Massive DAT Editor

MASSIVE DAT EDITOR

The Massive DAT Editor is a free, open-source tool for creators of add-ons for Simutrans, the open-source transport simulation game. Simutrans vehicles, buildings and other objects are described in plain-text DAT files that point to PNG images, and a pakset can contain hundreds of them. Instead of opening each file in a text editor, Massive DAT Editor loads all DAT files from a folder, even recursively from its subfolders, and shows them together in a grid that works much like a spreadsheet in OpenOffice Calc.

It lets Simutrans add-on authors change properties and image references in many DAT files at once instead of editing each file by hand.

Features

The Massive DAT Editor has a small set of functions focused on bulk editing of Simutrans source files.

1. Grid view: The program reads multiple DAT files at once and lists their objects in grid/spreadsheet form, with properties such as name, author, speed, power, weight, payload, freight and cost. Values can be edited directly in the grid and saved back to the files with Ctrl+S.

2. Image references: DAT images can be loaded with a separate command (F6), and image references can be changed in many DAT files with a single edit, which saves a lot of time when graphics are moved or renamed.

3. Reference check: The Check image names tool (F11) checks the references from the DAT files to the PNG images, so broken references can be found before the pakset is compiled.

4. Lowercase file names: The File names to lowercase tool (F12) renames the files in the selected folder to lowercase with a single click, so file names stay consistent across the whole set.

5. Simple interface: The main window has only three menus (File, Tools and Help) and a toolbar with the same commands, plus keyboard shortcuts such as F5 for loading DAT data and F1 for help. The About box reminds users to back up their files before editing them, because changes are written directly to the source files.

Conclusion

The Massive DAT Editor is a small Windows utility written in C# by the Simutrans community member Zeno and released on SourceForge under the GNU GPL v3 licence. It is distributed as an MSI installer, and its last update on SourceForge dates from 2014, so it is no longer developed. For Simutrans authors who need to change many DAT files at once, it remains a quick way to review and edit object properties in one table instead of editing each file by hand. The project page sums up its main functions as reading multiple DAT files in a grid, changing image references in multiple DATs with a single edit, renaming a folder to lowercase with a click and checking DAT to PNG references.