diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 86ccb33..e738d42 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -3,7 +3,8 @@ VERSION	= 0.1.2
 SUBDIRS	= data po src tools
 RM	= rm -f
 LN	= ln -f
-TAR	= tar -czvf
+TAR	= tar
+MKDIR	= mkdir -m 0755 -p
 
 
 all: subdirs
@@ -20,7 +21,7 @@ distclean:
 dist:
 	$(RM) -r -- $(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)
 	$(LN) -s -- . $(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)
-	@$(TAR) $(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION).tar.gz -- \
+	@$(TAR) -czvf $(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION).tar.gz -- \
 		$(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)/data/Makefile \
 		$(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)/data/deforaos-todo.desktop \
 		$(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)/data/project.conf \
@@ -59,10 +60,21 @@ dist:
 		$(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)/project.conf
 	$(RM) -- $(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)
 
+distcheck: dist
+	$(TAR) -xzvf $(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION).tar.gz
+	$(MKDIR) -- $(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)/objdir
+	$(MKDIR) -- $(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)/destdir
+	(cd "$(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)" && $(MAKE) OBJDIR="$$PWD/objdir/")
+	(cd "$(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)" && $(MAKE) OBJDIR="$$PWD/objdir/" DESTDIR="$$PWD/destdir" install)
+	(cd "$(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)" && $(MAKE) OBJDIR="$$PWD/objdir/" DESTDIR="$$PWD/destdir" uninstall)
+	(cd "$(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)" && $(MAKE) OBJDIR="$$PWD/objdir/" distclean)
+	(cd "$(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)" && $(MAKE) dist)
+	$(RM) -r -- $(PACKAGE)-$(VERSION)
+
 install:
 	@for i in $(SUBDIRS); do (cd "$$i" && $(MAKE) install) || exit; done
 
 uninstall:
 	@for i in $(SUBDIRS); do (cd "$$i" && $(MAKE) uninstall) || exit; done
 
-.PHONY: all subdirs clean distclean dist install uninstall
+.PHONY: all subdirs clean distclean dist distcheck install uninstall
diff --git a/data/16x16/Makefile b/data/16x16/Makefile
index d506063..2e7d099 100644
--- a/data/16x16/Makefile
+++ b/data/16x16/Makefile
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+OBJDIR	=
 PREFIX	= /usr/local
 DESTDIR	=
 MKDIR	= mkdir -m 0755 -p
diff --git a/data/24x24/Makefile b/data/24x24/Makefile
index a2e5c0b..dc10c93 100644
--- a/data/24x24/Makefile
+++ b/data/24x24/Makefile
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+OBJDIR	=
 PREFIX	= /usr/local
 DESTDIR	=
 MKDIR	= mkdir -m 0755 -p
diff --git a/data/48x48/Makefile b/data/48x48/Makefile
index 94c72a1..5071c1e 100644
--- a/data/48x48/Makefile
+++ b/data/48x48/Makefile
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+OBJDIR	=
 PREFIX	= /usr/local
 DESTDIR	=
 MKDIR	= mkdir -m 0755 -p
diff --git a/data/Makefile b/data/Makefile
index 11e1ad4..b0edd40 100644
--- a/data/Makefile
+++ b/data/Makefile
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 SUBDIRS	= 16x16 24x24 48x48
+OBJDIR	=
 PREFIX	= /usr/local
 DESTDIR	=
 MKDIR	= mkdir -m 0755 -p
diff --git a/po/Makefile b/po/Makefile
index 6534595..59fa820 100644
--- a/po/Makefile
+++ b/po/Makefile
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-TARGETS	= Todo.pot fr.mo
+TARGETS	= $(OBJDIR)Todo.pot $(OBJDIR)fr.mo
+OBJDIR	=
 PREFIX	= /usr/local
 DESTDIR	=
 RM	= rm -f
@@ -9,11 +10,11 @@ INSTALL	= install
 
 all: $(TARGETS)
 
-Todo.pot: POTFILES
-	./gettext.sh -P "$(PREFIX)" -- "Todo.pot"
+$(OBJDIR)Todo.pot: POTFILES
+	./gettext.sh -P "$(PREFIX)" -- "$(OBJDIR)Todo.pot"
 
