How to create a dat-file with clrmamepro

From Retro Arcade Guides

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.


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