Help needed repacking a dat file.

I am trying to edit the Hand script files in arcanum5.dat from rroyo's AWIP3. I have the dat unpacked using datbuilder. I have extracted all the files to a seperate folder. I have located the file I need and made the changes I wanted.

Now I am trying to repack all the files, but am unsure about adding files back into datbuilder for repacking.

I have figured out that I can go into each folder and highlight one file then ctrl-a and hit open and all files from that folder are added to my list in datbuilder.

Do I have to do this for each and every folder individually, and does it have to be in the same order they appear when you first unpack the dat before extracting? Or is there a way to select all the folders at once and do it one shot?

 

to select all of one list of things in most programs click first one then scroll to last and Cltrl-Shift click last one. poof all of them are highlighted.

 

Ok - Step one is to start datbuilder and click New DAT.
Save that empty DAT to someplace safe under the name of Arcanum5.dat.
(You are looking to replace the A:WIP Arcanum5.dat - right?)

On the icon bar you'll see one marked Add and it has a tiny arrow on the right side.
Click on the arrow. This produces a drop-down menu. Select By wildcards.

You're now looking a the Add files window. On the right side is a folders view. Click on that like you would with Windows until you have opened the unpacked DAT you want to compress.
On the far left top is a small window marked Path. Double-check to make sure that all is in order - ie: c:\Sierra\Arcanum\Arcanum5.dat.

Now you'll set the wildcards by going to the center window and typing *.*

In the bottom left corner you'll see a button marked Add. Click it.
In the big center window you'll see your path and wildcard entries listed.

Now go to the right and click OK. This will add all the contents of the unpacked DAT into the one you're creating then close the Add window when it's done.

Now you're back to the main window and almost done.
The next-to-last icon reads Write Dir Tree. Click it. You'll get a little pop-up warning you that you're about to finalize the DAT. Go ahead and click OK.

You'll get a new pop-up that tells you the DAT header has been written and gives you the specs on the newly made DAT. Click OK again.

Exit the program, and substitute the new DAT for the old or even the unpacked one - depending upon which one is still in your game - and enjoy the results.

 

thanks rroyo your a great help on questions I ask or questions I might would ask in the future.

Bookmarking this now and maybe will copy/paste to a notepad later.

 

For me this is not working. In the folders view of the add files window I click on the folder where the dat is unpacked into and it shows all the sub folders. I click ADD and the path is entered into the center of the window.
I have set wildcard as *.*. When I click OK the window closes but nothing shows up in the list in datbuilder.
Does the path in the far top left in the ADD window have to be the location of the unpacked folder or the location of the DAT I wish to pack to?

 

I find it's best to put the files you want to compress into a dat in your datbuilder folder, and save your new dat to the same folder. You can move/rename them later.

After you click "add," then "by wildcards," navigate in the right hand window to choose the folder you are going to turn into a .dat. You should have Arcanum5 (which you originally unpacked rroyo's Arcanum5.dat into, right? or, whatever you named this as) in the same folder as the instance of datbuilder you are running. find the Arcanum5 folder, and double click on it. the folders inside it should line up below but have a little unopened icon next to them. This adds the directory to the top left.

Next, do just as rroyo said about adding by wildcards: add "*.*" to the "wildcard" text entry field, and click "add" on the bottom left. an entry will be added to the list in the middle, but all it will say is the directory and wildcard you just entered. You are only going to want one entry. Then, click "ok" in the bottom right.

Every file should show up in the main window. The folders for each section (dlg, scr, mes, etc.) should be blank under "path." Then, click "write DirTree." this will pack your dat for the location you determined when you first opened datbuilder. Sometimes, there are problems when you save a .dat to the same directory that also has a folder of the exact same name, so you can always name your dat "x" and then rename it after the dat is complete.

Does that help? Don't forget to back up rroyo's Arcanum5 in case yours doesnt work or you change your mind, and keep your edits for when rroyo sends out a new release and you want to do the same thing.

 

That does help. I got confused by the path part of it and changed it from the folder name to the dat name. Thank you for clearing that up.

I too also was doing the unpacking and packing attempt in the datbuilder folder. I would make a copy of rroyo's dat in the folder. Then work from there.