Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ contains the most common questions and answers around translation for contributors, pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party/theme authors, and Global and Project Translation EditorsTranslation Editor Translation editors can approve translations for projects. The GTE (General Translation Editor) and LM (Locale Manager) roles can add new users with the "Project Translation Editor" role that can approve translations for specific projects. There are two different Translation Editor roles: General Translation Editor and Project Translation Editor.

For translators and editors

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Should I translate both Stable and Dev? 

You’d want to work on “Stable (latest release)” to use the plugin in your language. StringsString A string is a translatable part of the software. A translation consists of a multitude of localized strings. in “Development (trunk)” are extracted from the code that is not released and subject to change or removal.

Since mid-April 2016, not only new strings but also edits are synced between dev and stable (both ways, only approved translations).

When a plugin releases a new version, all translations get copied from dev to stable. Credits would go to both users if different users submitted the translation (Waiting or Current).

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Consistency checks: Is this the correct translation? How are others translating this word?

When translating, sometimes you want to check other translations for consistency to confirm that you’re using the correct word. The first place to look should always be the glossary of your locale. If the word is not found there, you can try to perform a consistency check to find that word in other plugins/themes in your language.

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I suggested a wrong translation. What should I do?

Don’t worry! If you’ve submitted an incorrect translation, you can reject your own translation and then suggest a new translation for the stringString A string is a translatable part of the software. A translation consists of a multitude of localized strings.. GlotPressGlotPress GlotPress is the translation management software that powers Translate.WordPress.org. More information is available at glotpress.org. marks it in red color. Once you refresh the page, then you’ll see the string untranslated again.

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Can I see more than just 15 strings per page when translating a plugin/theme/meta?

Sure! To do so, just change the number of rows you want on https://translate.wordpress.org/settings.

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Do I need to contact the plugin author to become a PTE?

Developers need an “okay” from translators to request that they become PTEs of their projects, but translators don’t need approval from the developer to become PTEs for their projects. By adding their projects to translate.wordpress.orgtranslate.wordpress.org The platform for contributing to the translation of WordPress core, themes and plugins., the developers are putting them in the hands of the translation community.

Any contributor can request to become PTEProject Translation Editor A Project Translation Editor (often referred to as PTE) is a person, who has access to validate strings on a specific project (for example BuddyPress, WooCommerce or Twenty Fourteen) for one specific locale. A project translation editor can approve strings that are added by translation contributors. Per project translation, editors are appointed by a general translation editor after a request by the project author or by the contributors themselves. for a plugin/theme by posting the request on https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/, indicating the plugin name or link and the localeLocale Locale = language version, often a combination of a language code and a region code, for instance es_MX denotes Spanish as it’s used in Mexico. A list of all locales supported by WordPress in https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/.

For an example of a request post, please see the PTE Request page.

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WordCamp translations are all validated but the website does not get updated. What happened?

After validating https://translate.wordpress.org/locale/locale-name/default/metaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress./wordcampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more., the WordCamp sites are automatically updated once a day at 00:00 UTC. In case of issues, post a message to the #meta-wordcamp SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. channel.

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Propagation of strings during .po import

Propagation is only available for plugins. When importing a .po, dev and stable are synced (both ways) and also dev-readme and stable-readme. There is no propagation outside the plugin where you perform the import.

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How come I don’t have any strings for translation in Apps?

Even if the projects were created, the strings are not automatically imported for some apps (like iOSiOS The operating system used on iPhones and iPads., Android, etc.). Please post a request on https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots with the Apps missing and your locale.

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How to activate /support on our Rosetta site?

Before activating the support forums, make sure to have translated the “Forums” project and also the bbPress plugin for your locale.

Then post a request on https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots indicating the w.org usernames that should become keymaster (forum admins).

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How do I activate /team and the handbook on our Rosetta site? 

If your locale has a /team site already, the handbook should be active and you can create pages.

Examples:

If you don’t have a /team site yet, post a request on https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots indicating your RosettaRosetta The code name of the theme for the local WordPress sites (eg. bg.wordpress.org is a “Rosetta” site). All locale specific WordPress sites are referred to as “Rosetta sites.” The name was inspired from the ancient Rosetta Stone, which contained more or less the same text in three different languages. site (e.g. it.wordpress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/)

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Why is there an empty resource list in PTE email?

