

	<hr size="2">
	<a name="Editing"></a>
	<a name="SEC71"></a>
	<h1 class="chapter"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC67">8. Editing PO Files</a> </h1>

	<p>As a translator, you will typically edit a PO file
	in an editor that has built-in knowledge about the PO file format.
	You most probably won't want to edit a PO file
	in a text editor for plain-text files,
	because that would be cumbersome regarding cursor navigation
	and would also easily lead to syntax mistakes.
	</p>


	<a name="Web-based-localization"></a>
	<a name="SEC72"></a>
	<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC68">8.1 Web-based PO editing</a> </h2>

	<p>There are two ways to edit a PO file:
	either through a web-based PO editor, in a browser,
	or through a PO editor that you can install on your computer.
	Which one you choose, depends on your habits.
	</p>
	<p>Typically, the software project for which you want to provide translations
	has set up a workflow that you, as a translator, have to follow.
	</p>
	<ul>
	<li>
	There are projects which use the <a href="https://weblate.org/">Weblate</a>
	localization suite.
	In this case, you have the choice between a
	<a href="https://docs.weblate.org/en/latest/user/translating.html">web-based PO editor</a>
	and a <a href="https://docs.weblate.org/en/latest/user/files.html">workflow</a>
	where you download the previous translation,
	update it with your preferred PO editor,
	and then upload it back.

	</li><li>
	There are projects which offer you only a web-based PO editor, as only choice.
	Since web-based tools restrict your freedom as a user – you cannot make
	modifications on your own to that tool –,
	you should complain to that project and claim the choice of using a locally
	installed PO editor, because that is the only way that can guarantee
	your freedom of choice and freedom to modify the software.

	</li><li>
	There are projects which do not support web-based localizations.
	In this case, pick a PO file editor as listed in the next few sections.
	Examples for such projects are
	the <a href="https://translationproject.org/">Free Translation Project</a>,
	as well as projects where you directly interact with the version control
	system of the project.
	</li></ul>


	<a name="Lokalize"></a>
	<a name="SEC73"></a>
	<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC69">8.2 KDE's PO File Editor</a> </h2>

	<p>Lokalize (<a href="https://apps.kde.org/lokalize/">https://apps.kde.org/lokalize/</a>)
	is the PO file editor made by the KDE project.
	It is present in <a href="https://repology.org/project/lokalize/versions">many</a>
	GNU/Linux distributions.
	</p>

	<a name="Gtranslator"></a>
	<a name="SEC74"></a>
	<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC70">8.3 GNOME's PO File Editor</a> </h2>

	<p>Gtranslator (<a href="https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Gtranslator">https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Gtranslator</a>)
	is the PO file editor made by the GNOME project.
	It is present in <a href="https://repology.org/project/gtranslator/versions">many</a>
	GNU/Linux distributions.
	</p>

	<a name="Poedit"></a>
	<a name="SEC75"></a>
	<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC71">8.4 Poedit</a> </h2>

	<p>Poedit (<a href="https://github.com/vslavik/poedit">https://github.com/vslavik/poedit</a>)
	is another decent PO file editor.
	It works on all major desktop OSes and
	is present in <a href="https://repology.org/project/poedit/versions">many</a>
	GNU/Linux distributions.
	</p>

	<a name="OmegaT"></a>
	<a name="SEC76"></a>
	<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC72">8.5 OmegaT</a> </h2>

	<p>OmegaT
	(Wikipedia: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OmegaT">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OmegaT</a>,
	home page: <a href="https://omegat.org/">https://omegat.org/</a>,
	code: <a href="https://github.com/omegat-org/omegat">https://github.com/omegat-org/omegat</a>)
	is a translation editor
	that focuses on speeding up the translator's work through advanced features
	like translation memory, spell-checking, glossaries, dictionaries.
	It supports not only PO files, but also
	direct translation of various file formats
	(such as plain text, web pages, OpenDocument files, DocBook XML, etc.)
	without using intermediate files.
	It is present in <a href="https://repology.org/omegat/poedit/versions">many</a>
	GNU/Linux distributions.
	</p>

	<a name="Virtaal"></a>
	<a name="SEC77"></a>
	<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC73">8.6 The Virtaal Translation Editor</a> </h2>

	<p>Virtaal
	(Wikipedia: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtaal">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtaal</a>,
	home page: <a href="https://virtaal.translatehouse.org/">https://virtaal.translatehouse.org/</a>,
	code: <a href="https://github.com/translate/virtaal">https://github.com/translate/virtaal</a>)
	is a translation editor
	that supports not only PO files but also XLIFF files.
	It is present in <a href="https://repology.org/project/virtaal/versions">some</a>
	GNU/Linux distributions,
	such as Debian up to Debian 11.
	</p>

	<a name="PO-Mode"></a>
	<a name="SEC78"></a>
	<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC74">8.7 Emacs's PO File Editor</a> </h2>


	<p>For those of you being
	the lucky users of Emacs, PO mode has been specifically created
	for providing a cozy environment for editing or modifying PO files.
	While editing a PO file, PO mode allows for the easy browsing of
	auxiliary and compendium PO files, as well as for following references into
	the set of C program sources from which PO files have been derived.
	It has a few special features, among which are the interactive marking
	of program strings as translatable, and the validation of PO files
	with easy repositioning to PO file lines showing errors.
	</p>
	<p>For the beginning, besides main PO mode commands
	(see section <a href="#SEC80">Main PO mode Commands</a>), you should know how to move between entries
	(see section <a href="#SEC81">Entry Positioning</a>), and how to handle untranslated entries
	(see section <a href="#SEC85">Untranslated Entries</a>).
	</p>


