MSGMERGE(1)			      GNU			   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
       existing PO file with translations which will  be  taken  over  to  the
       newly  created  file as long as they still match; comments will be pre
       served, 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 translations, or a PO Template file (generally  cre
       ated  by  xgettext);  any  translations 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	speci
       fied 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

       -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:
       -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

       --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

       -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.

REPORTING BUGS
       Report bugs to .

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright  1995-1998, 2000-2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
       This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.  There is
       NO  warranty;  not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
       PURPOSE.

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 0.16.1	 November 2006			   MSGMERGE(1)