Rom Manager

[DHTech]

Looking for a simple easy to use rom manager, all I need to do is go through the 3000 plus games and delete the ones I don't want, the rom name tend to be a little cryptic so is not easy to do in file explorer, I just need something that will read the rom file and tell me the title of the game, and then allow me to delete it from within the manager software, how simple is that, not very with most of the rom managers out there! 

[kahlid74]

So this may not be exactly what you are looking for but there's a program called RomLister that works well for MAME sorting and excluding categories.  This might help you narrow it down further.  You can also export your roms to a file and edit that file and save it as a game list.  It won't delete the files from your computer but it will not show them in your front end.

http://www.waste.org/~winkles/ROMLister/

[Chris John Hunter]

PM sent Jez. Cheers
CJ

[DHTech]

Replied CJ

Cheers,
Jez

[PL1]

To build your gamelist, try using MAMEUIFX with copies of all available ROMs in a subfolder under "roms" called "Archive".

To add a game to the playlist or check it out, either use the search feature or scroll through the all games list to find the name of the desired ROM.

Copy the file from "Archive" up to "roms".

Right click on the title in MAMEUIFX and select "Audit this file" -- it tells you if you need any other drivers, parent files, or a different version of the ROM.

If it shows up as good, you're ready to playtest and evaluate the game.

If you don't want to add it to your playlist, just delete the file(s) you copied up.

If you do want to add it to your playlist, use the menu item "audit all files".

If you're running the same version of MAMEUIFX and MAME, you should be able to just copy over the new ROMs to the MAME "roms" folder and add the new title to your FE gamelist.   

I know this is a different approach than you mentioned in the OP, but IMHO it's easier to add 200 files than delete 2800.


Scott

[DHTech]

I've used MameUIFX the delete rom item in the menu is greyed out and there seems no information as to why, have searched through the forums and google to no avail.

[PL1]

I've used MameUIFX the delete rom item in the menu is greyed out and there seems no information as to why, have searched through the forums and google to no avail.

Try just opening the folder on your hard drive with Windows Explorer/"My Computer" and deleting the file.

Alt-Tab back and forth between MAMEUIFX and Windows Explorer.


Scott

EDIT 2:  If you were referring to the "Remove From This Folder" menu item, that is for custom folder lists like "Bad Dump", "CPU", "No Good Dump", and "Sound".

Click on the Sound folder (left column in default view) and select a sub-item and you will see that the option isn't grayed out.

I see no way to delete files in the roms folder from the MAMEUIFX menus -- use Windows Explorer and do it manually.

[Chris John Hunter]

I'm on it Scott.  ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- ugly but excellently quick Mame Rom Deleter in the works> Have it done tommorrow.

I've had this. But if you open up your Rom folder it will take ages as it updates all the info. But with this program it just deletes them out nice and quick.

I wanted this feature but its quite a Run DMC - Tricky ,one to pull off.

[Chris John Hunter]

Try just opening the folder on your hard drive with Windows Explorer/"My Computer" and deleting the file.

Alt-Tab back and forth between MAMEUIFX and Windows Explorer.


Scott

I see no way to delete files in the roms folder from the MAMEUIFX menus -- use Windows Explorer and do it manually.



Scott mate,


You talk a lot of sense on this here forum and your a diamond geezer but you are missing one slight thing, how


can someone differentiate - tell apart say one version of 'A GAME' and 'ANOTHER VERSION OF A GAME WITH A


VERY SIMILAR NAME' say I have 1951a and I have 1951b. I cant go running each one. Double checking I got the


name right and then delete. Then run the next. Over and over. A lot of 'GAMES' have the exact same name save


for an additional letter on number that is gibberish to you me and Jez over there.

And , I don't know about anyone else but sometimes my hard drive takes a long time to access said folder.
Fear not tis all in hand.

[chopperthedog]

Imho wanting to filter stuff from a main rom folder is a bad call. I can see wanting to get rid of some things that aren't played all together. But you will start quickly learning that you may need to still have the Japanese version of a particular game (the parent rom) so that the world version of the game will launch. Just seems like a lot of effort to clean stuff up when you can use RomLister to create a game list from chosen screen and control options and use that as a starting point game list and take it from there.


good day. 

[Chris John Hunter]

You make good points Chopper. But I am still finishing my app to do it. I will be doing away with a few roms I don't use at all/are not my type of game. I intend to have this done by the end of the day 

[DHTech]

How's it going today CJ! any progress

[PL1]

you are missing one slight thing, how can someone differentiate - tell apart say one version of 'A GAME' and 'ANOTHER VERSION OF A GAME WITH A VERY SIMILAR NAME' say I have 1951a and I have 1951b. I cant go running each one. Double checking I got the name right and then delete. Then run the next. Over and over. A lot of 'GAMES' have the exact same name save for an additional letter on number that is gibberish to you me and Jez over there.

  You have a . . . unique . . . way of seeing things, CJH, but if you're going to scold me for "doing it wrong", READ MY ACTUAL WORDS AND PROCEDURES instead of skimming and mischaracterizing them.

