Hi Yoseph,

eh, you're right, that's so weird. Even when you think you explicitly
choose the GUI part, you get documentation... I've clicked on another
plus sign, please test if it works now!

  Maren

Am 25.06.26 um 18:47 schrieb ዮሴፍ ፈለቀ:
> Hi Maren,
>
> ​Thanks for the screenshot! I see what happened there.
>
> ​The pencil icon shows up on the main project dashboard because to me it
> seems like it defaults to generally showing active languages across all
> components (as shown in Slide 1).
>
> ​However, when clicking through that pencil icon from the main project
> dashboard, it only grants access to translate the documentation files.
> While the interface breadcrumbs doesn't explicitly show this at first
> glance (Slides 2), selecting any of the individual strings below
> immediately reveals that it has loaded the documentation catalog (side 3).
>
> ​To me, the issue seems to be with the actual application GUI component. If
> you go to the "Components" tab and select "Inkscape (dev)" specifically,
> Amharic is still completely grayed out with a plus sign (the screenshot I
> sent in my previous email).
>
> ​Could you please check the "Inkscape (dev)" component on your end?
>
> Thank you!
> Yoseph
>
> On Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 6:01 PM Maren Hachmann <maren@goos-habermann.de>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi Yoseph,
>>
>> Amharic seems to be available for the master branch at the moment.
>>
>> If someone else added it (Marc?), please, someone-else, don't just fix
>> things but tell us about it, so we don't have to check and wonder what
>> happened.
>>
>>    Maren
>>
>>
>>
>> Am 25.06.26 um 05:30 schrieb ዮሴፍ ፈለቀ:
>>> ​I just logged onto the Inkscape Weblate server to get started on the
>>> master branch, but it looks like the Amharic translation component is
>>> currently locked or uninitialized.
>>>
>>> ​As seen in the translation dashboard, Amharic is grayed out with a plus
>>> sign rather than an edit pencil. I clicked the plus sign to start the
>>> language component, which triggered a notification stating that a request
>>> for a new translation has been sent to the project's maintainers.
>>>
>>> ​Could you please approve that request on your end whenever you have a
>>> moment? Once it's initialized, I'll be able to jump right in and start
>>> translating the core menus.
>>> ​Thank you!
>>>
>>> Yoseph
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Jun 25, 2026, 5:27 AM Maren Hachmann <maren@goos-habermann.de>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Am 25.06.26 um 03:27 schrieb ዮሴፍ ፈለቀ:
>>>>> ​Thank you both for the insights and for explaining how the LINGUAS
>> file
>>>>> works!
>>>>>
>>>>> ​Duarte, I gave your suggestions a thorough try—including the
>> environment
>>>>> variable method and attempting to swap out the .mo file in an existing
>>>>> language directory—but unfortunately, I still couldn't get the
>>>> translation
>>>>> to register or display locally on my version of Inkscape.
>>>>>
>>>>> ​Since the local testing workarounds didn't pan out, I want to pivot my
>>>>> focus entirely to working directly on the Weblate server as you both
>>>>> recommended. I will prioritize the high-traffic areas Maren mentioned,
>>>> like
>>>>> the main menus, the Export dialog, and the Fill and Stroke panels.
>>>>>
>>>>> ​Before I dive in, could you let me know if there are any specific
>>>>> documentation links, guides, or resources you recommend for learning
>> how
>>>> to
>>>>> navigate and use Weblate effectively?
>>>> I've never needed any documentation for doing translations in weblate,
>>>> it was pretty self-explanatory, so I can't give any recommendations.
>>>>
>>>> For administration, yes, but nothing beyond what is linked from the
>>>> weblate page itself. The three-dots menu at the top has the link to the
>>>> documentation.
>>>>
>>>>     Maren
>>>>
>>>>> Yoseph
>>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, Jun 24, 2026, 7:49 PM Maren Hachmann <maren@goos-habermann.de>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi Yoseph,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> for documentation, there is a threshold of '80% translated' per po
>> file.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> For the GUI translations, such a threshold does not exist, however we
>>>>>> may manually disable languages that have a very low percentage / no
>>>>>> translations, as has happened with Amharic in the past.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> For a translation to be valuable to users, also the location of the
>>>>>> translated strings in the interface is important. You can have lots of
>>>>>> rarely seen strings translated, but the Fill and Stroke and Export
>>>>>> dialog and menu items are not, for example. When starting out, I'd not
>>>>>> focus on completion, but on the most important locations.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Let me know when you've uploaded your po file for the master branch
>> for
>>>>>> the first time!
