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[vram74]

My mame roms folder is structured like this. I have three subfolders in the roms directory....

Roms
       Console - Console roms
       Arcade - Arcade Roms
       BIOS-Devices - BiIOS and Devices

I have added the directories into ClrMAME and I'm able to perform a successful scan. My issue lies with fixing roms. The Rebuilder option only allows for one set directory. The problem I have is that when I drag a zipfile containing roms needed to fix whatever set is broken, it rebuilds the rom into the directory I've set in the Rebuilder options, while leaving the broken set in its original location. This will lead to same roms in different directory errors during a scan.

Would you please add an option to rebuild rom in its originating directory option for drag n drop fix operations?

Why don't I just change the default folder for the rebuilder? That would be fine, assuming I'm only fixing one category of rom. I might have a broken roms under BIOS-Devices and the Arcade directory simultaneously.

Thanks!

[Roman]

Well, first of all, rebuilder is for adding files, not for fixing. Your general idea to use the rebuilder to fix sets which needs updating is wrong. That's what the scanner is for. The rebuilder is used to add sets to your existing collection. If tutorials gave you the idea of "use the rebuilder to update your collection", then tutorials are wrong. To update a collection, you do a full scan run (with all fix options enabled), then you can use the rebuilder (e.g. via drag'n drop in the scanner) to add the missing stuff.

"Would you please add an option to rebuild rom in its originating directory option for drag n drop fix operations?"
No. This is not its purpose. It takes anything valid from source paths and adds them to destination paths. Again, use the scanner, it works in-place.

Secondly, the rebuilder does support multiple source folders (via addpaths which can be setup in the settings dialog) and multiple destinations (via system-default paths which can be setup in the systems dialog).

Your setup is a bit uncommon...what is a console set? what is an arcade set? How does MAME differ between them? The answer is: It doesn't. Devices, BIOSsets fine, but the rest is not clearly specified within MAME.

System Default paths are split by, well, systems (usually sets which share the same bios set, plus some special ones like devices or mechanicals). So in general it's hard to tell cmpro which sets should go in rompath A, B, C in your chosen setup. If you want to split e.g. devices from e.g. neogeo and e.g. S-TV sets...fine...use system default paths.

The scanner fixes sets in-place. If new files are added (via fix-missing) they are placed at the best place. Best place means: use the rompath where parts of the set already exist, use the rompath where parent/clones of the set exist, use system default paths when specified, otherwise use 1st rompath.

[vram74]

Roman before I respond, may I ask how you personally have your roms organized in MAME? It's kinda funny you say my setup is uncommon, because when I had only arcade, non-softlist roms, I used to dump all the zips in the ROMs Dir you told me my setup wasn't standard then, either.

I'm very curious to know just what the hell is the accepted organization of roms?

[Roman]

"Accepted" is what you prefer. cmpro does not care how you stored your sets. I only said that a) the rebuilder is not for fixing but adding and b) scanner's fix-missing got a rule where to put missing files to.

Common installations are installations where sets are grouped and not torn apart, like
- keep all sets in one rompath (oh yes, still the most used one even if I think it's too big and messy)
- separate by systems (like neogeo sets in one, naomi in another, mechanicals in a third and so on)..here you can easily split up devices.
Then it goes on with things like
- split by name or year or manufacturer
Or
- split by roms and chds
But with the last one you will already have a problem since you cannot specify "chds belong to this rompath"...so for fix-missing the same rules apply as menioned in the previous post.

What I wonder is how you want to differ between arcade and non-arcade (you say console) sets. There is no flag in MAME which tells you if it's an arcade set or not.

Or do you mean software list sets. That's a totally different story then (either you support them in one profile where you have to setup unique distinct rompaths anyway or you use separate profiles, then you don't have to care about multiple rompaths anyway).

[vram74]

I was talking about softlist roms. I keep those organized by system (megadrive, NES, etc) within the console folder.