	<a name="Installation"></a>
	<a name="SEC79"></a>
	<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC75">8.7.1 Completing GNU <code>gettext</code> Installation</a> </h3>

	<p>Once you have received, unpacked, configured and compiled the GNU
	<code>gettext</code> distribution, the ‘<samp>make install</samp>’ command puts in
	place the programs <code>xgettext</code>, <code>msgfmt</code>, <code>gettext</code>, and
	<code>msgmerge</code>, as well as their available message catalogs. To
	top off a comfortable installation, you might also want to make the
	PO mode available to your Emacs users.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX350"></a>
	<a name="IDX351"></a>
	<p>During the installation of the PO mode, you might want to modify your
	file ‘<tt>.emacs</tt>’, once and for all, so it contains a few lines looking
	like:
	</p>
	<table><tr><td> </td><td><pre class="example">(setq auto-mode-alist
	(cons '("\\.po\\'\\\|\\.po\\." . po-mode) auto-mode-alist))
	(autoload 'po-mode "po-mode" "Major mode for translators to edit PO files" t)
	</pre></td></tr></table>

	<p>Later, whenever you edit some ‘<tt>.po</tt>’
	file, or any file having the string ‘<samp>.po.</samp>’ within its name,
	Emacs loads ‘<tt>po-mode.elc</tt>’ (or ‘<tt>po-mode.el</tt>’) as needed, and
	automatically activates PO mode commands for the associated buffer.
	The string <em>PO</em> appears in the mode line for any buffer for
	which PO mode is active. Many PO files may be active at once in a
	single Emacs session.
	</p>
	<p>If you are using Emacs version 20 or newer, and have already installed
	the appropriate international fonts on your system, you may also tell
	Emacs how to determine automatically the coding system of every PO file.
	This will often (but not always) cause the necessary fonts to be loaded
	and used for displaying the translations on your Emacs screen. For this
	to happen, add the lines:
	</p>
	<table><tr><td> </td><td><pre class="example">(modify-coding-system-alist 'file "\\.po\\'\\\|\\.po\\."
	'po-find-file-coding-system)
	(autoload 'po-find-file-coding-system "po-mode")
	</pre></td></tr></table>

	<p>to your ‘<tt>.emacs</tt>’ file. If, with this, you still see boxes instead
	of international characters, try a different font set (via Shift Mouse
	button 1).
	</p>

	<a name="Main-PO-Commands"></a>
	<a name="SEC80"></a>
	<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC76">8.7.2 Main PO mode Commands</a> </h3>

	<p>After setting up Emacs with something similar to the lines in
	<a href="#SEC79">Completing GNU <code>gettext</code> Installation</a>, PO mode is activated for a window when Emacs finds a
	PO file in that window. This puts the window read-only and establishes a
	po-mode-map, which is a genuine Emacs mode, in a way that is not derived
	from text mode in any way. Functions found on <code>po-mode-hook</code>,
	if any, will be executed.
	</p>
	<p>When PO mode is active in a window, the letters ‘<samp>PO</samp>’ appear
	in the mode line for that window. The mode line also displays how
	many entries of each kind are held in the PO file. For example,
	the string ‘<samp>132t+3f+10u+2o</samp>’ would tell the translator that the
	PO mode contains 132 translated entries (see section <a href="#SEC83">Translated Entries</a>,
	3 fuzzy entries (see section <a href="#SEC84">Fuzzy Entries</a>), 10 untranslated entries
	(see section <a href="#SEC85">Untranslated Entries</a>) and 2 obsolete entries (see section <a href="#SEC86">Obsolete Entries</a>). Zero-coefficients items are not shown. So, in this example, if
	the fuzzy entries were unfuzzied, the untranslated entries were translated
	and the obsolete entries were deleted, the mode line would merely display
	‘<samp>145t</samp>’ for the counters.
	</p>
	<p>The main PO commands are those which do not fit into the other categories of
	subsequent sections. These allow for quitting PO mode or for managing windows
	in special ways.
	</p>
	<dl compact="compact">
	<dt> <kbd>_</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX352"></a>
	<p>Undo last modification to the PO file (<code>po-undo</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>Q</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX353"></a>
	<p>Quit processing and save the PO file (<code>po-quit</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>q</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX354"></a>
	<p>Quit processing, possibly after confirmation (<code>po-confirm-and-quit</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>0</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX355"></a>
	<p>Temporary leave the PO file window (<code>po-other-window</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>?</kbd></dt>
	<dt> <kbd>h</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX356"></a>
	<a name="IDX357"></a>
	<p>Show help about PO mode (<code>po-help</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>=</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX358"></a>
	<p>Give some PO file statistics (<code>po-statistics</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>V</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX359"></a>
	<p>Batch validate the format of the whole PO file (<code>po-validate</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	</dl>

