"Platform Category" not available as a Field in auto-populate playlist tab?

[BeemanDev]

There are a lot of fields available but I noticed that "Platform Category" is not available as a  Field in the auto-populate playlist tab. 
EG I have multiple platforms under the Arcade Category (Separated out Capcom 1 2, 3, Dice etc) but the playlist Atari Classics uses platform = "Arcade" as a filter so misses other ones in different Arcade Platforms under Arcade Category. If playlist filter could be set to  Platform Category = "Arcade" it would solve the issue

  <PlaylistFilter>
    <Value>Arcade</Value>
    <FieldKey>Platform Category</FieldKey>
    <ComparisonTypeKey>EqualTo</ComparisonTypeKey>
  </PlaylistFilter>
 

Edited Monday at 11:22 PM by BeemanDev
more info

[PadeMoNiuM Prods]

On 5/27/2025 at 1:16 AM, BeemanDev said:

There are a lot of fields available but I noticed that "Platform Category" is not available as a  Field in the auto-populate playlist tab. 
EG I have multiple platforms under the Arcade Category (Separated out Capcom 1 2, 3, Dice etc) but the playlist Atari Classics uses platform = "Arcade" as a filter so misses other ones in different Arcade Platforms under Arcade Category. If playlist filter could be set to  Platform Category = "Arcade" it would solve the issue

  <PlaylistFilter>
    <Value>Arcade</Value>
    <FieldKey>Platform Category</FieldKey>
    <ComparisonTypeKey>EqualTo</ComparisonTypeKey>
  </PlaylistFilter>
 

Hi !

You've highlighted a well-known limitation of LaunchBox: currently, the automatic playlist creation tool doesn't allow "Platform Category" to be used as a filter. This field is visible in the platform metadata, but it isn't exposed in the dynamic playlist filter system. This means that sub-platforms like "Capcom 1", "Capcom 2", etc., aren't included in a playlist filtering on Platform = Arcade.

What you're proposing (and which would make sense):

<PlaylistFilter>
<Value>Arcade</Value>
<FieldKey>Platform Category</FieldKey>
<ComparisonTypeKey>EqualTo</ComparisonTypeKey>
</PlaylistFilter>
... would be a perfect solution if only LaunchBox knew what to do with Platform Category in this context. The problem is that this field is not (yet?) supported in playlist XML.

In summary: Good idea.
Not yet natively possible in LaunchBox.
But workarounds are possible, but manual.

You could submit this suggestion to Jason Carr (the creator of LaunchBox) via the forums or the official Discord. It's a perfectly legitimate request, especially if you're working with complex setups like yours.