When I fix a rom, I first run a scan. If a zip is missing files to complete the rom, I'll obtain the missing files, usually contained as a zip itself and drag it to the scanner window. clr then proceeds to fix the set. My problem is that its dumping the fixed set in the root of the roms directory (where the rebulder path happens to be set to) vs just fixing the rom in the directory that it currently resides in. So the result is a fixed rom in one directory with the original rom still where it was before the scan. If I Run another scan, clr complains that the particular romset now exists in multiple directories.

[Roman]

Again, the rebuilder IS NOT for fixing. It adds files from a source to a destination. Drag'n drop files in the scanner is like using the rebuilder.
The rebuilder got 1 destination path. If you need multiple ones, you need to setup system default paths.

Scanner's fix-missing option adds files, too. And there cmpro decides what the best place is: Either where parts of the set already exist or where the parent/clones of the set exist, or using -when enabled- system default paths, or when nothing else matched, the 1st rompath.

[vram74]

If you run a scan and find a rom that needs fixing, how do you go about it?

Wrong or not, dragging/dropping a zip of fix files into the scanner window is a perfectly logical way of fixing a romset (In my mind). I don't understand why it can't just fix the rom where its currently located and not be tied to a set path unless you're explicitly using the rebuilder option when you first execute the program.

Not trying to be a pain. I just want to understand, thats all.

[Roman]

- The rebuilder is a file based module which takes anything valid (hash match) from a source and "adds" it correctly named to the destination. Usually used to generate sets for a different emulator from a given emulator. Or to keep it simple: To add files easily to your rompath (rebuilder destination = your rompath, rebuilder source = garbage/temp/download folder)

- The scanner fixes files in place. It is able to detect wrong names, wrong cases, wrong sizes, wrongly placed files, wrong checksums and so on.

Now read again the upper...There are 2 different modules with 2 different purposes.


- Drag'n drop *is* using the rebuilder, so your dropped files (when valid) will be added to the rebuilder destination (whatever this is)


Now back to your original problem:

- You want to fix a (partly) existing set in let's say rompath X, fine, use the scanner. When it wants to add missing files (fix-missing option) from your addpaths to your partly existing set, it will do so.

- You want to fix a not exising set in let's say rompath X, fine, use the scanner. When missing files are found in your addpaths for not yet existing sets, it will follow the rules which I've stated several times now (best place: parent/clone relationsship, exisiting parts, sysdefaultpaths or 1st rompath)


Again: Drag'n drop IS NOT using the scanner or scanner's fix-missing, it's a shortcut for using the rebuilder.



And now - maybe to confuse you a bit more - the way people do it which have a different storage method than you, e.g. let's take system default paths (where paths are setup for the several systems), it's a bit like your "drag'n drop to update my collection"

1) MAME update is there, load your MAME profile, get the new data, Scanner and Rebuilder are configured to use system-default-paths and uses the same merge-modes.
2) Scanner, run a full fix-scan (this should end with only missing files left)
3) Scanner, use drag'n drop to add the files from a temporary/download/whatever place to add them. There's an option to automatically run a fastscan after drag'n drop rebuild, you 3) can be repeated until done.

The same applies when you only got 1 rompath.

So where's the difference to your problem? Why does it work here? Well, it's the setup.
Here you tell cmpro where rebuilt files should be put to, stricly ordered system default paths (or 1 rompath).




And finally, there is no rebuilder option saying:

 "If you found a valid file in one of the rebuilder source files, lookup all rompaths for the setname and add it there instead of using the rebuilder destination"

And while writing this, I guess, that's what you're actually looking for. Wow...after so many lines I might see your point....

But such an option does not exist.

However I kind of like the idea a bit... ;-)

However, it will slow down the rebuilder a bit. You initially need a dirwalk through all your rompaths to get a set/rompath list...ok...should be some seconds with current ssds and current MAME size...and completely new files..where to put them? In 1st rompath? So it's still not fully clean....