IN THIS ARTICLE
Script Canvas Node Text Replacement
Script Canvas has a text replacement system that allows all available nodes to be further customized. Method names, categories, argument names, and tooltips can all be updated to improve their wording in a Script Canvas graph.
How it works
When Script Canvas nodes are created, the developer can provide identifying and clarifying details such as the node’s name, their category in the Node Palette, the names of their arguments and return values, and their tooltips. However, all of these details can be overridden using text replacement files.
Text replacement files use a JSON format and a file extension of .names. You can find all the text replacement files that were generated for the nodes and included with O3DE in the directory [Gems/ScriptCanvas/Assets/TranslationAssets](https://github.com/o3de/o3de/tree/development/Gems/ScriptCanvas/Assets/TranslationAssets).
You can generate or update .names files for new or existing nodes using Script Canvas Editor, as shown in the following sections.
Asset Processor processes all the .names files for Script Canvas Editor to use in the Node Palette and when drawing the nodes in a graph.
Rules for updating text
To customize a node in a .names file, you can update any of the following fields contained within any details field:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
name | The name of the node, argument, or return type. |
category | The category in the Node Palette to place the node in. Supports nested categories by using the “/” character. Example: “Gameplay/Missions”. |
tooltip | Provides a tooltip to the element. This can be the node itself, or any of the node slots when the tooltip is added on a method or argument. |
subtitle | This can be used on the entry details object. It overrides the node’s subtitle. |
Important:Some fields in a.namesfile should not be modified. They are used by the system to create a key into a database of text fields.
The following fields should NOT be changed:
basecontextvarianttypeid
Any changes to these fields will result in the Script Canvas Editor being unable to find the desired text to update and will result in the translation data being ignored.
Getting started
Example: Generating a translation file to replace text
Open Script Canvas Editor.
Navigate or search for the desired node in the Node Palette. We will use AWSGameLiftPlayer in this example.
Right-click on any of the nodes under AWSGameLiftPlayer.
Choose Generate Translation. This will open a File Explorer window to an auto-generated file named
AWSGameLiftPlayer.names.If you do not wish to make any changes to the auto-generated data, you can close the Script Canvas Editor window and reopen it. Any changes from generating or editing the
.namesfile will appear.
In this example, all of the names are now separated by a space, and the naming follows the Script Canvas naming convention to use camel case.
Example: Changing the node category
You’ve successfully generated translation data for a node, but its category is still under “Other”. To change this, edit the generated file AWSGameLiftPlayer.names.
Navigate within the file to the outermost
detailsfield and add"category": "AWS Game Lift".In addition, simplify the
namefrom"AWS Game Lift Player"to"Player".{ "entries": [ { "base": "AWSGameLiftPlayer", "context": "BehaviorClass", "variant": "", "details": { "category": "AWS Game Lift", "name": "Player" }, "methods": [ ... STRIPPED FOR SIZE ... (See Appendix 1 for complete file before/after) ] } ] }After saving the changes to
AWSGameLiftPlayer.names, close Script Canvas Editor and open it again.The nodes are now in the proper category with the given name:
Example: Updating translation files
In this scenario, you don’t need to generate a new translation file. Instead you only need to edit it.
Right-click on any of the nodes under AWSGameLiftPlayer.
Choose Explore Translation Data in the context menu. It will open a File Explorer window on the file that contains the relevant translation data. In this example, the file is
AWSGameLiftPlayer.names.Open the file in your preferred text editor.
Find and update any desired elements.
Save your changes to
AWSGameLiftPlayer.names, close Script Canvas Editor, and open it again. You should see your updates to the node(s).
Best practices
Use the following text replacement best practices when working with .names files.
- Do not modify the
base,context,variant, ortypeidfields. - Use camel case syntax with spaces.
- Add the
tooltipfield to provide details and context. - Use the
categoryfield to organize nodes. - Review your changes by closing and reopening the Script Canvas Editor.
