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06-21-05, 01:32 PM   #1
Cairenn
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The Definitive Macro and AddOn FAQ

Here are some of the most common FAQs ... feel free to add the FAQ (with answer, of course) that most annoys you in your reply, and I'll edit this post to include it. Corrections and suggestions (both informational and grammatical) also welcome.

Thanks go out to everyone who has made suggestions and comments; those who have provided additional FAQs for this post; those who have tirelessly and patiently answered all the n00bs' questions; and yes, even the n00bs themselves, for without their endless questions, this FAQ wouldn't exist.

NOTE TO ALL POSTERS: Replies to this thread should only contain comments or suggestions about this FAQ, or should contain a new frequently-asked question with answer included! Please, DO NOT clutter up this thread with questions that you need answers to... that's why we have this entire forum.

(Before you start, consider reading this web page: "How To Ask Questions The Smart Way")

Table of Contents

Section 1: "What the heck is all this, anyway?" (definitions and terms)
Section 2: "Patch Day, Oh Noes!" (what to do and NOT do on patch days)
Section 3: "So, you want to use some AddOns, eh?" (finding / installing / using AddOns)
Section 4: "Marco?" "Polo!" "I mean Macro!" (creating / using Macros)
Section 5: "I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that." (what is and isn't possible)
Section 6: "If at first you do not succeed..." (troubleshooting and debugging)
Section 7: "More! Give me more!" (other links and resources)
Section 8: "You know the mod that does this?" (main sites for mods that are asked about allllll the time)
Section 9: "Other miscellaneous Info" (Where are my settings saved? How do I fix a layout problem? How do I move my Chat windows? Not enough memory?)

Last edited by Cairenn : 02-08-06 at 11:24 AM.
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06-21-05, 01:32 PM   #2
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Section 1: "What the heck is all this, anyway?"
(definitions and terms)
Q: No, really. What the heck are macros and addons?

A: (credit to Cairenn) Custom UIs, Macros and Scripts aren't precisely the same. They can work together, but you can also have one without having to have the other.

UIs:
A "UI", "AddOn" or "Mod" (the terms tend to be used interchangeably) is anything that provides "Modifications" or "Adds On to" the original base User Interface as supplied by Blizzard. The changes may be purely cosmetic (change the colour of the bars from the standard grey to florescent pink), may make it so you can change where or how things are displayed on the screen, may provide additional information or functionality, etc.

I really don't know much about macros & scripts (the focus of my site is Mods), so I tend to go to WoWWiki (http://www.WoWWiki.com) when looking for info on them. Therefore, quoting from their pages (with minor changes by the editor):

Macros:
Macros are series of commands designed to be executed in series.

A macro can consist of any number of /<command>s or pure text to up 255 characters. Users wishing to use more advanced commands are recommended to see the Interface Customization and World of Warcraft API sections at wowwiki.com.

Scripts:
Usually, not just in WoW, the term Script refers to a short to medium length program, written in some kind of simple programming language (called a scripting language). The purpose of a script is usually to control another program.

World of Warcraft has a powerful programming language called Lua embedded inside it, which is used for scripting. What this means is that WoW is able to understand and execute little programs written in the Lua language. However, in WoW, a script is usually not something that you use by itself, i.e. you don't just type in a script and execute it (although this is also possible). Instead, there are several places in WoW where you have the option to enter scripts as part of something else.

The kind of places that you can use a script:

/script [command] : If you type the slash command "/script" in the chat box, you can follow it with one or more valid Lua language statements (i.e. a script), separated by semi-colons (.

Macros: you can enter scripts as part of macros, by putting one or more "/script" commands in your macro.

UI mods and AddOns: You can read more about these below, but the main point is that these are all created using Lua scripts (and also XML technology, but don't worry about that right now). In all the cases where you are able to use scripts, the things you can do with the scripts are the same.

So what can a script do? There are many resources on Lua scripts (the main one being http://www.wowwiki.com); However, the most important point is that scripts are able to perform many more game actions than slash commands. This is done via a set of functions (called API or Application Programming Interface) that WoW makes available for use in scripts. There is a quite extensive list of all the API functions available for use in scripts at http://www.wowwiki.com

Last edited by Cairenn : 07-03-05 at 08:52 PM.
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06-21-05, 01:33 PM   #3
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Section 2: "Patch Day, Oh Noes!"
(what to do and NOT do on patch days)

Q: Hey, a new patch is out! What should I do to ensure my addons keep working error-free?

