Editing a MSBT

MSBT (Message Binary Text) files are used in Animal Crossing: New Horizons to store text data, such as dialogue, item names, and other in-game text.

These files are stored in the Message folder of the RomFS and are named as {file}_{language}.sarc.zs, where {file} is the File Name and {language} is the Language Code.

In this guide you will learn how to install and setup MSBT Editor and how to use it to modify MSBT files.

Installing MSBT Editor

MSBT Editor is the primary tool used to edit MSBT files.

1. Download the latest version of MSBT Editor and ACNH.gcf. Both are updated frequently, so always check for updates!
2. Extract the zip file and open MsbtEditor.exe for the first time. It will generate the folder where you can put your ACNH.gcf file.
3. Put ACNH.gcf inside the folder called configs (located next to MsbtEditor.exe) - You don’t need to close the editor!
4. In the MSBT Editor, locate the Data drop-down menu (at the very top) and click on Change Game Config. It will pop-up a menu asking to select a game config to use, select Animal Crossing: New Horizons (you can click reload if it doesn’t show in the list).
5. Your editor should be ready to use!

Editing MSBT Files

1. Coming soon…

References

File Names

File Name	Description
Dialog LayoutMsg System	Various layouts and menus messages
Mail	Mails sent by NPCs
String	Name of items and NPCs and catchphrases
TalkFtr	Furniture interaction messages
TalkNNpc	Villager dialogues
TalkSNpc	Special NPC dialogues
TalkObj	Objects interaction messages (Lloid, Snowman, etc)
TakSys	Catching creatures text, getting reactions, art pieces and their descrptions
Tutorials	Tutorial messages up to K.K.’s first live

Language Codes

Language	Code
North American English	USen
Latin American Spanish	USes
Canadian French	USfr
German	EUde
European English	EUen
European Spanish	EUes
European French	EUfr
Italian	EUit
Dutch	EUnl
Russian	EUru
Japanese	JPja
Korean	KRko
Simplified Chinese	CNzh
Traditional Chinese	TWzh