	<a name="IDX360"></a>
	<a name="IDX361"></a>
	<p>The command <kbd>_</kbd> (<code>po-undo</code>) interfaces to the Emacs
	<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
	did to the PO file are undone a little more. For the purpose of
	undoing, each PO mode command is atomic. This is especially true for
	the <kbd><RET></kbd> command: the whole edition made by using a single
	use of this command is undone at once, even if the edition itself
	implied several actions. However, while in the editing window, one
	can undo the edition work quite parsimoniously.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX362"></a>
	<a name="IDX363"></a>
	<a name="IDX364"></a>
	<a name="IDX365"></a>
	<p>The commands <kbd>Q</kbd> (<code>po-quit</code>) and <kbd>q</kbd>
	(<code>po-confirm-and-quit</code>) are used when the translator is done with the
	PO file. The former is a bit less verbose than the latter. If the file
	has been modified, it is saved to disk first. In both cases, and prior to
	all this, the commands check if any untranslated messages remain in the
	PO file and, if so, the translator is asked if she really wants to leave
	off working with this PO file. This is the preferred way of getting rid
	of an Emacs PO file buffer. Merely killing it through the usual command
	<kbd>C-x k</kbd> (<code>kill-buffer</code>) is not the tidiest way to proceed.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX366"></a>
	<a name="IDX367"></a>
	<p>The command <kbd>0</kbd> (<code>po-other-window</code>) is another, softer way,
	to leave PO mode, temporarily. It just moves the cursor to some other
	Emacs window, and pops one if necessary. For example, if the translator
	just got PO mode to show some source context in some other, she might
	discover some apparent bug in the program source that needs correction.
	This command allows the translator to change sex, become a programmer,
	and have the cursor right into the window containing the program she
	(or rather <em>he</em>) wants to modify. By later getting the cursor back
	in the PO file window, or by asking Emacs to edit this file once again,
	PO mode is then recovered.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX368"></a>
	<a name="IDX369"></a>
	<a name="IDX370"></a>
	<p>The command <kbd>h</kbd> (<code>po-help</code>) displays a summary of all available PO
	mode commands. The translator should then type any character to resume
	normal PO mode operations. The command <kbd>?</kbd> has the same effect
	as <kbd>h</kbd>.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX371"></a>
	<a name="IDX372"></a>
	<p>The command <kbd>=</kbd> (<code>po-statistics</code>) computes the total number of
	entries in the PO file, the ordinal of the current entry (counted from
	1), the number of untranslated entries, the number of obsolete entries,
	and displays all these numbers.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX373"></a>
	<a name="IDX374"></a>
	<p>The command <kbd>V</kbd> (<code>po-validate</code>) launches <code>msgfmt</code> in
	checking and verbose
	mode over the current PO file. This command first offers to save the
	current PO file on disk. The <code>msgfmt</code> tool, from GNU <code>gettext</code>,
	has the purpose of creating a MO file out of a PO file, and PO mode uses
	the features of this program for checking the overall format of a PO file,
	as well as all individual entries.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX375"></a>
	<p>The program <code>msgfmt</code> runs asynchronously with Emacs, so the
	translator regains control immediately while her PO file is being studied.
	Error output is collected in the Emacs ‘<samp>compilation</samp>’ buffer,
	displayed in another window. The regular Emacs command <kbd>C-x`</kbd>
	(<code>next-error</code>), as well as other usual compile commands, allow the
	translator to reposition quickly to the offending parts of the PO file.
	Once the cursor is on the line in error, the translator may decide on
	any PO mode action which would help correcting the error.
	</p>

	<a name="Entry-Positioning"></a>
	<a name="SEC81"></a>
	<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC77">8.7.3 Entry Positioning</a> </h3>

	<p>The cursor in a PO file window is almost always part of
	an entry. The only exceptions are the special case when the cursor
	is after the last entry in the file, or when the PO file is
	empty. The entry where the cursor is found to be is said to be the
	current entry. Many PO mode commands operate on the current entry,
	so moving the cursor does more than allowing the translator to browse
	the PO file, this also selects on which entry commands operate.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX376"></a>
	<p>Some PO mode commands alter the position of the cursor in a specialized
	way. A few of those special purpose positioning are described here,
	the others are described in following sections (for a complete list try
	<kbd>C-h m</kbd>):
	</p>
	<dl compact="compact">
	<dt> <kbd>.</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX377"></a>
	<p>Redisplay the current entry (<code>po-current-entry</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>n</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX378"></a>
	<p>Select the entry after the current one (<code>po-next-entry</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>p</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX379"></a>
	<p>Select the entry before the current one (<code>po-previous-entry</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd><</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX380"></a>
	<p>Select the first entry in the PO file (<code>po-first-entry</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>></kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX381"></a>
	<p>Select the last entry in the PO file (<code>po-last-entry</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>m</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX382"></a>
	<p>Record the location of the current entry for later use
	(<code>po-push-location</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>r</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX383"></a>
	<p>Return to a previously saved entry location (<code>po-pop-location</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>x</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX384"></a>
	<p>Exchange the current entry location with the previously saved one
	(<code>po-exchange-location</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	</dl>

