Supported Offline Dictionary formats

Offline Dictionary accepts several common dictionary and reference formats. This page helps you decide whether a package is supported and which companion files you must select together.

Supported formats

Format	Main file	Files to keep together
Yomitan term dictionary	index.json, usually inside .zip or .7z	The manifest and all bank files from the same package
StarDict	.ifo	A matching index and dictionary data file, plus an optional synonym file
ABBYY Lingvo DSL	.dsl or .dsl.dz	The main DSL text file
MDict 2.0	.mdx	Matching .mdd resource volumes and .css files from the same folder when supplied
Babylon	.bgl	The single .bgl file
Aard 2	.slob	The single .slob file
ZIM 6.1 to 6.3	.zim	The single, unsplit .zim file

You can import a supported package as raw files, a folder, an unencrypted ZIP archive, or an unencrypted 7z archive. An archive must contain one dictionary package.

Keep companion files together

Do not rename companion files before importing them. Their folder, base name, capitalization, and sequence can determine whether Definer recognizes one complete dictionary.

Yomitan

A Yomitan term dictionary needs index.json at the package root and the bank files included with it. Select the original archive when possible. If you use a folder, choose the folder that directly contains index.json.

StarDict

A StarDict package needs files with the same base name:

• one .ifo file;
• one .idx, .idx.gz, or .idx.dz index;
• one .dict or .dict.dz dictionary data file; and
• optionally, one .syn, .syn.gz, or .syn.dz synonym file.

For example, animals.ifo, animals.idx, and animals.dict form one package.

MDict 2.0

An MDict package needs exactly one .mdx file. Keep a matching base .mdd file and any numbered volumes such as .1.mdd and .2.mdd in the same folder. Numbered volumes must start at 1 and have no gaps. Keep supplied .css files beside the .mdx file.

Format-specific limits

• ABBYY Lingvo imports dictionary text from .dsl and .dsl.dz. Referenced media and abbreviation packages are not part of the supported text import.
• MDict support covers version 2.0 packages.
• Aard 2 supports uncompressed, zlib, and LZMA2 entries. Packages that require bzip2 entries are not supported.
• ZIM support requires one unsplit .zim file. Split files such as .zimaa are not supported.
• Password-protected ZIP and 7z archives are not supported. Use an unencrypted copy or extract the package and import its raw files or folder.

When your files match one of these layouts, continue with import an Offline Dictionary. If the import still fails, start with the visible message in troubleshooting.