goldendict-ng/website/docs/manage_groups.md

At Edit -> Dictioanries -> Groups, you can create and edit dictionary groups.

To add a dictionary into a group, just drag it from the dictionary list into the group window on the right. To remove a dict, just drag it back to the dictionary list. Hold Shift to select a range of dictionaries or hold Ctrl to select multiple dictionaries.

Additionally, multiple strategies of automatic grouping are provided:

• based on the language info embedded within dictionary files
• based on the folder structure
• based on customizable metadata files

Auto groups by dictionary language

For formats like DSL, which has embedded language from / to metadata, GD will use the dictionary's built-in metadata.

For other formats, GD will try finding the last {id}-{id} pair delimited by non-alphabets in dictionary name or main file name to extract languages. The {id} is 2 or 3 letters ISO 639 codes. For example, if a dictionary named some name en-zh, it will be automatically grouped into en-zh.

Groups created in this method also include a context menu when right-click the group name, in which you can do additional dictionaries grouping by source or target language and combine dictionaries in more large groups.

Auto groups by folders

Click the "Group by folders" will group your dicts based on folder structure.

Two dictionaries will be in the same group if their container folder's direct parent is the same.

For example, the structure below will be auto grouped into two groups:

• English<>Chinese with Cambridge, Collins and Oxford
• English<>Russian with dictA, dictB, Wikipedia_ru and Wikipedia

.
├── English<>Chinese
│   ├── Cambridge
│   │   ├── Cambridge.dict.dz
│   │   ├── Cambridge.idx
│   │   ├── Cambridge.info
│   │   └── Cambridge.syn
│   ├── Collins
│   │   ├── Collins.dsl
│   │   └── res.zip
│   └── Oxford
│       ├── Oxford.css
│       ├── Oxford.mdd
│       └── Oxford.mdx
└── English<>Russian
    ├── dsl
    │   ├── dictA.dsl
    │   └── dictB.dsl
    └── zim
        ├── Wikipedia_ru.slob
        └── Wikipedia.zim

Note that if two groups share the same name but in different folder, then upper level's folder name will be prepended with group name. The Example below will be grouped into epistularum/Japanese and Mastameta/Japanese.

More levels of folder nesting are not supported.

.
├─epistularum
│   └─Japanese   <- Group
│       └─DictA  <- Dict Files's container folder
|          └─ DictA Files
├─Mastameta
│   └─Japanese   <- Group
|       └─DictB  <- Dict Files's container folder
|          └─ DictB Files  

Auto groups by metadata.toml

Click the "group by metadata" will group your dicts based on metadata.toml.

The metadata.toml should be placed beside dictionary files. One metadata.toml for each dictionary.

The metadata file uses TOML format.

categories = [ "English", "Russian", "Chinese" ]

# the following `langfrom` , `langto` fields have not been supported yet.
[metadata]
name = "New Name"
langfrom = "English"
langto = "Russian"

For example,

.
├── Cambridge
│    ├── metadata.toml     (A)
│    ├── Cambridge.idx
│    ├── Cambridge.info
│    ├── Cambridge.syn
│    └── Cambridge.dict.dz    
└── Collins
     ├── metadata.toml
     ├── res.zip
     └── Collins.dsl       (B)  

The content of the metadata (A) is

categories = ["en-zh", "汉英词典"]

The content of the metadata (B) is

categories = ["图片词典", "en-zh", "汉英词典"]

The structure above will be auto grouped into three groups:

• en-zh with Cambridge, Collins
• 图片词典 with Collins
• 汉英词典 with Cambridge,Collins

Note: Dictionaries without metadata.toml won't be auto-grouped.