Frequently people inquire on how to use the poster, flyers and screenshots archives which are available for download at a number of sites. This is an explanation kindly donated by Dutch on how these are meant to be managed.

Mame32 supports 3 file formats for Images (screenshots) and Flyers. They are: BMP, JPG, and PNG. Note that Mame32 does NOT support PCX. (I hear there is some thought to move all image formats in Mame and Mame32 over to PNG, since it would unify image file formats in the drivers.)

1) "Images" are the screenshots. The BMP, JPG, or PNG files for these must be placed in a subdirectory underneath the Mame32 directory called "images". Alternatively, all of the image files can be zipped up into one single file called "images.zip." This file must reside INSIDE the "images" subdirectory. (Example, c:\mame32\images\images.zip.) Mame32 can be pointed to *any* directory that contains UNZIPPED BMP, JPG, or PNG screenshot files using the "directories" setup option for the "images". HOWEVER, if you want to use an "images.zip" file, it MUST follow the "\[mame32 directory]\images\images.zip" protocol.

2) "Flyers" can be thought of as alternate screenshots. Ideally, you would put scans of flyers or posters here such as those available from http://mameflyers.retrogames.com. Here's the catch though: currently, XRAY1 posts his fabulous updates to his Mameflyers collection in GIF format. If you want to use these with Mame32, they must be converted over to BMP, PNG, or JPG files. I used Hijaak Pro to convert mine to BMP. (Many other paint programs such as Paintshop Pro also offer the opportunity to do a "batch convert" of all your files in one go within seconds)

Place these convverted flyers in the images dir as explained above. Alternatively, all of the flyer files can be zipped up into one individual file called "flyers.zip." This file must reside INSIDE the "images" subdirectory. (Example, c:\mame32\images\flyers.zip.) Mame32 currently does not have a way to select an alternate directory for "flyers" via the "directories" option.

After some experimenting and some bugginess (which I won't go into to avoid confusion), I have found that the BEST way I reccommend setting this up is to have an "images" directory underneath the Mame32 directory, then place "images.zip" and "flyers.zip" in this directory, using BMP as the file format of choice.

Don't forget: YOU HAVE TO CLICK THE SCREENSHOT IN THE MAME32 WINDOW IN ORDER TO TOGGLE BETWEEN THE FLYER/SCREENSHOT IMAGE! :)