Prompt File Format

Prompts are stored as .md files (Markdown with YAML frontmatter). This is the same format used by Supervertaler Workbench, so prompts are automatically shared between both applications via the shared prompt_library folder. Legacy .svprompt files are still loaded for backward compatibility.

---
type: prompt
description: Patent and IP translation with strict terminology rules
category: Translate
---

You are an expert {{SOURCE_LANGUAGE}} to {{TARGET_LANGUAGE}} patent translator...

The example file above would be saved as e.g. My Patent Prompt.md and would appear in the prompt tree as My Patent Prompt.

Naming: filename is authoritative

The on-disk filename (without the .md extension) is the display name shown in the prompt selector. Renaming My Patent Prompt.md to Client X – Patent EN.md in Windows Explorer is all you need to do to change how the prompt appears in the tree – click Refresh in the Prompts tab to pick up the change.

Note

The YAML name: field is ignored on read. It used to be the authoritative display name, but that created a confusing split: renaming the file in Explorer didn’t update the tree unless you also edited the YAML inside. Filename is now the single source of truth. Old prompts with a name: field in their YAML continue to load fine – the field is silently ignored, and is dropped from the file the next time the prompt is saved through the UI. No action required for existing prompts.

YAML field	Description
type	Document type – always prompt for prompt files
description	Optional summary shown under the prompt name in the detail pane
category	Translate, Proofread, or QuickLauncher – controls where the prompt appears
quicklauncher_label	Short label for the QuickLauncher menu (optional, falls back to the filename)
default	true for shipped prompts (managed by the plugin)
sort_order	Numeric order within folder (lower values first). Set automatically by the ▲/▼ buttons.
name	Ignored on read (legacy field, kept for backward compatibility). The filename is the display name.

Note

Older prompts using the domain key instead of category are still supported for backward compatibility.

System prompt

The plugin automatically prepends a system prompt to every AI call. This system prompt includes language pair information, termbase terms (based on your AI Context settings), and TM matches when enabled. The content you write in a prompt .md file is the user prompt – it is sent after the system prompt.

Creating and editing prompts

New prompt

1. Optionally select a target folder (e.g. Translate or Proofread) in the tree before clicking New – the new prompt’s Category will be pre-filled from the selected folder.
2. Click New in the Prompts tab.
3. Fill in Name, Description, Category, and Content.
4. Click Save.

Note

Category matters for Batch Translate. The Batch Translate dropdown filters by category: Translate mode only shows prompts whose Category is Translate, and Proofread mode only shows Proofread prompts. If you click New without first selecting a folder, the category defaults to Translate so the new prompt is immediately visible in the Batch Translate dropdown. Prompts with an empty or unrelated category will not appear in either Batch mode – move them into a Translate or Proofread folder (or edit the Category field) to make them selectable.

Edit a prompt

1. Select a prompt in the list
2. Click Edit
3. Modify as needed and click Save

Inserting variables

While editing prompt content, press Ctrl+, to open the variable picker menu. This lists all available variables with a short description. Select a variable to insert it at the cursor position. If text is selected in the editor, it is replaced by the inserted variable.

Note

Ctrl+, mirrors the variable insertion shortcut used in the Trados Studio editor.

Delete a prompt

1. Select a custom prompt
2. Click Delete and confirm

Built-in prompts cannot be deleted. Click Restore to recreate any built-in prompts you have removed.