- Watch for Asset Processor errors on
.namesfiles. These can be caused by errors in the JSON syntax. - Commit
.namesfiles to source control; this will ensure they are tracked and changes are not overriden. - Generating translation data will overwrite existing translation data. Be careful not to lose work. When in doubt, use the Explore Translation Data menu action first.
- Different kinds of nodes produce different kinds of
.namesfiles. Some.namesfiles define a single node; others define many nodes within a single file.
Appendix
Default generated AWSGameLiftPlayer.names
{
"entries": [
{
"base": "AWSGameLiftPlayer",
"context": "BehaviorClass",
"variant": "",
"details": {
"name": "AWS Game Lift Player"
},
"methods": [
{
"base": "GetLatencyInMs",
"details": {
"name": "Get Latency In Ms"
},
"params": [
{
"typeid": "{B62C118E-C55D-4903-8ECB-E58E8CA613C4}",
"details": {
"name": "AWS Game Lift Player"
}
}
],
"results": [
{
"typeid": "{3F80885A-9011-5172-8D94-87108B31D950}",
"details": {
"name": "Latency In Ms"
}
}
]
},
{
"base": "SetLatencyInMs",
"details": {
"name": "Set Latency In Ms"
},
"params": [
{
"typeid": "{B62C118E-C55D-4903-8ECB-E58E8CA613C4}",
"details": {
"name": "AWS Game Lift Player"
}
},
{
"typeid": "{3F80885A-9011-5172-8D94-87108B31D950}",
"details": {
"name": "Latency In Ms"
}
}
]
},
{
"base": "GetPlayerAttributes",
"details": {
"name": "Get Player Attributes"
},
"params": [
{
"typeid": "{B62C118E-C55D-4903-8ECB-E58E8CA613C4}",
"details": {
"name": "AWS Game Lift Player"
}
}
],
"results": [
{
"typeid": "{F8A7460C-2CC2-5755-AFDA-49B1109A751E}",
"details": {
"name": "Player Attributes"
}
}
]
},
{
"base": "SetPlayerAttributes",
"details": {
"name": "Set Player Attributes"
},
"params": [
{
"typeid": "{B62C118E-C55D-4903-8ECB-E58E8CA613C4}",
"details": {
"name": "AWS Game Lift Player"
}
},
{
"typeid": "{F8A7460C-2CC2-5755-AFDA-49B1109A751E}",
"details": {
"name": "Player Attributes"
}
}
]
},
{
"base": "GetPlayerId",
"details": {
"name": "Get Player Id"
},
"params": [
{
"typeid": "{B62C118E-C55D-4903-8ECB-E58E8CA613C4}",
"details": {
"name": "AWS Game Lift Player"
}
}
],
"results": [
{
"typeid": "{03AAAB3F-5C47-5A66-9EBC-D5FA4DB353C9}",
"details": {
"name": "Player Id"
}
}
]
},
{
"base": "SetPlayerId",
"details": {
"name": "Set Player Id"
},
"params": [
{
"typeid": "{B62C118E-C55D-4903-8ECB-E58E8CA613C4}",
"details": {
"name": "AWS Game Lift Player"
}
},
{
"typeid": "{03AAAB3F-5C47-5A66-9EBC-D5FA4DB353C9}",
"details": {
"name": "Player Id"
}
}
]
},
{
"base": "GetTeam",
"details": {
"name": "Get Team"
},
"params": [
{
"typeid": "{B62C118E-C55D-4903-8ECB-E58E8CA613C4}",
"details": {
"name": "AWS Game Lift Player"
}
}
],
"results": [
{
"typeid": "{03AAAB3F-5C47-5A66-9EBC-D5FA4DB353C9}",
