Creating an IRE file

Temporary note: File path to your custom logo must be relative to your iniredit.exe. For exmaple "/Assets/logo/logo.png". Not much time to test - you may have to edit this manually in the .ire file at the moment.

IRE files are the files which format any .ini/.txt/.cfg files. They set what elements (file dialogue boxes; colour pickers etc) to map against what keys. IniRedit automatically searches for an IRE file in the same directory as the ini file opened - if it finds one, it will load the ini modified with the IRE. You can also specify an IRE in the command line.

I'd recommend using the "Make IRE" process in IniRedit to produce them. This keeps the code in the IRE files tight. However, you can also manually edit the IRE files, but use caution as the format/syntax is quite tight. You can read more about the IRE construction here.

Demonstrating via the tutorial file

1. Open Examples\IRETutorial.ini in the IniRedit directory. You can load this in IniRedit either by dragging it onto the IniRedit icon, or by selecting it in the file dialogue. You should see something like this:

 

2. Click the "Make IRE" button. Make sure you save any edits to any ini file first as this process looses the data. Confirm proceed. You'll then be prompted to choose a Template file on which to base your IRE. For now, choose "Master.irt" from the Templates directory in the IniRedit directory:

 

3. Once you load the ini into the template, you be prompted to choose what kind of control/element you'd like for each key in the ini. You can find out more about each element type, here. Select as below:

 

4. Click "IRE Next>>" You'll then have the opportunity to fine-tune the properties for each control/element type. For example, where you selected a "FILE" element, you can specify whether this is an image or a file. You can also change the appearance of how the ini + ire will look in the "[IRE Settings]" Section. You can find detailed descriptions of these on the [Structure] Page.

Let's change some appearance and behaviour settings. For example:

Next, the specifics for each element for each key. You'll notice that the key names have now become Sections (in example below: "[_ImgDiag]"). The example below shows keys that you chose "FILE" and "FOLDER" for. The settings below change the first to an Image file set through a file dialogue box; the second to a folder through the folder dialogue box and the third to a filename alone (again through a File Dialogue box):

With some elements, you'll have to enter Masks to ensure output matches any formats in your ini. For example, the key _ARGBMask1 in your original ini is color component separated by commas. You specify a mask in the ire to produce this format. Ini file and ire settings below:

Another example for date:

 

5. Once you have fine tuned your settings, click "Save IRE". The new IRE file will be saved in the same directory as your original ini file (as the same name). I'd advise opening the ini in another instance of IniRedit, to check over how it appears. You can then make adjustments back in the first instance of IniRedit.

6. Should you finish the Make IRE process and need to make adjustments, you can always manually edit the IRE file. See the [Structure] section in the docs for details around this.