Bulk Editing and Auditing a Large LaunchBox Library

Once a LaunchBox library grows beyond a few platforms, correcting games one at a time becomes slow and inconsistent. LaunchBox provides multi-selection, the Bulk Edit Wizard, Audit, metadata downloads, ROM scans, and focused file-management tools for maintaining many entries at once.

Library records and files are different

A LaunchBox game is a library record containing metadata and launch settings, including an application path that points to a file or launcher. Most bulk edits change the records in LaunchBox; they do not rename, move, copy, or rewrite ROMs.

There are important exceptions. Changing Platform can optionally migrate LaunchBox-managed media, deleting games can optionally delete ROM files when file deletion is enabled, and media cleanup can delete files you approve. This guide calls out those exceptions explicitly.

Back up before a large correction

1. Choose Tools > File Management > Create Data Backup....

2. Save the backup with a name that identifies the planned change.

3. If you may move or delete ROMs, media, installers, or other files, back those up separately.

4. Test the operation on a few representative games before selecting a whole platform.

A LaunchBox data backup archives the LaunchBox\Data records and settings. It is not a backup of ROMs, media, emulator folders, save files, or other external content.

Select the smallest useful group

• Ctrl+A selects all games in the currently displayed view.

• Hold Ctrl while clicking to add or remove individual games.

• Select one game, hold Shift, and select another to select a range.

• Choose a platform, playlist, sidebar filter, or search first to narrow the visible results.

Open and use the Bulk Edit Wizard

With more than one game selected, press Ctrl+E, or right-click the selection and choose Edit. A single selected game opens the normal game editor; multiple games open the Bulk Edit Wizard.

1. Choose one Field.

2. Enter or select the new value. The control shown depends on the field.

3. Review the confirmation page. LaunchBox warns that the change cannot be undone.

4. Apply the change. The final page lets you return to make another change or close the wizard.

5. Inspect several edited games and test-launch representative examples.

The wizard changes one field at a time. Available choices include Platform, Emulator, Favorite, Hidden, Broken, Installed, Progress, Status, Source, Region, Rating, Star Rating, Genre, Series, Play Mode, Developer, Publisher, controller support, dates, paths, custom fields, and several Startup and Pause Screen overrides. The exact list can change as LaunchBox develops.

Understand multi-value fields

Genre, Series, Play Mode, Developer, Publisher, controller support, and custom fields use separate values to add and remove. Existing values remain unless you explicitly list them for removal. This is different from single-value fields such as Platform, Emulator, Region, Source, Status, or Progress, where the chosen value is assigned to every selected game.

For example, adding Action to Genre preserves each game's other genres. Removing Action removes only that value. There is no general find-and-replace operation across arbitrary fields in this wizard.

Move records to the correct platform

1. Display and select only the incorrectly assigned games.

2. Bulk edit Platform to the correct local platform name.

3. When LaunchBox asks whether to migrate media, choose carefully. Yes moves recognized images, videos, music, and manuals from the old platform's managed folders to folders for the new platform. No changes the library records without moving that media.

4. Review Emulator and the application paths afterward.

5. Update metadata and media only after the platform identity is correct.

Change the emulator safely

Bulk edit Emulator when all selected games should use the same emulator. Confirm the emulator is associated with the games' exact local platform name under Tools > Manage > Emulators..., edit the emulator, and check Associated Platforms. For RetroArch or another multi-system emulator, also verify the core and command-line settings for that platform.

When the Emulator field is changed, LaunchBox also updates an Additional App if that app uses an emulator and was explicitly assigned to the same old emulator as its parent game. Other Additional Apps keep their own settings. Test games with alternate versions, discs, or utilities after a large emulator change.

Normalize metadata and flags

Fields such as Region, Source, Status, Progress, Genre, Series, and Play Mode can make filters and auto-populated playlists more useful. Prefer spellings already present in the library so equivalent values do not become separate sidebar entries.

Favorite, Hidden, Broken, Portable, and several Startup or Pause Screen fields are Boolean choices. A game that appears to vanish after setting Hidden may simply be excluded by the current Tools > Show / Hide > Hide Games settings.

Audit one platform or the whole library

Choose Tools > Audit > All Games... to inspect the full library. When a platform is selected in the sidebar, Tools > Audit also offers that platform. A platform audit requires a usable database platform mapping; if a custom platform cannot be audited, check its Scrape As value under Tools > Manage > Platforms....

Audit opens a sortable grid. Depending on the games present, it shows fields such as Title, Platform, Application Path, LaunchBox Database ID, dates, metadata values, Additional Apps, alternate-name counts, flags, and counts for many image and video types. You can copy and paste grid results into spreadsheet software.

Useful checks include:

• Blank or unexpected application paths.

