how do I run mame32 with a frontend?

[Dustin]

Can I run mame32 with a frontend?
my mame cabinet is vertical oriented and this makes reading the game list a nightmare.
I need a frontend that can be vertical.

Any help on this would be great.

Thanks.

[Ginsu Victim]

What kind of video card do you have? ATI and nVidia cards will let you rotate your whole desktop.

[Dustin]

The card I have is NVidia Riva TNT

[Dustin]

I don't see how I can configure this card as there is not an option to do so.

[Ginsu Victim]

You don't have a set of tools to adjust different options? Unless your card is too old to do it, you should be able to rotate within the tools.

[Dustin]

Nope, no tools 

[TheShanMan]

I think all the newer nvidia cards support rotation, provided you install the full blown tools rather than just the bare bones driver. I have an nvidia card (and it's not an expensive card either) for my vertical monitor and it rotates windows for me. I love it!

Back to your original question though, yes, you can run mameui in the same way as you'd run mame from the command line. I run mameui (from the mala FE) because in the rare case where I want to change game settings, I prefer to do it from mameui. Command line parameters are the same as they are for mame.

[Timstuff]

Mame32 can't be run with a front end, since it has a built-in frontend. If you want to use a front end, you'll have to use it in conjunction with regular Mame.

[Dustin]

ok, so now I am completely confused.
 Guess I'll just learn to live with my FUBAR setup.
 
I have no idea how to use the command line version(sad to say) that is why I use mame32.

[Dustin]

Are there any tutorials for the command line version that will spoon feed the process?

[TheShanMan]

Mame32 can't be run with a front end, since it has a built-in frontend. If you want to use a front end, you'll have to use it in conjunction with regular Mame.

Of course it can.

Are there any tutorials for the command line version that will spoon feed the process?

Simple. mameui32.exe <romname> (or with older versions, mame32.exe <romname>). For example, mameui32.exe dkong will launch donkey kong. It's the same as if you were using mame.exe. The only difference is, with mameui if you don't call it with a rom name, you'll get the full UI.

So if you still want to have access to the mameui UI, then use mameui.exe. Otherwise just use mame.exe.

[TOK]

My recommendation is to skip using the rotate app for the video card and just use a front end like MaLa or Atomic that supports rotation. Here is the most basic MaLa game list rotated vert.
You can configure it just by navigating the menus and clicking tabs in Windows. I'd use a regular Windows command line version of MAME instead of MAME32, just to prevent any weirdness.

I don't have current pics, but after this was taken, I got a vertical theme for MaLa and integrated screenshots and a spot for control panel pics.

[TheShanMan]

TOK's idea is certainly an option and I wouldn't advise against it, but if you want to be able to do maintenance on your cab then it's kinda nice not to have to turn your head sideways. In that case, rotation by the video driver will be much appreciated. Another option for maintenance if you can't do rotation is to remote desktop from a desktop computer. I do both.

[TOK]

I'll admit to doing the sideways head (and mouse) thing a bit while setting it up 
I do have the machine on the network, so all my ROM moving and other stuff is done from a desktop PC. Once I had the component resolution and front end set up, there hasn't really been anything to do. I think it was worth the little bit of initial inconvenience to have the "simpler" setup.

[Ian]

I run Mame32 with Maximus Arcade with no issues...

[Tafoid]

While my front-end isn't the prettiest in the world - it was designed with cabinet usage in mind.  You are able to rotate the window or full screen view in all 4 orientations as well as select a viewable font (which is often an issue with certain setups).

Link is in my sig if you care to try it.  I'm always looking for constructive input and have many plans - it's still very much a work in progress

[MAME TIME]

Why dont you try atomicfe it can be used with mame32 and it has a rotate function in the manager that allows you to turn which ever way you want. LOL at the comment "YOU CANT USE MAME32 WITH A FRONTEND" that made my day

[Dustin]

Just want to say Thank You All for the help on this!

Atomic fe is a real cool front end, I love how easy my machine is to use now.

Thank You  Thank You Thank You!

MAME32 runs beautiful on it.

-Dustin