	<a name="IDX385"></a>
	<a name="IDX386"></a>
	<p>Any Emacs command able to reposition the cursor may be used
	to select the current entry in PO mode, including commands which
	move by characters, lines, paragraphs, screens or pages, and search
	commands. However, there is a kind of standard way to display the
	current entry in PO mode, which usual Emacs commands moving
	the cursor do not especially try to enforce. The command <kbd>.</kbd>
	(<code>po-current-entry</code>) has the sole purpose of redisplaying the
	current entry properly, after the current entry has been changed by
	means external to PO mode, or the Emacs screen otherwise altered.
	</p>
	<p>It is yet to be decided if PO mode helps the translator, or otherwise
	irritates her, by forcing a rigid window disposition while she
	is doing her work. We originally had quite precise ideas about
	how windows should behave, but on the other hand, anyone used to
	Emacs is often happy to keep full control. Maybe a fixed window
	disposition might be offered as a PO mode option that the translator
	might activate or deactivate at will, so it could be offered on an
	experimental basis. If nobody feels a real need for using it, or
	a compulsion for writing it, we should drop this whole idea.
	The incentive for doing it should come from translators rather than
	programmers, as opinions from an experienced translator are surely
	more worth to me than opinions from programmers <em>thinking</em> about
	how <em>others</em> should do translation.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX387"></a>
	<a name="IDX388"></a>
	<a name="IDX389"></a>
	<a name="IDX390"></a>
	<p>The commands <kbd>n</kbd> (<code>po-next-entry</code>) and <kbd>p</kbd>
	(<code>po-previous-entry</code>) move the cursor the entry following,
	or preceding, the current one. If <kbd>n</kbd> is given while the
	cursor is on the last entry of the PO file, or if <kbd>p</kbd>
	is given while the cursor is on the first entry, no move is done.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX391"></a>
	<a name="IDX392"></a>
	<a name="IDX393"></a>
	<a name="IDX394"></a>
	<p>The commands <kbd><</kbd> (<code>po-first-entry</code>) and <kbd>></kbd>
	(<code>po-last-entry</code>) move the cursor to the first entry, or last
	entry, of the PO file. When the cursor is located past the last
	entry in a PO file, most PO mode commands will return an error saying
	‘<samp>After last entry</samp>’. Moreover, the commands <kbd><</kbd> and <kbd>></kbd>
	have the special property of being able to work even when the cursor
	is not into some PO file entry, and one may use them for nicely
	correcting this situation. But even these commands will fail on a
	truly empty PO file. There are development plans for the PO mode for it
	to interactively fill an empty PO file from sources. See section <a href="gettext_4.html#SEC33">Marking Translatable Strings</a>.
	</p>
	<p>The translator may decide, before working at the translation of
	a particular entry, that she needs to browse the remainder of the
	PO file, maybe for finding the terminology or phraseology used
	in related entries. She can of course use the standard Emacs idioms
	for saving the current cursor location in some register, and use that
	register for getting back, or else, use the location ring.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX395"></a>
	<a name="IDX396"></a>
	<a name="IDX397"></a>
	<a name="IDX398"></a>
	<p>PO mode offers another approach, by which cursor locations may be saved
	onto a special stack. The command <kbd>m</kbd> (<code>po-push-location</code>)
	merely adds the location of current entry to the stack, pushing
	the already saved locations under the new one. The command
	<kbd>r</kbd> (<code>po-pop-location</code>) consumes the top stack element and
	repositions the cursor to the entry associated with that top element.
	This position is then lost, for the next <kbd>r</kbd> will move the cursor
	to the previously saved location, and so on until no locations remain
	on the stack.
	</p>
	<p>If the translator wants the position to be kept on the location stack,
	maybe for taking a look at the entry associated with the top
	element, then go elsewhere with the intent of getting back later, she
	ought to use <kbd>m</kbd> immediately after <kbd>r</kbd>.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX399"></a>
	<a name="IDX400"></a>
	<p>The command <kbd>x</kbd> (<code>po-exchange-location</code>) simultaneously
	repositions the cursor to the entry associated with the top element of
	the stack of saved locations, and replaces that top element with the
	location of the current entry before the move. Consequently, repeating
	the <kbd>x</kbd> command toggles alternatively between two entries.
	For achieving this, the translator will position the cursor on the
	first entry, use <kbd>m</kbd>, then position to the second entry, and
	merely use <kbd>x</kbd> for making the switch.
	</p>

	<a name="Normalizing"></a>
	<a name="SEC82"></a>
	<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC78">8.7.4 Normalizing Strings in Entries</a> </h3>

	<p>There are many different ways for encoding a particular string into a
	PO file entry, because there are so many different ways to split and
	quote multi-line strings, and even, to represent special characters
	by backslashed escaped sequences. Some features of PO mode rely on
	the ability for PO mode to scan an already existing PO file for a
	particular string encoded into the <code>msgid</code> field of some entry.
	Even if PO mode has internally all the built-in machinery for
	implementing this recognition easily, doing it fast is technically
	difficult. To facilitate a solution to this efficiency problem,
	we decided on a canonical representation for strings.
	</p>
	<p>A conventional representation of strings in a PO file is currently
	under discussion, and PO mode experiments with a canonical representation.
	Having both <code>xgettext</code> and PO mode converging towards a uniform
	way of representing equivalent strings would be useful, as the internal
	normalization needed by PO mode could be automatically satisfied
	when using <code>xgettext</code> from GNU <code>gettext</code>. An explicit
	PO mode normalization should then be only necessary for PO files
	imported from elsewhere, or for when the convention itself evolves.
	</p>
	<p>So, for achieving normalization of at least the strings of a given
	PO file needing a canonical representation, the following PO mode
	command is available:
	</p>
	<a name="IDX401"></a>
	<dl compact="compact">
	<dt> <kbd>M-x po-normalize</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX402"></a>
	<p>Tidy the whole PO file by making entries more uniform.
	</p>
	</dd>
	</dl>

