Filters

Filters exclude the files you do not want in your sorted collection. An excluded file is never written: it stays in the source, and the table shows why it was excluded.

The Filters page

Settings for TOSEC or No-Intro / Redump

TOSEC names and No-Intro / Redump names do not carry the same information, so each convention has its own filter settings, all of them saved (in config.json and in profiles). The Filters page of the Selection step shows one set at a time, chosen with Settings for: TOSEC or No-Intro / Redump.

The choice follows the effective convention (chosen or detected in the Collection step): a No-Intro DAT shows the No-Intro / Redump settings.
MAME sets use the No-Intro / Redump settings (see MAME DATs): with the MAME convention, the choice is called No-Intro / Redump / MAME, and the MAME machines frame, at the top of the page, shows its settings. Without the MAME convention, this frame comes down to its title and a sentence that says when it applies.
The software of a MAME software list use the No-Intro / Redump settings too, and the choice is also called No-Intro / Redump / MAME. The MAME machines frame comes down to its title and a sentence that says it only applies to the machines of a MAME DAT; the dump quality and the categories a software never carries are greyed (see below).
While the convention is unknown (Automatic convention without a DAT), the last choice is kept.
You can show the other convention to set it as well: a mixed collection applies to each file the settings of the convention of its name.

The categories both conventions share (dump quality, modified versions, translations, development versions, demos, incomplete sets) appear once, followed by the tags of the shown convention; the options of one convention only appear for it.

Dump quality

A single choice sums up the integrity filters. It is greyed with the MAME convention, and a sentence says why: MAME has no dump quality (a baddump ROM is the best known dump there), and these settings never apply to a MAME set. Its variants are set in the MAME machines frame. It is greyed for the software of a MAME list too, for the same reason; their variants (alt) are all kept, and 1G1R keeps one version per game.

Choice	Effect	TOSEC	No-Intro / Redump
All dumps	No integrity filter	Every exclusion off	Every exclusion off
No bad dumps (default)	Excludes faulty dumps, keeps alternates	Excludes `[b]`, `[o]`/`[u]` and `[v]`	Excludes `[b]`
Verified dumps only	Keeps verified dumps only	Only `[!]`	Not offered (see below)

The Exclusion details button opens the list of exclusions, to set one by one:

Option	Excludes	TOSEC	No-Intro / Redump
Exclude bad dumps	Corrupt dumps	`[b]`	`[b]`
Exclude alternates	Alternate dumps	`[a]`	`(Alt)`
Exclude overdumps and underdumps	Dumps of abnormal size	`[o]` `[u]`	-
Exclude infected images	Disk images infected by a virus	`[v]`	-

No-Intro and Redump names do not mark verified dumps: every dump that is not a bad dump counts as verified there, and Verified dumps only would keep the same files as No bad dumps. This choice is therefore only offered for TOSEC.

With Verified dumps only, these exclusions are implied and greyed out. A combination that matches none of the three choices (alternates excluded as well, for instance) shows a fourth choice, Custom, checked in their place; it goes away as soon as the exclusions match a level again. Choosing one of the three levels rewrites the exclusions.

Content

The Content to keep group lists what you want to keep: a checked box keeps its category, an unchecked box excludes it from the sort.

The No-Intro / Redump settings also apply to MAME sets: under the title of the group, the Settings shared by No-Intro, Redump and MAME note says so, and the tooltips quote both effects. Unchecking Modified versions for a MAME collection therefore also excludes the (Hack) ROMs of a No-Intro sort that uses the same configuration; to set them differently, save a profile for each collection. The TOSEC settings are independent.

Option	Category (TOSEC)	Category (No-Intro / Redump)	Category (MAME)	Kept by default
Modified versions	Cracks, trainers, hacks, pirate releases, fixes, modifications `[cr] [t] [h] [p] [f] [m]`	Romhacks `(Hack)`	`(hack)`	No
Pirate versions (No-Intro / Redump, MAME)	-	Bootlegs `(Pirate)`	Bootlegs `(bootleg)`	No
Translations	Fan translations `[tr]`	Unofficial translation patches `(Translated)`	-	Yes
Development versions	alpha, beta, proto, preview	Beta, Proto, Sample, Pre-Release	prototype, beta, alpha, preview, location test	Yes
Demos	Demos `(demo)`	Demo, Kiosk, Taikenban, numbered or described too (`(Demo 2)`, `(Taikenban 1)`)	`(demo)`	Yes
Public domain and freeware (TOSEC)	PD, freeware, shareware...	-	-	Yes
Unofficial releases (No-Intro / Redump)	-	Unl, Homebrew, Aftermarket	-	Yes
Modern re-releases (No-Intro / Redump)	-	Virtual Console, Switch Online, Classic Mini, LodgeNet...	-	Yes

With the MAME convention, the categories are read in the description of the machine, and the boxes a MAME set never falls under (translations, unofficial releases, modern re-releases) are greyed, their tooltip saying why. Their tags and tooltips then quote the words of MAME: (bootleg), (hack), (prototype)... By default, bootlegs and hacks are excluded, as for No-Intro / Redump.

