MPF UI
MPF UI is the main GUI component of the Media Preservation Frontend (MPF) project. This confusing naming exists because originally, MPF (the project) contained only a single component: MPF (the GUI application). Since then, most of the specialized logic has been abstracted into separate libraries that deal with parsing, scanning, and submission generation logic. Both MPF the project, and MPF the application, used to be called DICUI since they were initially just wrappers for DiscImageCreator.
Note: These screenshots are old and the UI may have changed in some places.
Main window with log expanded
Main window with log collapsed
The main window allows the user to do almost everything they need to when it comes to running an individual dump. Some of the major highlights include:
- Selecting a System and Media type to automatically load a dumping profile
- Set the output name and location (automatically set by a combination of media label, settings, and media type)
- Select the drive to dump
- Set the drive speed for dumping (where applicable)
- Start and stop dumping
- Scan for new drives and media
- Scan for copy protection without needing a dump
- Setting custom parameters to send to the base dumping program
The log panel is an optional (but recommended) section of the main window that shows the current status and history of program outputs. This is useful in seeing how or why a dump failed as well as any other pieces of information that may be good to track for submitting issues. Please note that this does not include outputs from dumping programs by default.
Setting custom parameters have some quirks that need to be addressed:
- In order to set custom parameters, the checkbox next to the parameter list needs to be toggled. Once you're done, it's recommended to toggle the checkbox again to ensure your changes are reflected back to the UI. Otherwise, if you start dumping, it will prompt you to make sure your edits are what you want to run instead of the settings in the UI.
- Setting custom parameters overrides anything that is put into the UI. Even if it's not immediately reflected (such as path or system), it will still override anything set there. Keep that in mind if you set both custom parameters and other options in the UI. The recommendation is to do all UI options first, then do custom parameters, if applicable.
- Custom parameters are validated before attempting to run. This means that each wrapper implementation contains a full list of valid flags and combinations. This can lead to some issues if the base program has updated but MPF has not. Use that at your own risk.
The options window contains all of the settings that can also be configured in the config.json file. It is highly recommended to look at the options window, especially if you are migrating from an older version of MPF!
The General tab contains options to do with MPF as a program, as well as automatic detection and logging.
The Paths tab contains settings for the paths to the supported tools, the ability to select which tool is used during dumping, and the default output directory.
The Dumping tab contains all of the options that generically apply to all dumping programs. This includes pre- and post-dump steps, default speed values for the three major types of optical media, and options to change how the dumping process behaves.
The Programs tab contains all the dumping program-specific settings. These may be changed on a per-dump basis using the Custom Parameters box.
The Login tab currently only contains the ability to add login information for Redump. This allows MPF to check your hashes against the redump.org database, and pull relevant information to help fill out your submission info for you.
Once a piece of media has finished dumping, and the user has the option enabled, a disc information window will pop up to allow for easy entry of many of the most common metadata fields.
The Common Info tab houses all of the information that is not specific to a single type of media. This includes things like the title of the software, category, region of release, languages supported, and other notes.
The Additional Info Tab contains extra metadata that are not specific to a single type of media. This includes things like the comments, protection, and other serial numbers.
The Contents Tab contains information regarding different types of content present on the media, such as games, demos, and videos.
For all supported optical media types, there will be a section for information regarding each layer and type of ringcodes.
For more information about ringcodes, please see the Ring Code Guide button at the bottom of the window or the [Ring Code Guide|http://wiki.redump.org/index.php?title=Ring_Code_Guide) on the Redump wiki.
The Read-Only Tab contains information that MPF has obtained from the dump and will be included in the submission, but cannot be edited by the user, such as Header and PVD information. If Login information is provided in the settings, matching redump.org disc IDs will also be provided.