Table of Contents
Config XML (Advanced)
The RomVault3cfg.xml file contains all of the global, directory, and filter settings used by the application. The settings for ToSort directories are not stored in this XML. ToSort directory definitions are stored in the cache and are not editable outside of the RomVault UI.
Some RomVault settings are only enabled or configurable by directly editing the XML file, including:
- Dark Mode for those people who prefer a darker RomVault UI
- Files Only Mode to prevent RomVault from scanning archive contents
- ZSTD compression for 7z archives
- Game launching and artwork display for certain collections like MAME
- Changing the cache file name and location if you do not want it stored in the RomVault directory
Do NOT edit this file directly unless you know exactly what you are doing. Any features accessible solely through direct configuration XML edits should be considered experimental.
Settings Summary
SETTING | DESCRIPTION | CONTROLLABLE IN UI | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
<Settings> | Top level grouping for all settings | ||||
<FilesOnly> | Global setting to enable RV in files only mode | No | |||
<zstd> | Enables ZSTD compression algorithm to be used in place of LZMA for RV7z archives | No | |||
<DatRoot> | Path to your folder containing DATs | Yes | |||
<CacheFile> | Path and name of your RomVault cache file | No | |||
<FixLevel> | The level used for fix operations, applied globally | Yes | |||
<DatRules> | Grouping for all DAT rules | ||||
<DatRule> | Grouping of settings for an individual DAT rule | ||||
<DirKey> | Directory key for the DAT rule based on where the DAT resides in the DATRoot | Auto-created | |||
<DirPath> | Relative or absolute directory path to where your ROMs for the DAT are located | Yes | |||
<Compression> | Preferred compression setting | Yes | |||
<CompressionOverrideDAT> | Force the preferred compression setting regardless of what is specified in the DAT | Yes | |||
<Merge> | Preferred set merging setting | Yes | |||
<Filter> | Filter for collecting ROMs, CHDs, or both | Yes | |||
<HeaderType> | Preferred ROM header type | Yes | |||
<MergeOverrideDAT> | Force the preferred merging type regardless of what is specified in the DAT | Yes | |||
<SingleArchive> | Group sets into a single archive | Yes | |||
<SubDirType> | Grouping option for Single Archive mode | Yes | |||
<MultiDATDirOverride> | Disable automatically creating subdirectories when multiple DATs share the same directory | Yes | |||
<UseDescriptionAsDirName> | Use the DAT Description value instead of Name value for automatic directory names | Yes | |||
<IgnoreFiles> | Rules for files to ignore. Files are still scanned, but not removed if unneeded. | Yes | |||
</DatRule> | |||||
</DatRules> | |||||
<IgnoreFiles> | Rules for files to ignore. Files matching these rules are not scanned at all. | Yes | |||
<EInfo> | Grouping for all configured emulators | ||||
<EmulatorInfo> | Grouping for all settings for an individual emulator | ||||
<TreeDir> | Path in your RomRoot used for ROMs. Omit the “RomRoot” portion of the full path. | No | |||
<ExtraPath> | Path in your RomRoot used for Artwork. Omit the “RomRoot” portion of the full path. | No | |||
<WorkingDirectory> | Full path for the emulator working directory | No | |||
<ExeName> | Emulator executable in the working directory | No | |||
<CommandLine> | Commandline parameters to use when launching the game | No | |||
</EmulatorInfo> | |||||
</EInfo> | |||||
<DatVault> | Grouping for all DatVault settings | ||||
<bUseDefaultMasterDirectories> | Preference to use Master Directories when adding DATs | Yes | |||
<bUseDefaultSubDirectories> | Preference to use Subdirectories when adding DATs | Yes | |||
<bImportNewDATsWithJsonSeeds> | Preference to use download DATs at the time of adding JSON seeds | Yes | |||
</DatVault> | |||||
<DoubleCheckDelete> | Ensures RomVault does not delete files mistakenly due to an out of sync cache | Yes | |||
<DebugLogsEnabled> | Enables debugging logging | Yes | |||
<DetailedFixReporting> | Enables detailed fix reporting in the status window | Yes | |||
<CacheSaveTimerEnabled> | Enables auto-saving the cache at regular intervals during a scan or fix | Yes | |||