"details": {
"name": "Team"
}
}
]
},
{
"base": "SetTeam",
"details": {
"name": "Set Team"
},
"params": [
{
"typeid": "{B62C118E-C55D-4903-8ECB-E58E8CA613C4}",
"details": {
"name": "AWS Game Lift Player"
}
},
{
"typeid": "{03AAAB3F-5C47-5A66-9EBC-D5FA4DB353C9}",
"details": {
"name": "Team"
}
}
]
}
]
}
]
}
Modified AWSGameLiftPlayer.names
{
"entries": [
{
"base": "AWSGameLiftPlayer",
"context": "BehaviorClass",
"variant": "",
"details": {
"name": "Player",
"category": "AWS Game Lift"
},
"methods": [
{
"base": "GetLatencyInMs",
"details": {
"name": "Get Latency In Ms"
},
"params": [
{
"typeid": "{B62C118E-C55D-4903-8ECB-E58E8CA613C4}",
"details": {
"name": "Player"
}
}
],
"results": [
{
"typeid": "{3F80885A-9011-5172-8D94-87108B31D950}",
"details": {
"name": "Latency In Ms"
}
}
]
},
{
"base": "SetLatencyInMs",
"details": {
"name": "Set Latency In Ms"
},
"params": [
{
"typeid": "{B62C118E-C55D-4903-8ECB-E58E8CA613C4}",
"details": {
"name": "Player"
}
},
{
"typeid": "{3F80885A-9011-5172-8D94-87108B31D950}",
"details": {
"name": "Latency In Ms"
}
}
]
},
{
"base": "GetPlayerAttributes",
"details": {
"name": "Get Player Attributes"
},
"params": [
{
"typeid": "{B62C118E-C55D-4903-8ECB-E58E8CA613C4}",
"details": {
"name": "Player"
}
}
],
"results": [
{
"typeid": "{F8A7460C-2CC2-5755-AFDA-49B1109A751E}",
"details": {
"name": "Player Attributes"
}
}
]
},
{
"base": "SetPlayerAttributes",
"details": {
"name": "Set Player Attributes"
},
"params": [
{
"typeid": "{B62C118E-C55D-4903-8ECB-E58E8CA613C4}",
"details": {
"name": "Player"
}
},
{
"typeid": "{F8A7460C-2CC2-5755-AFDA-49B1109A751E}",
"details": {
"name": "Player Attributes"
}
}
]
},
{
"base": "GetPlayerId",
"details": {
"name": "Get Player Id"
},
"params": [
{
"typeid": "{B62C118E-C55D-4903-8ECB-E58E8CA613C4}",
"details": {
"name": "Player"
}
}
],
"results": [
{
"typeid": "{03AAAB3F-5C47-5A66-9EBC-D5FA4DB353C9}",
"details": {
"name": "Player Id"
}
}
]
},
{
"base": "SetPlayerId",
"details": {
"name": "Set Player Id"
},
"params": [
{
"typeid": "{B62C118E-C55D-4903-8ECB-E58E8CA613C4}",
"details": {
"name": "Player"
}
},
{
"typeid": "{03AAAB3F-5C47-5A66-9EBC-D5FA4DB353C9}",
"details": {
"name": "Player Id"
}
}
]
},
{
"base": "GetTeam",
"details": {
"name": "Get Team"
},
"params": [
{
"typeid": "{B62C118E-C55D-4903-8ECB-E58E8CA613C4}",
"details": {
"name": "Player"
}
}
],
"results": [
{
"typeid": "{03AAAB3F-5C47-5A66-9EBC-D5FA4DB353C9}",
"details": {
"name": "Team"
}
}
]
},
{
"base": "SetTeam",
"details": {
"name": "Set Team"
},
"params": [
{
"typeid": "{B62C118E-C55D-4903-8ECB-E58E8CA613C4}",
"details": {
"name": "Player"
}
},
{
"typeid": "{03AAAB3F-5C47-5A66-9EBC-D5FA4DB353C9}",
"details": {
"name": "Team"
}
}
]
}
]
}
]
}