-fr.mo: Todo.pot fr.po
-	./gettext.sh -P "$(PREFIX)" -- "fr.mo"
+$(OBJDIR)fr.mo: $(OBJDIR)Todo.pot fr.po
+	./gettext.sh -P "$(PREFIX)" -- "$(OBJDIR)fr.mo"
 
 clean:
 	$(RM) -- $(Todo.pot_OBJS) $(fr.mo_OBJS)
@@ -24,7 +25,7 @@ distclean: clean
 	$(RM) -- $(TARGETS)
 
 install: $(TARGETS)
-	./gettext.sh -P "$(DESTDIR)$(PREFIX)" -i -- "fr.mo"
+	./gettext.sh -P "$(DESTDIR)$(PREFIX)" -i -- "$(OBJDIR)fr.mo"
 
 uninstall:
 	./gettext.sh -P "$(DESTDIR)$(PREFIX)" -u -- "fr.mo"
diff --git a/po/gettext.sh b/po/gettext.sh
index 11a8805..c3ae919 100755
--- a/po/gettext.sh
+++ b/po/gettext.sh
@@ -70,9 +70,12 @@ _gettext_mo()
 {
 	package="$1"
 	lang="$2"
+	potfile="$3"
+	pofile="$4"
+	mofile="$5"
 
-	_gettext_po "$package" "$lang"				|| return 1
-	$DEBUG $MSGFMT -c -v -o "$lang.mo" "$lang.po"		|| return 1
+	_gettext_po "$package" "$lang" "$potfile" "$pofile"	|| return 1
+	$DEBUG $MSGFMT -c -v -o "$mofile" "$pofile"		|| return 1
 }
 
 
@@ -81,11 +84,13 @@ _gettext_po()
 {
 	package="$1"
 	lang="$2"
+	potfile="$3"
+	pofile="$4"
 
-	if [ -f "$lang.po" ]; then
-		$DEBUG $MSGMERGE -U "$lang.po" "$package.pot"	|| return 1
+	if [ -f "$pofile" ]; then
+		$DEBUG $MSGMERGE -U "$pofile" "$potfile"	|| return 1
 	else
-		$DEBUG $MSGINIT -l "$lang" -o "$lang.po" -i "$package.pot" \
+		$DEBUG $MSGINIT -l "$lang" -o "$pofile" -i "$potfile" \
 								|| return 1
 	fi
 }
@@ -95,8 +100,9 @@ _gettext_po()
 _gettext_pot()
 {
 	package="$1"
+	potfile="$2"
 
-	$DEBUG $XGETTEXT -d "$package" -o "$package.pot" --keyword="_" \
+	$DEBUG $XGETTEXT -d "$package" -o "$potfile" --keyword="_" \
 			--keyword="N_" -f "$POTFILES"		|| return 1
 }
 
@@ -142,7 +148,8 @@ fi
 LOCALEDIR="$PREFIX/share/locale"
 while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
 	target="$1"
-	lang="${target%%.mo}"
+	source="${target#$OBJDIR}"
+	lang="${source%%.mo}"
 	lang="${lang%%.po}"
 	shift
 
@@ -168,13 +175,32 @@ while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do
 	#create
 	case "$target" in
 		*.mo)
-			_gettext_mo "$PACKAGE" "$lang"		|| exit 2
+			#XXX may not match
+			if [ -n "$OBJDIR" ]; then
+				potfile="$OBJDIR/$PACKAGE.pot"
+			else
+				potfile="$PACKAGE.pot"
+			fi
+			mofile="$target"
+			pofile="${source%%.mo}.po"
+			_gettext_mo "$PACKAGE" "$lang" "$potfile" "$pofile" \
+				"$mofile"			|| exit 2
 			;;
 		*.po)
-			_gettext_po "$PACKAGE" "$lang"		|| exit 2
+			#XXX may not match
+			if [ -n "$OBJDIR" ]; then
+				potfile="$OBJDIR/$PACKAGE.pot"
+			else
+				potfile="$PACKAGE.pot"
+			fi
+			pofile="$target"
+			_gettext_po "$PACKAGE" "$lang" "$potfile" "$pofile" \
+								|| exit 2
 			;;
 		*.pot)
-			_gettext_pot "${target%%.pot}"		|| exit 2
+			package="${source%%.pot}"
+			potfile="$target"
+			_gettext_pot "$package" "$potfile"	|| exit 2
 			;;
 		*)
 			exit 2
diff --git a/po/project.conf b/po/project.conf
index 11142a1..c6badc5 100644
--- a/po/project.conf
+++ b/po/project.conf
@@ -10,4 +10,4 @@ depends=POTFILES
 type=script
 script=./gettext.sh
 install=
-depends=Todo.pot,fr.po
+depends=$(OBJDIR)Todo.pot,fr.po
diff --git a/src/Makefile b/src/Makefile
index 93724bf..212c1ce 100644
--- a/src/Makefile
+++ b/src/Makefile
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-TARGETS	= todo
+TARGETS	= $(OBJDIR)todo
+OBJDIR	=
 PREFIX	= /usr/local
 DESTDIR	=
 BINDIR	= $(PREFIX)/bin
@@ -18,27 +19,27 @@ INSTALL	= install
 
 all: $(TARGETS)
 