	<p>The special command <kbd>M-x po-normalize</kbd>, which has no associated
	keys, revises all entries, ensuring that strings of both original
	and translated entries use uniform internal quoting in the PO file.
	It also removes any crumb after the last entry. This command may be
	useful for PO files freshly imported from elsewhere, or if we ever
	improve on the canonical quoting format we use. This canonical format
	is not only meant for getting cleaner PO files, but also for greatly
	speeding up <code>msgid</code> string lookup for some other PO mode commands.
	</p>
	<p><kbd>M-x po-normalize</kbd> presently makes three passes over the entries.
	The first implements heuristics for converting PO files for GNU
	<code>gettext</code> 0.6 and earlier, in which <code>msgid</code> and <code>msgstr</code>
	fields were using K&R style C string syntax for multi-line strings.
	These heuristics may fail for comments not related to obsolete
	entries and ending with a backslash; they also depend on subsequent
	passes for finalizing the proper commenting of continued lines for
	obsolete entries. This first pass might disappear once all oldish PO
	files would have been adjusted. The second and third pass normalize
	all <code>msgid</code> and <code>msgstr</code> strings respectively. They also
	clean out those trailing backslashes used by XView's <code>msgfmt</code>
	for continued lines.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX403"></a>
	<p>Having such an explicit normalizing command allows for importing PO
	files from other sources, but also eases the evolution of the current
	convention, evolution driven mostly by aesthetic concerns, as of now.
	It is easy to make suggested adjustments at a later time, as the
	normalizing command and eventually, other GNU <code>gettext</code> tools
	should greatly automate conformance. A description of the canonical
	string format is given below, for the particular benefit of those not
	having Emacs handy, and who would nevertheless want to handcraft
	their PO files in nice ways.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX404"></a>
	<p>Right now, in PO mode, strings are single line or multi-line. A string
	goes multi-line if and only if it has <em>embedded</em> newlines, that
	is, if it matches ‘<samp>[^\n]\n+[^\n]</samp>’. So, we would have:
	</p>
	<table><tr><td> </td><td><pre class="example">msgstr "\n\nHello, world!\n\n\n"
	</pre></td></tr></table>

	<p>but, replacing the space by a newline, this becomes:
	</p>
	<table><tr><td> </td><td><pre class="example">msgstr ""
	"\n"
	"\n"
	"Hello,\n"
	"world!\n"
	"\n"
	"\n"
	</pre></td></tr></table>

	<p>We are deliberately using a caricatural example, here, to make the
	point clearer. Usually, multi-lines are not that bad looking.
	It is probable that we will implement the following suggestion.
	We might lump together all initial newlines into the empty string,
	and also all newlines introducing empty lines (that is, for <var>n</var>
	> 1, the <var>n</var>-1'th last newlines would go together on a separate
	string), so making the previous example appear:
	</p>
	<table><tr><td> </td><td><pre class="example">msgstr "\n\n"
	"Hello,\n"
	"world!\n"
	"\n\n"
	</pre></td></tr></table>

	<p>There are a few yet undecided little points about string normalization,
	to be documented in this manual, once these questions settle.
	</p>

	<a name="Translated-Entries"></a>
	<a name="SEC83"></a>
	<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC79">8.7.5 Translated Entries</a> </h3>

	<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="#SEC84">Fuzzy Entries</a>),
	is said to be a <em>translated</em> 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>
	<a name="IDX405"></a>
	<p>Some commands are more specifically related to translated entry processing.
	</p>
	<dl compact="compact">
	<dt> <kbd>t</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX406"></a>
	<p>Find the next translated entry (<code>po-next-translated-entry</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>T</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX407"></a>
	<p>Find the previous translated entry (<code>po-previous-translated-entry</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	</dl>

	<a name="IDX408"></a>
	<a name="IDX409"></a>
	<a name="IDX410"></a>
	<a name="IDX411"></a>
	<p>The commands <kbd>t</kbd> (<code>po-next-translated-entry</code>) and <kbd>T</kbd>
	(<code>po-previous-translated-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>
	<a name="IDX412"></a>
	<p>Translated entries usually result from the translator having edited in
	a translation for them, <a href="#SEC87">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="#SEC84">Fuzzy Entries</a>.
	</p>

	<a name="Fuzzy-Entries"></a>
	<a name="SEC84"></a>
	<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC80">8.7.6 Fuzzy Entries</a> </h3>

	<p>Each PO file entry may have a set of <em>attributes</em>, which are
	qualities given a name and explicitly 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>
	<a name="IDX413"></a>
	<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="compact">
	<dt> <kbd>f</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX414"></a>
	<p>Find the next fuzzy entry (<code>po-next-fuzzy-entry</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>F</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX415"></a>
	<p>Find the previous fuzzy entry (<code>po-previous-fuzzy-entry</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd><TAB></kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX416"></a>
	<p>Remove the fuzzy attribute of the current entry (<code>po-unfuzzy</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	</dl>

	<a name="IDX417"></a>
	<a name="IDX418"></a>
	<a name="IDX419"></a>
	<a name="IDX420"></a>
	<p>The commands <kbd>f</kbd> (<code>po-next-fuzzy-entry</code>) and <kbd>F</kbd>
	(<code>po-previous-fuzzy-entry</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>
	<a name="IDX421"></a>
	<a name="IDX422"></a>
	<a name="IDX423"></a>
	<p>The command <kbd><TAB></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><TAB></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><RET></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><TAB></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><SPC></kbd>
	to chase another entry, leaving the entry fuzzy.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX424"></a>
	<a name="IDX425"></a>
	<p>The translator may also use the <kbd><DEL></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>

	<a name="Untranslated-Entries"></a>
	<a name="SEC85"></a>
	<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC81">8.7.7 Untranslated Entries</a> </h3>

	<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 <em>untranslated</em> 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>
	<a name="IDX426"></a>
	<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="compact">
	<dt> <kbd>u</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX427"></a>
	<p>Find the next untranslated entry (<code>po-next-untranslated-entry</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>U</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX428"></a>
	<p>Find the previous untranslated entry (<code>po-previous-untransted-entry</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>k</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX429"></a>
	<p>Turn the current entry into an untranslated one (<code>po-kill-msgstr</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	</dl>

