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MSGMERGE(1) User Commands MSGMERGE(1) NAME msgmerge - merge message catalog and template SYNOPSIS msgmerge [OPTION] def.po ref.pot DESCRIPTION Merges two Uniforum style .po files together. The def.po file is an exist- ing PO file with translations which will be taken over to the newly created file as long as they still match; comments will be preserved, but extracted comments and file positions will be discarded. The ref.pot file is the last created PO file with up-to-date source references but old transla- tions, or a PO Template file (generally created by xgettext); any transla- tions or comments in the file will be discarded, however dot comments and file positions will be preserved. Where an exact match cannot be found, fuzzy matching is used to produce better results. Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too. Input file location: def.po translations referring to old sources ref.pot references to new sources -D, --directory=DIRECTORY add DIRECTORY to list for input files search -C, --compendium=FILE additional library of message translations, may be specified more than once Operation mode: -U, --update update def.po, do nothing if def.po already up to date Output file location: -o, --output-file=FILE write output to specified file The results are written to standard output if no output file is specified or if it is -. Output file location in update mode: The result is written back to def.po. --backup=CONTROL make a backup of def.po --suffix=SUFFIX override the usual backup suffix The version control method may be selected via the --backup option or through the VERSION_CONTROL environment variable. Here are the values: none, off never make backups (even if --backup is given) numbered, t make numbered backups existing, nil numbered if numbered backups exist, simple otherwise simple, never always make simple backups The backup suffix is '~', unless set with --suffix or the SIM- PLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX environment variable. Operation modifiers: -m, --multi-domain apply ref.pot to each of the domains in def.po --for-msgfmt produce output for 'msgfmt', not for a translator -N, --no-fuzzy-matching do not use fuzzy matching --previous keep previous msgids of translated messages Input file syntax: -P, --properties-input input files are in Java .properties syntax --stringtable-input input files are in NeXTstep/GNUstep .strings syntax Output details: --lang=CATALOGNAME set 'Language' field in the header entry --color use colors and other text attributes always --color=WHEN use colors and other text attributes if WHEN. WHEN may be 'always', 'never', 'auto', or 'html'. --style=STYLEFILE specify CSS style rule file for --color -e, --no-escape do not use C escapes in output (default) -E, --escape use C escapes in output, no extended chars --force-po write PO file even if empty -i, --indent indented output style --no-location suppress '#: filename:line' lines -n, --add-location preserve '#: filename:line' lines (default) --strict strict Uniforum output style -p, --properties-output write out a Java .properties file --stringtable-output write out a NeXTstep/GNUstep .strings file -w, --width=NUMBER set output page width --no-wrap do not break long message lines, longer than the output page width, into several lines -s, --sort-output generate sorted output (deprecated) -F, --sort-by-file sort output by file location Informative output: -h, --help display this help and exit -V, --version output version information and exit -v, --verbose increase verbosity level -q, --quiet, --silent suppress progress indicators AUTHOR Written by Peter Miller and Bruno Haible. REPORTING BUGS Report bugs in the bug tracker at <https://savannah.gnu.org/projects/get- text> or by email to <bug-gettext@gnu.org>. COPYRIGHT Copyright (C) 1995-2026 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html> This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law. SEE ALSO The full documentation for msgmerge is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the info and msgmerge programs are properly installed at your site, the command info msgmerge should give you access to the complete manual. GNU gettext-tools 1.0 January 2026 MSGMERGE(1)
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