## Profiler Dialog

#### What is the Profiler ?

This is the main dialog to receive the needed file information. Here you can manage your DatFiles, executables and settings.

There are basically two ways of stored file-information. The first one is a simple DatFile. The second one are binaries which support options to create a datfile. So e.g. when a new binary is released you don't have to create a DatFile or wait till someone does that for you, you can simply use the executable to get the needed data. clrmamepro handles both types. Normal DatFiles and so called exe-based-DatFile. An exe-based DatFile is simply a different word for 'I'm using a binary to get my file information'. clrmamepro creates pseudo DatFiles for such binaries in clrmamepro's DatFile folder. So...from now on we have DatFiles and exe-based-DatFiles.

#### DatFiles ? SettingsFile ?

(exe based) DatFile are the files with the file information. Each DatFile has a corresponding SettingsFile which is stored in clrmamepro's Settings folder. DatFiles and SettingsFiles have the same filename but different extensions. DatFile extensions are normally *.dat and SettingsFiles have a *.cmp extension. clrmamepro stores all its settings (Paths, Scanner options, etc.) in that SettingsFile. If you use a new DatFile you can create a default SettingsFile for it or update an earlier used SettingsFile. Read more about that below (Loading / Updating). SettingsFile can be viewed/edited with a common texteditor. clrmamepro automatically saves the SettingsFile when leaving clrmamepro and when leaving or entering the Profiler.

#### I've downloaded a DatFile...How can I use it ?

There are 3 ways to use a datfile:

1. Put the DatFile in clrmamepro's datfiles folder
2. You can drag & drop datfiles in the profiler window, too. They will be copied to clrmamepro's datfile folder. You can also drag & drop zipfiles with datfiles. If the zipfile has more than one datfile in it, you will see a list of datfiles and you can pick one or more of them. Zipsubfolders will be recreated in the datfilesfolder !
3. Press the Add DAT Button. A file requester opens and you can load a zip or a dat (see 2.)

DatFiles have to be put in <clrmamepro-Folder>/DatFiles. This is the only valid folder for DatFiles. Run clrmamepro, go to the Profiler. Your DatFile should be now listed in the DatFile-list. It is not listed if it isn't a valid DatFile. If you want to use it, click on Load/Update or simply double-click it. Before you do that you should read the part about Loading / Updating below. You can use subfolders in your datfiles folder. The profiler will show the subfolder structure as well. The subfolder structures of the datfile path and the settingsfile have to be the same. New and unused DatFiles are always listed in the 'Not Used / New DatFiles' folder ! Even if they are physically stored in a datfiles subfolder !

#### What should I do if I want to use a binary to get the file information ?

Simply add an exe-based DatFile. First click on the Create... button. You'll see a new window. Now follow the following 3 steps

1. enter a filename of the binary you want to use (or use the browse button to get that name)
2. setup the executable type
3. press 'Create DAT'

clrmamepro will ask you where to put the DatFile. Chose a folder (e.g. DatFiles Root). The DatFile list will do a refresh and you'll see your added exe-based DatFile. Now simply follow the steps for DatFiles...

#### The Profiler and its options:

#### DatFile List

clrmamepro scans its 'DatFiles' folder and lists all valid DatFiles (and exe-based DatFiles) in this list. If the DatFile has a description tag, clrmamepro will list the DatFile with that name. Otherwise it uses the filename. New Datfiles or not used datfiles (dats without a corresponding settingsfile) are listed in the 'not used / new datfiles' folder. Exe-based DatFiles have a different symbol (the small computer) than normal DatFiles.

#### The Buttons

- WWW Mode: Please read the included wwwprofiler.txt file for further details!!!

- Load / Update: Click this button to load the currently selected DatFile. Scroll down to read more about Loading / Updating DatFiles.

- Refresh List: clrmamepro will rescan its DatFiles folder. Should be used when you add a new DatFile while clrmamepro is running.

- Delete...: If you press this button clrmamepro will delete the currently selected DatFile and its SettingsFile. Both files will be gone forever. clrmamepro also removes the belonging fastscan, logfile and scanfile. When you delete a folder, all profiles and subfolders will be removed.

- Add Dat: By pressing this button you can browse for datfiles (or datfiles within zipfiles) which should be added to your collection. After picking one or more, clrmamepro will copy the selected datfile to the datfiles folder.

- Create...
- Options...
- Info...

- Clear Cache: This cleans clrmamepro's cache folder and unloads the currently loaded profile. If you have problems with loaded datfile, you can use this button to clean all stored datfile data and reget the data from the datfile/binary.

- DatFile Type: Here you specify with which parserengine you want to load the currently selected DatFile. Normally it should be set to DatFile. This control is only changeable when the current DatFile is a non-exe-based DatFile.

- Executable Type: Similar to DatFileType. You specify the parserengine which should be used when receiving the file information from the binary. In this case you can also change the name of the binary which is used. These controls are only enabled when the DatFile is an exe-based DatFile.

By right-clicking a folder or profile, you can move, load, rename, delete profiles, copy datfilename, create subfolders and you can view the logfile of the currently selected profile. There is also a hide menu to hide/show grey/red/green profiles optionally. When moving profiles, you'll see a new destination directory tree. Fastscan/Logfiles/Scanfiles are also moved as long as they use relative paths. There is also an option called Garbage Collection...this can be used to remove all not-used fastscan/logfiles/scanfiles/settingsfiles. Little note to rename: Rename only renames the description tag in the datfile, not the datfile itself. You can even create a HTML report of your profiles (either all, current folder or currently selected profiles) by selecting the belonging popupmenu option If you want to select a specific number of profiles, you can use the popupmenu's option 'select profiles...' where you can select profiles with the help of regular expressions.

