Anyone managing multilingual software or websites can attest that handling translation files is a rapidly growing source of annoyance. Editing .po and .mo files straight up is not very comfortable. Plus, one little error during formatting can cause localization processes to fail. This is precisely why Poedit, a thin-client Windows application, was not overlooked. It can make the editing of gettext catalogs a very simple task. It is, actually, a tool that developers, translators, and content editors greatly rely on. They rely on trustworthy user interfaces for handling translations without being confounded by syntax.
A workspace designed specifically for translation
Poedit’s interface is deliberately kept very simple. This, by the way, is a major plus from the user’s point of view. When a .po file is opened, the user gets a two-panel window: base text on the top, translation on the bottom, with notes and references on the side. Such a respectable layout hardly causes any problems even to those not very familiar with .po files. They, otherwise, might be intimidated by raw file editing. Not only does the program’s very helpful verification tool detect a variety of problems, such as the absence of placeholders, inconsistencies with formatting, etc., but it also suggests how to fix them. This makes sure that errors do not get to production.
This essentially gives translators the freedom to spend time on their actual work rather than repeatedly checking syntax. The complexity of the tool is rather limited. Even people who have never handled localization can become quite competent within a short time. For tiny teams or one-person developers, such cleanness means that practically nothing of the workflow will be interrupted.
Working together with the actual software development processes
Poedit is a pretty dedicated tool for translation management and, in fact, cannot do all the things one would expect a localization platform to do. However, it is flexible enough to be included in standard software development workflows. It is capable of auto-extracting strings intended for translation from source code. Since it is based on gettext, it is compatible with a large number of CMS platforms such as WordPress or Django. Editing the source string without losing the translation is really a very practical feature for the translators of ongoing projects.
Continuing the theme raised in the previous paragraph, this incremental approach is a key point. As a consequence, translators may update the translations even if the files will undergo quite a few changes as the projects develop. In fact, for Windows-based users managing multilingual applications or plugins, the degree of automation provided by Poedit is just right for them. It helps them perform productively. It does not add much difficulty to their work. On the other hand, they need to be somewhat knowledgeable of the structure of translation files. Those who have never been exposed to such files may experience a short training session.
Pros and cons
One of Poedit’s major pros is its stability. For the editing and validation of translation files, it excellently handles a very narrowly defined set of operations. Besides this, it is lightweight and stable. It does not require the latest hardware. So it could be the right choice even for those with older machines.
On the other hand, it is quite limited in what it can do on its own. Therefore, it is not suitable for collaborative work, the likes of which cloud-based localization platforms deliver, such as real-time team editing or version tracking. True, there is also the opportunity to use translation memory and get suggestions, but that is very limited in comparison to enterprise-grade solutions. Individuals or small teams will hardly be deterred by this, but, for a more complicated scenario, it will be insufficient.
Using Poedit on a daily basis
Poedit is an offline solution that one cannot go wrong with, particularly if one is a developer, translator, or content manager who deals with gettext translations regularly. Localization students, indie game developers, and WordPress site owners who update their site language files will certainly appreciate this tool.
In actual use, it offers something between manual editing, which satisfies only the brave or highly proficient, and full-scale localization platforms, which are rather complex. What Poedit really does well is kick out trouble from the way of those who, for instance, write an accurate translation. They are also proficient with .po files and editors. Windows-based users who need to handle .po files all the time will hardly think about Poedit as a software tool while using it. Instead, they will think of it as a piece of the workflow they can count on. It simply helps them do their job.