<CacheSaveTimePeriod> | Time in minutes between cache backups | Yes | |||
<ConvertToTrrntzip> | Converts all regular zip files to TorrentZip files | Yes | |||
<ConvertToRV7Z> | Converts all regular 7z flles to RV7z files | Yes | |||
<chkBoxShowCorrect> | Last game grid filter value for “Show correct sets” | Yes | |||
<chkBoxShowMissing> | Last game grid filter value for “Show incomplete sets” | Yes | |||
<chkBoxShowFixed> | Last game grid filter value for “Show sets with fixes” | Yes | |||
<chkBoxShowMerged> | Last game grid filter value for “Show merged / deduped” | Yes | |||
<DATUpdateKey> | Your personal DATVault key - Keep this safe and do not share | Yes | |||
<MIAAnon> | Enables anonymous “MIA Found” reporting - Only relevant for DATVault users | Yes | |||
<MIACallback> | Enables “MIA Found” reporting back to the DatVault server | Yes | |||
<Darkness> | Enables Dark Mode | No | |||
<CheckCHDVersion> | Toggles re-verifying if CHD version info is missing from cache (default: true) | No | |||
</Settings> |
Global Settings
The following settings are controllable through the RomVault UI from the Settings > RomVault Settings menu.
XML Setting | UI Mapping | Accepted Values |
---|---|---|
DatRoot | DAT Root Directory | Any valid relative or absolute path |
FixLevel | Fixing Level | level1 , level2 , or level3 |
IgnoreFiles | Filenames not to remove from Dirs | Refer to Global Settings documentation |
DoubleCheckDelete | Double Check Delete | true or false |
DebugLogsEnabled | Debug Logs Enabled | true or false |
DetailedFixReporting | Detailed Fix Reporting | true or false |
CacheSaveTimerEnabled | Save Cache On Timer… | true or false |
CacheSaveTimePeriod | …Every XX Minutes | Integer number greater than 5 |
ConvertToTrrntzip | Convert all zips to trrntzips | true or false |
ConvertToRV7Z | Convert all 7z to RV7z | true or false |
MIAAnon | Send Found MIA Anonymously | true or false |
MIACallback | Send Found MIA | true or false |
For additional information, refer to the Global Settings documentation.
Directory Settings
The following settings are controllable through the RomVault UI from the Settings > Directory Settings menu.
XML Setting | UI Mapping | Accepted Values |
---|---|---|
DirKey | Rule Path | Auto-generated DATRoot path |
DirPath | Dir Location | Valid relative or absolute directory path |
Compression | Archive Type | Dir , Zip , or SevenZip |
CompressionOverrideDAT | Archive Type Override DAT | true or false |
Merge | Merge Type | None , Split , Merge , or NonMerged |
Filter | ROM/CHD Filter | KeepAll , RomsOnly , or CHDsOnly |
HeaderType | Header Type | Optional , Headered , or Headerless |
MergeOverrideDAT | Merge Type Override DAT | true or false |
SingleArchive | Single Archive | true or false |
SubDirType | Single Archive setting | KeepAllSubDirs , RemoveAllSubDirs , RemoveAllIfNoConflicts , or RemoveSubIfSingleFiles |
MultiDATDirOverride | Don't auto add DAT directories | true or false |
UseDescriptionAsDirName | Use description (instead of name) for auto added paths | true or false |
IgnoreFiles | Filenames not to remove from RomDirs | Refer to Directory Settings documentation |
RomVault will process all descendent DATs and update the cache every time you update a Directory Rule in the UI. This can take a significant amount of time if you have a very large collection. If you need to make several changes you can edit the XML directly while RomVault is closed. If you take this approach to updating, be sure to Refresh All DATs to ensure all directory rules are processed.
For additional information, refer to the Directory Settings documentation.
DatVault Settings
The following settings are controllable through the DatVault UI from the Update DATs > DatVault Update menu.
XML Setting | UI Mapping | Accepted Values |
---|---|---|
DATUpdateKey | Login | Valid DATVault key |
bUseDefaultMasterDirectories | Add Selected > Use Default Master Directories | true or false |
bUseDefaultSubDirectories | Add Selected > Use Default Sub Directories | true or false |
bImportNewDATsWithJsonSeeds | Add Selected > Import new DATs with JSON Seeds | true or false |
Game List Filters
The following filters are controllable through the RomVault UI in the upper right corner of the Info Panel.