A: Well, there's no guarantee that your addons will work error-free after a patch, since it is Blizzard's prerogative to change any and all of the API used by various AddOns. When that happens, AddOns which call upon those API functions tend to either not work, work strangely, or throw up lots of nasty-looking error messages.

The absolute best advice I can give for patch-day addon maintenance is to follow these guidelines (credit to Trimble; edits by Syllani)

0) Remove ANYTHING in Interface/FrameXML and disable any addons which provided files that went in there.

If you use a FrameXML based addon, you almost always REQUIRE an updated version after a patch. Since FrameXML files actually *overwrite* the default Blizzard files, and because frequently several FrameXML files update, the author needs to re-integrate their changes with the updated Blizzard files before the mod will work as expected. Better to just removed them from the equation first-thing.

1) Download the new patch on a patch day.

2) Log in to the game and get to the character selection screen. (If prompted about some of your addons being out-of-date, choose "Disable".)

3) Go into the Addons screen by clicking the Addons button in the lower left corner of the screen.

At this point, you should observe that all addons are auto-disabled due to version mismatch. If not, then the patch didn't change the UI, and you don't have to do anything. If they are disabled, proceed with these steps.

4) UNCHECK the check box for every addon.
5) Turn off version checking. (Enable out-of-date addons)
6) Re-check the check box for any addons that you KNOW will work without changes.
7) Log in and test that everything works.
8) Log Out to the character selection screen and go back into Addons
9) Re-check one addon. Log in and test that everything still works.
10) repeat steps 8 and 9 for each addon you have. I recommend standing in an Inn to do this - it's faster.

If something kills your system, Kill the wow process via task manager (or coldboot your system if you have to)

11) Watch for updates to your favorite mods.
12) When you see an update, download the update and replace the mod with the new version.
13) Repeat step 12 until all of your mods are updated.

There is no harm in leaving version checking turned off permanently.

These steps will ensure a clean and aggrivation free mod using experience. They will ensure that you don't spend hours trying to figure out exactly what killed your system. When 1300 patch initially came out, the StandAlone version of QuestMinion totally locked up everyone's machine, requiring a coldboot. It was a pain to figure out which mod did it.

In short:

Many mods will still work after a patch, even though they are technically "out of date". You only *have* to update mods that are actually broken because of functionality changes made by Blizzard in a patch. If you aren't getting error messages and everything is still working okay, you can just run using the "Load Outdated AddOns" check box. It is a good idea, however, to update your mods as you get the opportunity to do so, because not only do the authors fix anything broken, but most authors are also constantly tweaking their mod to make them better.


Q: What's the new toc number? (credit to Cairenn; edits by Syllani)

A: Unless you are a mod author, it doesn't matter. Don’t go in and manually edit your toc numbers; don’t use a toc auto-updater program! There is simply no need. Use the "Load Outdated Addons" check box, located under the AddOns button on your Character Select screen instead. Check in at the location where you got your mod(s) from originally over a few days after a patch, to get the properly updated version from the actual mod author.

By going in and changing all the toc numbers yourself, you are completely defeating the entire purpose of them in the first place.

If you use the "Load Outdated AddOns", without making any changes to the toc numbers (ie, the proper way to deal with patch days), then when something stops working, you've got some hope of figuring out which mod(s) aren't working right, since you can go back to the AddOn button on the Character Select screen and see which mods aren't updated yet.

If, however, you go in and manually change all the toc numbers, so far as WoW is concerned, they are all "current". Now what do you do when they stop working? When all of a sudden you've got error messages popping up all over the place? How do you know which ones are actually current and which ones are outdated and probably the problem? You've no way to tell any more. Leave your toc numbers alone.

Last edited by Cairenn : 07-03-05 at 08:51 PM.
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06-21-05, 01:33 PM   #4
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Section 3: "So, you want to use some AddOns, eh?"
(finding / installing / using AddOns)

Q: So, there's like, this addon, or something, that does this really cool thing, but I'm not going to give you a screenshot or better description... tell me what it is!

A: Um, no. We have better things to do than try to read your mind. Go browse some of the mod hosting sites listed below and you'll likely find what you're looking for (and much more besides!) Give us a detailed description and we might know what you are looking for.


Q: Where can I download some AddOns?

