Add your QTS file
Drop one or more .qts 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.
Converting a .qts font to .strings repackages the same glyphs and metrics for a different delivery target. Free, private, and validated — the file never leaves your browser.
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.Converting a .qts font to .strings repackages the same glyphs and metrics for a different delivery target. A Qt Linguist translation source — catalogued here as .qts — is the XML file a Qt application is translated in: a <TS> document holding <context> groups, each containing <message> elements that pair a <source> string with its <translation>. Qt names these files .ts, which collides with TypeScript, so Novus Convert recognises them by the .qt.ts suffix and files them under .qts to keep the two apart.
A .strings file is Apple's localization resource: a flat list of "key" = "value"; statements, one per translatable string, usually named Localizable.strings and stored inside a per-language .lproj directory. It is what NSLocalizedString and its SwiftUI equivalents look up at runtime. For this route the practical draw is trivially simple grammar that any tool can read or write and native to Apple's toolchain with no build step beyond copying — balanced against no plural support at all — that requires a second file in a different format, which is worth knowing before you commit a large batch.
The practical trigger for this conversion is usually a mismatch: with .qts, the .ts extension collides with TypeScript, which breaks naive tooling constantly. Switching to .strings buys you trivially simple grammar that any tool can read or write, which is why it is the better fit for localising an existing iOS, iPadOS or macOS application. Because the conversion runs locally, trying it costs nothing but a few seconds of compute on your own machine.
| Aspect | Qt Linguist TS (.qts) | Apple strings localization (.strings) |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | the root <TS> element carries a version and the target language; <context> groups messages under a <name>, conventionally the class that contains them | each entry is `"key" = "value";` — the trailing semicolon is required, and both sides use C-style escapes |
| Strongest at | translating a Qt or KDE desktop application | localising an existing iOS, iPadOS or macOS application |
| Weak spot | the .ts extension collides with TypeScript, which breaks naive tooling constantly | no plural support at all — that requires a second file in a different format |
| Metadata | source strings and translations are preserved, keyed on the source text. Context grouping, source locations, the unfinished/vanished state attribute and numerus plural forms are not represented in flat catalog targets | keys and translated values are preserved. Comments are not treated as structured notes, and plural rules cannot be represented — a catalog with plurals converted into .strings will lose the plural forms because the format has no way to hold them |
Drop one or more .qts 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.
Select .strings in the output menu next to each file. The menu only offers targets this engine can genuinely produce, so if STRINGS is selectable, the route is real and validated.
Press Convert. The font tables are parsed and rewritten locally with fonteditor-core; glyph outlines, hinting, and kerning survive the trip.
Each result is signature-checked before the download unlocks, so a failed encode can never masquerade as a valid STRINGS file. Outputs keep the original filename with the .strings extension.
There is no visual quality to lose — qts is text-oriented and strings 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.
Yes — the .qts 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.
Xcode reads and writes .strings natively, and every translation platform supports it because iOS work demands it. Outside Apple's ecosystem support is incidental. Novus Convert parses the quoted key/value grammar locally, tolerating the comment form, and converts to and from the other localization formats.
It depends on the content: each entry is `"key" = "value";` — the trailing semicolon is required, and both sides use C-style escapes. Convert one representative file first and compare before batch-processing a large set.
In .qts, source strings and translations are preserved, keyed on the source text. Context grouping, source locations, the unfinished/vanished state attribute and numerus plural forms are not represented in flat catalog targets. 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.
Yes — the reverse route exists as a separate tool. Bear in mind that round-tripping .qts → .strings → .qts is not a perfect undo when any lossy step is involved; keep your original if fidelity matters.