The popupmenu for folders also include options to load all profiles in the selected folder or even all profiles in all subfolders.

You can also drag&drop folders and files (including zipfiles) to add DatFiles. Drag'n drop datfiles from the list to the tree moves the files.

#### DatFile Information

clrmamepro displays various information about the currently selected DatFile in this box. Most of these information are stored within the DatFile. Like Name, Version, Author, Comments, real DatFilename, Description and a date/time stamp. You have to modify the DatFiles to change these values. CMPro's profiler shows the last used date/timestamp of the currently selected profile and how many sets and files are missing. You have to do a not-aborted scan to see the correct value. There are also 3 kind of little lights (grey, red and green) which indicate the status of the collection:

- grey - profile wasn't scanned yet

- red - at least one rom/sample/diskimage/set (depending on the set options) is missing AFTER THE LAST scan

- green - no rom/sample/diskimage/set (depending on the set options) is missing AFTER THE LAST scan.

#### Some more options:

- Remove old DatFile after Update: If you've updated a SettingsFile to use a new DatFile (Read more about it below) you'll end in a new DatFile which has valid settings and an old DatFile which isn't used anymore. By enabling this option clrmamepro will automatically delete this unused DatFile.

- Run Profiler on clrmamepro Start: If this option is enabled you directly go to the profiler when you start clrmamepro. Otherwise clrmamepro tries to load the last successfully loaded datfile. If anything goes wrong or an update is needed, clrmamepro shows the Profiler and asks what to do.

- Update Log/Fastscan Names: Enable this option if you want to automatically update the logfile/fastscan filenames as well when updating to a new named datfile. Otherwise they stay at the old value.

- Prompt After DatFile Download: Asks you if you'd like to switch back to the normal profiler after downloading a file in the www profiler.

- Auto Refresh WWW DatFiles: Each time you enter the www profiler, it looks for updated datfiles

- Parse rom 'merge' Tags: When enabling this option, datfile rom 'merge' tags are used as an additional merging criteria.

- Parse disk 'merge' Tags: When enabling this option, datfile disk 'merge' tags are used as an additional merging criteria.

- Don't create dummy clones: When this option is enabled, you're able to split-merge 'fake clones' (100% identical sets in a parent/clone relationship). In fact they are completely moved to the parent set in this case.

- Forbid Merging Between Systems: Allows or forbids parent/clone relationsships between different systems, e.g. Standard with Neogeo sets or CVS with Playchoice10 etc...

> DatFile Errors:

> Here you can chose weather or not showing DatFile problems. Check the "show common" box if you want to see the errors - like parent/clone conflicts, double descriptions, etc - which are in a -listinfo output (or a datfile). Check "show all" to see even more problems. If you don't want to see any of them, check "hide common". Normally this means that all questions will be internally answered with 'yes'. With Pro_ForbidSystemMerging (cmpro.ini), you can tell clrmamepro if it should allow/forbid merging between systems while cleaning up the datfile (while using 'hide common').

> For Default Naming Use:

> When you use the batch run (multiple loading of datfiles) or create a default profile, some names (fastscan, logfile and auto-rompath) are named after:

> > - datfile name tag - uses the information stored inside the datfile header's name tag
> > - datfile folder - uses the last subfolder of the datfile (like: commodore/c64/games/games.dat -> games)
> > - datfile file - uses the datfile filename (without extension) for the default naming (like: Atari/atariST_v123.dat -> atariST_v123)

#### Use an Emulator Binary To Create A DatFile / Add an executable-based DatFile

To use a binary as a file-information-resource you have to add an exe-based DatFile.

- Emulator: Set a parserengine type for the binary.

- Filename: Enter the filename of the binary. You can use the browse button on the right to search the binary on your harddisks.

- Description: You have to specify a description for your exe-based DatFile. This name will be listed in the DatFile list after adding the exe-based-DatFile. This description can't be modifed later. So use a good name. The name has to be unique !

- Create Dat: This button will add the specified exe-based-DatFile. The DatFile list will be refreshed and you can find the added one in that list. You can also chose the destination folder for the created datfile.

#### Loading / Updating DatFiles

So...clrmamepro needs fileset information, you've a list with DatFiles or exe-based DatFiles...now...what do you have to do to get the information which is stored in the DatFile or the exe-based-DatFile ?

Normally you only click on a listed DatFile and then click on 'Load / Update'. You can also double click the listed file to load it. That's it ? Really ? Well...in most cases. The only other possibility is that the selected DatFile doesn't have a valid SettingsFile. Remember: The datfile is listed in 'not used / new datfiles' in that case. After double-clicking (or using the "Load/Update" button), clrmamepro checks if the new datfile is an update to an old, if so, it directly asks you if you want to update your old one. If no update is available or you don't want to use that 'auto update' feature, you'll see this dialog:

So...no SettingsFile exists for the currently selected DatFile. Now you can

- Cancel: Return to the profiler.
- Default: clrmamepro creates a default SettingsFile for the current DatFile. If this succeeds it will load and parse the fileset information which is stored in the DatFile. Now you should enter the Settings Dialog to add paths and setup all the other options you want. If "default.cmp" is available in the clrmamepro mainfolder, it's loaded and used. See Settings for more information.
- Update: By clicking this button you can update a SettingsFile. The SettingsFile will use the currently selected DatFile from now on. So you will use your old settings with the new DatFile.