	<a name="IDX430"></a>
	<a name="IDX431"></a>
	<a name="IDX432"></a>
	<a name="IDX433"></a>
	<p>The commands <kbd>u</kbd> (<code>po-next-untranslated-entry</code>) and <kbd>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>
	<a name="IDX434"></a>
	<a name="IDX435"></a>
	<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="#SEC87">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>

	<a name="Obsolete-Entries"></a>
	<a name="SEC86"></a>
	<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC82">8.7.8 Obsolete Entries</a> </h3>

	<p>By <em>obsolete</em> 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
	<code>#</code>, 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>
	<a name="IDX436"></a>
	<p>Moreover, some commands are more specifically related to obsolete
	entry processing.
	</p>
	<dl compact="compact">
	<dt> <kbd>o</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX437"></a>
	<p>Find the next obsolete entry (<code>po-next-obsolete-entry</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>O</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX438"></a>
	<p>Find the previous obsolete entry (<code>po-previous-obsolete-entry</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd><DEL></kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX439"></a>
	<p>Make an active entry obsolete, or zap out an obsolete entry
	(<code>po-fade-out-entry</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	</dl>

	<a name="IDX440"></a>
	<a name="IDX441"></a>
	<a name="IDX442"></a>
	<a name="IDX443"></a>
	<p>The commands <kbd>o</kbd> (<code>po-next-obsolete-entry</code>) and <kbd>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>
	<a name="IDX444"></a>
	<a name="IDX445"></a>
	<a name="IDX446"></a>
	<a name="IDX447"></a>
	<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><DEL></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="#SEC87">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>

	<a name="Modifying-Translations"></a>
	<a name="SEC87"></a>
	<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC83">8.7.9 Modifying Translations</a> </h3>

	<p>PO mode prevents direct modification of the PO file, by the usual
	means Emacs gives 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="compact">
	<dt> <kbd><RET></kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX448"></a>
	<p>Interactively edit the translation (<code>po-edit-msgstr</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd><LFD></kbd></dt>
	<dt> <kbd>C-j</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX449"></a>
	<a name="IDX450"></a>
	<p>Reinitialize the translation with the original, untranslated string
	(<code>po-msgid-to-msgstr</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>k</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX451"></a>
	<p>Save the translation on the kill ring, and delete it (<code>po-kill-msgstr</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>w</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX452"></a>
	<p>Save the translation on the kill ring, without deleting it
	(<code>po-kill-ring-save-msgstr</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>y</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX453"></a>
	<p>Replace the translation, taking the new from the kill ring
	(<code>po-yank-msgstr</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	</dl>

	<a name="IDX454"></a>
	<a name="IDX455"></a>
	<p>The command <kbd><RET></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="#SEC89">Details of Sub Edition</a>,
	for more information.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX456"></a>
	<a name="IDX457"></a>
	<a name="IDX458"></a>
	<p>The command <kbd><LFD></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>
	<a name="IDX459"></a>
	<p>It is possible to arrange so, whenever editing an untranslated
	entry, the <kbd><LFD></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>
	<a name="IDX460"></a>
	<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>
	<a name="IDX461"></a>
	<a name="IDX462"></a>
	<a name="IDX463"></a>
	<a name="IDX464"></a>
	<a name="IDX465"></a>
	<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>
	<a name="IDX466"></a>
	<a name="IDX467"></a>
	<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 <em>yanked</em> into the PO file buffer.
	See <a href="../emacs/Yanking.html#Yanking">(emacs)Yanking</a> 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>
	<a name="IDX468"></a>
	<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><DEL></kbd> command
	for deleting the obsolete entry, knowing that <kbd><DEL></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><RET></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 <a href="../emacs/Keyboard-Macros.html#Keyboard-Macros">(emacs)Keyboard Macros</a> section `Keyboard Macros' in <cite>The Emacs Editor</cite>.
	</p>

	<a name="Modifying-Comments"></a>
	<a name="SEC88"></a>
	<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC84">8.7.10 Modifying Comments</a> </h3>

	<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_3.html#SEC16">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="#SEC87">Modifying Translations</a>.
	</p>
	<dl compact="compact">
	<dt> <kbd>#</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX469"></a>
	<p>Interactively edit the translator comments (<code>po-edit-comment</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>K</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX470"></a>
	<p>Save the translator comments on the kill ring, and delete it
	(<code>po-kill-comment</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>W</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX471"></a>
	<p>Save the translator comments on the kill ring, without deleting it
	(<code>po-kill-ring-save-comment</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>Y</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX472"></a>
	<p>Replace the translator comments, taking the new from the kill ring
	(<code>po-yank-comment</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	</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="#SEC87">Modifying Translations</a>.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX473"></a>
	<a name="IDX474"></a>
	<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 (<code>#</code>) 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="#SEC89">Details of Sub Edition</a>, for further details.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX475"></a>
	<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>
	<a name="IDX476"></a>
	<a name="IDX477"></a>
	<a name="IDX478"></a>
	<a name="IDX479"></a>
	<a name="IDX480"></a>
	<a name="IDX481"></a>
	<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>

	<a name="Subedit"></a>
	<a name="SEC89"></a>
	<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC85">8.7.11 Details of Sub Edition</a> </h3>

