#0 - Oct. 6, 2006, 10:46 p.m.
I wrote this because i think i see way too many 'How to install my addons' posts.
This is a guide which tells you how to install them, not how to use them (however i might still be able to help you with that in another topic ;) ).
To those who didnt knew that mods and addons are the same, they now do. Now you are'nt confused about that anymore ;D.
1. Exit WoW. Its important.
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 time!
* Windows XP - It has a built in ZIP extractor. Double click on the file to open it, inside should be the file or folders needed. Drag these outside to the 'My Mods' folder.
* WinRAR - Right click the file, select Extract Here.
Download Winrar ->http://www.download.com/3000-2250-10007677.html (when istalling you can choose wich files Winrar have to handle make sure to uncheck '.zip' if you use Windows XP)
* 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.
Download Winzip -> http://www.download.com/WinZip/3000-2250_4-10454671.html?tag=lst-0-1
* Mac Users - use StuffitExpander. ->Download http://www.stuffit.com/mac/expander/
4 Verify your WoW Installation Path - I know it sounds wierd, but there have been many people who actually have TWO installations of WoW on their computer.
* Right click on the WoW Icon on your desktop or quick bar
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v704/Lethann/WoW/Verify01.jpg
# Click 'Properties'
# Make sure the 'Shortcut' tab is selected. Look at the area labled 'Target'
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v704/Lethann/WoW/Verify02.jpg
#
* 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.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v704/Lethann/WoW/AddonsFolder.jpg
# In a new window, open the 'My Mods' folder.
# The 'My Mods' folder should have the 'Addonname' folder in it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v704/Lethann/WoW/MyMods.jpg
Move the 'Addonname' folder into the "Addons" folder.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v704/Lethann/WoW/AddonInstallation-01.gif
Your folder/directory structure should look like this:
Q u o t e:
World of Warcraft
|_ Interface
.....|_AddOns
..........|_*AddonName*
...................|_ *AddonName*.toc
...................|_ *AddonName*.xml
...................|_ *AddonName*.lua
...................|_ (possibly others as well)...
Example from my own computer:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v704/Lethann/WoW/AddonInstallation-02.gif
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, make sure "load out of date addons" is checked, and your Memory Allocation is at least 128 MB or higher.
* If 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. If nothing else works, try unistall WoW and the 'other' WoW installation. It worked for me ;).
NOTE: About 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 Korean/Chineese/German/French versions, while some only work on some of the various English versions. These variations are called "Localizations".
NOTE: about Interface Numbers (Out of Date Mods)
when WoW patches, Bliz changes 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 I advise against this because it might cause you some confusion when locating possible problems with the patch and the mod. 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 correctly installed mods.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v704/Lethann/WoW/AddonMenu.jpg
If you look in the upper left corner of that window (#2 In the above Image), there should be a box that says "Load Outo 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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Help, I screwed up my addon
Your addon used to work, but you did something, and it does not work / show anymore? That could be cause by two issues:
- You installed another addon and they interfere
You can check for this case easily if you log out, disable all other addons, and log back in again. If you addon now works fine again, you know that it is some kind of incompatibility between mods that is causing your grief. There is nothing you can do, apart from enabling the other addons individually again, and find out which combination causes the problem. Then post a description of the problem to both addon authors, and hope that they are able to fix it. The more constructive information you can post, the better your chance for a fix.
- The addon doesnt work on it own
This can be caused by either a problem with its settings, or that an upgrade to WoW has broken your addon. The first thing to do is to make sure that the addon does not have problems with its settings.
In order to reset the addon you will need to go to your WTF\Account\<AccountName>\<ServerName>\<CharacterName>\SavedVariables subfolder of your WoW installation, and remove the .lua file matching the directory name for your addon. Sometimes they also save info globally, and you need to check in WTF\Account\<AccountName>\SavedVariables.
The lua file you are deleting contains the settings used for the addon, and when you delete it, it will reset itself to the default state. Obviously, you should save the file at an other location to be able to get them back, should this not help at all.
"Help, I screwed up my addon" -section by Miststorm
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NOTE about Macs
All WoW addons are not platform based and will work on either MAC or PC. However... Macs won't run .exe files. I do know that it is possible to extract .zip files on a Mac using StuffitExpander (If you are getting a 'corrupted' error, this means you need to update your version). For extracting RAR fies, simply use the most up to date version of StuffitExpander. Once the files are extracted, find the World of Warcraft folder and from there the instructions are the same as listed above.
FOR WINDOWS USERS:
If you are running Windows and the .Net Framework, you can try out WoW UI Manager. You simply download the .zip or .rar file, then go into the program, click the "install" button and then chose the .zip or .rar file. It will make sure all the folders and subfolders are sorted properly.
HOWEVER, since this program is hosted off site from WoW, I don't think anyone can give you much support for it. Sorry folks. Use at your own risk.