A: (credit to Cairenn) There are a number of Mod Hosting sites:

WoWInterface.com: http://www.wowinterface.com/
WoWGuru: http://www.wowguru.com/
WorldofWar UI section: http://ui.worldofwar.net/
Curse Gaming: http://www.curse-gaming.com/mod.php
ModWatcher: http://www.modwatcher.com/
WarCraftWars UI Database: http://ui.warcraftwars.com/
SwerveGaming: http://swervegaming.com/download.php

And, of course, the sticky thread at the top of this forum: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...tmp=1#post2626

Plus all of the mods that are self-hosted, most of which can be found by browsing through this forum.


Q: X mod hosting site is down, where can I get Y mod?

A: Try one of the other mod sites listed above, or do a google search for the name of the mod you want.


Q: What is the best UI?
Q: What is the best UI for <insert your class here>?

A: (credit to Cairenn) Remember that when you are asking about "the best UI", while people can point you to the mod they prefer, it is just that, a personal preference.

Person A prefers Mod/Compilation X. Person B doesn't like Mod/Compilation X, they prefer Mod/Compilation Y. Person C uses stand-alones only, and mixes and matches to get their desired result, etc and so on ...

Examples of mods:

CTMod, GyspyMod, BloodEagles Recompilation, FlexBar, Insomniax Recompilation, Cosmos, SvartenUI, UltimateUI (UUI), BibMod, Telo’s Mods, MonkeyMods, MiniGroup, Woofiest Compilation, etc, etc, etc. (Please note, this is definitely not anywhere near a "complete" list, there are many many many others. A large number of the ones I've got listed there are suites/compliations, an example listing of stand-alones would be absolutely freaking huge. The ones I listed aren't in any particular order. This is just a very small sample listing to give you an idea of the fact that there are tons out there.)

You have to figure out which one gives you the options you want, or mix and match to get what you want. Check out different mods, find what works for you.


Q: I downloaded an AddOn but I'm not sure how to get it working in-game, help!
Q: I downloaded an AddOn but it's not showing up under the [AddOns] button in the character select screen, help!

A: (credit to Cairenn) From the FAQ at WoWInterface.com:

1. Download your chosen interface

2. Extract the files to a folder on your desktop. Make sure that you "retain directory structure".

3. Open your WoW folder.

If using a PC, the typical default install path is:

C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft

If using a Macintosh, the typical default install path is:

Macintosh Main HD (or whatever you renamed it to, if you did)/Applications/World of Warcraft

4. In the WoW folder, create a new folder called Interface (if it doesn’t already exist)

5. Open that folder, create another one inside it, called AddOns (again, if it doesn’t already exist)

6. Open the AddOns folder

7. Copy the files from the folder on your desktop into the AddOns folder

8. Your final path should look like:

PC:

C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\Interface\AddOns\< ModAFolderName >\< files >
C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\Interface\AddOns\< ModBFolderName >\< files >
C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\Interface\AddOns\< ModCFolderName >\< files >

Mac:

Macintosh HD/Applications/World of Warcraft/Interface/Addons/< ModAFolderName >/< files >
Macintosh HD/Applications/World of Warcraft/Interface/Addons/< ModBFolderName >/< files >
Macintosh HD/Applications/World of Warcraft/Interface/Addons/ < ModCFolderNaem >/< files >

(where < ModAFolder > < .B. > < .C. > are the names of the actual folders that the mods create)

9. Log into game. At the character select screen, there should be an "AddOns" button in the lower left corner. Click on that. If any of the mods in the list that pops up say "out of date" or some such, choose the "Load Outdated AddOns" option.

10. Log the rest of the way into game, you should be up and running now.



Q: Um. This zip file I downloaded doesn't have any folders... just a bunch of files. What should I do?

A: (credit to Syllani) One of the files in the zip should have the .toc extension (i.e., there should be a file with a name similar to NameOfTheMod.toc). Simply create a new folder under your Interface/AddOns/ directory with the same name (NameOfTheMod), and place all the zipped files into that new folder.

Last edited by Cairenn : 03-09-06 at 02:00 PM.
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06-21-05, 01:33 PM   #5
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Section 4: "Marco?" "Polo!" "I mean Macro!"
(creating / using Macros)

Q: How do I create a macro? (credit to Trimble)

A: In a chat box, start by typing /macro. then click NEW, give it a name and an icon, and then start entering some commands.


Q: What is the best way to know the exact spelling of a spell to cast? (credit to Trimble)

A: Open your spellbook along side your macro editor. Position the edit cursor in the macro window, and then hold down the SHIFT key while you LEFT click on a spell icon in your spellbook, and the game will type in the correct /cast spellname command for you. You can then cut/paste or edit it if needed.


