D2RStrEdit

About D2RStrEdit

Diablo II: Resurrected replaced the old binary string tables with a set of JSON files that hold every item name, skill description and interface label in all supported languages. D2RStrEdit, an open-source Windows program by eezstreet, was written to make those files manageable. Instead of scrolling through thousands of lines of raw JSON, this D2R string editor shows the strings as a searchable list and lets you change, add, rename and delete entries, then writes the files back in the layout the game reads.

How D2R JSON strings are organised

The text lives in the language folder under the local data directory. Two subfolders hold the string banks, one for the remastered presentation and one for legacy mode, and a small counter file records the next free string ID. Each bank is a JSON file grouped by subject, such as item names, skills, monsters or interface text, and each entry carries an ID, a key and one text per language. Data tables refer to the keys, exactly as they did in the classic game. Because the two presentation modes can show different wording, D2R JSON strings effectively come in pairs, and the program edits both sides of a pair in one place.

What the D2R string editor does

After you choose the language folder as a workspace, the program checks that the counter file and both string folders are present and loads every bank. The main window lists the keys, with one box for the Resurrected text and one for the Legacy text of the selected entry. You can create a new key, insert a string, rename a key, delete one and search with find and replace. A colour selector inserts the game’s colour codes without typing them by hand; the 2023 update added codes discovered after the original release. The source code covers thirteen languages, from English and German to Korean, Japanese and both Chinese variants, and includes an export of all strings to a tab-separated text file.

Setting up a workspace

Extract the entire language folder from the game’s storage with CascView and place it in the matching path of your working directory or mod folder. Open the program, select that folder as the workspace and start editing. Save with Ctrl+S, then load the result through a mod folder so the original game files stay untouched. The project’s README was written during the technical alpha, before the game launched, and still says a modified client is needed; in the released game, mods are loaded through the standard mod launch option or packaged for D2RMM.

Keyboard shortcuts

The tool is built for fast keyboard work. Ctrl+O opens a workspace and Ctrl+S saves, Ctrl+F opens find, F2 renames the current string, Ctrl+Up and Ctrl+Down move to the previous or next string, and Ctrl+1, Ctrl+2 and Ctrl+3 jump to the string list, the Resurrected box and the Legacy box. Ctrl+Del deletes the current key, which the author marks as something to use with caution. Later commits added shortcuts for copying a key into the current value, useful when filling in names for prefixes, unique items and set items.

Common uses

The most visible use of edited strings is loot filtering. Resurrected has no built-in filter, so filter mods shorten, colour or hide item names by changing their strings; the original D2R Simple Loot Filter is a well-known example of the idea. Mod authors also need new keys for every item, skill or monster they add in the data tables, which are edited separately in a table editor such as AFJ Sheet Editor. Translators use the same files to localise a mod.

Limitations and known bugs

The README lists several open issues. Deleting a key does not shift later IDs, and the author notes that the effect on the game is not known, so deletion is best avoided. The toolbar at the bottom of the window is described as basically nonfunctional, and resizing the main window does not work properly. Planned features such as import from plain text and jumping to an ID were never completed. The last release, version 1.0.6, dates from February 2023, so it has not been checked by its author against the string files of Reign of the Warlock; keep the original folder and test changes in game. The classic binary tables are a different format, handled by AFJ tbl Editor.

Who should use it

It suits Resurrected mod authors who add or rename content, players building a personal loot filter by hand and translators. If you only need to change a handful of names, a text editor with JSON support is enough. Players who install finished mods through a manager never need to open the string files themselves.

D2 Horadric editorial view

This is a focused, open-source tool that turns an awkward pile of JSON into an editable list, with sensible shortcuts and colour code help. It was created early, during the technical alpha, and it shows: several listed bugs remain, development stopped in 2023 and compatibility with the newest game data is untested. Those points keep it in the middle of our scale, but for bulk string work it is still faster than editing the files by hand.