[4.3][PC] Remove ( ) & [ ] From Playlists (RESOLVED)

[Graham]

Is it possible to remove ( ) & [ ] from playlists without having to go into the particular playlist? Maybe a setting in retroarch.cfg. Due to the bug that restarts RetroArch when managing playlists, this is difficult to achieve.

EDIT: Issue resolved by editing lpl files (playlists) or by using 5.x Dev builds.

[metchebe]

You would have to use sed to replace the corresponding string in all .lpl files (make sure that they are uncompressed).

This is not terribly difficult but does require knowledge.

[Graham]

I haven’t used “sed” before but is it like a search and replace tool? When I say (), I mean like “Game (USA)”, “Game (Rev 1)”, etc so just the game name “Game” is displayed without the additional info (which can be toggled on/off in manage playlists).

If no such setting appears in RetroArch.cfg as I would imagine that this setting is saved somewhere, then it may be easier (quicker) to just delete the playlist and re-scan.

[metchebe]

Yes, ‘sed’ is a search and replace tool, which you can use to change the setting for what information is saved as a variable in each playlist file.

As far as I can tell there is no option to set the default to something other than to show everything, so deleting and scanning won’t save you any time.

[thingsiplay]

Wait a second, there is actually an option for exactly that. You don’t need to edit the playlist itself, its an option how the game titles are displayed in RetroArch. You have to configure this for each playlist individually. Go to Settings > Playlists > Manage Playlists > $PLAYLIST_NAME > Label Display Mode

[thingsiplay]

Oh I think I misunderstand you maybe? Here is a sed command to replace the option for all playlist files in one go. First a test command that will only output to stdout, without editing the file itself (make backups anyway):

sed ‘s/“label_display_mode”: [0-9],/“label_display_mode”: 3,/’ – “Amstrad - CPC.lpl”

The above command will only replace the key: value pair for one file, but won’t change the file itself. It will output to stdou, so you can test if the command is working. The number 3 in there is the display mode Remove () and [], while 0 is the first configuration as Show Full Labels. If you want make changes to the actual file, you can add the sed option -i to the command, so it will edit the file in place and overwrite it. The following command will do this with all .lpl files in current directory:

sed -i ‘s/“label_display_mode”: [0-9],/“label_display_mode”: 3,/’ – *.lpl

[Graham]

Regarding screenshot, that is what I would usually do (when working). However, “Manage Playlists” is not accessible to me most of the time with 4.3 (RetroArch restarts). Not sure if a playlist is becoming corrupt after scanning, which then affects access to all playlists. This seems to occur when scanning against the database or manually but does seem fixed in newer versions (dev builds). I’m surprized others haven’t mentioned it here before. Looking forward to 5.0.

EDIT: Can the bottom command be used to toggle between 0 and 3. For example, if trying to rename boxart to the actual full label? Rename and then hide additional info or is it once it has been removed, it’s gone for good.

[thingsiplay]

I’m not exactly sure to what you refer with version 4.3 and 5.0. The current RetroArch for PC version is at 1.17.0 . The file format of the playlist files have their own version numbering too. When you go into your RetroArch folder > playlists and open one of the .lpl files in an editor, on top of it the version for the file format is "1.5" .

As you guys talked about sed previously, I assumed you was familiar with terminal commands. So if you know how to execute sed command, then the previous posted command will do the trick. Unless the file format you are using is different or the RetroArch is too old maybe? BTW I do not experience any new start when changing those settings.

[Graham]

Sorry, I’m talking about Lakka versions. I’m not really a terminal person, prefer GUI instead. I suppose for the time being, it will be easier for me to delete the playlist and rescan each time and wait until 5.0 is released.

EDIT: Lakka 4.3 is currently using RetroArch 1.1.4.

[thingsiplay]

@Graham

EDIT: Can the bottom command be used to toggle between 0 and 3. For example, if trying to rename boxart to the actual full label? Rename and then hide additional info or is it once it has been removed, it’s gone for good.

