Pootle/FAQ

General

How do I find the OLPC pootle projects?

See http://dev.laptop.org/translate.

I have a question that is not answered here - how do I contact you ?

You can find us in the IRC channel #olpc-pootle on irc.freenode.net. We also have a mailing list to discussion localisation related stuff - you can subscribe to the list by visting http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/localization. You can also #ask a question.

Where do I find a list of language teams and their administrators ?

A current list of language teams, along with their administrators (if any) is available at Pootle#Sign-up.

There are so many projects. Which one do I start off with ?

It depends on the decision of the language team you are a part of. We recommend that you translate at least XO Core, XO Bundled (and Terminology, to ensure consistency) before moving on to the other projects.

Is it possible to edit more than one string at a time?

No. For on-line translations you can only edit one string at a time. Each project/language administrator has the power to enable off-line translations, but that needs to be coordinated and controlled; currently we lack the man-power (read administrators) to guarantee that workflow.

Can we use translation memories?

Pootle supports the concept of translation memories, although it is not currently active. See Pootle/Administration#Translation memory)

Can I translate off-line?

Depends. Initially, Pootle's ability to import PO files is not enabled, and it will be up to each administrator (language/project) to decide if it will be allowed, who will have said ability and set up the appropriate workflow.

How do I see/test/check my translations in action ?

There are several methods to do that. See Localization/Testing for the details.

I do not know English well enough to translate from it to my language. Can I get the original messages in any other language

Pootle can show you the translations in an intermediate language while you translate. In order to see that, select the intermediate language as your interface (UI) language while logging in.

How do I switch keyboards for languages written in Non-Latin alphabets, or for Latin keyboard layouts such as French AZERTY or Dvorak?

You can either set up multiple layouts in xorg.conf or use setxkbmap in the Developer Console.

How do I jump directly to the untranslated strings ?

From the project page of your language (eg: XO Core for Spanish), click on the Show Editing Function, and for each file, you will get a link called View untranslated which would take you directly to the untranslated strings.

dev.laptop.org

What is pseudo.po?

This file may appear in the git-project/po directory as a result of running a special pseudo-localization script that simulates a localization file where random (non-latin) characters have replaced the original text. This text is composed of two sections: the first one an assorted set of 'problematic' characters (enclosed between []) followed by a representation of the original text using non-latin glyphs (ie: instead of an 'A' you may see А Д; instead of 'B' В Ъ; 'C' could be С Ҫ Ը ح; 'a' - а д ձ ە; 'b' - в ъ ҍ ط; 'c' - ҁ ҫ ۦ; etc.)

This allows to spot two things: (a) forgotten / non-i18n strings, and (b) where truncation occurs in the GUI.

Trouble-shooting

I can't translate! (or) I only get the "Suggest" button and not the "Submit" button

Several possibilities:

1. Pootle account — by default, anonymous users aren't allowed to translate, so you need to register first.
2. Pootle language — in order to to have 'access' to a given project you need to have a language in your user options that is associated to the project
3. Pootle project — you must have the project in your list of projects in your user options in order to be considered as a non-anonymous translator
4. Language+Project rights — although projects are relatively open (suffices to be registered to be able to translate) those rights are specified by the administrator. If all of the above are satisfied please ask your language administrator(s) or ask in the mailing list.

Administrative

How do I add a project to be translated ?

If you are using the GIT services on dev.laptop.org, just file a ticket at http://dev.laptop.org under the component localization, mentioning the name of the GIT repository. If your project is hosted somewhere else, please file a ticket detailing how to access your project's version control setup, and we'll try to figure out a way how to best integrate your project's translation related files.

How do I start a translation team for my language ?

File a ticket at http://dev.laptop.org with your name, email address, Pootle username (if you have already registered), language name and language code. We will setup the relevant accounts and permissions for you. You should file the ticket under the component localization.

Do you have any document/guide for a language coordinator ?

The OpenOffice.org people have an excellent guide about Pootle - you can read it online at http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Pootle_User_Guide#Pootle_Userguide_for_Translation_Leads

Ask a question

Have a question that is not answered above? Add it below, subscribe and send an email to localization@lists.laptop.org, or try the #olpc-pootle IRC channel.

Faster navigation

• I would thank a way to go directly to the "need to translated" parts. In this moment I need to "travel" (clicking and clicking) trough all the "translated" parts until I reach the "not translated". I know: easy to say... hard to do. Just letting you know (for the records). Javier Rodriguez, Lima. Peru 3 March 2008.

This is possible with Pootle (although in the past it has sometimes failed due to timeouts for very large projects like Etoys). From a project translation page (e.g. the Spanish terminology page), click on Mostrar Funciones de Edición (Show Editing Functions) and then you will have an option to Ver No Traducidas (Show Untranslated) which takes you directly to the parts that have not been translated (or have fuzzy translations). You can use the Regresar/Saltar buttons (Back/Skip) as well as the others next to those to go to the next untranslated item without having to page through parts that are translated. Note that if you use direct navigation to edit another entry, you will lose the extra restrictions embedded in the URL (translate.html?fuzzy=1&editing=1&blank=1) and the buttons will now just back/skip to the immediately preceding/following entries, whether translated or not. To recover the restriction, go back and re-click the Show Untranslated link or just add &fuzzy=1&blank=1 to the current URL (or just reload the page if those are already in the URL). --@alex 00:05, 18 April 2008 (EDT)