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" → 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" → adds the current folder name as manufacturer/publisher
- "Add Date" → 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" → enabled: each zip archive is handled as a normal file instead of including each file that is inside the archive
- "Keep CHDs As ROMs" → enabled: CHDs will be on "rom" XML tags instead of "disk" XML tags
- "Use Dir2Dat Paths" → uses Settings → Path Selector → Dir2Dat Paths as multiple Dir2Dat sources
- "Load" / "Save" buttons → 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.