• Blank database IDs or inconsistent metadata.

• Games marked Broken, Hidden, or not installed.

• Unexpected platforms, regions, sources, statuses, or progress values.

• Zero or unusually low image and video counts.

• Rows highlighted as possible duplicates.

Right-click selected Audit rows to Edit, Delete, Download Metadata and Media, Combine Selected Games, Expand Selected Games, hide rows from the current list, or refresh the list. Hiding a row from the Audit list does not set the game's Hidden field.

What the Duplicate column means

Audit marks a game as a possible duplicate when another library record has at least one of these matches:

• The same Title and Platform.

• The same Application Path.

• The same LaunchBox Games Database ID.

That flag is a review aid, not a deletion instruction. Legitimate regions, revisions, discs, storefront entries, or intentionally separate versions may share one of those values. Sort by the Duplicate column, then compare the relevant rows, paths, versions, regions, IDs, and Additional Apps before changing anything.

Combine and expand versions

Use Combine Selected Games when multiple game records should appear as one primary game with the other versions available beneath it. LaunchBox asks which selected record should be the primary game. Combining changes library structure and preserves the referenced application files; it does not merge ROM file contents.

Use Expand Selected Games to turn combined versions back into separate game records. Both actions are available from the normal game context menu and the Audit context menu. Back up first and review the chosen primary game, metadata, version names, and launch behavior afterward.

Download metadata and media for a selection

After fixing Platform, Title, or database matches, select the affected games and choose Tools > Download > Update Metadata and Media for Selected Games.... LaunchBox also provides a separate all-games command, so verify the command and game count before continuing.

The wizard offers three broad update policies:

• Do not update games that already have metadata.

• Update without replacing existing fields or media, which fills empty fields and downloads new media.

• Replace existing metadata and media.

The non-replacing option is the safer starting point for a customized library. Replacing existing data can overwrite deliberate edits. Ambiguous or incorrect database matches should be corrected in the single-game editor before running a large download.

Scan for added and removed ROMs

Use Tools > Scan and choose the added-ROM command for any platform or the currently selected platform. LaunchBox scans the platform's configured game folders for files that are not already represented, then opens the ROM Import Wizard when it finds candidates. Review the import list, platform, emulator, and file-handling options before completing it.

The removed-ROM commands under Tools > Scan find games and emulated Additional Apps whose referenced files are no longer present. LaunchBox lists the affected items and asks whether to remove them from the collection. It may also promote a remaining combined version when a primary version is missing.

Change ROM folder paths for selected games

If emulated files have already been moved to a different folder, select the affected games and choose Tools > File Management > Change ROMs Folder Path for Selected Games.... Choose the destination folder and review the confirmation.

This command does not move files. It rebuilds each selected emulated game's path using the chosen folder plus the existing file name. It also handles emulated Additional Apps. LaunchBox checks whether those destination files exist and lets you decide how to handle missing destinations. Non-emulated games are skipped.

Move or copy the files yourself first, preserve their file names, then update the paths. This command is not a recursive old-root-to-new-root replacement, so games spread across subfolders may need smaller selections or manual correction.

Consolidate ROM entries—not files

With a platform selected, Tools > File Management > Consolidate ROMs for [Platform]... finds records that represent the same game, chooses a preferred primary version using region priorities, and converts other versions into Additional Apps under that primary game. It uses titles and LaunchBox database matching, including alternate names, to identify candidates.

For a controlled cleanup, manually select known versions and use Combine Selected Games. That lets you choose the primary record instead of consolidating an entire platform automatically.

Clean up media separately

Use Tools > Clean Up Media and choose all platforms or the currently selected platform. Select the media types to scan. LaunchBox searches the applicable media folders for duplicate files and files no longer used by LaunchBox or Big Box, then presents a list where you choose what to delete.

Back up the media folders first, especially if another frontend or application also uses them. Review custom artwork, region variants, alternate names, and files affected by recent platform renames or media moves. A media cleanup is separate from deleting game records or ROM files.

A safe large-library workflow

1. Create a LaunchBox data backup and separate backups of any files at risk.

2. Filter to the smallest useful group and confirm the selected count.

3. Audit the platform and identify one repeated problem.

4. Test one bulk field change on representative games.

5. Verify paths, emulator associations, Additional Apps, and launch behavior.

6. Apply the same change to the larger selection.

7. Correct database matches, then download metadata and media conservatively.

8. Run added/removed ROM scans and media cleanup only after paths and records are stable.

9. Create another data backup when the cleaned library is confirmed.

When to edit games individually

Use the single-game editor when games need different command-line parameters, emulator overrides, unusual multi-disc handling, per-game DOSBox or ScummVM settings, special Additional Apps, or careful database matching. Bulk editing is safest only when every selected game truly needs the same field change.