Q: How can I make a conditional macro? (credit to Trimble)

A: To use conditionals, you'll need to invoke the LUA interpreter. To do that, you start a macro with "/script" Anything after /script will be run as lua code (or a 'chunk' as lua calls it). It is VERY important to keep all parts of a Lua chunk on ONE LINE in a macro, and make it fit within 255 characters.

You can then use the "if then end" codeblock to complete your macro. it should look similar to this when you're done:

/script if UnitName('target') == 'fred' then CastSpellByName('Healing Touch(Rank 1)') end

Note the use of "end" at the end. it's important to Lua.

Also, note that when using Lua code, you can't use /cast to cast a spell - you have to use the CastSpellByName() "function". Luckily, CastSpellByName accepts the exact spelling of the spellname given to you by the shift-click method I mentioned above (remember, you can cut and paste after using the shift-click trick). Additionally, there is another function called CastSpell(), but you must know the SPELL NUMBER to use it.

Also notice the part that says 'target'. this is a placeholder that WoW uses to represent whatever your target it. It's a kind of variable, but it isn't a Lua variable. Other placeholders are 'player', meaning yourself (no matter what your name is), 'party1' through 'party4' meaning your groupmates, and 'pet' which means your pet. MANY wow Lua functions accept these placeholders as arguments, but they are NOT Lua variables - they are more like literals to Lua. This means that while UnitName('player') is valid, UnitName(player) is not valid unless you created a Lua variable called player and did a statement like this player = 'player' to make it contain a valid placeholder value.


Q: When using Lua script code, do I need to end each line with a semicolon? (credit to Trimble)

A: Lua doesn't require this, but you may do so if you like. It does make it easier to read, but Lua does have strict enough syntax that it can understand commands without semicolons. Even something as ugly as this is legal: /script a =5 b =6 Message(a..b)c= a +b


Q: Can I make a conditional macro that does something if I have a certain buff? (credit to Trimble)

A: It's possible, but WoW's UI doesn't come with a simple function to check for a buff. There are ways to do it, but it's tricky. The best way is to use an addon that provides this function and then use it in your macros.

NOTE: Do a search on curse-gaming.com for the IsBuffActive AddOn; this will provide you with an extremely simple method of checking for buffs on yourself or others.

Last edited by Cairenn : 07-03-05 at 08:51 PM.
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06-21-05, 01:34 PM   #6
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Section 5: "I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that."
(what is and isn't possible)

Q: Is it possible to use multiple abilities in one macro, such as cast Corruption, Curse of Agony, and then Shadowbolt? (credit to Skrag)

A: No. The reason is that it is not possible to wait in a macro, but to cast one spell after another, you would have to cast the first one, wait for it to finish, then cast the other. Even instant spells activate a global recast timer, which is somewhere in the neighborhood of one second, I believe, and you cannot cast another spell until this timer is done. So, without the ability to wait in a macro, it is impossible to cast multiple spells. Also, spells can only be cast when the player presses a key or clicks their mouse, not at any other time (which is why "do something, wait a bit, then cast XXX" is impossible).

It is, however, possible to do multiple things that don't require waiting. You could, for example, cast a spell and turn on attack. Or use two items (as long as they had independent refresh timers).

You just can't do anything that would require waiting between action A and action B.

NOTE: It is possible, however, to install an AddOn which automatically changes an action button to cast different spells in a user-specified list. So the first time you press the action button, you would cast Corruption; press it again, and you’d cast Curse of Agony; a third time would cast Shadowbolt. Danboo’s CastAway AddOn is a good example of an AddOn designed to do this very thing.


Q: How do I set up a macro or script to automatically cast XXX when... (credit to Skrag)

A: You don't. There is no way to automatically cast any spell or ability. You can ONLY use spells and abilities in response to a hardware event (mouse button or keyboard press), and furthermore, it appears that the hardware event must trigger a normal action button or the spell will fail to cast. You can attempt to call CastSpellByName after a certain amount of time, but the spell will not be cast.

NOTE: There are some AddOns that make self-rebuffing much easier to the point of being almost automated. Search for Resto! on curse-gaming.com – you can set it up to automatically rebuff yourself (if needed) when you use the keyboard movement keys.


Q: Is it possible to wait in a macro for a certain amount of time, then continue running the rest of the macro? (credit to Skrag)

A: No, it is not possible. See the question regarding multiple abilities in one macro for a more detailed explanation of the sorts of things not being able to wait prevents you from doing.

ADDENDUM:
It is possible, if you have Cosmos installed, to do something like:

/in 5 /say Hello,
/say Fred!

