(gettext.info)Subedit

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8.3.11 Details of Sub Edition
-----------------------------

   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.

‘C-c C-c’
     Complete edition (‘po-subedit-exit’).

‘C-c C-k’
     Abort edition (‘po-subedit-abort’).

‘C-c C-a’
     Consult auxiliary PO files (‘po-subedit-cycle-auxiliary’).

   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 ‘C-c C-c’
(‘po-subedit-exit’) 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.

   If the translator becomes unsatisfied with her translation or
comment, to the extent she prefers keeping what was existent prior to
the ‘<RET>’ or ‘#’ command, she may use the command ‘C-c C-k’
(‘po-subedit-abort’) to merely get rid of edition, while preserving the
original translation or comment.  Another way would be for her to exit
normally with ‘C-c C-c’, then type ‘U’ once for undoing the whole effect
of last edition.

   The command ‘C-c C-a’ (‘po-subedit-cycle-auxiliary’) 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 (Note: Auxiliary).

   Functions found on ‘po-subedit-mode-hook’, if any, are executed after
the string has been inserted in the edit buffer.

   While editing her translation, the translator should pay attention to
not inserting unwanted ‘<RET>’ (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, ‘<RET>’ automatically puts the character ‘<’ at the end of
the string being edited, but this ‘<’ is not really part of the string.
On exiting the editing window with ‘C-c C-c’, PO mode automatically
removes such ‘<’ and all whitespace added after it.  If the translator
adds characters after the terminating ‘<’, it looses its delimiting
property and integrally becomes part of the string.  If she removes the
delimiting ‘<’, then the edited string is taken _as is_, with all
trailing newlines, even if invisible.  Also, if the translated string
ought to end itself with a genuine ‘<’, then the delimiting ‘<’ may not
be removed; so the string should appear, in the editing window, as
ending with two ‘<’ in a row.

   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 _and_ the comment of a
single entry, or to edit entries in different PO files, all at once.
Typing ‘<RET>’ on a field already being edited merely resumes that
particular edit.  Yet, the translator should better be comfortable at
handling many Emacs windows!

   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 ‘q’ command),
subedits are automatically resumed one at a time, so she may decide for
each of them.