>>>>>>      Maren
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Am 23.06.26 um 23:11 schrieb ዮሴፍ ፈለቀ:
>>>>>>> ​Thanks for the clarification!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> ​Regarding updating the LINGUAS file once the translation is
>> available
>>>> in
>>>>>>> the repository from Weblate: does the Amharic translation need to be
>>>> 100%
>>>>>>> complete for you to add it to the file, or is there a minimum
>>>> completion
>>>>>>> percentage required before it can be included so I can start testing
>> it
>>>>>>> normally?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> ​Best regards,
>>>>>>> Yoseph
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Fri, Jun 19, 2026, 7:32 PM Maren Hachmann <
>> maren@goos-habermann.de>
>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Hi all,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> yes, Duarte is right.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> When a new translation language is added, I need to update the
>> LINGUAS
>>>>>>>> file. I'll do that once the translation is available in the
>>>> repository,
>>>>>>>> coming from Weblate.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> When I do that, I'll also check whether any other languages might be
>>>>>>>> missing.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Please get your po file from the Weblate server, because that one is
>>>>>>>> updated from the Inkscape codebase automatically.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> If Inkscape is not available in the PATH, other programs on your
>>>>>>>> computer will not find it, and you will not be able to launch
>> Inkscape
>>>>>>>> from the command line.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Thanks!
>>>>>>>>       Maren
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Am 19.06.26 um 11:26 schrieb Duarte Farrajota Ramos:
>>>>>>>>> Yeah, you are right, I could not get it to work either. I mostly
>> use
>>>>>>>> Weblate
>>>>>>>>> these days, so I might be giving you outdated or incorrect
>>>> information.
>>>>>>>>> Looking at the source tree, there seems to be a hardcoded list of
>>>>>>>> available
>>>>>>>>> languages for Inkscape at
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>
>> https://gitlab.com/inkscape/translations/-/blob/4c5583adc297cd4a2e2d68b0e3c371e1981ac47d/LINGUAS
>>>>>>>>> Which probably means you have to ask the developers to add that new
>>>>>>>> language
>>>>>>>>> to the list, and will only be available in either future versions
>> or
>>>>>>>> alpha
>>>>>>>>> builds.
>>>>>>>>> Either way since this is likely to be a process that will take some
>>>>>>>> time, in
>>>>>>>>> the meantime so you are not waiting around, you could try something
>>>>>> else.
>>>>>>>>> Try translating your new po file normally with the correct
>> language,
>>>>>> but
>>>>>>>> when
>>>>>>>>> you create the .mo file place it in the folder of some other
>> existing
>>>>>>>> language
>>>>>>>>> you don't plan on using, and replace the inkscape.mo file there
>>>> (maybe
>>>>>>>> rename
>>>>>>>>> the original for safe keeping), then from the UI pick that one
>>>> language
>>>>>>>>> instead, and it should show you your translation in progress
>> instead
>>>> of
>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>>> actual language you picked.
>>>>>>>>> Once it gets sorted out and your language does exist, you can then
>>>>>> place
>>>>>>>> it in
>>>>>>>>> the correct folder.
>>>>>>>>> On 19/06/2026 at 01:18, ዮሴፍ ፈለቀ <yosephfeleke22@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>> Thanks for the detailed steps!
>>>>>>>>> I actually tried that exact setup before your email—compiling my
>>>>>>>> progress into
>>>>>>>>> an inkscape.mo file and placing it under
>>>>>>>>> Inkscape\share\locale\am\LC_MESSAGES\inkscape.mo. However, when I
>>>> open
>>>>>>>>> Inkscape, Amharic doesn't show up as an option in the language
>>>> dropdown
>>>>>>>>> settings at all.
>>>>>>>>> To help me figure out what I might be doing wrong, could you
>> clarify
>>>> a
>>>>>>>> couple
>>>>>>>>> of things?
>>>>>>>>> 1) The Source Files: I want to make sure I didn't download the
>> wrong
>>>>>>>> files
>>>>>>>>> from the server. Could you point me to the exact URL or directory
>>>>>> where I
>>>>>>>>> should pull the correct .po files for the master branch?
>>>>>>>>> 2) System PATH: When installing Inkscape, there is an option that
>>>> says
>>>>>>>> "By
>>>>>>>>> default Inkscape does not add its directory to the system PATH."