And in 5 seconds you will say "Hello,". But you will say "Fred!" right now. /in is not a macro pause command, it simply lets you queue up a single command to execute at a future time.

HOWEVER, you cannot use /in to cast a spell, use an ability, or run a macro, due to the hardware event restriction. So, its usefulness is very limited. You can use it to talk, or to use items, but that's about it. Which is one reason I didn't mention it in the first place. Because 99% of the time people want a pause, its so they can cast another spell in the same macro, or switch inventory items and then use an ability, neither of which is possible using /in.


Q: Can you help me write a macro that will automatically loot a corpse / automatically skin and loot a corpse / automatically pickpocket and loot?

A: No. There is no way to loot items except via mouse clicks.

Last edited by Cairenn : 07-03-05 at 08:59 PM.
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06-21-05, 01:34 PM   #7
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Section 6: "If at first you do not succeed..."
(troubleshooting and debugging)

Q: Why won't this macro / addon work? I'm almost positive my code is correct! (credit to Gharr)

A: For macros: double- and even triple-check your syntax AND SPELLING. Remember that LUA is case-sensitive! Triple-check the names of any spells, as well. CastSpellByName("Curse of Shadows(Rank 2)") is NOT the same as CastSpellByName("Curse of Shadow(Rank 2)")

For AddOns: Follow the advice given in the "For macros:" section above. Remember that both LUA *and* XML are case-sensitive! </OnLoad> is NOT the same as </onload>. If your AddOn is listed in the [AddOns] list at character select, but doesn't seem to be loading in-game, check your XML, you likely have an error there somewhere.

If you've tried the above and STILL can't get your script to work: Make a NEW post in this forum asking for help. Please DO NOT clutter up this thread asking for help with your broken macros!


Q: I'm having <insert vague problem here> with my UI, help! (credit to Itchyban)

A: Go to the character select screen. In the bottom left is a button labeled [AddOns]. Click that. You should see a list of all the AddOns that WoW thinks it might be able to load. You can enable and disable their loading from there.

Make a list of all that you have loaded.

Disable them all. Yep. All of them.

Enter the game and see if the problem still exists. If it does, you probably have an "old style" AddOn that put something in the path/to/WoW/Interface/FrameXML/ folder. Rename that folder to something like FrameXML.broken and try it again. If you still have a problem change the name of the path/to/WoW/Interface/AddOns/ folder to something like AddOns.broken and try again. If you still have a problem, something about your WoW installation is really broken and you may have to do the dreaded "WTF, WDB, Interface" dance. (i.e., follow the steps for completely resetting your UI in the Q/A below.)

Assuming that it ran fine with at most moving your FrameXML folder aside, you now need to start re-enabling AddOns until you see the problem. If you don't want to do a lot of paperwork, and have a little time, re-enable them one at a time and see what happens. (This is the way I do it. It doesn't take too long even with a moderately-long list of AddOns.)

If you have a ton of AddOns, you may want to do a "binary search" which works like this:

1) Split your list of "possibly broken" AddOns in half, make note of the halves
2) Enable one half ("newly enabled") and see what happens.
3) Does it work?
- Broken: It is related to your "newly enabled" AddOns. Go to step 1 with your "possibly broken" AddOns replaced with the "newly enabled" addons and split those in half again (until you get down to one "candidate")
- Not Broken: It is not related to your "newly enabled" AddOns. Go to step 1 with your "possibly broken" AddOns replaced with the half that you didn't enable and split those in half again (until you get down to one "candidate")

Once you get down to one candidate, disable all AddOns except that one. If you still have the problem, that is your culprit. If you don't see the problem, then it is a likely conflict with some other AddOn(s) and you would need to use a similar search to find which pair (and hopefully not three or four involved) cause the problem.


Q: I really fudged up my interface! How can I reset everything to the defaults?

A: Delete the WDB and WTF folders from your World of Warcraft directory, and move the Interface folder to your desktop. Log back into the game and your UI, keybindings, and chat configurations should be reset to the default settings. Log out and move your Interface folder back into your WoW directory. Now you should be able to log back into the game and reconfigure all of your AddOns, etc.

NOTE: It is generally an excellent idea to maintain regular backups of the Interface folder (which contains the code for all your AddOns) and the WTF folder (which contains all your custom configurations and keybindings).

Last edited by Cairenn : 07-03-05 at 08:50 PM.
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06-21-05, 01:34 PM   #8
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Section 7: "More! Give me more!"
(other links and resources)

Q: Where can I learn more about macros / scripting?