What YOU are missing is that MAMEUIFX has the list of filenames associated to the game titles/variants including parent/child sets.

If you want the fast shoot hack variant of Galaga, you'll need the child rom "galagamf" (indented) and the parent "galaga". (not indented)



When you combine it with History.dat, info.dat, and progetto snaps, you don't have to launch a game to see if it's the one you want.

The problem with your approach is that you you start with all files in the roms folder and remove the ones you don't want.

As I said before, it's easier to add 200 files to a folder than delete 8,500+ files and hope that you don't break another game along the way.

And , I don't know about anyone else but sometimes my hard drive takes a long time to access said folder.

Not sure why that would take a long time -- even for my old EIDE drive only takes two seconds when it first loads the folder.

Pull the Archive folder up then right-click to copy the desired file and right click on the roms folder in the left column to paste.

  The folder view remains in the Archive folder -- no reload time required.   

If Windows Explorer isn't behaving that way for you, open a second Win Explorer window so one is in roms and the other is in Archive.  Alt-Tab between them to copy/paste.

Fear not tis all in hand.

No fears here -- my methods are the easiest, fastest, and most future-proof that I've found for my use.  YMMV.

It's your time to spend as you see fit, with whatever you want in your hand , just don't assume that your solution fits all.

I do wish you luck, and hope that your method allows for the occasional renaming of romsets that happens in MAME as new/better dumps become available -- I let MAME do that work for me.


Scott

[DHTech]

May be some of you are missing the point of the original post, this is to route out games that i'm not interested in, like the quiz and card games, I intend to leave any roms and parent roms alone for the same games. I don't need or want 3000 odd roms that I have no interest in playing, so might as well delete them, seems a fairly straight forward ask!

CJ may have what I'm looking for

Cheers,
Jez

[PL1]

I understand that -- just pointing out that CJH's characterization of my approach was at best misleading.

If your gamelist is 2800 titles, CJH's approach may be easier.   

If your gamelist is 200 titles, my approach is probably easier, and more likely to stand the test of time.

I hope CJH's approach works for you.

If not, let me know if you want any help with Plan B.


Scott

[JDFan]

May be some of you are missing the point of the original post, this is to route out games that i'm not interested in, like the quiz and card games, I intend to leave any roms and parent roms alone for the same games. I don't need or want 3000 odd roms that I have no interest in playing, so might as well delete them, seems a fairly straight forward ask!

CJ may have what I'm looking for

Cheers,
Jez

I think they get that but are looking at the problem in a couple different ways --- as PL1 said sometimes rather than delete the ones you do not want it is much easier to just go through and add the ones you do want - all depends on how many games you do have an interest in and how many you don't (ie. you say there's about 3000 you do not have interest in but how close is your estimate as that would mean there are about 5-6000 that you do want on there which is still more than you'll ever actually load ! ) Personally I'd just leave all of them in an archive folder and only load the ones I wanted (ie. same way PL1 does it) and then if while gaming someone mentions one they want that isn't already there it takes just a few minutes (rough estimate) to go into the archive folder and copy\paste the needed files for that game to the active rom folder -- that way you only have the handful of games you and the others playing on the system actually use to look through when selecting a game rather than a list of 6000 after spending time deleting the 3000 you know you didn't want ( plus you still have the others available in the archive folder including those 3000 just in case someone recalls one they want to play and it happens to be one of the 3000 you deleted !)

But as has been pointed out there are many roads to the final destination and there is really no perfect shortcut that gets you there faster than the others.

[Chris John Hunter]

Ooh! Scott. I didn't realize it was your time of the month.  I  used Hyperspin or did and now my own Front End, Mamer. I haven't used the tool you mentioned and made no mention of it. I was simply saying opening a folder and trying to sort Roms manually is both a tedious and long winded tasK, a pain in the arse - to me at least.

All I want is a program that shows what games I have, and allows me to delete the ones I don't wan't.
I just want to do that for now. I will get round to adding a feature to all recompilation of lists for Mame based on this. but at the moment I am too busy.


I like the way I called you a Diamond Geezer TM and you still got offended.


Jez. I have just got back in. Am working on it now. Other lads: This was for my own need basically but I was trying to help another user by offering it up to solve a problem.  If it turns out its not suitable at least I have attempted to help.

I don't come on here to give people stick or to stick the boot in I come on here to learn and to help others
 

[PL1]

In addition to deleting games, consider adding a feature that would allow you to add them from an "archive" folder as well, just in case someone changes their mind about a game that they deleted.


Scott

[Chris John Hunter]

Scott firstly, I wasn't characterizing your approach. Second, yes good idea. But I am really busy with so many things so will get it done finish my Front End tutorial and get my machine built before looking at it again .


I might add though my C++ driven 'Mamer' Front End has all this built in out of the box. But that would be too much hassle to hack out as an individual tool so yesterday I began knocking up a DBP app for the express purpose of identifying the file names of games a user has and what the name of them is. And letting you delete them of course.