Documentation update.

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -99,6 +99,7 @@
 * Removed a huge amount of unnecessary Window* function parameters throughout the codebase
 * Removed a lot of unnecessary applyTheme() calls when updating help prompts
 * Removed the last remnants of the PowerSaver
+* Removed the RetroPie ES sizing bug replication from TextListComponent for non-legacy theme sets
 * Changed the opacity data type and functions from unsigned char to float throughout the codebase
 * Refactored the six gamelist classes into two new classes; GamelistBase and GamelistView
 * Rewrote the gamelist logic to handle an arbitrary amount of components per type and split the legacy code into a separate file
@@ -107,6 +108,7 @@
 * Renamed SystemScreensaver.cpp to Screensaver.cpp
 * Moved UIModeController.cpp from the es-app/views directory to es-app
 * Set the clang-format option SpaceBeforeCpp11BracedList to true and reformatted the codebase
+* Added the clang-format option AllowShortEnumsOnASingleLine and set it to false
 * Removed some unnecessary typedefs and replaced the remaining ones with the more modern "using" keyword
 * Greatly simplified the video controls code (play/stop/pause etc.)
 * Removed the deprecated VideoVlcComponent
@@ -162,6 +164,7 @@ v1.2 maintenance release.
 * Changed the default quit shortcut from F4 to Alt + F4 on Windows and Unix
 * Changed the default quit shortcut from F4 to Command + Q on macOS
 * Added Ctrl + Q as a user-selectable quit shortcut
+* Added support for placing a noload.txt file in the root of a system/ROM directory to keep it from getting loaded
 * Increased the window width slightly for the Alternative emulators interface when displaying long system names
 * Added size restrictions to the "size" and "maxSize" theme properties for the image and video elements
 * Changed to a new API key for TheGamesDB
@@ -174,7 +177,7 @@ v1.2 maintenance release.
 * Game images were not included in theme sets that used them for the Video view style
 * Themes with large pixelated fonts sometimes displayed too many textlist rows
 * The menu scroll indicators and title sometimes overlapped (e.g. seen in the Alternative emulators interface)
-* There was a small rounding error that caused a minimal distortion when rendering the menu titles
+* There was a small rounding error that caused a minimal distortion when rendering menu titles
 
 ## Version 1.2.4
 

FAQ.md

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ ES-DE runs on Windows, macOS and BSD Unix as well as on multiple Linux distribut
 
 ## What is the relationship between ES-DE and EmuDeck?
 
-ES-DE and EmuDeck are completely separate projects, but we collaborate to give the best possible user experience. EmuDeck is an installation script that downloads emulators and applies configuration to these, and it can also download and install ES-DE. EmuDeck is not needed to run ES-DE, but on the Steam Deck it provides a convenient way of setting up an emulator environment.
+ES-DE and EmuDeck are completely separate projects, but we collaborate to give the best possible user experience. EmuDeck is an installation script that downloads emulators and applies configuration to these, and it can also download and install ES-DE. EmuDeck is not needed to run ES-DE, but on the Steam Deck it provides a convenient way of setting up an emulator environment for people not experienced with making this type of installation and configuration on their own. It's a good idea to read the _Specific notes for Steam Deck_ section of the [User guide](USERGUIDE.md#specific-notes-for-steam-deck) if ES-DE has been installed using EmuDeck.
 
 ## What systems/platforms and emulators are supported by ES-DE?
 

USERGUIDE-DEV.md

@@ -206,7 +206,14 @@ mklink /D snes "C:\My Games\Super Nintendo\"
 
 ## Disabling game systems
 
-The way ES-DE works is that it will always try to load any system for which there are game files available, so to disable a system it needs to be hidden from ES-DE. This is easily accomplished by renaming the game directory to something that is not recognized, for example changing `~/ROMs/c64` to `~/ROMs/c64_DISABLED`. Another approach is to create a subdirectory named DISABLED (or whatever name you prefer that is not matching a supported system) in the ROMs directory and move the game folder there, such as `~/ROMs/DISABLED/c64`. This makes it easy to disable and re-enable game systems in ES-DE. Note that the gamelist.xml file and any game media files are retained while the system is disabled so this is an entirely safe thing to do.
+The way ES-DE works is that it will always try to load any system for which there are game files available, so to disable a system it needs to be hidden from ES-DE. This is easily accomplished by renaming the system directory to something that is not recognized, for example changing `~/ROMs/c64` to `~/ROMs/c64_DISABLED`. Another approach is to create a subdirectory named DISABLED (or whatever name you prefer that is not matching a supported system) in the ROMs directory and move the system folder there, such as `~/ROMs/DISABLED/c64`. This makes it easy to disable and re-enable systems in ES-DE. Note that the gamelist.xml file and any game media files are retained while the system is disabled so this is an entirely safe thing to do.
+
+For very specific situations such as when the ROM directory tree is shared with another frontend, you may want to exclude some systems from loading even though their directories exist. In this case simply create an empty file named `noload.txt` in the root of the directory and the system will not get populated when ES-DE is started. For example:
+```
+~/ROMs/nes/noload.txt
+```
+
+Note that if the setting _Only show ROMs from gamelist.xml files_ has been enabled then this logic is completely bypassed as this option will make ES-DE load anything present in the gamelist.xml files, regardless of whether the files and directories actually exist. But this option (or the equivalent --gamelist-only command line option) is only intended for troubleshooting and debugging purposes and should not be enabled during normal application usage.
 
