Add your PO file
Drop one or more .po files onto the converter above, or browse for them. They load into browser memory only — nothing is uploaded, so there is no size-based pricing and no server queue.
PO to XLF
Converting a .po font to .xlf repackages the same glyphs and metrics for a different delivery target. Free, private, and validated — the file never leaves your browser.
Private for supported formats — processed in your browser
Runs on your deviceConvert supported files
Drop PO files here
Batch files can each use a different output. Nothing uploads for local conversions.
Working inputs include camera RAW, browser-local audio/video, PDF, CBZ/CBR comics, office documents, ebooks, markup, 3D models, structured text, images, and archives.About converting GNU gettext translation to XLIFF 1.2
Converting a .po font to .xlf repackages the same glyphs and metrics for a different delivery target. A .po file is a GNU gettext Portable Object: a plain-text translation catalog in which each entry pairs a msgid — the original string, which doubles as its own key — with a msgstr holding the translation. It is the format most open-source software is translated in, and it is designed to be readable and diffable in a normal editor.
A .xlf file is an XLIFF document — the OASIS XML standard for moving translation work between tools. Each translatable string becomes a trans-unit holding a source element and, once translated, a target element, wrapped in a file element that records the source and target languages. For this route the practical draw is a real published standard rather than a vendor convention and expresses review state and inline formatting that simpler formats cannot — balanced against verbose — several lines of markup per string, which is worth knowing before you commit a large batch.
Why convert PO to XLF?
The practical trigger for this conversion is usually a mismatch: with .po, keying on source text means an English typo fix invalidates every translation of that string. Switching to .xlf buys you a real published standard rather than a vendor convention, which is why it is the better fit for sending strings to a translation agency and getting reviewed work back. Because the conversion runs locally, trying it costs nothing but a few seconds of compute on your own machine.
PO vs XLF at a glance
| Aspect | GNU gettext translation (.po) | XLIFF 1.2 (.xlf) |
|---|---|---|
| Format type | Text-based — characters and structure, so there is no visual quality loss | Text-based — characters and structure, so there is no visual quality loss |
| How it stores data | entries are blank-line-separated blocks of msgid and msgstr, each a sequence of C-style quoted strings that concatenate across lines | the root xliff element declares a version; file elements carry source-language and target-language attributes |
| Strongest at | translating open-source software, where gettext is effectively the default | sending strings to a translation agency and getting reviewed work back |
| Weak spot | keying on source text means an English typo fix invalidates every translation of that string | verbose — several lines of markup per string |
| Metadata | identifiers, source strings, translations and context are preserved. Header fields, translator comments, source references and flags such as fuzzy are not carried into formats that have nowhere to put them — converting a reviewed catalog to a mobile resource file loses the review state, not the translations | unit identifiers, source and target text and the declared source/target languages are preserved. Translation state, notes and inline placeholder markup are not carried into flat key-value formats, which have nowhere to record them |
Pick XLF as the output
Select .xlf in the output menu next to each file. The menu only offers targets this engine can genuinely produce, so if XLF is selectable, the route is real and validated.
Convert on your device
Press Convert. The font tables are parsed and rewritten locally with fonteditor-core; glyph outlines, hinting, and kerning survive the trip.
Verify and download
Each result is signature-checked before the download unlocks, so a failed encode can never masquerade as a valid XLF file. Outputs keep the original filename with the .xlf extension.
PO to XLF questions, answered
Will converting PO to XLF lose quality?
There is no visual quality to lose — po is text-oriented and xlf is text-oriented, so the question is structural fidelity. Text, ordering, and basic structure are preserved; complex layout, embedded objects, and styling beyond the target's model are simplified.
Is it private to convert PO files here?
Yes — the .po file is processed inside your browser tab and never uploaded. The font tables are parsed and rewritten locally with fonteditor-core; glyph outlines, hinting, and kerning survive the trip. Close the tab and the file is gone from memory.
Where will the XLF file work?
Every serious translation management system reads XLIFF 1.2, and it is the safest common denominator for handing work to a vendor. Novus Convert reads both 1.2 trans-units and 2.0 units through one bounded parser, rejects documents carrying a doctype or custom entities outright, and converts to and from the other localization formats locally.
Will the XLF file be bigger or smaller than my PO?
It depends on the content: the root xliff element declares a version; file elements carry source-language and target-language attributes. Convert one representative file first and compare before batch-processing a large set.
What happens to the metadata in my PO file?
In .po, identifiers, source strings, translations and context are preserved. Header fields, translator comments, source references and flags such as fuzzy are not carried into formats that have nowhere to put them — converting a reviewed catalog to a mobile resource file loses the review state, not the translations. Re-encoding through the browser pipeline does not carry embedded metadata into the output, which doubles as a privacy scrub — check the exported file if you specifically need tags preserved.
Can I convert XLF back to PO?
Yes — the reverse route exists as a separate tool. Bear in mind that round-tripping .po → .xlf → .po is not a perfect undo when any lossy step is involved; keep your original if fidelity matters.