Command Line Enhancements

Many more commands are now available, allowing you to accomplish much more without needing to have Lingo open. This includes the ability to create a project using the command line, as well as referencing a JSON file (via the -config command). See Managing Projects Using the Command Line.

How to Create a Project Using the Command Line

1. Open Notepad (to create and save a batch file) or open your command prompt (to run a command immediately).

   Tip The best way to use the command line feature is to create a batch file with the necessary commands in it. Then you can use a scheduling tool (such as the Task Scheduler utility in Windows) to run the batch file automatically whenever you want.

2. Type the path to the Lingo.app folder where you installed Lingo, and press ENTER.

   cd\Program Files\MadCap Software\MadCap Lingo 12\Lingo.app

   Note Alternatively, you can use cd c:\Program Files\[rest of the path] instead of cd\Program Files\[rest of the path].

3. Type any of the available commands (see Library of Command Line Options), entering the appropriate value in place of the section in brackets. (Additional commands could be added if necessary.)

   lingoproject.exe -sourceFile [source file] -projectDirectory [folder for new Lingo project] -projectName [name for new Lingo project] -sourceLanguage [source file language] -targetLanguages [new Lingo project language(s)] -function Create

   Example  

   You have a Flare project called "Cool Project" that is located in your C:\FlareProjects folder. You want to use the files in that project to create a new Lingo project named "Cool Project Translated." The source language in the Flare project is English (United States), and the target languages for the Lingo project will be Spanish and French. You want to store this new Lingo project in your C:\LingoProjects folder. You would type this:

   lingoproject.exe -sourceFile "C:\FlareProjects\Cool Project.flprj" -projectDirectory C:\LingoProjects -projectName "Cool Project Translated" -sourceLanguage en-us -targetLanguages es;fr -function Create

   Tip Some operating systems allow you to drag a folder or file from the Windows location to the Command Prompt window. This will add the path of the folder or file within quotation marks for you.

   Note If there are spaces anywhere in the path/name of your project file, source file, export path, or target language, you need to use quotation marks around it.

   Note The commands used by the compiler are case-sensitive.

   Now What?

   If you are using the command prompt window for any of the commands just described, the project is created immediately.

   If you are creating a batch file in Notepad, the project will be created when you run that file.

Library of Command Line Options

Following is a collection of the various command line options that you can use for Lingo.

{
"sourceFile" : "C:/LingoCMD/Flare/Flare.flprj",
"projectDirectory" : "C:/LingoCMD/",
"projectName" : "Lingo",
"sourceLanguage" : "en-us",
"targetLanguages" : "es",
"function" : "create",
"flattenedVariables" : "Variables.CompanyName",
"selectedTargets" : "Project/Targets/HTML5.fltar",
}