zDoom Launcher Configurations




CONFIGURATION FILE BASICS:
The above eight lines are the configuration lines for the zDoom Launcher configurations.  Each item you want in the menu will have to have a separate configuration file.  This may seem like a pain.  However, this enables someone to add new items simply by copying the files to the correct places.  The launcher will populate the list from there.  You can remove items by removing the configuration file.  This will also make deployment of new addons easy to integrate by including a zDL configuration file with your addon. 

Each of the above lines is required at least until the bracket " ] ".  When the lines are read, the launcher keeps all the information beyond 15 places.  In other words, the first 15 spaces are not used, but must be there to keep an error from happening.  If this does happen, the program will not crash or anything, but it will fail to load the item.  It will also tell you that there is a problem with the file and tell you what file it is.  There is a template that can be copied and the additional items added as needed.  The first line MUST be at the top of the file.  The program starts with the top line and reads each item on each separate line.  It looks for carriage returns to designate new lines.  That means that a long description can be entered.  However, it must be all one paragraph with no returns.  This isn't much of an issue since the window is relatively small and the description should be a short one of the game or addon to be run. 

If you have trouble getting some of the configurations to run and load all the wads and patches, check the parameters being passed.  You can do this by selecting the item, typing "Show Parameters" in the text box at the bottom, then clicking the button to launch.  You'll see the passed parameters in the description window.  Make sure it matches what's in your configuration.  If it doesn't, try opening and editing the configuration with something other then notepad.exe.  Notepad does not always show all the data formatted.  Use something like pspad or some other text editor that shows it formatted.  I ran into formatting problems during development where it showed everything was fine in notepad.  However, when I opened it in another program, it had some extra stuff that was messing things up.  I fixed it there and it worked great.  The other option is to open it in notepad, select the 8 lines, use CTRL+C to copy them, then backspace to get rid of them while keeping the data on the clipboard, then CTRL+S to save the empty file, then CTRL+V to pase the data back.  I've found it to then show what's really there which can then be edited properly.

FILE AND TITLE ORGANIZATION:
When zDoom Launcher starts up, it reads the files located in the subdirectory under it of "Configs".  It reads ANY file in that directory with the extension ".cfg".  If you have other files with this extension in the directory that are not in the proper format, it could cause some problems.  Other files without this extension are ignored.  It then populates the drop down list using the FILES in alphabetical order.  Notice that the FILE NAMES are what is ordered and not the titles within the files.  For this reason, you normally want the name of the file to at least start with the title within. This also lets you order things as you want.  For example, if you want to have your normal Doom games listed first in the menu but with their actual titles, you can name the files "001-Doom.cfg", "002-Doom2.cfg", "003-Heretic.cfg", and so on.  As long as no other files fall before them, they will be first in the drop down list irregardless of the title. Personally, I like not having to scroll through the list just to play basic Doom.  I prefer it at the top.  However, this can be organized however suites your preference. 


EXPLANATION OF THE ABOVE LINES:

Line 01: File label:  The first 15 bytes of this line indicate that this is a zDoom Launcher configuration file.  The "LABELZDOOMLNCH]" must be there or the program will not go any further assuming it is a configuration file for a different program.  This will avoid oops's if another program or launcher uses the same extension.  It will add it to the menu, but will show an "Invalid Config" listing and give you the name of the file.  If you try and launch it, a message will appear telling you the file name, again, and to fix it or remove it from the "Configs" directory. 

Line 02: Program title:  This is the title that is displayed in the drop down menu of the zDoom Launcher. 

Line 03: Program description

Line 04: Starting Directory:  This is the starting directory of the program.  It is normally going to be the same directory as the executable file below. The parameters are normally relative to this directory location. 

Line 05: Main executable to start: This is the name of the file that is actually opened or executed.  It can be any executable from a batch file to a command file.  If it's a media file, it will be opened using the default windows program used to open that type of file.  Normally, this is simply "zDoom.exe" or "gzDoom.exe". 

Line 06: Main paramaters: This is where the iwad, pwads, and deh patches.  Also included any other parameters to be run every time the program is launched.  Items placed into the bottom text box of the launcher are added to these items and run as parameters. 

Line 07: Local configuration:  This is the configuration file to use when the program is run from a writable location.  This is likely local and can be in a subdirectory or the same one as above.  The command line "-config " is used to specify the file used.  This will be added to the parameters if the "IsCD.txt" is renamed or not in the directory with the launcher. 

Line 08: CD Configuration Pre-Launch:  If the program is run from a directory with "IsCD.txt" signifying that it's a read-only location, any items here will be executed prior to the program being launched.  The contents of "CDConfigCopy.bat" are below and are run to copy the zDoom ".ini" file used and save games placed there.  Normally, you will want to copy and set these items to either "C:\zDoomdat" or "C:\gzDoomdat" as these are automatically used for save games by zDoom.  The location of the configuration can be changed, but not the save games.  Also, make sure "-cdrom" is there.  These are all included in the configuration template. 

CONTENTS OF "CDConfigCopy.bat"
echo off
if exist c:\zdoomdat\zdoom.ini goto Exist
if Not exist c:\zdoomdat\zdoom.ini goto NoExist

:Exist
goto End

:NoExist
if not exist c:\zdoomdat md C:\zdoomdat
copy zdoom.ini c:\zdoomdat\zdoom.ini
Goto End

:End

Remember that when setting up the copy batch file, zDoom Launcher will only delete the directories "C:\zDoomdat" and "C:\gzDoomdat" if you select to do so on exit.  Other directories will stay there.  So, if you want to have the option to get rid of the program's leftovers, place them in one of those two directories.

Line 09: CD Configuration:  This is the location of the configuration file if the program is being run from a read-only location.  This is normally like it is above.  For specific game setups, you may want to change the name of the ".ini" file and copy if there from a different location with a modified "CDConfigCopy.bat". 

Line 10+: Anything after line 9 are just comments.  You can add as much as you need to and make as many lines as you need after that.  If you have specific notes regaring configuration setup, this is a good place to put them. 

TEMPLATE CONTENTS: "Configs\_Template.txt"




GETTING RID OF THE LEFTOVERS:
When zDoom Launcher closes, it checks to see if it is using the options from a read-only location.  If it is, it will ask if you want to delete configuration and save games from your hard drive when you exit.  If you choose yes, the directories "C:\zDoomdat" and "C:\gzDoomdat" will be deleted. 


DIRECTORY SETUP:
Configurations should reflect the directory setup.  I've found it easiest to place the launcher in one directory with everything else below it allowing for relative paths to be used.  The configuration file examples with this are all set up this way.  You'll see the directory tree I have below.  The launcher is placed in "DoomLauncher" with the zDoom and the normal iwads in the "zDoom" directory below it.  The directories below zDoom are all the pWad directories.  All the configuration files are under the "Configs" directory below the launcher as required.  The other directories, "Foreverhood" and "Action2" are stand-alone Doom engine conversions using zDoom that don't require the original iWads.  I kept them separate. 



You'll also see below that you can have specific zDoom config (.ini) files referred to along with special copy batch files for them.  Just place them in a separate folder and refer to them in your zDoom Launcher configurations and the specific batch file itself.  The setup below is from a great pWad called "Cold As Hell".  I have a specific "CAH.ini" for it along with a separate "CDConfigCopy.bat" to copy that file for a read only drive. 



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