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 Post subject: Guide: Installing Addons
 Post Posted: Nov 12, '08 12:23 am 
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Living Legend

Joined: Jun 16, '08 7:12 pm
Posts: 17
Location: Texas
Installation Guide

1. Exit "World of Warcraft" completely
2. Download the mod you want to install
* Make a folder on your desktop called "My Mods"
* Save the .zip/.rar files to this folder.
* If, when you try to download the file, it automatically "opens" it... you need to RIGHT click on the link and "save as..." or "Save Target As".
3. Extract the file - commonly known as 'unzipping'
Do this ONE FILE AT A TIME!
* Windows
o Windows XP has a built in ZIP extractor. Double click on the file to open it, inside should be the file or folders needed. Copy these outside to the "My Mods" folder.
o WinRAR: Right click the file, select "Extract Here"
o WinZip: You MUST make sure the option to "Use Folder Names" is CHECKED or it will just extract the files and not make the proper folders how the Authors designed
* Mac Users
o StuffitExpander: Double click the archive to extract it to a folder in the current directory.
4. Verify your WoW Installation Path
That is where you are running WoW from and THAT is where you need to install your mods.
5. Move to the Addon folder
* Open your World of Warcraft folder. (default is C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\)
* Go into the "Interface" folder.
* Go into the "AddOns" folder.
* In a new window, open the "My Mods" folder.
* The "My Mods" folder should have the "Addonname" folder in it.
* Move the "Addonname" folder into the "AddOns" folder
6. Start World of Warcraft
7. Make sure AddOns are installed
* Log in
* At the Character Select screen, look in lower left corner for the "addons" button.
* If button is there: make sure all the mods you installed are listed and make sure "load out of date addons" is checked.
* If the button is NOT there: means you did not install the addons properly. Look at the above screenshots. Try repeating the steps or getting someone who knows more about computers than you do to help.

Translations

When you download a mod, please be sure that the mod is compatible with your translation of wow. Some mods only work on the US versions, while some only work on some of the various European versions. These variations are called "Localizations".


TOC Numbers (Out of Date Mods)

When Blizzard patches WoW, they change the Interface number. This means that all mods will be "out of date" unless or until the author releases a new version for that interface. Some people go into the .toc files and update the numbers themselves, but this is STRONGLY advised against as it will cause problems locating possible incompatibilities addons. When you log into WoW after a patch, you DO NOT have to delete your interface directory. All you have to do is simply tell WoW to ignore the interface numbers and load all the mods anyway. All you have to do is, while at the "character select" screen, look in the lower left corner and click on the "addons" button. A window will pop up listing all your installed mods.

If you look in the upper left corner of that window there should be a box that says "Load Out of Date AddOns". You want to CHECK this box. Now simply go into WoW normally and all your mods should load. As of the 1.9 patch, you will have to do this after EVERY patch/update that Blizzard posts! If you encounter any problems with a mod after a patch, please be sure to let the author of the mod know so they can fix it.


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 Post subject: WTF and you.
 Post Posted: Nov 13, '08 1:55 am 
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Living Legend

Joined: Jun 16, '08 7:12 pm
Posts: 17
Location: Texas
The WTF folder located within your World of Warcraft directory is used as a storage container for all your saved preferences that you have set up when logged into the game.

The structure of the folder looks like this:

WTF
- Account
- <Name of your Account>
- <Name of your Server>
- <Name of your Character>
- SavedVariables
- SavedVariables


What does all this mean?

If you notice when you open up your wtf folder you are going to see a folder named Account. After you open this folder you are going to see a folder with an account name. The account name will be the same as your login name when you log into world of warcraft.

You will also notice another folder named SavedVariables underneath the folder with the name of your server. Along with these two folders you will see other files in this folder. The ONLY thing you need to be aware of is the server folder and the saved variables folder.

Now you are probably wondering why I have SavedVariables Listed twice. The folder that is located in the same folder that your server name is located is called your "Global" saved variables folder. Essentially this is the folder used by addons to store settings across all characters on that account. To be more specific, when you open up your server folder and select a character you will see another SavedVariables folder. This folder is called your "Local" saved variables or character specific settings for example.

Why is am I telling you guys this stuff?

It is important when you are using multiple addons to be aware that these files do not get "updated" just because you updated an addon. This can result in necessary addon error messages or malfunctions.


________________________________________
________________________________________

So, this means that you should probably delete the saved variables that an addon uses before you update the addon. In order to do this check the saved variables folders found in the global and local files.

Could you just delete your entire WTF folder?

The answer is yes, go right ahead but be warned, you will loose all saved settings that you might have spent hours setting up.

_________________________________________
_________________________________________


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 Post subject: Critthis's UI
 Post Posted: Nov 13, '08 2:07 am 
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Living Legend

Joined: Jun 16, '08 7:12 pm
Posts: 17
Location: Texas
Some of you have seen what my user interface looks like. I will post pictures of my user interface when I am bored sitting at level 80. Until then just play with stuff yourself. I plan on writing some guides on how to build your own ui using minimal amounts of memory.

A lot of people can easily see that when you install addons they do not necessarily look like they go together. You might be running omen and it might graphically look out of place compared to say recount. When I create a UI I like for everything to look like it was made to go where I put it. All the graphics flow into each other in a simple and minimalistic look using textures I choose because of their visibility ease and ect.

The most asked question I get from people starts out with "how" and ends with "look like this?" Most addons at the default setup are out of place, inefficient, and probably does a lot of crap you don't even care about. I am here to tell you that there are tools you can use to extract elements that you do not like and eliminate them.

Again I want to say that I do plan on writing some guides for you guys since most of you tend to be senseless when it comes to addons. Addons are not for everyone and unless you are prepared to keep them up to date I would advise you to NOT use them. Overall they can make game play more efficient and enjoyable but at the same time can be your worse nightmare.


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