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{{GameGuide-nav}}
[[File:Custom content star.png|thumb]]
[[Custom content]] has always been a part of [[The Sims series|''The Sims'' series]], at least for the PC and Mac games in it. However, how to install it has varied from game to game, and has not always been obvious.
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It is best to [[Game guide:Installing custom content#Identifying file types|set Windows so that file extensions are always shown]]. When installing content for ''The Sims'', file icons and listed file types should '''not''' be considered reliable, as many of the extensions ''The Sims'' uses for custom content are also used by other programs, and those extensions may be associated with those programs.
The file paths given below assume a default PC installation to C:\Program Files .<ref name="x86" /> Macs may or may not have a Program Files folder. Regardless of install location, and regardless of whether the game is on a PC or Mac, the part of the file path after "The Sims" will be the same.
Objects normally have the extension '''.iff''', but occasionally use '''.far''' . They are normally placed in:<br />
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<code>C:\Program Files\Maxis\The Sims\GameData\Floors</code>
[[Lot]]s are a
<code>C:\Program Files\Maxis\The Sims\UserDataXX\Houses</code><br />
The XX is a two-digit number representing the neighborhood. For example, [[Neighborhood 1]] is
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Players should note that some content needs to be placed relative to the game's install folder, or relative to the folder for the latest [[expansion pack]]. For ''Ultimate Collection'' this is always<br />
<code>C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection\Fun with Pets\SP9\</code><ref name="x86">64-bit versions of Windows use "Program Files (x86)" for 32-bit programs.</ref><ref name="Simswiki.info UC">[http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Ultimate_Collection_FAQs Game Help:Ultimate Collection FAQs] at Mod The Sims</ref>
===Sims2pack files===
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By default, double-clicking a sims2pack file will invoke the game's installer. It will open a dialog showing the names and descriptions of all custom content files contained in the sims2pack. (A packaged lot or Sim will commonly contain custom content used by that lot or Sim.) The dialog has two buttons, "Install" and "Cancel". Clicking the Install button will install '''everything''' in the sims2pack, regardless of whether it is already present. It cannot be told to install to a sub-folder of the main Downloads folder, and may give an installed package file a "nonsense" filename that is a seemingly-random string of letters and numbers.
An alternative to the game's sims2pack installer is the [http://sims2pack.modthesims2.com/ Sims2pack Clean Installer] from [[ModTheSims|Mod The Sims]]. This program "associates" the sims2pack extension with itself, so it will launch whenever a sims2pack file is double-clicked. It allows players to see what content is in a sims2pack, and to select which parts to install. When installing to the Downloads folder, it allows the player to select a sub-folder. Players can choose to override the default install folder and browse for the folder they wish to extract to. Players with ''Ultimate Collection'' will need to do this if they have a version prior to 1.6.22.0.<ref name="Simswiki.info UC" />
'''N.B.:''' Despite what Clean Installer's main page says about needing to install the .NET framework, this should '''not''' be necessary with Vista and later versions of Windows.
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In ''The Sims 2'', it is not enough to install custom content correctly. It must be specifically enabled by way of a dialog that appears when the game loads. For players with ''Nightlife'' or later, or any stuff pack, this dialog will not appear unless it is enabled in [[Game option#The Sims 2 and Expansion Packs|Game Options]]. Also, custom [[buy mode]] and [[build mode]] objects will not appear in the catalogs unless the [[Game option#The Sims 2 and The Sims Stories|game option]] "Catalogs Display Custom Content" is set to '''On'''. Fortunately, these things only need to be done after the game is first installed, or after adding a new [[expansion pack]] or stuff pack.
In addition to enabling custom content, players who want to use recolors of Maxis buy and build objects must use the [
==The Sims 3==
Installing custom content in ''[[The Sims 3]]'' requires some framework. It also requires following some instructions, which vary depending on the type of file being installed. Installation of custom content for ''The Sims 3'' is covered extensively [
There are [
==The Sims 4==
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Windows Vista, Windows 7/8, Mac:<code>Users\(Your User Account)\Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\</code>
The Mods folder may contain sub-folders. If the Mods folder does not exist, it can be created manually. The Mods folder will contain a file named '''resource.cfg'''
Most content uses the '''.package''' extension, though the format is different from that used in ''The Sims 2'' and ''The Sims 3''. As in ''The Sims 2'', installing package files is simply a matter of placing them in the Mods folder, or a sub-folder of it; there is no need to do anything to the files other than place them. However, the archive file should not be placed in the Tray folder.
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Lots and Sims use several different types of files. Both use a type known as '''.trayitem''' . Lots also use '''.blueprint''' and '''.bpi''' files, while Sims use '''.hhi''', '''.sgi''' and '''.householdbinary''' files. These files can be installed by extracting them from the archive file they are in, and placing them in the Tray folder; there is no need to do anything else to them.
Script mods
==Archive files==
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''The Sims'', ''The Sims 2'', and ''The Sims 3'' do not recognize archive files and cannot read them. While it appears that ''The Sims 4'' does recognize zip files in the Mods folder, it also appears to expect anything in them to be part of a script mod. Therefore, when downloading any Sims content other than a script mod for ''The Sims 4'', the archive files should '''not''' be downloaded to any game folder, but can be downloaded to any non-program folder the player chooses. Also, it is not necessary to keep the archive files once the custom content files have been extracted; they can be deleted or moved to an external storage device such as a thumb drive.
Windows and OS X can extract from zip files (which Windows may call "compressed folders"), but users will need a separate program to extract from RAR or 7z files. There are many programs which can extract from archive files, and most can extract from zip, RAR, and 7z files.<ref>The zip and 7z formats are open. RAR decompression is open, though RAR compression is proprietary.</ref><ref>Version 5.0 of WinRAR, released in September 2013, introduced a new version of the RAR format called RAR5. Older software will not recognize this new format, and will not be able to open RAR files that use it.</ref> Prices and licenses vary, from commercial, to nagware, to free or open-source.<!-- Please do not edit this guide to make recommendations, as that might be considered an endorsement by The Sims Wiki. If you want to make recommendations, please use the talk page. -->
==Identifying file types==
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# Open a folder; it doesn't matter which one.
# Enter '''Folder Options''':
# In the "Folder Options" dialog window, click on the View tab. Look in the list for "Hide extensions for known file types". Make sure that the box by this option is empty, with no checkmark, then click OK.
==Notes==
<references />
==External links==
* [http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Downloading_for_Fracking_Idiots Game Help:Downloading for Fracking Idiots] (for ''The Sims 2'' on Simswiki.info)
* [http://simswiki.info/wiki.php?title=Game_Help:Downloading_for_Downright_Dunderheads Game Help:Downloading for Downright Dunderheads] (for ''The Sims 3'' on Simswiki.info)
[[Category:The Sims game guides]]
[[Category:The Sims 2 game guides]]
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