Table of Contents

1. Welcome to CycloEdit Professional
2. Program Requirements
3. Getting Started
4. Tabs
   1. Config Editor
   2. Skin Manager
   3. Backup Center
   4. Deployment Tool
   5. Update Central
   6. MicroSD Toolbox
   7. About
5. Getting Help
6. Credits and MIscellaneous

1. Welcome to CycloEdit Professional
   
   You have in your possession the most advanced tool you can get to augment the features of your CycloDS Evolution flash cart.
   
   Along with editing the elusive and often confusing config.xml file using a GUI, you will also get access to numerous other tools that will help manage your microSD card content - including skins, cheat files and more
   
   Read on and learn how CycloEdit Professional can help you!
   
   
2. Program Requirements
   
   This program was designed to run on Windows XP and Windows Vista. It may or may not run on other platforms including Windows 2000, Linux (under WINE), and others.
   
   You will need the latest .NET runtimes installed on your system to use CycloEdit Professional. You can get the installer for .NET runtimes here. There is no cost for either CycloEdit Professional or the .NET framework. If you are running Vista, you are probably ready to roll.
   
   The program also assumes you have a microSD card inserted into your computer that has been previously used in a CycloDS Evolution flash cart (the on-card information is used to help set up CycloEdit Professional).
   
   While it is possible to run CycloEdit Professional WITHOUT a CycloDS microSD card inserted, functionality will be greatly limited.
   
   
3. Getting Started
   
   This program was designed to give beginners an easy interface into the innerworkings of the CycloDS card as well as arm the power user with advanced tools to automate and lighten up mundane day to day tasks they tend to perform.
   
   While the sheer number of options included in the tool may be overwhelming, you can easily benefit from it without ever leaving the first, default tab that lets you edit the CycloDS XML file.
   
   Reading this documentation will not only help you understand how to do most functions, but also help you understand just WHAT the program can do, when properly utilized.
   
   Once installed, insert your microSD card, and run the program. If all goes well, the program will automatically find your card and load the default configuration settings.
   
   
4. Tabs
   
   
   1. Config Editor
      
      The core of CycloEdit Professional, the items on this tab are visual representations of the options found in the config.xml file that sits on your microSD card in the CycloDS folder. Editing XML data can be tricky - and it's easy to hose something up. This tool was originally designed to help people make these changes in a SAFE, GUI environment.
      
      Most of the items on the screen should be very self-explanatory. Some options listed are changable inside the CycloDS menu on the DS itself while other items, especially beta testing items, are usually not accessible.
      
      Remember, click SAVE CHANGES when you are done making changes.
      
      
   2. Skin Manager
      
      Skins are the way you customize the way the CycloDS Evo card looks from backdrops to icons to fonts and colors. But, manually adding skins (especially a lot of them) can be a huge waste of your time. Skin folders have to be unzipped properly, put into the right locations on the card, etc.
      
      This tab takes all the guesswork out of skinning. You can view, add and delete (as well as set the default skin - and choose randomizing or cycling of skins).
      
      All the skins on your card are listed. Single clicking one of them will bring up a preview. You can then delete the skin, or set it as the default.
      
      You can also select MULTIPLE skins for deletion.
      
      Adding a skin is incredibly simple. Just download your zipped skins from NDS Themes or the Team Cyclops website. Click ADD SKIN, choose the zip - and if the skin developer zipped it up right, and the files are good inside - your skin will be installed. There are plenty of invalidly created skins out there - if you run into one of those, the tool will try to help you understand why.
      
      Most issues with bad skins are the fact that the files are inside a folder INSIDE the zip file.
      
      RANDOM and CYCLE are not skins - they are settings. Setting RANDOM as your default folder will make a random skin pop up each time you bring up the menu. CYCLE will rotate through your skins, in order, each time you go to the menu.
      
      
   3. Backup Center
      
      No one likes doing backups. Even with fantastic file managers like Directory Opus, doing backups suck. Unfortunately, if you lose a single SAVE file, you can throw away 20+ hours of game play and have to start over. The goal of this tab is to make it EASY and FAST - and worry free.
      
