Override Paratext Book Names (using a PT project based on workshop output)

Question

This might be considered “misuse” of both PT and Ptxprint, but it seems to be working except for one last glitch.

Our Branch holds MT translator training workshops with multiple language groups participating. During the workshop a Scripture passage is translated and revised through “consultant check” stage, and the passage is formatted into an illustrated trial book. The consultant check happens during the final days of the workshop, and a staff member often works into the wee hours finishing the books for participants to take home.

I’m experimenting with a TranslationCourse PT project that contains Modules for each book used in these workshops. The project is restored from a PT .zip backup which contains the full-sized illustrations from local\figures, as well as instructions and model books placed in the project\shared folder. (If the project is shared via S/R local\ is not included, and the repo will become cluttered with many temporary language-specific configurations and temp books.)

So… the last puzzle piece is getting the vernacular book names into the printouts. Normally we would use something like \s $(GEN 22:1-19), but it’s not trivial to edit the Book Names in PT for each language’s book.

I’m there a way to have Ptxprint store BookName variables, to override the PT project settings, that will be pulled in by $() reference statements in the Module? Or should I use zref variables instead? (I haven’t yet gotten a variable of this form \zvar|subtitle\* to work when called from the PT Module.)

Answer 1

PTXprint gets its book names from BookNames.xml. One approach is to exit ParaText (just to be safe) then edit BookNames.xml in an editor and then restart ParaText and PTXprint. Then both will get the book names you want.