BUG: Exporting from Windows to Android - Game list should be complete, not just the additional roms added

[jjsparx]

I recently added 10 new games to an already existing list of about 60 games for a specific system (Gameboy) - these are all on my Launchbox installation on Windows.

So, I wanted to make sure that my Launchbox installation on Android also has these 10 additional games.

I selected the 10 new games - went to "Export to Android" - it built the export file - all good.

I then decided to import directly to the console (Ayn Odin Lite) by connecting it directly to my Windows 10 PC via USB-C.

There was a warning about an existing Launchbox file, so I chose to merge files (which would normally just add any new files and leave anything else already there).

All went well, successful export/import, BUT when I went to my new games list on my Android build, all I had showing was the 10 new games and all the old games I already had on there were gone!

I then decided, OK that's a bit stupid, but let's export ALL the games again and put them back - not ideal if you have 1000s of roms for a system and only want to add 5 new ones.

Export successful, games all listed again - BUT all my save states were deleted and I had to tell Launchbox which emulator to use when launching a game - so it basically reset everything after import - very annoying.

So, what's the best way of adding games without any of the above issues?

Many thanks!

[jjsparx]

After a lot of fiddling around - I've realised that there's a bug with the export from Windows feature if you're adding to an existing install on your Android device.

For example, I want to add 1 new rom I've added to Windows - so I export this one new rom file in the "Export to Android" shortcut.

This will generate all the files necessary, but the XML file with the gamelist only includes the single game you've just exported - this means that when you transfer that gamelist over to your Android device, it updates the current gamelist XML file and replaces it with just the single rom entry.

So, when you load your emulator from Launchbox, you now have only one game showing!

What it should do, is export your entire gamelist with this one new rom added - that way, when you export and import the gamelist XML file, all the previous games you had are still listed and the new game is also added.

I have managed to work around this by manually importing the rom again directly on Android, but this isn't ideal.

Edited March 28, 2023 by jjsparx

[Jason Carr]

On 3/26/2023 at 4:49 PM, jjsparx said:

I recently added 10 new games to an already existing list of about 60 games for a specific system (Gameboy) - these are all on my Launchbox installation on Windows.

So, I wanted to make sure that my Launchbox installation on Android also has these 10 additional games.

I selected the 10 new games - went to "Export to Android" - it built the export file - all good.

I then decided to import directly to the console (Ayn Odin Lite) by connecting it directly to my Windows 10 PC via USB-C.

There was a warning about an existing Launchbox file, so I chose to merge files (which would normally just add any new files and leave anything else already there).

All went well, successful export/import, BUT when I went to my new games list on my Android build, all I had showing was the 10 new games and all the old games I already had on there were gone!

I then decided, OK that's a bit stupid, but let's export ALL the games again and put them back - not ideal if you have 1000s of roms for a system and only want to add 5 new ones.

Export successful, games all listed again - BUT all my save states were deleted and I had to tell Launchbox which emulator to use when launching a game - so it basically reset everything after import - very annoying.

So, what's the best way of adding games without any of the above issues?

Many thanks!

Yes, unfortunately currently entire platforms have to be exported at a time. So if you add any games to a platform, you will need to re-export the entire platform in order to get the games onto your Android device using the exporter. There are other manual options that don't involve the exporter, but the exporter currently requires entire platforms to be exported.

[jjsparx]

I think the best way to solve this is to have a checkbox with 2 options (when exporting to Android) - these will affect the XML file only:

Export selected game/s only - this will create a list of only these games - any current games on your Launchbox Android install will be overwritten and replaced.

Export selected game/s in addition to your current game list - this will create a list of your current games plus these additional game/s - your current Launchbox Android games will remain and these selected game/s added.

Should be an easy fix and make the export process a lot more user friendly!

Thoughts?

Edited March 29, 2023 by jjsparx
additional info

[Retro808]

I have combined this thread new thread with your original one. A new one was not needed. Continuing the chain keeps all relevant data in one source. You can always edit the title of any thread you create to update/change it. 

[jjsparx]

Many thanks!