-todo_OBJS = task.o taskedit.o todo.o window.o main.o
+todo_OBJS = $(OBJDIR)task.o $(OBJDIR)taskedit.o $(OBJDIR)todo.o $(OBJDIR)window.o $(OBJDIR)main.o
 todo_CFLAGS = $(CPPFLAGSF) $(CPPFLAGS) $(CFLAGSF) $(CFLAGS)
 todo_LDFLAGS = $(LDFLAGSF) $(LDFLAGS)
 
-todo: $(todo_OBJS)
-	$(CC) -o todo $(todo_OBJS) $(todo_LDFLAGS)
+$(OBJDIR)todo: $(todo_OBJS)
+	$(CC) -o $(OBJDIR)todo $(todo_OBJS) $(todo_LDFLAGS)
 
-task.o: task.c task.h
-	$(CC) $(todo_CFLAGS) -fPIC -c task.c
+$(OBJDIR)task.o: task.c task.h
+	$(CC) $(todo_CFLAGS) -fPIC -o $(OBJDIR)task.o -c task.c
 
-taskedit.o: taskedit.c
-	$(CC) $(todo_CFLAGS) -fPIC -c taskedit.c
+$(OBJDIR)taskedit.o: taskedit.c
+	$(CC) $(todo_CFLAGS) -fPIC -o $(OBJDIR)taskedit.o -c taskedit.c
 
-todo.o: todo.c task.h todo.h ../config.h
-	$(CC) $(todo_CFLAGS) -fPIC -c todo.c
+$(OBJDIR)todo.o: todo.c task.h todo.h ../config.h
+	$(CC) $(todo_CFLAGS) -fPIC -o $(OBJDIR)todo.o -c todo.c
 
-window.o: window.c todo.h window.h
-	$(CC) $(todo_CFLAGS) -c window.c
+$(OBJDIR)window.o: window.c todo.h window.h
+	$(CC) $(todo_CFLAGS) -o $(OBJDIR)window.o -c window.c
 
-main.o: main.c task.h todo.h ../config.h
-	$(CC) $(todo_CFLAGS) -c main.c
+$(OBJDIR)main.o: main.c task.h todo.h ../config.h
+	$(CC) $(todo_CFLAGS) -o $(OBJDIR)main.o -c main.c
 
 clean:
 	$(RM) -- $(todo_OBJS)
@@ -48,7 +49,7 @@ distclean: clean
 
 install: $(TARGETS)
 	$(MKDIR) $(DESTDIR)$(BINDIR)
-	$(INSTALL) -m 0755 todo $(DESTDIR)$(BINDIR)/todo
+	$(INSTALL) -m 0755 $(OBJDIR)todo $(DESTDIR)$(BINDIR)/todo
 
 uninstall:
 	$(RM) -- $(DESTDIR)$(BINDIR)/todo
diff --git a/tools/Makefile b/tools/Makefile
index 7f5298a..afa587f 100644
--- a/tools/Makefile
+++ b/tools/Makefile
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-TARGETS	= todo.so
+TARGETS	= $(OBJDIR)todo.so
+OBJDIR	=
 PREFIX	= /usr/local
 DESTDIR	=
 LIBDIR	= $(PREFIX)/lib
@@ -19,15 +20,15 @@ INSTALL	= install
 
 all: $(TARGETS)
 
-todo_OBJS = todo.o
+todo_OBJS = $(OBJDIR)todo.o
 todo_CFLAGS = $(CPPFLAGSF) $(CPPFLAGS) $(CFLAGSF) $(CFLAGS)
 todo_LDFLAGS = $(LDFLAGSF) $(LDFLAGS) ../src/task.o ../src/taskedit.o
 
-todo.so: $(todo_OBJS)
-	$(CCSHARED) -o todo.so $(todo_OBJS) $(todo_LDFLAGS)
+$(OBJDIR)todo.so: $(todo_OBJS)
+	$(CCSHARED) -o $(OBJDIR)todo.so $(todo_OBJS) $(todo_LDFLAGS)
 
-todo.o: todo.c ../src/todo.c
-	$(CC) $(todo_CFLAGS) -c todo.c
+$(OBJDIR)todo.o: todo.c ../src/todo.c
+	$(CC) $(todo_CFLAGS) -o $(OBJDIR)todo.o -c todo.c
 
 clean:
 	$(RM) -- $(todo_OBJS)
@@ -37,7 +38,7 @@ distclean: clean
 
 install: $(TARGETS)
 	$(MKDIR) $(DESTDIR)$(LIBDIR)/Mailer/plugins
-	$(INSTALL) -m 0644 todo.so $(DESTDIR)$(LIBDIR)/Mailer/plugins/todo.so
+	$(INSTALL) -m 0644 $(OBJDIR)todo.so $(DESTDIR)$(LIBDIR)/Mailer/plugins/todo.so
 
 uninstall:
 	$(RM) -- $(DESTDIR)$(LIBDIR)/Mailer/plugins/todo.so