Custom Instructions and Templates
Per-article extra instructions, introducing your own service, and decoration/line-break rules
Give extra instructions for a single article
The New Article screen has a Custom Instructions field. Whatever you write there applies only while that one article is being written.
Examples of how to write instructions:
- "Partway through the article, naturally introduce our own service, 'Linsta Auto.'"
- "Avoid jargon. Write so a junior-high student could understand it."
- "Include at least 3 examples, each with concrete numbers."
If you find yourself giving the same instruction every time, register it under "Sorabun > Templates" so you can call it up instead.
Automatic decoration
Enabling "Settings > Generation Defaults > Automatic Decoration" (decoration_enabled) automatically adds bold text, highlight markers, and point/warning boxes around important passages.
You can choose Match the theme (decoration_theme) for the decoration style.
| Setting | HTML used |
|---|---|
| Auto-detect (default) | Looks at the active theme and picks one of the options below |
| Cocoon | marker / information-box / alert-box / memo-box |
| SWELL | swl-marker mark_yellow / swell-block-capbox cap_box |
| Generic | Inline CSS (always displays correctly, regardless of theme) |
If you're using a child theme, Sorabun checks the parent theme to decide.
Steps, Q&A, and speech bubbles (SWELL)
When your theme is SWELL, additional decorations are used only for articles whose content fits them. All are on by default; turn off any you don't want individually under "Settings > Automatic Decoration."
| Decoration | Setting key | When it's used |
|---|---|---|
| Steps | deco_use_step | Explaining tasks that need to be done in order |
| Q&A | deco_use_faq | One question, one answer |
| Speech bubble | deco_use_balloon | A short aside at points readers commonly trip up on |
| Good example / bad example lists | deco_use_lists | Can/can't lists, notes, or numbered enumerations |
| Accordion | deco_use_accordion | Collapsing long supplementary content that's fine to skip |
| Term definition list | deco_use_dl | Term/definition pairs (3 or more) |
| Icon box | deco_use_iconbox | A short 1-2 sentence emphasis (important, supplementary, or a caution) |
| Color marker | deco_use_markers | Yellow for the single most important sentence, blue for a supplementary emphasis |
These are output as native SWELL blocks, so they display exactly as the theme intends and can still be edited as blocks in the editor.
Adding a character icon to speech bubbles
By default, speech bubbles appear gray with no icon. Register a character set (face icon, color, direction) under SWELL Settings > Speech Bubbles, and it becomes selectable under "Settings > Automatic Decoration > Speech Bubble Character" (deco_balloon_set). The AI then inserts speech bubbles using the look of whichever set you chose.
The AI is instructed to use speech bubbles "at most 1-2 times per article, only for asides at points readers commonly trip up on." Decoration for decoration's sake just makes an article harder to read, so this limit is not adjustable.
Cocoon and SWELL rely on the theme's own class names, so an update to the theme can change those class names and break decoration. If that happens, deal with it either of these ways:
- Open "Settings > Generation Defaults > Automatic Decoration > Check/Edit the Actual HTML Inserted" and paste in the correct HTML
- Switch the theme setting to Generic (inline CSS always displays correctly)
On the same screen, you can check exactly what HTML is currently being inserted.
Line-break rules
Japanese articles get hard to read when a sentence runs long. Sorabun breaks lines at natural breaks in meaning and keeps the number of lines per paragraph in check. No special configuration is needed.
Output as block-editor format
You can choose whether to save content as Gutenberg (block editor) blocks. Saving in block format makes it easier to edit after generation.