Using ltext2id

The ltext2id command line tool converts a project that uses text-based translations to use ID-based translations. It scans the project tree, updates source code to call the ID-based translation APIs, and adjusts the related TS files accordingly. In the case of any failed conversions, the source will be annotated with //ltext2id error: at the failed locations.

For best results, include both the sources and the TS files in the project root you pass to the tool so that updates stay consistent between code and translations.

ltext2id syntax

ltext2id [options] [project-root]

Where:

• options means one or several ltext2id options.
• project-root is the directory to process recursively.

To view the latest help, enter:

ltext2id -help

ltext2id options

Examples

Convert a project to ID-based translations

Run the tool at the project root. The source code and TS files under that directory are updated in place.

ltext2id path/to/project

Generate only ID suggestions (no code changes)

Use -only-meta-id to inject meta-string ID suggestions without rewriting calls to the ID-based API. As a result, the translation calls are annotated by '//~ meta-id <id>' (cpp) meta string specifying the suggested IDs (meta ID).

ltext2id -only-meta-id path/to/project

Disable label generation

Prevent label generation if you do not want contexts mirrored as labels in Qt Linguist:

ltext2id -no-labels path/to/project

Avoid auto-generated IDs

Skip auto-generation for calls missing meta IDs, i.e., IDs already specified using the meta string '//~ meta-id <id>' (cpp):

ltext2id -no-auto-id path/to/project

Work with UTF-16 source files

If your sources are UTF-16 encoded, enable the option:

ltext2id -source-utf16 path/to/project

Exit status

ltext2id returns a non-zero exit code on failure (for example, when it encounters an unrecoverable error while transforming files). Inspect the in-place source annotations marked with //ltext2id error: to fix the remaining issues.