A: These forums, for one. Another great source of info is http://www.wowwiki.com

For AddOn-hosting sites, check the list in Section 3 of this FAQ.

For Macros, some good sites to visit are http://www.wowmacros.com for pre-made macros. Visit http://www.geocities.com/jsalli39/wowmacros.html or http://www.rpgexpert.com/4118.html for help with macro commands and scripting in general.


Viewing Screenshots:

Irfanview

Last edited by Cairenn : 08-11-05 at 12:38 PM.
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06-21-05, 01:34 PM   #9
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Section 8: "Extremely popular mods"
(main sites for mods that are asked about alll the time)

Many of these are available at the major hosting sites listed above, but not all, and those that are also have their own support forums, etc, listed here:

Cosmos: http://www.cosmosui.org/
FlexBar: http://www.savagevines.com/flexbar/
Insomniax: http://www.insomniax.net/
Telo's: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.aspx?fn=wow-interface-customization&t=215309&p=1&tmp=1#post215309
Scrolling Combat Text: http://rjhaney.pair.com/sct/
Auctioneer: http://auctioneeraddon.com/
Enchantrix: http://enchantrix.sourceforge.net/
Gatherer: http://gatherer.sf.net/
MiniGroup: http://wow.jaslaughter.com/ (sometimes requires a re-load of the page to get it to come up)
CTMod: http://www.ctmod.net/news.ct (Main forums at WoWInterface.com)
GypsyMod: http://gypsymod.the-mad.net/
UUI: http://www.wowguru.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=71

What are some of the other ones we see asked about allll the time, guys?

Last edited by Cairenn : 06-20-06 at 04:27 PM.
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06-21-05, 01:35 PM   #10
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Section 9: "Other Miscellaneous Info"
(Where are my settings saved? How do I fix a layout problem? How do I move my Chat windows? Not enough memory?)

Q I want to copy my settings over from one account/computer to another. What is saved where?

A ../World of Warcraft/WTF/Account/<Account Name>/macros-cache.txt
and
../World of Warcraft/WTF/Account/<Account Name>/macros-local.txt

is where all your macros are saved

../World of Warcraft/WTF/Account/<Account Name>/savedvariables.lua

mods like Map Notes, Gatherer, Auctioneer, LootLink, etc, anything that saves data, save their data to this file

../World of Warcraft/WTF/Account/<Account Name>/<Character Name>/layout-cache.txt

is where the physical layout of all of the visible UI elements is saved

../World of Warcraft/WTF/Account/<Account Name>/<Character Name>/chat-cache.txt

is where your chat settings are saved

../World of Warcraft/WTF/Account/<Account Name>/bindings-cache.wtf

is where your key bindings are saved


Q My UI is all messed up. My bag slots don't line up properly with the bag themselves, how do I fix it? I dragged X thing off the screen, how do I get it back?

A Go to your:

../World of Warcraft/WTF/Account/<Account Name>/<Character Name>

folder and delete your:

layout-cache.txt

file. That will reset all visible UI elements to the default Blizzard locations. A bit of a pain, as you'll have to set your layout back up the way you want, but at least problem X will be fixed.


Q I messed up my chat settings, I can't see X messages any more, my channels are all messed up. How do I fix it?

A Go to your:

../World of Warcraft/WTF/Account/<Account Name>/<Character Name>

folder. Delete the:

chat-cache.txt

file. That will reset all chat windows, channels & chat options to the default Blizzard setup. You'll have to re-do any changes you made to layout and channels that you want to keep.


Q How do I make it so I can see both my chat and my combat window at the same time? How do I make a new chat window?

A Go to the main in-game menu (esc or the little computer icon). Go to Interface Options. Make sure "Lock Chat Settings" is turned off. Make sure "Simple Chat" is turned off. Go back to the main game window. Hover your mouse over your chat window. A tab will appear at the top of your window. Right click on it. At the top, choose "Unlock". Move it to the location you want it by dragging on the tab. Resize it to the size you want by dragging on the edges of the chat window. Re-lock when you get it to the location and size you want.


Q I'm getting an error message saying my AddOns are using more than 32 mg memory and it dumps me out of game. How do I fix it?

A Log in as far as your character select screen. Use the AddOns button in the lower left hand corner to bring up the list. There is a spot in the top right hand corner to allocate UI memory. Try setting it to 64. If it still isn't enough (unlikely, but possible), set it to 0 (zero), that means "unlimited" (but it will still only use what it needs, it won't suck up all your computer's memory).