XML Setting | UI Mapping | Accepted Values |
---|---|---|
chkBoxShowCorrect | Show Complete Sets | true or false |
chkBoxShowMissing | Show Incomplete Sets | true or false |
chkBoxShowFixed | Show Sets with fixes | true or false |
chkBoxShowMerged | Show Merged / Deduped | true or false |
XML-Only Settings
FilesOnly
DO NOT CHANGE THIS SETTING IF ANY FILES WERE SCANNED. This setting should ONLY be changed with a new instance of RomVault before a cache file is created. Changing this setting after files have been scanned will result in unintended behavior and is not supported in any way.
This flag is used to enable RomVault in “Files Only” mode which treats all archives as files
- Normal mode (Default):
<FilesOnly>false</FilesOnly>
- Files Only mode:
<FilesOnly>true</FilesOnly>
When this setting is set to “true” then RomVault will not read the contents of any archives. Instead it will scan the 7z or zip archive as a single file. This is useful if you would like to run a separate instance of RomVault just for managing DATs that treat archives as files. Because this setting applies globally, its advised to set this with a clean instance of RomVault before any files are scanned.
CacheFile
This is the name and location of the RomVault cache file
- Standard name and location (Default):
<CacheFile>RomVault3_1.Cache</CacheFile>
- Example alternate name and location:
<CacheFile>X:\RomVault-Cache\RomVault3_1.Cache</CacheFile>
Although you can change the location of the cache file, its advised to choose a location on a fast SSD or NVME drive to ensure the best performance. This setting can be useful if you want to store your cache file in a different directory which is periodically backed up with a sync program of your choice.
zstd
This setting enables zstd compression for solid 7z archives instead of RV7Z.
- ZSTD compression disabled (Default):
<zstd>false</zstd>
- ZSTD compression enabled:
<zstd>true</zstd>
This feature is extremely experimental and should not be used outside of testing. The ZSTD compressed archive format is subject to change in future versions of RomVault. ZSTD is supported natively but it is not multi-threaded at this time. To use ZSTD with multi-threading you can include the libzstd.dll file in a subfolder called “x64” next to the RomVault executable.
EInfo
This section is used to configure viewing MAME artwork and launching MAME ROMs directly from the RomVault UI. Configuration settings should be nested into a node called EmulatorInfo
as shown in the example. The following settings are configurable:
TreeDir
: The path in your RomRoot used for MAME ROMs. Omit the “RomRoot” portion of the full path.ExtraPath
: The path in your RomRoot used for MAME Extras. Omit the “RomRoot” portion of the full path.WorkingDirectory
: The full path for the emulator working directory.ExeName
: The emulator executable in the working directory you would like to use for launching games.CommandLine
: The commandline parameters to use when launching the game.
The following tokens can be used with the CommandLine
setting:
{gamename}
: The game file name without the extension{gamefilename}
: The game file name with extension{gamedirectory}
: The game directory
- Feature disabled (Default):
</EInfo>
- Featured enabled example:
<EInfo> <EmulatorInfo> <TreeDir>Arcade\Various\MAME</TreeDir> <ExtraPath>Artwork\MAME Extras</ExtraPath> <WorkingDirectory>C:\Emulators\MAME</WorkingDirectory> <ExeName>mame.exe</ExeName> <CommandLine>{gamename}</CommandLine> </EmulatorInfo> </EInfo>
This feature currently only works with MAME ROMs and the MAME Extras set.
Darkness
This flag is used to enable “Dark” mode which will change the theme of the entire application. Since RomVault currently uses WinForms, native dark mode capabilities of the OS are not supported. RomVault's dark mode should be considered experimental and a work in progress. Some components like scroll bars may appear the same between regular and dark mode.
- Light mode (Default):
<Darkness>false</Darkness>
- Dark mode:
<Darkness>true</Darkness>
The Darkness
element may not be present in the configuration XML by default, but you can manually add it.
(Dark mode enabled using the Accessible graphics pack)