      There are two types of backups - FULL CARD and SELECTIVE FILES.
      
      FULL CARD BACKUP is just what it implies - it makes a perfect duplicate of all your files, folders and structures. EVERY file is copied. This can be a time consuming process - I've found about 1 minute per GB of space. So my 6GB of files takes about 6 minutes to backup.
      
      SELECTED FILES ONLY allows you to choose what file types you want to backup. For the most part, you're going to want to do files that CHANGE - SAV, RTS and TXT files. Of course, you can do other files too. When you backup in this mode, folders and paths are not preserved. All the files you choose are dumped into the backup folder. I know it doesn't totally make sense, but trust me -- it will make sense over time. If two files share the same name (like readme.txt), files will be renamed automatically to avoid file collisions.
      
      There are two more options: Date Incremental Folders and Override Default Save Location.
      
      Date Incremental Folders means that EVERY SINGLE TIME you do a backup (full or selective) a folder named as a time stamp will be created and your backup will go there. This way, every time you backup, you get a "clean" backup. This is VERY useful if you need an OLDER save file or RTS file that will put you backwards in a game you ran into a stumbling block on and you cannot get past with your existing save. This is also useful for families with multiple carts sharing a CycloEdit Professional install.
      
      You can override the default backup folder and point all backup activity to the folder of your choice.
      
      
   4. Deployment Tool
      
      Without a doubt, this is the most powerful (and most confusing) tab of the program. Once you start using it, though, you'll wonder how you lived without it.
      
      The thought process I had with the Backup center was two fold:
      
      1) "refreshing" the microsd. Many times, fragmentation causes issues with games. By using a "Full Backup", you can easily backup the whole card - do your formatting, etc. Then manually copy your full backup back to the card (don't worry - I'll be adding a "refresh" option to the microSD profiler soon)
      
      2) Quickly backup commonly "changed" files - like SAV, TXT, etc. files. If you've ever lost a SAV file with 20 hours of playtime, you'll appreciate this.
      
      The idea is that you HAVE to make these processes easy as possible, as little interaction as possible. Backing up all your SAV files in multiple layers of directories can be a real hassle for basic PC users. Not everyone has mad DOS skills or a powerful (however expensive) file manager like Directory Opus (Flat view alone - which makes doing this EXACT task brain dead easy).
      
      People don't tend to backup anything because it's a huge pain in the butt. I was hoping to encourage at LEAST SAV file backups regularly with CycloEdit Pro.
      
      Deployment is more about "CHANGING" files on the deployment, vice a straight up sync.
      
      Let's say you get you backup ROMS online from more dubious sources (frankly, dumping your own is far better - but for those that choose not to ...). You get a ZIP file with something in it like this:
      
      xpa-ths.nds
      
      Now, that's useful. If you unzip directly to your microSD, you get a rom image that is named something completely worthless (sure, the UI shows the title, but try to find that game later to delete it) - and it isn't trimmed. Oh, I know what you're thinking ... Rominator takes care of that.
      
      Kinda ... as long as you're willing to wait days for the internal database to be updated, and you actually take the time to process the file.
      
      I wanted the ability to slam an untrimmed, badly named, brand new, zipped up ROM file into a folder (that matches my hierarchy) that I can one-button deploy to the microSD. As a bonus, we'll have CycloEdit also reformat text files AND remove 'bunny turd' files like .nfo and .diz files during the deployment.
      
      Right - you don't NEED to use CycloEdit for deployment - but, I honestly believe - that once you get used to this methodology, you'll understand what I'm going for.
      
      So, copy everything you want to deploy: Zipped ROMs, untrimmed ROMs, trimmed ROMs, text files, save files - whatever. Put them in WHATEVER folder structure you want. Click deploy. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
      
      Options you can choose from during the deployment are:
      
      Safely Trim Roms - if you don't understand trimming, see my FAQ on the subject.
      
      Rename ROM Images - The title of the game is embedded into each ROM image. So, you don't need Rominator or something like that to rename stuff for you during a deployment.
      
