Adding languages to WordPress plugins with Poedit
August 23, 2011 in Blog, How To by mahype
Your plugin supports language files but the plugin is not available in your language?
We’ll help you to create a language file for the plugin!
Get the plugin
Just download the plugin which you want to translate and extract it. In our example its c:\myplugin.
Download Poedit
To translate the plugin, you can use Poedit. You can get it on www.poedit.net. After downloading you have to install the plugin.
Using Poedit
After you have installed the plugin the best way is to open an existing language file in annother language. Open Poedit and click on “File/Open…”. Choose a language file from the plugin in c:\myplugin. It’s not in it? Just check in subdirectories.
After you have opened the file, the whole list with the translation in the opened language will appear. Now you have to save the language file for your language. Click on “File/Save as…” and save it in the same directory you opened the language file . You only have to take care on the file name. As you see, in SeoPress or the german language file is named seopress-de_DE.po.
Example: If you want to translate it in the hungarian language the file have to seem like this: seopress-hu_HU.po. With which filename your language needs, you can see here: WordPress in your language on wordpress.org.
Updating the catalog file
Now you have to set up the language file settings. Click on “Catalog/Settings…” and there will appear the settings box for the language file. First you have to add the path of the plugin files. In our case its c:\myplugin.
After setting up the path, you have to add the keywords. For WordPress we need the Keywords __ (double underscore) and _e (underscore and e). Just click on OK.
Now you can update your language file with the plugin source code by clicking “Catalog/Update from sources” and Poedit will update the translation strings and you are ready to begin your translations.
Just click on the strings on the line you want to translate and save the settings. If you’re uploading the plugin again and wordpress is in the language you have translated, your translation will work.
Thats it! Have fun!
What if I want to translate certain elements of the whole wordpress theme?
Hello nati,
just do it as described above. If you don’t want to translate an element, just leave it blank in PoEdit.
Greetings,
Sven.
Hi, I am just working on this task for a site (running locally) but I cannot get the translations to work.
I would like to customize buddypress 1.5 and I am using the custom community theme.
I have tried your directions as well as the directions in the bp codex (there is a slight difference) as well as a plugin called CodeStyling Localization and still nothing.
any thoughts?
Hi again,
I figured out that I need a .POT file for the custom community theme itself…does this exist?
Thanks,
hi, in the theme’s language folder is xx_XX.pot
also this might be interesting for you: http://themekraft.com/groups/custom-community/forum/topic/custom-community-time-to-translate/
hope this helps, konrad
Hello,
first of all, thanks for good framework. I’m testing a free version, and so far I’m satisfied. What is interesting me is, do you have .po files for it? If so, could you send it, so I can translate it in Serbian?
Regards,
Aleksa
Yes, you are welcome to translate it in Serbian. Please have a look to the github version. We are just about to make a huge update and it makes much more sense to translate this version. The .po can be found in the language folder https://github.com/Themekraft/Custom-Community
Hello,
i have a plugin without any .po file. The main language of the plugin is english. must i create now a clean .po file first? or how can i translate the plugin?
Regards Tobias
Hello Tobias,
the plugin has a voice file?
If so then you have to change it in there.
Regards Frank