As Drupal is moving to the localization server localize.drupal.org, here's a small tip that took me a little while to find, but can be very useful in the end, as it will allow you to contribute your translations back to the Drupal community more efficiently.

The problem

Let's say you install a module in your own Drupal website. However, this module is not fully translated for whatever language your website is in. You can, obviously, use Drupal's translation interface on your own website and translate from here whatever is missing. The problem is: that won't benefit to the Drupal community. So then you might think about going to localize.drupal.org, translating here whatever strings you need to translate, and then doing an export to a .po file of the module translation strings. The problem would be that right after you're done translating on localize.drupal.org, your strings will need to wait for the approbation of a moderator before they can be exported to a .po file. So, how can you translate those strings once, have them immediately installed in your own Drupal website and at the same time give the translations to the community ?

The solution

Here is how to achieve this:

• First, go to localize.drupal.org and Export the module with the strings you need to translate in a .po file, using "All in one file" as an option
• Second, translate the strings in the .po file you just downloaded (using a program like PoEdit can be convenient)
• Finally, import the .po file BOTH in your own Drupal installation AND in localize.drupal.org: you will immediately have the strings translated in your own Drupal installation without having to wait for a moderator approval, and at the same time your translations will be uploaded to localize.drupal.org, helping the community

Happy translating!