Last edited by Cairenn : 07-03-05 at 08:49 PM.
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10-13-05, 02:30 PM   #11
shouryuu
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Section 10 "Bizarre Blizzard" (Why does blizzard break my mods each patch? Why don't they care about them?)

First of all, it's important to clearly state that Blizzard does not officialy support any addons. By supports, I mean Blizzard is in no way responsible for their proper functioning, and does not guarantee their in-game stability. Blizzard guarantees that their default UI (User Interface) functions at all times, and it does, eventhough a large part of modders do believe it to be somewhat lacking in versitallity. There a two way of viewing this lack of versatillity. The first one, the most popular one, is believing that Blizzard left a job undone. That like a lot of things in World Of Warcraft, the default UI is "lacking in content". However most of the modding community ( those who code the addons) see the reasons for this "ineffective" UI as Blizzard's will to let the modding community grow, and offer a plethora mods to users which will allow them to have their very own unique UI, entirely fitted to their tastes and to the way they play the game. This belief has been strongly reinforced with the possibilty, since in patch 1.8, to disable some parts of the default UI. The modding community views this as an encouragement , from Blizzard, to change, replace, reuse, rework, hash, cut, destroy... their UI. We strongly believe that Blizzard's UI ,intentionaly, only lays down the foundations of a UI (a foundation which does offer more than basic functions), to offer us infinite possiblities to tinker, customize, our UI. There is no way Blizzard can satisfy every players tastes with only one UI, and we believe they have done so by not imposing one type of UI.

This being said, why does every patch break my addons? Well technicaly speaking, not every patch breaks your addons, only the patches that apply changes to the API ( in other words, the functions used by your addons) or the way addons work. For example, in patch 1.7, Blizzard added a LoadOnDemand option and function. This would allow addons to be loaded in-game. This "broke" every mod because it required every mod to state if it was loadable on demand or not. Since this function never existed before 1.7, well no addons stated that they were loadable on demand, which led to the "breaking" of most mods. What you have to understand, is that Blizzard will, most times at least, add only beneficial functions to the UI. At first, this might lead to errors and break downs, but it will always result in the better function (less memory usage for example) of your moded UI! How cool is that?!

So Blizzard does care about mods. They want customized UI to be as effective as possible, as versatille as possible, as stable as possible (test realms help alot in pre-updating of mods) and they want mods to be out there in numbers. They don't support mods, but they all they can to make them possible, they deserve a big thank you fom all of us.



Trying to limit the OMG NERF BLIZ threads on patc days.




And add a link to http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...p=1#post208350 in section 4.

Last edited by shouryuu : 10-16-05 at 08:25 AM.
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11-29-05, 09:00 AM   #12
Ciinien
A Defias Bandit
 
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Some of the best treatment of UI modding and scripting I've read in a long time. Kudos to the author(s) of the thread and all referenced authors of the various UI Compilations, mods, scripts, macros, et al.

Cheers!
Ci
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01-15-07, 02:26 PM   #13
Flog
A Kobold Labourer
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 1
Exclamation Help!... please...

Hey!
just want to know what the best UI/addons for a rogue is! plz tell me if any boddy now ok? Please help me out here
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02-08-07, 08:34 PM   #14
lori
A Defias Bandit
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 2
Dumped out of the game

Ok, I'm not a PC guru or whatever. When I enter the world on a character, I get a config (I think) window from your addon and 30 sec later get dumped out of the game. This makes it difficult to play. What should I do?
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04-11-07, 06:35 AM   #15
Kallieen
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#6 "I'm Sorry Dave, I can't do that" needs a bit of updating - /castsequence macros are now possible. Yoinked from Neuro's Guide to Macro Options (ver 4) in the World of Warcraft UI & Macro Forum: (http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...77588042&sid=1)

New Command: /castsequence
----------------------

There's a new command in WoW 2.0, called /castsequence. It allows you to set up a series of spells to cast one after another, on each subsequent click of the macro. The format is:

/castsequence [<options>] reset=<#>/target/combat/alt/shift/ctrl <spell1>, <spell2>, <spell3>

"Huh? Say what?"

It sets up a list of spells, and the first time you click the macro, it casts the first spell on the list. The next time you click it, it will cast the second spell, and so on. When it gets to the end, it goes back to the beginning.

"I'm still not following you."

Ok, lets say you are a mage. Sometimes you need to Frost Nova and Blink away quickly. You can't do them both at the same time, so you set up a sequence to do it!

