How to create a dat-file with clrmamepro

This is a collection of important information on how to create a dat-file with clrmamepro.

Run clrmamepro and open the Profiler. Click on the Dir2Dat button. The following window will appear:



The settings are self-explanatory. Some hints:


 * "Description" &rarr; this is what will appear in the Profile column when the new dat-file is added to the Profiler
 * "Single File Sets"
 * disabled: each unzipped file is put in the set which has the name of the current folder
 * enabled: each unzipped file in put in an own set (named after the found filename). If the files only differ by their extensions, they will be put in the same set
 * "From folder" &rarr; adds the current folder name as manufacturer/publisher
 * "Add Date" &rarr; adds the files' date and timestamp
 * "Match tagdata"
 * disabled: automatically copies the Setname to the Description and uses an empty Manufacturer
 * enabled: automatically copies the Description, Manufacturer and Year from the dat-file loaded in the Profiler
 * "Keep Archives As Files" &rarr; enabled: each zip archive is handled as a normal file instead of including each file that is inside the archive
 * "Keep CHDs As ROMs" &rarr; enabled: CHDs will be on "rom" XML tags instead of "disk" XML tags
 * "Use Dir2Dat Paths" &rarr; uses Settings &rarr; Path Selector &rarr; Dir2Dat Paths as multiple Dir2Dat sources
 * "Load" / "Save" buttons &rarr; loads / saves the Dir2Dat settings

Click on the "Create" button. The folder specified on the "Source-Folder" field will be scanned and a dat-file with the name specified on the "Dat-File" field will be created. Edit the dat-file in a text editor if necessary.

Note: If it is necessary to calculate the hashes of only one file or archive, it's easier to follow the How to hash a file with clrmamepro guide.

Reference

 * clrmamepro Documentation - About Dialog