When a GTEGeneral Translation Editor A General Translation Editor (often referred to as GTE) is a person, who has global access to validate strings on all projects for a specific locale. creates a PTE, an email is automatically sent. Make sure the Rosetta Locale Manager has correctly set the menu for the translation editors in https://YOURLOCALE.wordpress.org/wp-admin/nav-menus.php?action=locations otherwise, the list of resources in the email will be empty.

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For theme/plugin authors

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Strings are validated, when are they taken into account for download?

If strings in stable are approved for at least 90% for a plugin/theme in a certain locale, the generation happens 30 minutes after a translation has been updated. Then any local WordPress set to use that specific locale will download it in the next hours after the generation.

Strings in readme are deployedDeploy Launching code from a local development environment to the production web server, so that it's available to visitors. almost immediately, but the 90% to reach is only needed for the strings of the plugin/theme.

If Meta projects (like Rosetta or o2p2 "p2" is the name of the theme that blogs at make.wordpress.org use (and o2 is the accompanying plugin). When asked to post something "on the p2" by a member of the Polyglots team, that usually means you're asked to post on the team blog https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/.) are updated, it takes between 24 and 36 hours before the update is visible.

For WordPress coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress., the default/front-end project needs at least 90% current translations and the Administration project at least 75%. All other sub-projects have no limit. Once reached, the language pack is built every hour on the hour.

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How do locales manage PTE requests?

Here are some examples:

You may be able to find information for your locale in their style guide or start guide.

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As a plugin/theme author, how can my translators get validation rights?

If you as a plugin/theme author think your translators are doing a great job, then you can follow this PTE request process. You propose them and then GTEs from the requested localesLocale Locale = language version, often a combination of a language code and a region code, for instance es_MX denotes Spanish as it’s used in Mexico. A list of all locales supported by WordPress in https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/ can check further to verify that they are translating things properly. Most of the GTEs will start by checking what your translators already contributed and then see how to go further with them.

Some notes:

  • Every locale might have its own ‘procedure’ to nominate a PTE. GTEs want to ensure that no translations are just copied/pasted from something like Google Translate and that the PTE understands the language well. References might be made to existing glossaries and style guides to maintain consistency over all plugins and themes of the same language. You don’t want your plugin to refer to your admin panels under ‘people’ if it is called ‘users’ in your language. So some initial agreements are needed between PTEs and GTEs.
  • All GTEs are human and even have a life outside of here. Also, not all teams have many GTEs (yet). So please allow some time to respond to your request.

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Can I exclude strings from external libraries?

If your plugin or theme uses external PHPPHP PHP (recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely-used open source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML. http://php.net/manual/en/intro-whatis.php. libraries, then strings in such libraries don’t need to be translated. Make sure to put those libraries under the /vendor folder. During import of strings for translation, any files under this folder are skipped.

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General

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How can I get notified if somebody mentions the name of my plugin, theme or locale?

You are automatically notified if someone mentions you with @your_username. Also: if you’re a GTE, then you’ll automatically receive a notification if your locale tag (like #en_GB) is mentioned. But you can add extra words (like the name of your plugin/theme) or locales (like #fr_BE) to get notified on slack or by email upon mention. Check out your personal page on https://profiles.wordpress.org/profile/notifications.
Also keep in mind, that notifications are only processed and sent when a post or a comment is published first time. No notification is sent if a mention or a tag is added via editing an existing post or comment.

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I lost my password to the email I used to create my wordpress.org account!

It might happen that you changed email and therefore cannot reset your password. For resets, you can send the details with the old email and forum account ID to forum-password-resets@wordpress.org.

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How many WordPress versions are downloaded or installed for a specific language, country or locale?

Download statistics are not always accurate or useful, so there are no real statistical breakdowns. However, a chart with active installs per locale can be found on https://wordpress.org/about/stats/.

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To download the latest version of WordPress in your target language, visit the locale’s Rosetta site to find the download link. For example, the link to the latest release of the Dutch (nl_NL) locale would be:

https://nl.wordpress.org/latest-nl_NL.zip.

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Where can I ask validator rights for wordpress.COM?

The community here is dealing with wordpress.org translations. If you want to contribute to wordpress.com, then please check the FAQ on https://translate.wordpress.com/faq/ and place your request in the forum there.

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