Batch import....

Hi! I’m wondering if there is a way to do a batch open into the library. . . . Basically, instead of doing one module at a time on a new system, is there a way to point to a folder, or series of folders, and just import all the modules at once? Thanks!

In console emulators, a folder for ROMs can be set up, so the program scans the folder every startup.

I don’t really understand what you mean. The Module Manager already shows you all the modules you have opened in the past. What more do you need?

Could you please explain exactly what it is you have in mind?

The OP seems to be asking to be able to download 5 modules and have the Module Manager load them into the window at once.

You seem to be referring to something different.

Good to hear from you.

The problem is not that the program is unable to do something, but it could do it in a better way. If I want to import twenty modules, I need to click the mouse button at least 80 times and to import more modules, I need to click even more. If I simply designate a folder as the location for modules, I only need a few clicks and key pressings. You may try PCSX2 or Flycast, see how ROMs are imported in that way.

There is a subject called “User experience design”, which plays an important roll in software development today.

That’s what I thought you wanted.

I’m not saying the idea doesn’t have merit, however, there is an alternate subject called ‘Developer bang for buck’ which unfortunately plays an even bigger role in a large Open Source Project like Vassal with limited developer resources.

What you are asking for is functionality that is so rarely required that it just isn’t worth us performing the not insignificant amount of work to implement it. The fact that you are the first person in 5 years to comment on that post indicates how low priority it is amongst our users.

Most users, most of the time, build up their library module by module and that stays static for years at a time. Most users will never use this functionality until it is time to move to a new computer which is probably a good time to review and refresh their library anyway. If it’s really a problem for someone, then there is the workaround of copying their Global Prefs file over to the new computer.

If you have any programmer skill, you are more than welcome to develop this functionality and submit it to the project. More than a few users over the years have delved in and added their own pet functionality, and more than one of them where ‘hobbyist’ programmers, rather than professional.

Other than that, it is unlikely we will be adding this feature to Version 3 of Vassal.

Thank you for your explanation. I have a better understanding of the direction of VASSAL’s development now.

I have programming skills. It’s just not about Java. VASSAL doesn’t seem to be of great importance in my life, so if I may contribute to it, it would be in a distant future. Maybe some people have improved VASSAL’s UX greatly already by then.