For the software of a MAME list, the categories are read in the description of the software: (pirate) is a pirate release, (hack), cracked and Trained are modified versions, translation a translation, (prototype) a development version and (demo) a demo. The unofficial releases and the modern re-releases, which these descriptions never mark, are greyed, their tooltip saying why.

Only the wording changed since the versions that showed "Exclude translations"...: config.json and the profiles keep the same options (exclude_translations...), so a file is read back unchanged.

Multi-disc

Complete sets only (requires the DAT): a game whose disks (or, for No-Intro / Redump, whose media and tracks) are not all present is excluded. With the MAME convention, this group gives way to the Complete sets only (ROMs and CHDs present) option of the MAME machines frame. For the software of a MAME list, this option excludes a software whose archive lacks a ROM.
Tolerate minor disk tag differences (trainers/fixes) (TOSEC): a set is often incomplete because disk 1 carries a trainer [t] or a fix [f] that the data disks do not. With this option, RomSieve completes the set with the clean data disks of the same game.

Amiga machine

(TOSEC) The Amiga machine list, under the Multi-disc group, says which Amiga the collection will be used on. RomSieve reads the chipset from the system field of the TOSEC name: (AGA), (A1200), (A4000) or (CD32) for an AGA-only game, (OCS-AGA) or (ECS-AGA) for a game that also runs on AGA, (ECS), (A500+) or (A600) for an ECS game. A game without a mark is presumed OCS / ECS and is never left out.

Choice	Effect
Every machine (default)	Nothing is excluded; the AGA and OCS versions of a game stay two games, as before.
Amiga 500, 1000, 2000 (OCS)	The AGA, ECS and `(ECS-AGA)` games are excluded (reason Needs an AGA Amiga: does not run on the target machine).
Amiga 500+, 600, 3000 (ECS)	The AGA games are excluded.
Amiga 1200, 4000, CD32 (AGA)	Nothing is excluded. With 1G1R, the AGA and OCS versions of a game are one game, and the Amiga chipset (AGA machine) criterion keeps the AGA version first, then an `(OCS-AGA)` version, then a version fixed for AGA (`[f AGA NOMAD]`), then the OCS version.

With an AGA Amiga, Theme Park (AGA) and Theme Park thus keep a single version; without 1G1R, every version stays. A version fixed for AGA is a modified version: it only counts when the modified versions are kept (or used as a fallback, TOSEC names option of the Languages and 1G1R page).

MAME machines

With the MAME convention, the MAME machines frame, in the colours of the MAME badge of the Collection step, is shown at the top of the page, above the No-Intro / Redump settings that the sets also follow. It sorts the machines out according to what the MAME DAT says of them; by default, all of them are kept. It shows the essential settings: Machines to keep, then, on the right, Emulation to keep and Complete sets only (ROMs and CHDs present). The finer filters are under Refine, in a row of buttons that each open a panel over the page: Cabinet and Controls (the cabinet), Categories (the categories), Ratings and Size (Ratings and size). Each button says what it excludes: Cabinet: any without restriction, the restriction itself when there is only one (Cabinet: vertical screen), otherwise their number (Cabinet: 3 restrictions); it turns bold while it excludes machines, and its tooltip names all its restrictions.

Machines to keep:

Option	Unchecked, excludes
BIOS	The BIOS sets (`neogeo`, `pgm`...). A non-merged set already holds the ROMs of its BIOS, but in a merged or split collection, the games take them from the BIOS set. A BIOS a kept game needs is sorted anyway.
Devices (components)	The device sets, components MAME does not start by themselves but that some games need. A device a kept game needs is sorted anyway.
Mechanical machines	Pinballs, slot machines and other mechanical machines, which MAME only partly emulates.
Machines needing artwork	The machines MAME only shows properly with an external artwork (artwork files installed separately). Almost all of them are mechanical machines; the others are mostly handheld electronic games and fruit machines.
Machines without emulated sound	The machines whose sound MAME does not emulate. A machine with no sound hardware at all is not concerned. With Playable, unchecking this box keeps the playable games with their sound.
Machines with nothing to dump	Unchecked by default. The machines with no ROM nor disk to dump: consoles that MAME runs without any file, with the software of its lists (`genesis`, `famicom`...), and machines none of whose ROMs was ever dumped. In a merged collection, their archive only holds the ROMs of their clones; a filtered DAT, which describes them without any ROM, has nothing to build for them either.
Variants (set 2, alt)	The variants of a machine: the sets whose description says `set 2` or more, or `alt`. The main set stays. The dump quality settings do not apply to MAME sets.

