Change the order of the menu entries

The order that ISO and other payload files and .mnu files are listed in, is determined by E2B alphanumerically sorting the payload and .mnu files and folders (not case-sensitive).

For example: all you need to do is rename your payload and .mnu files, eg. 010fred.iso, 020doris.iso, 030debian.iso, etc..
You can aslo use a .txt file of the same name to have nicer menu entry text (e.g. 010fred.txt, 020doris.txt).

Tip: By using numbers in increments of 10, you can later add another ISO, (e.g.) use '012fred.iso' to place it between the 010fred.iso and 020fred.iso menu entries.

If you have any .mnu files, these will be listed depending on the name of the .mnu file itself (not the payload file or title which is used inside the .mnu file). If you have 'Ubuntu.mnu' for instance, it will therefore be listed after the 'PassPass.mnu' (say). To change the order, simply rename ubuntu.mnu to 010ubuntu.mnu.

Note that folders will also be searched alphabetically. If you have:

\_ISO\Mainmenu\Utility\PassPass.mnu
\_ISO\Mainmenu\Ubuntu.mnu

MENU entry order will be:

Ubuntu
PassPass

Note that the menu entry for PassPass will be listed after the menu entry for Ubuntu because Ubuntu.mnu alphabetically precedes \Utility. If you want PassPass to be listed before Ubuntu, rename Ubuntu.mnu to ZUbuntu.mnu.

Tip: If you press the SPACE key during file enumeration, E2B will pause at the end of enumeration, to allow you to see the order it has enumerated the files and folders in (v1.72+).

Now you can easily see the order that the folders and files are enumerated in by E2B.

Example

Now change the name of ZZSubMenuDos.mnu and wattOS-R8-Microwatt.iso...

If you want the $wattOS-R8-Microwatt.iso menu entry to be listed as 'Microswatt OS R8' then create a .txt file:

$wattOS-R8-Microwatt.txt

title Microswatt OS R8\n WattOS Micro R8

AUTO folder

.mnu files are ignored if you put them in the AUTO folder (so they won't work!). Also, all payload files in and under the AUTO folder are enumerated and added to the DIRECT BOOT menu. So you can have multiple folders under \_ISO\AUTO,

If you have a lot of ISO files, and you don't want to change the filenames but you want to change their order in the menu, then put them in sub-folders under \_ISO\AUTO with a .txt file for each one, e.g.:

\_ISO\AUTO\A\ubuntu_x64.iso

\_ISO\AUTO\A\ubuntu_x64.txt

\_ISO\AUTO\B\acronis.iso

\_ISO\AUTO\B\acronis.txt

Note: These will be listed in the DIRECT BOOT sub-Menu - using folders like this for payload files, only works for the special AUTO folder. For the other menu folders (ANTIVIRUS, BACKUP, etc.) you will need to use a .mnu file or place the payload+.txt file in the main folder.

If you later want to add an entry in between these two, create a \_ISO\AUTO\A1\ folder. The entries will be listed in alphabetical order of both the files and folders.

Use of .mnu files

If you do not want to change the ISO filenames but want to change their order in the Main menu (or one of the other sub-menus), then you will need to use .mnu files for each one and place them all in a sub-folder - e.g. \_ISO\MAINMENU\MNU.

The .mnu files should be of the following format:

e.g. \_ISO\MAINMENU\MNU\AAA_Ubuntu64.mnu contents:

title Ubuntu ISO\n Help text
/%grub%/qrun.g4b $HOME$/Ubuntu-x64.iso
boot

You can also change the name of the sub-menu folder or create new 3rd level folders. See my blog here for details.

Sub-Menus listed in the Main Menu

The sub-menus entries (for ANTIVIRUS, BACKUP, etc.) are defined in the \_ISO\MAINMENU\ZZSubMenuAll.mnu file.

As this begins with 'ZZ' the sub-menu entries will be listed at the end of all other menu items in the Main menu. If you want the sub-menu entries listed first in the Main menu, rename it to $$ZZSubMenuAll.mnu.

Note: If you ever update your E2B USB drive with a later version of E2B, you will need to delete the new \_ISO\MAINMENU\ZZSubMenuAll.mnu file again.