Import a dictionary from a file

Applies to: Windows, macOS, Linux

You can add an existing word list to the dictionary as a file. Before anything is added, Stenowise shows for each line whether it becomes an entry.

Import a file

Open Dictionary in the sidebar.
Click Import from file.
Choose a file ending in .csv, .tsv or .txt.
Check the preview.
Click the button with the number of new entries, for example Add 12. Discard cancels the import.

Stenowise adds the entries to your own words and then shows a message such as “Added 12 entries from terms.csv.” Entries that are already in the dictionary stay as they are. If the file cannot be opened, you see “The file could not be read.”

Line format

Each line gives one entry. Stenowise detects the format line by line, so one file can mix the formats.

Line	Result
`aka,acceptance criterion`	Replacement, also with a semicolon or a tab as separator
`aka -> acceptance criterion`	Replacement, also with `=>` or `→` as the arrow
`Tannhorst`	Word

A line that starts with # is a comment. Stenowise skips the header row, comments and blank lines. It removes quotation marks around an entry.

Read the preview

The summary at the top reads, for example, “12 new · 3 not added”. Below it, each line appears with its number, such as “Line 4”, and the result “Will be added” or “Will not be added” with one of these reasons:

Reason	Meaning
header or comment	The line names the columns and holds no entry.
only one side filled in	A replacement is missing its spoken or its written form.
changes nothing	The spoken and the written form are spelled the same.
too long	One side has more than 80 characters.
already in the dictionary as “…”	An entry for this form already exists. The existing entry stays.
appears twice in the file	The same spoken form appears further up in the file.

To add a rejected line, correct it in the file and import the file again.

Last updated 28 September 2026