Emulation to keep keeps the machines according to the status MAME gives their driver, one box per status; any combination is possible, for instance only the machines that do not work yet:

Box	Checked, keeps
Good	The machines MAME emulates properly (`good` status).
Imperfect	The playable machines, with flaws in sound, graphics or other features (`imperfect` status).
Preliminary	The machines whose emulation is incomplete, often unplayable (`preliminary` status).
Playable	Also, whatever their status, the machines whose core (processors, game logic) is well emulated, even if sound, graphics or another feature is only partly emulated or not at all. A silent game, whose driver is preliminary for lack of sound, is kept. Greyed when the three statuses are checked, as it then changes nothing.

The three statuses are checked by default. With no status and no playable machines, a sentence warns that only the machines without a status are kept. Only the DAT made by mame -listxml gives this information (status, sound and artwork): a machine without a status (a device, or a SabreTools DAT) is always kept. The overall driver status is also a 1G1R criterion.

The mechanical machines are all preliminary in MAME 0.289: only Preliminary keeps them all, and Playable a few hundred, whose core is well emulated. When Mechanical machines is checked but no mechanical machine of the DAT has a checked status, a sentence under the boxes says so: No mechanical machine of the DAT has these statuses. They are then all excluded; check other statuses to keep some. The sentence only appears once the whole DAT is read.

Complete sets only (ROMs and CHDs present), under the emulation, only keeps the sets that have all their ROMs and all their disks, including those they find in the set of their BIOS; the others are excluded. An incomplete set a kept game needs is sorted anyway.

Cabinet and controls

These settings keep the machines that suit a cabinet or a control panel, from what the DAT made by mame -listxml says of their screen and controls. A value the DAT does not give (a device, a SabreTools DAT, a machine whose controls MAME does not describe yet) never excludes a machine. The Cabinet button opens the settings of the screen, players and buttons; the Controls button, the list of controls.

Setting	Effect
Any orientation, Horizontal only, Vertical only (drop-down list)	Keeps the machines according to the orientation of their screen: a screen turned by a quarter turn (most shoot'em ups and games of the 1980s) is vertical.
Vector screens	Unchecked, excludes the machines with a vector screen (Asteroids, Tempest, Star Wars...).
LCD screens (handhelds)	Unchecked, excludes the electronic games with an LCD screen (Game & Watch, Tiger...).
Players	Only keeps the machines that accept at least this number of players.
Buttons	Excludes the machines with a control that has more buttons than your panel.
Controls	Opens the list of controls: uncheck those your panel lacks (joystick, analog stick, trackball or mouse, spinner, paddle or wheel, pedals, light gun, keyboard, mahjong or gambling panel); the machines that use them are excluded. The button says how many controls are kept (Controls: 8 out of 9), and its tooltip names the missing ones.

The detail panel of the simulation table describes, under the MAME set line, the screen, players, controls and buttons of the machine.

Setting	Effect
Machines for adults (Mature)	Unchecked, excludes the machines the file marks `* Mature *`.
Non-arcade machines (consoles, computers...)	Unchecked, excludes the machines the file does not class as arcade. Only a file that marks the arcade machines (`catlist.ini`) allows it: otherwise, the box is greyed out and a sentence under it says so. With `catver.ini`, uncheck the non-arcade genres instead (`Computer`, `Game Console`, `Handheld`...).
Genres	List of the genres of the file, under the two boxes: uncheck those whose machines you do not want (`Casino`, `Quiz`, `Computer`...). Its title says how many genres are kept, and its tooltip names the excluded ones. An excluded genre stays in the list even if another file does not have it. Check all keeps every genre; Uncheck all excludes them all, so that you check again only those you want to keep. The excluded genres are what is saved: a genre a new category file brings is therefore kept.

Ratings and size

The Ratings button uses the rating file chosen in the Collection step; without a file, it is greyed out (Ratings: no file) and no machine is excluded for its rating. The Size button opens the size limit, which also works without a rating file, and shows the chosen size (Size: 64 GB at most).

Setting	Effect
Minimum rating	Only keeps the machines rated at least at this level: 70 or more keeps the Good, Very Good and Best Games ranges. An unrated machine is not concerned.
Unrated games	Unchecked, excludes the machines the file does not rate.
Limit to … GB	Only keeps what fits in this size, in GB of 10⁹ bytes as on a memory card (64 GB offered). RomSieve keeps the best rated games first, then, at equal rating, the smallest, and leaves out those that no longer fit (reason Beyond the limit); a smaller game may still fit afterwards. Each game counts with its CHDs and the sets it needs (BIOS, devices, parent of a split clone), counted once whatever the number of games that use them. Without a rating file, the smallest come first.

The size limit applies after the other filters and the 1G1R; a 1G1R choice made by hand in the table must fit in the limit too. The log gives the size used and the number of sets left out.

Tips

Start with the defaults, simulate, then click the Excluded chip of the banner to review what was removed and why.
An option that seems to have no effect may simply concern the other convention: check Settings for: and the badge of the Collection step.
To keep a single release per game, filters are not enough: enable 1G1R, whose options (the modified releases kept as a fallback and the preferred media format, for TOSEC, included) are all in the Languages and 1G1R page.