Thanks for all the responses… So this is what I’m having some issues with…
In reading different resources online (including the link your guys shared), there seems to be a confusion between translating a WordPress theme and getting a theme ready to be translated.
I think the link you guys are sharing is more for someone who is translating a theme into a language… even though the author writes as he intended it to be a theme author selling a theme. So this is a little confusing…
When you use the Poedit software, .mo and .po files are generated for you. I downloaded one of Kailoon’s themes to see how he does it as an example, and he includes the .mo file and .po file in his theme (which are the same as what Poedit software are generating for me).
BUT, looking at WordPress’s twenty-ten theme, there is a single .pot file included (and NO .po or .mo files). So, now I’m wondering what exactly is the different between a .po and a .pot file is?
I found this link which states that:
POT – Portable Object Template. This is the file that you get when you extract texts from the application. Normally, you send this file to your translators.
PO – Portable Object. This is the file that you receive back from the translators. It’s a text file that includes the original texts and the translations.
If I’m understanding correctly, the .pot file is what I should be including with my theme, so a translator can then take that into their software and translate the theme.
So, to me this backs up further that I want to do it the way twenty-ten theme does and I should have a .pot file, but I can’t figure out how to create that with the Poedit software? Or what the best way to create that is?
In looking through the twenty-ten theme’s .pot file, it seems that it’s formatted the same as the .po file I’m generating from Poedit sofware. So, I’m wondering if I can simply rename the .po file to .pot?