 ## Placing games and other resources on network shares
 
@@ -284,12 +291,18 @@ Another problem on macOS 11 Big Sur (and possibly older OS versions) is that whe
 
 ## Specific notes for Steam Deck
 
-As the Steam Deck is essentially a Linux desktop computer with a custom user interface, there is really not much specifically to consider when running ES-DE compared to any other Linux-based operating system. There is a specific AppImage available for the Steam Deck though that is recommended to use, as a number of settings will be tuned for the best possible experience on this device.
+As the Steam Deck is essentially a Linux desktop computer with a custom user interface, there is really not much to consider when running ES-DE on this device, except that SteamOS uses an immutable filesystem which adds some restrictions not present in most other Linux distributions. There is a specific AppImage available for the Steam Deck though that is recommended to use, as some settings have been tuned for the best possible experience on this device.
 
-Another approach is to install ES-DE using [EmuDeck](https://www.emudeck.com) which will automatically download the latest Steam Deck release.
+It is possible to install ES-DE using [EmuDeck](https://www.emudeck.com) which will automatically download the latest Steam Deck-specific release. Just be aware that if using EmuDeck you will have a non-standard ES-DE installation as this installation script makes some customizations to paths and other settings. This guide only covers default installations so in case you see something mentioned that doesn't match your setup, then make sure to contact the EmuDeck support. Also be aware that re-running the EmuDeck script could potentially be a destructive operation as some files and settings may be overwritten.
 
 For Flatpak releases of some emulators you may need to give extra permissions to be able to launch games placed on external devices such as a memory card. This is the case for instance for melonDS and RPCS3. The easiest way to do this is by using [Flatseal](https://flathub.org/apps/details/com.github.tchx84.Flatseal). The option you need to enable is _All system files_ in the _Filesystem_ section.
 
+If you are unfamiliar with Unix operating systems, make sure to at least read up on the concepts of _dotfiles_ (hidden files and directories), _home directories_ (including use of the tilde ~ character) and _symbolic links_ (symlinks):
+
+[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_file_and_hidden_directory#Unix_and_Unix-like_environments](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_file_and_hidden_directory#Unix_and_Unix-like_environments) \
+[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_directory#Unix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_directory#Unix) \
+[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbolic_link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbolic_link)
+
 ## Specific notes for Raspberry Pi
 
 ES-DE on the Raspberry Pi requires a desktop environment, or more specifically a window manager and a sound server (like PulseAudio or PipeWire). There are no plans to add support for direct hardware access to the framebuffer or to ALSA. If you want to use your Raspberry Pi as an appliance, take a look at [RetroPie](https://retropie.org.uk), [Recalbox](https://www.recalbox.com) or [Batocera](https://batocera.org) instead.

USERGUIDE.md

@@ -282,12 +282,18 @@ Another problem on macOS 11 Big Sur (and possibly older OS versions) is that whe
 
 ## Specific notes for Steam Deck
 
-As the Steam Deck is essentially a Linux desktop computer with a custom user interface, there is really not much specifically to consider when running ES-DE compared to any other Linux-based operating system. There is a specific AppImage available for the Steam Deck though that is recommended to use, as a number of settings will be tuned for the best possible experience on this device.
+As the Steam Deck is essentially a Linux desktop computer with a custom user interface, there is really not much to consider when running ES-DE on this device, except that SteamOS uses an immutable filesystem which adds some restrictions not present in most other Linux distributions. There is a specific AppImage available for the Steam Deck though that is recommended to use, as some settings have been tuned for the best possible experience on this device.
 
-Another approach is to install ES-DE using [EmuDeck](https://www.emudeck.com) which will automatically download the latest Steam Deck release.
+It is possible to install ES-DE using [EmuDeck](https://www.emudeck.com) which will automatically download the latest Steam Deck-specific release. Just be aware that if using EmuDeck you will have a non-standard ES-DE installation as this installation script makes some customizations to paths and other settings. This guide only covers default installations so in case you see something mentioned that doesn't match your setup, then make sure to contact the EmuDeck support. Also be aware that re-running the EmuDeck script could potentially be a destructive operation as some files and settings may be overwritten.
 
 For Flatpak releases of some emulators you may need to give extra permissions to be able to launch games placed on external devices such as a memory card. This is the case for instance for melonDS and RPCS3. The easiest way to do this is by using [Flatseal](https://flathub.org/apps/details/com.github.tchx84.Flatseal). The option you need to enable is _All system files_ in the _Filesystem_ section.
 
+If you are unfamiliar with Unix operating systems, make sure to at least read up on the concepts of _dotfiles_ (hidden files and directories), _home directories_ (including use of the tilde ~ character) and _symbolic links_ (symlinks):
+
+[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_file_and_hidden_directory#Unix_and_Unix-like_environments](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidden_file_and_hidden_directory#Unix_and_Unix-like_environments) \
+[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_directory#Unix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_directory#Unix) \
+[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbolic_link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbolic_link)
+
 ## Specific notes for Raspberry Pi
 
 ES-DE on the Raspberry Pi requires a desktop environment, or more specifically a window manager and a sound server (like PulseAudio or PipeWire). There are no plans to add support for direct hardware access to the framebuffer or to ALSA. If you want to use your Raspberry Pi as an appliance, take a look at [RetroPie](https://retropie.org.uk), [Recalbox](https://www.recalbox.com) or [Batocera](https://batocera.org) instead.