	<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="compact">
	<dt> <kbd>C-c C-c</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX482"></a>
	<p>Complete edition (<code>po-subedit-exit</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>C-c C-k</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX483"></a>
	<p>Abort edition (<code>po-subedit-abort</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>C-c C-a</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX484"></a>
	<p>Consult auxiliary PO files (<code>po-subedit-cycle-auxiliary</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	</dl>

	<a name="IDX485"></a>
	<a name="IDX486"></a>
	<a name="IDX487"></a>
	<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 is 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>
	<a name="IDX488"></a>
	<a name="IDX489"></a>
	<p>If the translator becomes unsatisfied with her translation or comment,
	to the extent she prefers keeping what was existent prior to the
	<kbd><RET></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>
	<a name="IDX490"></a>
	<a name="IDX491"></a>
	<p>The command <kbd>C-c C-a</kbd> (<code>po-subedit-cycle-auxiliary</code>)
	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="#SEC91">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><RET></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><RET></kbd> automatically puts the character <code><</code>
	at the end of the string being edited, but this <code><</code> 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 <code><</code>, it
	looses its delimiting property and integrally becomes part of the string.
	If she removes the delimiting <code><</code>, 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 <code><</code>, then
	the delimiting <code><</code> may not be removed; so the string should appear,
	in the editing window, as ending with two <code><</code> in a row.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX492"></a>
	<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><RET></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>
	<a name="IDX493"></a>
	<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>

	<a name="C-Sources-Context"></a>
	<a name="SEC90"></a>
	<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC86">8.7.12 C Sources Context</a> </h3>

	<p>PO mode is particularly 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 choosing 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 the time, 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 choosing them well), and
	overall organization, than to the program code itself.
	</p>
	<a name="IDX494"></a>
	<p>The following commands are meant to help the translator at getting
	program source context for a PO file entry.
	</p>
	<dl compact="compact">
	<dt> <kbd>s</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX495"></a>
	<p>Resume the display of a program source context, or cycle through them
	(<code>po-cycle-source-reference</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>M-s</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX496"></a>
	<p>Display of a program source context selected by menu
	(<code>po-select-source-reference</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>S</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX497"></a>
	<p>Add a directory to the search path for source files
	(<code>po-consider-source-path</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>M-S</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX498"></a>
	<p>Delete a directory from the search path for source files
	(<code>po-ignore-source-path</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	</dl>

	<a name="IDX499"></a>
	<a name="IDX500"></a>
	<a name="IDX501"></a>
	<a name="IDX502"></a>
	<p>The commands <kbd>s</kbd> (<code>po-cycle-source-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><TAB></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>
	<a name="IDX503"></a>
	<a name="IDX504"></a>
	<a name="IDX505"></a>
	<a name="IDX506"></a>
	<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 <em>search path</em> 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>

	<a name="Auxiliary"></a>
	<a name="SEC91"></a>
	<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC87">8.7.13 Consulting Auxiliary PO Files</a> </h3>

	<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>
	<a name="IDX507"></a>
	<a name="IDX508"></a>
	<p>An <em>auxiliary</em> 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="compact">
	<dt> <kbd>a</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX509"></a>
	<p>Seek auxiliary files for another translation for the same entry
	(<code>po-cycle-auxiliary</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>C-c C-a</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX510"></a>
	<p>Switch to a particular auxiliary file (<code>po-select-auxiliary</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>A</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX511"></a>
	<p>Declare this PO file as an auxiliary file (<code>po-consider-as-auxiliary</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	<dt> <kbd>M-A</kbd></dt>
	<dd><a name="IDX512"></a>
	<p>Remove this PO file from the list of auxiliary files
	(<code>po-ignore-as-auxiliary</code>).
	</p>
	</dd>
	</dl>

	<a name="IDX513"></a>
	<a name="IDX514"></a>
	<a name="IDX515"></a>
	<a name="IDX516"></a>
	<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>
	<a name="IDX517"></a>
	<a name="IDX518"></a>
	<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>
	<a name="IDX519"></a>
	<a name="IDX520"></a>
	<p>The command <kbd>C-c C-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>
	<a name="IDX521"></a>
	<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 ‘<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>

	<a name="Vim"></a>
	<a name="SEC92"></a>
	<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC88">8.8 Editing PO Files in vim</a> </h2>

	<p>FIXME: Try these scripts. Do they work well? How do they compare?
	</p>
	<p>There are two <code>vim</code> plugins for editing PO files in <code>vim</code>:
	</p>
	<ul>
	<li>
	The one by Aleksandar Jelenak (2005), at
	<a href="https://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=695">https://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=695</a>.

	</li><li>
	A fork of it (2009), at
	<a href="https://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=2530">https://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=2530</a>.
	</li></ul>

	<p>Additionally, if you only need syntax highlighting, not editing, of PO files,
	there is a <code>vim</code> script for that at
	<a href="https://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=913">https://www.vim.org/scripts/script.php?script_id=913</a>.
	</p>

	<a name="Compendium"></a>
	<a name="SEC93"></a>
	<h2 class="section"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC89">8.9 Using Translation Compendia</a> </h2>

	<p>A <em>compendium</em> is a special PO file containing a set of
	translations recurring in many different packages. The translator can
	use gettext tools to build a new compendium, to add entries to her
	compendium, and to initialize untranslated entries, or to update
	already translated entries, from translations kept in the compendium.
	</p>


	<a name="Creating-Compendia"></a>
	<a name="SEC94"></a>
	<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC90">8.9.1 Creating Compendia</a> </h3>

	<p>Basically every PO file consisting of translated entries only can be
	declared as a valid compendium. Often the translator wants to have
	special compendia; let's consider two cases: <cite>concatenating PO
	files</cite> and <cite>extracting a message subset from a PO file</cite>.
	</p>

