Where is the right .mo file inside the language repository?

Question

I need to translate my Wordpress in Italian.

Following the instruction written on WordPress in Your Language, I've searched my .mo file inside the Language Repository but I've some problems.

The folder structure is not as expected, there are lots of folders that don't make me any sense:

branches/
buddypress/
mu/
rosetta/
tags/
trunk/

I've read the instructions about the repository but they mention just some of these folders.

I've tried to find the .mo file opening all the folder, but there are lots of .mo files (for example under branches/3.5/messages)

I've searched into some forums but everybody says just "go to the repository and download your .mo file" like there is just one file.

What am I missing?

Answer 1

To translate you need few things first in place.

1. Create a directory called languages inside wp-content .
2. Now define your country and locale in wp-config.php file. For example as you wish to translate into italian. You should add these lines. define ('WPLANG', 'it_IT');
3. Now as you have read on forums you need to put the .po file in languages directory for example This file.

This should solve your problem.

Answer 2

I can't locate it right now, but I'm pretty sure I've seen a recent official statement like:

the correct place to download up-to-date translations is http://translate.wordpress.org/

At the bottom of the Italian translation page, there's an option to export the strings as .po and .mo.

Alternatively, you can download the full Italian WP Package and copy the files.

All of this is mainly for the backend. For the frontend, you'll need to create your own theme-it_IT.po file for the theme (and plugins as well), and generate the corresponding .mo. Don't forget to send your translations to the authors, so they can include it in the next release.