Yes. This will change one setting, the one that is shown in the screenshot. This has no effect on the screenshot files or path of roms. This setting is only for display in RetroArch UI. It hides the info in the playlist in RetroArch, but the actual files are not renamed or anything.

[Graham]

@thingsiplay

Yes. This will change one setting, the one that is shown in the screenshot. This has no effect on the screenshot files or path of roms. This setting is only for display in RetroArch UI. It hides the info in the playlist in RetroArch, but the actual files are not renamed or anything.

So it doesn’t alter (remove) the content within the *.lpl file, just outputs changes to the screen?

[Graham]

@metchebe

You would have to use sed to replace the corresponding string in all .lpl files (make sure that they are uncompressed).

How would I know if my playlist files (.lpl) are uncompressed or not?

[thingsiplay]

I think there is a misunderstanding. Because “not changing” was two different things we or I talked about.

1. Changing the RetroArch setting in the menu (the one in the screenshot) or in the playlist file will not affect the Images and Rom files it lists in it. The names like “Super Mario World (USA)”, will be displayed on screen as “Super Mario World” in example, without changing the entry in the playlist file. The only thing that changes in the playlist file is one single digit entry, and thats the line with label_display_mode.
2. And the other thing I was talking about is the sed command itself. If you use the sed command without -i option, then it won’t make any changes to the .lpl playlist file. It would just output to stdout terminal screen in example. But if you use the option as sed -i, then any changes and edits the sed command is making on the file will be actually changed on disk. The file is edited. The -i option means edit in place.

I hope this clears things up. How about uploading the file somewhere, so we can take a look at it?

[Graham]

@thingsiplay

1. Changing the RetroArch setting in the menu (the one in the screenshot) or in the playlist file will not affect the Images and Rom files it lists in it. The names like “Super Mario World (USA)”, will be displayed on screen as “Super Mario World” in example, without changing the entry in the playlist file. The only thing that changes in the playlist file is one single digit entry, and thats the line with label_display_mode .

I wasn’t concerned about the roms and maybe I should have said “rom name” (display name) instead of “content” within the .lpl file which may have come across as the actual roms. In fact, you have answered my question about where this setting is saved. Thanks . Having opened the .lpl files, it now makes sense what you are saying about changing just the number.

@thingsiplay

2. And the other thing I was talking about is the sed command itself. If you use the sed command without -i option, then it won’t make any changes to the .lpl playlist file. It would just output to stdout terminal screen in example. But if you use the option as sed -i , then any changes and edits the sed command is making on the file will be actually changed on disk. The file is edited. The -i option means edit in place.

Rather than using Sed, I have been able to use Gnome’s “Text Editor” and toggle between 0 and 3.

EDIT: How do I upload the .lpl file? I have just created an new 4.3 live USB with 15 roms and the issue has already occured :(.

[thingsiplay]

That’s great! It’s really that simple. The sed command (or any script using such a command) is especially useful if you want change this in many files or automated it for future use. You could save the command as a script (not sure if you need assistance with that) and next time just run it and it does it automatically for all files in the directory.

I’m not entirely sure what problem you experience when talking about creating a live USB (the text you edited while I was answering). You could upload it at https://pastebin.com/ and link it here. Have in mind its public.

[Graham]

@thingsiplay

That’s great! It’s really that simple. The sed command (or any script using such a command) is especially useful if you want change this in many files or automated it for future use. You could save the command as a script (not sure if you need assistance with that) and next time just run it and it does it automatically for all files in the directory.

Being of a certain age, I’ll stick to what I know and do things the manual way. I don’t have many playlists (inc. roms), so not really an issue for me. As these were Atari 2600 roms, that gives you a clue ;).

@thingsiplay

I’m not entirely sure what problem you experience when talking about creating a live USB (the text you edited while I was answering). You could upload it at https://pastebin.com/ and link it here. Have in mind its public.

I’m basically using Lakka 4.3 (live distro) which uses RetroArch 1.1.4. As this problem is already solved in newer builds (5.x), I guess this bug was addressed in a newer version of RetroArch.

Thanks for your assistance with this