      You can also alter TXT files as they are deployed. You can strip off linebreaks, rebreak the lines at a designated width, etc.
      
      You can PROTECT areas of a text file that you do NOT want to wrap (like ASCII maps) by putting a TILDE (~) before and after the area to protect. The code used here is similar to my command line tool WRAP IT. Learn more about formatting files here.
      
      
   5. Update Central
      
      This is the update hub of the application. Here, you can update your CycloDS Evolution firmware, the cheat files on your card and of course, the CycloEdit Professional program itself.
      
      Clicking START SEARCH will query the CycloEdit Professional site and get the latest version numbers of the firmware and CycloEdit Professional. This process is VERY quick. The cheat file, unfortunately, has to be downloaded and queried before CycloEdit Professional can determine if it's newer than what you have. This file is over a megabyte, and those on really bad internet connections are going to suffer - and I'm sorry about that. I'll address this in a future build.
      
      Once the versions are queried and compared to what you already have on your card, available updates will be in red, and a checkbox will be enabled for you to select it. Once you've chosen your options and hit GET SELECTED UPDATES, files will be downloaded and/or copied to your microSD card.
      
      Cheat File - a single file is copied over to your card. Since the file is already downloaded, this is fast.
      
      CycloEdit Professional - the update file is always very small and even on slow connections should be fast. Note: the program will exit and restart after the updater is downloaded and installed. SAVE YOUR CONFIG BEFORE UPDATING.
      
      Firmware - The firmware is good sized and the servers providing it are slow. This can take anywhere from one to dozens of minutes. Be patient - as long as the progress indicator is going and there are no errors - IT'S STILL WORKING. Patient.
      
      You can also select to NOT treat betas as updates. Some people don't like betas. That's cool. This is how you avoid seeing them.
      
      
   6. MicroSD Toolbox
      
      This tab will show you everything you wanted to know about your microSD card; space used and free, format type, etc.
      
      You can also scan your card and get a breakdown of how many files of a certain type you have and how much space they take.
      
      More tools will be available here in future builds.
      
      
   7. About
      
      This tab is very useful. It provides common links and information every CycloDS Evolution owner should have.
      
      
5. Getting Help
   
   First off, always check this website for new information. ALWAYS make sure you're using the latest build of the tool. Make sure you've read this document.
   
   Now take a deep breath ... and understand that coding this program doesn't make me money, and it isn't my job. I want your bug reports. I want your ideas. Just remember, this is a one man, part time show. :)
   
   There - that's out of the way. Where can you get help?
   
   First stop? My development diary - it will always have the latest information.
   
   I have an active presence on the Team Cyclops forums; I'm even a moderator there. Next stop - the Team Cyclops Third Party Software topics.
   
   I have my own forums. I do discuss my software there. You might find me in our live chat room.
   
   Chances are, your questions about CycloDS Evo, hacking, DS stuff, etc. are all ALREADY answered in my humongous online FAQ.
   
   
6. Credits and MIscellaneous
   
   This project would NOT have been possible without a lot of people's support. While the ABOUT screen has most of it, I want it echoed here.
   
   First off, my lead beta tester and source of inspiration, Mejilan. He saw the first builds, gave me great advice and tracked down nasty bugs. Big thanks, my friend.
   
   Team Cyclops themselves have been very generous with technical and other information to make writing this program a ton easier. They've always been ready to help out - and I appreciate it (along with the fantastic product that inspired me to write to begin with).
   
   Brien King (aka ArcadeNut) - lots of .NET help and support (threaded stuff wouldn't have made it here without him). Thanks buddy! (I still need to come break in your Robotron).
   
   Zip decompression technology provided by SharpZipLib. A great, free product you can easily drop into your C# apps.
   
   INI file access provided by NINI Configuration Library, another great project that allows easy and transparent access to .INI files.
   
   All the GREAT people that hang out at the TC forums that have contributed bug testing, ideas and support for the project.
   
   And my first donator of support (without even asking) was lestat1uk. A nice surprise. Thanks for my first "payment" for CycloEdit Pro.