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This article or section documents something not included in the current version of Scratch (3.0). It is only useful from a historical perspective. |
This is a tutorial for modifying the JSON code of a Scratch 2.0 project.
 Warning: | Modifying the JSON code of a project could break it, so making a backup is recommended. |
 Caution: | The hacked blocks in this article do not work with Scratch 3.0. |
| “ | This has been discussed. We currently don't see a way for us to support all types of "hacked blocks" in Scratch 3.0. Some of the ways in which undocumented / unsupported behavior works in Scratch 2.0 may continue to work in Scratch 3.0 but we cannot guarantee anything. We will be putting checks in place to try to prevent hacked blocks from simply crashing the Scratch 3.0 editor however. | ” |
– February 27, 2018 thisandagain[1] | ||
Before you Begin
Scratch 2.0 project files are saved with the .sb2 file extension. Ignoring this extension, the project file is a ZIP archive containing the project.json file and the sound and image resources. The project file can be treated like a ZIP archive to allow modification of project.json by simply changing the file extension. Therefore, Windows and Mac users must make the following changes to unhide file extensions:
Tutorial
This tutorial is intended to give first-timers a look into the potential usefulness of "hacked blocks" and to make them more comfortable with JSON modification. The goal is to recreate:
set [var v] to []
as:
set [var v] to []::custom
Firstly, start out with a new project. Both the online and offline editors will suffice. To make JSON editing easier, we need to create some sort of structure that can be modified, rather than trying to write fresh JSON code by hand. Define a new custom block like so:
define set (string1) to (string2) set [var v] to (string2)
The resulting block will look like this:
set [] to []::custom
Then, save the project to your computer as MyProject.
Now we must change the file extension of our project. Rename MyProject.sb2 to MyProject.zip. You may get a warning regarding changing the file extension; ignore this. Extract the ZIP archive, then open project.json with a text editor. If you are using the offline editor on Windows then you may have to create a .zip file at first and then copy the MyProject.sb2 file to the .zip file. Then you will be able to safely rename MyProject.sb2 to MyProject.zip.
Look for the following segment of code:
["procDef", "set %s to %s", ["string1", "string2"], ["", ""], false]
It may look confusing, so let's break it down:
"procDef"- "proc" means "procedure" and "def" means "definition". It tells Scratch that this is the definition for a custom block. Don't edit this part."set %s to %s"- This is our custom block's signature. "%s" is a string input. Doesn't it look familiar?["string1", "string2"]- These are our block's parameters. Again, it should look familiar.["", ""]- These are the default values for our parameters. In this case, they are blank.false- Boolean value for enabling "run without screen refresh"
Change the code to:
["procDef", "set %m.var to %s", ["var", "value"], ["var", ""], true]
Another change still has to be made. At this point, the project would look like this:
define set (var) to (value) set [var v] to (string2::undefined)//"string2" doesn't exist anymore
In addition to fixing string2, there is another problem. What if we were to try the following?
set [differentVar v] to [something]::custom
No matter what variable we choose, we will always be altering var. Our script has to be changed to:
define set (var) to (value) set (var) to (value)
Replace:
["setVar:to:", "var", ["getParam", "string2", "r"]]
with:
["setVar:to:", ["getParam", "var", "r"], ["getParam", "value", "r"]]
Finally, update the ZIP archive with the updated project.json file. You DO NOT need to change the file extension back to .sb2; Scratch 2.0 can still load this file. For the online editor, choose File » Upload from your computer, for the offline editor, choose File » Open. Now, test out your "hacked block," and if it works, congratulations!
Reference - Scratch 2.0 Input Specifiers
Slots
| Name | Description | Visual |
|---|---|---|
| %b | Boolean slot | example <>::#808080 |
| %c | Color slot | example [#0000C0]::#808080 |
| %d.<menu> | Numeric slot with menu | example (123 v)::#808080 |
| %m.<menu> | Read only slot with menu | example [menu v]::#808080 |
| %n | Numeric slot | example (123)::#808080 |
| %s | String slot | example [string]::#808080 |
Menus
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| attribute | List of object attribute names |
| backdrop | List of backdrop names |
| booleanSensor | List of Boolean sensor names |
| broadcast | List of broadcast messages |
| broadcastInfoMenu | List of broadcast messages and options for showing senders/receivers |
| colorPicker | Color picker |
| costume | List of costume names |
| direction | List of sprite directions |
| drum | List of drums |
| effect | List of effect names |
| instrument | List of instruments |
| key | List of key names |
| list | List of list names |
| listDeleteItem | List of special deletion indices for lists |
| listItem | List of special indices for lists |
| mathOp | List of math operations |
| motorDirection | List of motor directions |
| note | List of note names |
| procMenu | "edit" and block context menu items |
| rotationStyle | List of rotation styles |
| scrollAlign | Deprecated. "bottom-left", "bottom-right", "middle", "top-left", "top-right" |
| sensor | List of numeric sensor names |
| sound | List of sound names and "record..." |
| spriteOnly | List of sprites and "myself" |
| spriteOrMouse | List of sprites and "mouse-pointer" |
| spriteOrStage | List of sprites and "Stage" |
| stop | "all", "this script", and "other scripts in sprite" |
| timeAndDate | List of time and date names |
| touching | List of sprites, "mouse-pointer" and "edge" |
| triggerSensor | List of sensor names which can trigger a hat block |
| var | List of variable names |
| videoMotionType | "motion" and "direction" |
| videoState | "off", "on", and "on-flipped" |
