Quick Translate POT/PO/MO

Quick Translate POT/PO/MO Plugin Manual

1. Introduction

“Quick Translate POT/PO/MO” is a tool for generating and modifying WordPress plugin translation files.
It allows you to instantly see the effects of your changes and complete the following tasks directly in your browser.

• Generate POT files (Translation Template): Extract translatable strings from a plugin’s source code to create a template file.
• Generate and Update PO files (Translation File): Create a new PO file for a specific language based on a POT file, or update an existing one.
• Edit PO Files: Directly edit translation strings in an existing PO file.
• Generate MO Files (Binary File): Automatically create the binary MO file that WordPress uses when you save your PO file edits.
• PO File Automatic Translation Tool: It automatically translates the untranslated parts of a PO file using Google Translation or DeepL.
• Download POT, PO, and MO Files: Download each POT, PO, and MO file to your local directory.
• Delete MO Files: Remove unnecessary MO files.

2. How to Use

Step 1: Generating a POT File

1. Go to the “1. Generate POT file” section.
2. Select the target plugin from the “Select a Plugin” dropdown.
3. Click the “Generate POT” button.
4. If a POT file already exists, a confirmation pop-up will appear.

➡ This will create a [text-domain].pot file in the plugin’s languages directory.

Step 2: Generating and Updating a PO File

1. Go to the “2. Generate / Update PO file from POT” section.
2. Select the target plugin from the “Select a Plugin” dropdown.
3. Click the “Generate / Update PO” button.

➡ This will generate a PO file (e.g., ja.po) based on your WordPress language settings.

➡ If the PO file already exists, the existing translations (msgstr) corresponding to the strings (msgid) in the POT file will be preserved in the updated PO file.

Step 3: Editing a PO File and Generating an MO File

1. Go to the “3. Edit PO file & Generate MO file” section.
2. Select the target plugin from the “Select a Plugin” dropdown.
3. Click “Load PO” to display the PO file contents in a table.
4. Edit translations directly in the “msgstr” column.
5. Click “Save Changes and Generate MO” to save changes and create the MO file.

➡ Changes in the editor are saved to the PO file and the MO file is generated simultaneously only when you click the “Save Changes and Generate MO” button.

For more effective translation work:

Step 2.5: Automatically Translate a PO File

1. Click the “Go to PO Auto Fill Tool” button.
2. Select the target plugin from the “Select a Plugin” dropdown.
3. Choose either Google API or DeepL API.
4. Enter the corresponding API key.
5. Click the “Preview Translation” button.
6. Click the “Save” button to save the results to the PO file.
7. Click the “Back to Quick Translate POT/PO/MO” button to edit the saved PO file.

➡ To use this tool for automatic translation, you need to register with Google Translation or DeepL and obtain an API key. Both services can be used within their free usage limits.

Table Operations

• msgid (Source String): Original string (not editable).
• msgstr (Translation): Editable translation string.

Download A POT File

• Click the “Download POT” button to download the current POT file.

Download A PO File

• Click the “Download PO” button to download the current PO file.

Download A MO File

• Click the “Download MO” button to download the current MO file.

Deleting an MO File

• Click the “Delete MO” button to remove the current MO file.