>> Does
>>>>>>>> leaving
>>>>>>>>> this unchecked impact how Inkscape detects custom local translation
>>>>>>>> folders?
>>>>>>>>> If these two things are not the source of the issue, do you have
>> any
>>>>>>>> idea what
>>>>>>>>> else might be causing it not to appear?
>>>>>>>>> Yoseph
>>>>>>>>> On Fri, Jun 19, 2026, 1:20 AM Duarte Ramos <
>> duarte.framos@gmail.com>
>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>> You can edit it by hand with any (programmer) plain text editor,
>> like
>>>>>>>> Notepad
>>>>>>>>> or Kate, but that is error prone and easy to mess up.
>>>>>>>>> For a more user friendly GUI approach, you can use any pot file
>>>> editor
>>>>>>>> like
>>>>>>>>> PoEdit or Lokalize, or any other that you find that you may like.
>>>>>>>>> I only used to use PoEdit, but they all probably have an option to
>>>>>>>> compile and
>>>>>>>>> export an .mo file.
>>>>>>>>> You can then navigate to your Inkcape installation folder, under
>>>>>>>>> Inkscape\share\locale\
>>>>>>>>> You will find a list of languages. If your translation target isn't
>>>>>>>> there,
>>>>>>>>> create one with the corresponding language ISO code. In it place a
>>>>>> folder
>>>>>>>>> called LC_MESSAGES, such that it ends up being something like
>>>>>>>>> Inkscape\share\locale\##\LC_MESSAGES\ where ## is your language ISO
>>>>>> code.
>>>>>>>>> In it place your .mo file named inkscape.mo you should then be able
>>>> to
>>>>>>>> run
>>>>>>>>> Inkcape normally, and see your language as an option in the UI
>>>>>> language.
>>>>>>>>> You should end up with something like
>>>>>>>>> Inkscape\share\locale\am\LC_MESSAGES\inkscape.mo
>>>>>>>>> On 18/06/2026 at 22:28, ዮሴፍ ፈለቀ <yosephfeleke22@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>> I have a quick question regarding the workflow.
>>>>>>>>> I prefer not to do the translations directly inside the Weblate web
>>>>>>>> interface,
>>>>>>>>> so I went to the server and downloaded a ZIP file containing the
>> .po
>>>>>>>> files to
>>>>>>>>> work on them locally. However, looking at the files has left me a
>> bit
>>>>>>>>> confused.
>>>>>>>>> Could you please guide me on:
>>>>>>>>> What the best practice is for working on these .po files locally?
>>>>>>>>> How I can properly test the translations to see how they look
>> inside
>>>>>>>> Inkscape
>>>>>>>>> on my machine?
>>>>>>>>> Yoseph
>>>>>>>>> On Wed, Jun 17, 2026, 12:50 PM ዮሴፍ ፈለቀ <yosephfeleke22@gmail.com>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>> Hi Maren and Duarte,
>>>>>>>>> Thanks so much for the warm welcome and for pointing me in the
>> right
>>>>>>>>> direction!
>>>>>>>>> I will look through the documentation links you shared and log into
>>>> the
>>>>>>>>> translation server to check out the master branch. I'll let you
>> know
>>>> if
>>>>>>>> I run
>>>>>>>>> into any questions as I get started.
>>>>>>>>> Yoseph
>>>>>>>>> On Tue, Jun 16, 2026, 1:50 AM Duarte Ramos <
>> duarte.framos@gmail.com>
>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>> Hi Yoseph.
>>>>>>>>> UI translation these days is mostly done through
>>>>>>>>> https://translate.inkscape.org/
>>>>>>>>> Otherwise have you gone through
>>>>>>>>> https://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/Translation_information ?
>>>>>>>>> Let us know if you have any further difficulties.
>>>>>>>>> On 15/06/2026 at 00:06, ዮሴፍ ፈለቀ <yosephfeleke22@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>> I want to work on translating Inkscape into Amharic. Can you please
>>>>>> tell
>>>>>>>> me
>>>>>>>>> what I need to do?
>>>>>>>>> Yoseph
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>> Inkscape Translators mailing list --
>>>>>>>> inkscape-translator@lists.inkscape.org
>>>>>>>>> To unsubscribe send an email to
>>>>>>>> inkscape-translator-leave@lists.inkscape.org
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>