@Yurif74 it sounds like my parsing function is not handling your data correctly – often this is because there is some slight changes in how MAME formatted metadata over the years. I will try to fix this.
Could you please let me know which MAME core you are using? What are the versions your catver.ini and XML dat files?
@shakalakka I am embarrassed that my app is evidently the source of your problems with the more recent versions of MAME!
Your report took me straight to the problem. There is an issue in the code path for Device and Mechanical ROM sets. The app does not apply the filter to those files consistently now. I should be able to come up with a fix pretty quickly.
I’ve just uploaded an updated version with today’s date that corrects the BIOS inclusion filter so that it now also encompasses Devices and Mechanicals for more recent MAME versions.
I also worked a bit on the labels to make the other filters clearer to understand. If you notice any more issues @Yurif74 and @shakalakka please feel free to let me know.
hello @markwkidd,
i used MAME 159.dat and Catver.ini for mame 0.159 , actually i’m using mame 2014…
i’m using core mame2014_libretro.so
could the collection format make problems? (splitted, merged, non-merged)
i will try latest version of simple arcade multifilter 
thanks
Thank you for your help testing this!
Non-Merged and Split sets should work exactly the same. Merged sets will only be seen as the parent ROM (as with RetroArch) but otherwise they should work too. That is at least one issue that this app shouldn’t have trouble with!
i would suggest an “abort” option during the file filtering© process, i was testing and i made a mistake… now i have to wait until the entire (long) process reach the end 
That is a good idea - I’ll see what that would entail next time I’m working on the GUI.
edit: I just received another GUI suggestion from the French Recalbox forums, to add a ‘browse’ button for Configure Source https://forum.recalbox.com/post/50182. Wanted to make sure that gets logged here as well.
There is a crude way to abort – if you see the joystick icon for the app in your Windows system tray (usually the bottom right) then you should be able to right-click and force the app to exit.
I just posted an updated version dated March 6 that incorporates “browse” buttons that can be used to configure the various source and output paths per requests in the RecalBox forum. Welcome to the future! 
VERY nice tweaks!!!
but how can i start the process ? 
LOL, that is one way to know I may be starting to put too many options on that menu.
I have just pushed an update that shrinks the category selector vertically by 30px. Could you confirm that menu now fits within your screen?
new version runs great. bring another 60 bios/device-files to my set. Thank you for this improvement. The new browse buttons are very helpful, too!
will do some testing arround with mame next days and report here if anything going wrong with the romset/playlist. for now it look pretty usable to me.
Thank you very very much!!!
Hello, have a problem to exclude the “not working” roms. The Multifilter copy over many roms that definitly not working with Mame anyway. Some examples are: Virtua Cop 1+2, Sega Rally 1+2 ,Time Crisis 2,3,4 … and many many more (especially games for some “highend” boards since late 90ies and later - like Model 2, Model 3, Naomi, Lindbergh, Chihiro, Triforce, Namco System 23, Namcops2, Hyper Neo Geo 64 and so on…). stand-alone MameUI exclude this roms correct (if filter “not working” filter is selected). Anybody have the same Problem or any change to see this fixed anyway? My Sets are Mame2014 and Mame2016
EDIT: maybe markwkidd can add a “bios/board” depending filter (similar to the one in CMP) as workaround?
Yes I want to work on this issue and I’m trying to decide whether to proceed by modifying the DAT files or the catver.ini files. Hmm.
The Multifilter does a very good job. if it can filter the non-working roms its seems nearly perfect to me. Thank you very much for working on this!!!
sorry but i have no clue about this. all i can do is testing and niggle 
But maybe you can try to find out which “flag” is used by stand-alone Mame for filter the non-workings !?
It’s the catver.ini files that needs to be modified. I know 0.78 catver.ini is not complete and a few games slipped by.
I was using Mame32 UI to check my romlist when i first noticed this a few months ago.
@Rion do you have an easy way to create a list of the romsets which are missing from the MAME 0.78 catver.ini?
I am currently taking on the process of making the official mame2003 catver.ini a ‘fork’ of the original catver.ini with two goals. Based on your post I will add a new goal #1, so now there are three.
Because you have alerted me to the missing romsets I will eventually look into it, but if you are interested in helping you may be able to get this fixed faster.
I’m using Lakka which requires FB Alpha 0.2.27.38.
After tons of googling (because FBA website hides this information) I’ve found 0.2.27.38 is based on mame 0.173.
After tons of googling again, the only sources for catver.ini 0.173 are a news posted on MAME World pointing to progettoemma. And the news posted on progettoemma claiming a release of catvet.ini 0.173 does not have a download link.
So, can Simple Arcade Multifilter be used with the latest catvet.ini 0.181?
@veggav yes you can use the MAME 0.181 catver.ini with one important proviso. Once the Multifilter scans your DAT and catver files, the list of categories on the left will probably include a category labeled “unmatched.”
I would suggest running the filter once to copy only the unmatched games to their own folder. These files will need to be sorted manually but hopefully it won’t be more than a few dozen games whose filenames changed between MAME 0.173 and MAME 0.181.
Wrong typing above the set is: 0.2.97.38 I’ve selected all the options on the left side and excluded clones. It resulted from 4500 games to 1.500. I guess the unmatched games were copied together.
One thing I wish I could do with your software is: I have FAB set 0.2.97.38. There’s a DAT (fba_029671_od_release_10_working_roms.dat), that would reduce that list even further to only working roms. Sadly the only available version of it is 0.2.96.71.
Since your software just copies the right games, this is much easier than using ClrMAMEPro, that would still need torrentzip in the end.
Do you think this scenario could work?