	<a name="SEC95"></a>
	<h4 class="subsubsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC91">8.9.1.1 Concatenate PO Files</a> </h4>

	<p>To concatenate several valid PO files into one compendium file you can
	use ‘<samp>msgcomm</samp>’ or ‘<samp>msgcat</samp>’ (the latter preferred):
	</p>
	<table><tr><td> </td><td><pre class="example">msgcat -o compendium.po file1.po file2.po
	</pre></td></tr></table>

	<p>By default, <code>msgcat</code> will accumulate divergent translations
	for the same string. Those occurrences will be marked as <code>fuzzy</code>
	and highly visible decorated; calling <code>msgcat</code> on
	‘<tt>file1.po</tt>’:
	</p>
	<table><tr><td> </td><td><pre class="example">#: src/hello.c:200
	#, c-format
	msgid "Report bugs to <%s>.\n"
	msgstr "Comunicar `bugs' a <%s>.\n"
	</pre></td></tr></table>

	<p>and ‘<tt>file2.po</tt>’:
	</p>
	<table><tr><td> </td><td><pre class="example">#: src/bye.c:100
	#, c-format
	msgid "Report bugs to <%s>.\n"
	msgstr "Comunicar \"bugs\" a <%s>.\n"
	</pre></td></tr></table>

	<p>will result in:
	</p>
	<table><tr><td> </td><td><pre class="example">#: src/hello.c:200 src/bye.c:100
	#, fuzzy, c-format
	msgid "Report bugs to <%s>.\n"
	msgstr ""
	"#-#-#-#-# file1.po #-#-#-#-#\n"
	"Comunicar `bugs' a <%s>.\n"
	"#-#-#-#-# file2.po #-#-#-#-#\n"
	"Comunicar \"bugs\" a <%s>.\n"
	</pre></td></tr></table>

	<p>The translator will have to resolve this “conflict” manually; she
	has to decide whether the first or the second version is appropriate
	(or provide a new translation), to delete the “marker lines”, and
	finally to remove the <code>fuzzy</code> mark.
	</p>
	<p>If the translator knows in advance the first found translation of a
	message is always the best translation she can make use to the
	‘<samp>--use-first</samp>’ switch:
	</p>
	<table><tr><td> </td><td><pre class="example">msgcat --use-first -o compendium.po file1.po file2.po
	</pre></td></tr></table>

	<p>A good compendium file must not contain <code>fuzzy</code> or untranslated
	entries. If input files are “dirty” you must preprocess the input
	files or postprocess the result using ‘<samp>msgattrib --translated --no-fuzzy</samp>’.
	</p>

	<a name="SEC96"></a>
	<h4 class="subsubsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC92">8.9.1.2 Extract a Message Subset from a PO File</a> </h4>

	<p>Nobody wants to translate the same messages again and again; thus you
	may wish to have a compendium file containing ‘<tt>getopt.c</tt>’ messages.
	</p>
	<p>To extract a message subset (e.g., all ‘<tt>getopt.c</tt>’ messages) from an
	existing PO file into one compendium file you can use ‘<samp>msggrep</samp>’:
	</p>
	<table><tr><td> </td><td><pre class="example">msggrep --location src/getopt.c -o compendium.po file.po
	</pre></td></tr></table>


	<a name="Using-Compendia"></a>
	<a name="SEC97"></a>
	<h3 class="subsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC93">8.9.2 Using Compendia</a> </h3>

	<p>You can use a compendium file to initialize a translation from scratch
	or to update an already existing translation.
	</p>

	<a name="SEC98"></a>
	<h4 class="subsubsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC94">8.9.2.1 Initialize a New Translation File</a> </h4>

	<p>Since a PO file with translations does not exist the translator can
	merely use ‘<tt>/dev/null</tt>’ to fake the “old” translation file.
	</p>
	<table><tr><td> </td><td><pre class="example">msgmerge --compendium compendium.po -o file.po /dev/null file.pot
	</pre></td></tr></table>


	<a name="SEC99"></a>
	<h4 class="subsubsection"> <a href="gettext_toc.html#TOC95">8.9.2.2 Update an Existing Translation File</a> </h4>

	<p>Concatenate the compendium file(s) and the existing PO, merge the
	result with the POT file and remove the obsolete entries (optional,
	here done using ‘<samp>msgattrib</samp>’):
	</p>
	<table><tr><td> </td><td><pre class="example">msgcat --use-first -o update.po compendium1.po compendium2.po file.po
	msgmerge update.po file.pot \| msgattrib --no-obsolete > file.po
	</pre></td></tr></table>


	<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" border="0">
	<tr><td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="#SEC71" title="Beginning of this chapter or previous chapter"> << </a>]</td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_9.html#SEC100" title="Next chapter"> >> </a>]</td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">   </td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">   </td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">   </td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">   </td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">   </td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_toc.html#SEC_Top" title="Cover (top) of document">Top</a>]</td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_toc.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents">Contents</a>]</td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_21.html#SEC410" title="Index">Index</a>]</td>
	<td valign="middle" align="left">[<a href="gettext_abt.html#SEC_About" title="About (help)"> ? </a>]</td>
	</tr></table>
	<p>
	<font size="-1">
	This document was generated by <em>Bruno Haible</em> on <em>July, 2 2025</em> using <a href="https://www.nongnu.org/texi2html/"><em>texi2html 1.78a</em></a>.
	</font>
	<br>

	</p>
	</body>
	</html>