/castsequence Frost Nova, Blink

And there you have it. The first time you click it, you Frost Nova, then you click again and Blink away.

"And what happens if Frost Nova is on cooldown? Does it Blink instead? Or does it just skip over Frost Nova and do Blink on the next click?"

Neither one. If the spell fails to cast (due to cooldown, out of range, not enough mana, whatever) then the sequence does NOT go to the next spell. The next time you click the macro, it'll try to Frost Nova again. (NOTE: A resist, dodge, parry, etc does NOT count as a failed cast. The spell/ability successfully went off, it just missed.)

"What if I'm not in combat? I don't want to waste a Frost Nova if I'm not actually fighting."

You can still use all the same macro options (however, you cannot set options for each individual spell, only for the whole sequence. Sorry.)

/castsequence [combat] Frost Nova, Blink

"Eh, I was just kidding about that combat stuff. Ok, so what happens if I Frost Nova, and decide not to Blink away? The next time I want to Frost Nova, it'll be stuck on the 'Blink' setting?"

Not a problem. We'll use the new "reset" setting. Since Frost Nova has a cooldown of 24 seconds normally, we'll set the sequence to reset after 24 seconds of non-use.

/castsequence reset=24 Frost Nova, Blink

The first time you click your macro, it will Frost Nova. If you decide not to Blink, after 24 seconds it will reset back to Frost Nova. Since Frost Nova's cooldown also happens to be 24 seconds, it'll be ready to use again. Brilliant!

"So, that reset timer will always reset after 24 seconds no matter what?"

Not quite. It is more of an 'idle timeout' feature. If you don't hit that macro *at all* for the duration of the reset timer, it'll reset. But if you kept spamming the macro, each keypress would refresh the reset timer, even on failed spellcasts. So you couldn't do something like /castsequence reset=30 Blast Wave, Arcane Explosion, Arcane Explosion, Arcane Explosion, Arcane Explosion because it would never reset back to Blast Wave unless you left it alone for 30 seconds straight.

"Ok, that's great and all, but I'm actually a warlock, dude."

Of course you are. Well, as a warlock, I'm sure you cast the same 3 DoTs over and over again. Now you can set a sequence for those and save button space.

/castsequence Corruption, Immolate, Curse of Agony

There you go, now you can just push that button three times and cast all three DoTs.

"But what if it dies before I finish casting all three? I'm stuck at the end of the sequence again, and I don't wanna set no timer!"

That's ok, we can use the other options. If you set 'reset=target' then any time you change targets, it will reset the sequence back to the beginning. You can also set 'reset=combat', and the game will reset your sequence any time you leave combat. If you use the '/' operator (remember it, from earlier?) you can combine reset options!

/castsequence reset=combat/target Corruption, Immolate, Curse of Agony

There, now any time you change targets (like, if the old target is almost dead and you want to start on a new one), or any time you leave combat (perhaps the critter died before you finished casting all the dots), it resets your sequence for you, leaving you ready to start over.

"What if I want to manually reset my sequence, eh?"

Well, you can add in a modifier to do a reset, like so:

/castsequence reset=combat/target/shift Corruption, Immolate, Curse of Agony

Now, if you hold down the shift key while you hit your macro, it will automatically reset the sequence back to the beginning and cast Corruption.

"Ok, great, I think I got it now! Gimme a sec to set my new macros..... done!"

Excellent, I'm glad I could help.

"So... wanna duel?"

Um, no thanks, I don't duel warlocks.

"Bah, you wuss."
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07-03-07, 04:52 PM   #16
cme2007
A Kobold Labourer
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 1
Unhappy Still no add-on button on the character selection screen

I havent had an add-on button at the character selection screen seince the day i bought wow. {Only like a month ago.} But I noticed my cousin a add on button, and had a diffrent hud display then the default display. So i began searching online for add ons and mod Any ways i saw your instructions on how to download them correctly and it still dosent work. I belive ive done it right here is my install path C: Program Files>World Of Warcraft>Interface>Add-Ons>MyModFolderA. I got the mod from wowui.incgamers.com the mods are Archud2.zip and Metahud.zip i have them marked as read-only. I dont know if its because they are zip files it is not working or what. But i still have no add-on button at the character selection screen Please HELP
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07-03-07, 07:26 PM   #17
Seerah
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1. Make sure your AddOns folder has no " - " in it. The game creates one if it doesn't exist and places the Blizzard UI folders in there.

2. You need to **extract** your zip files
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08-10-07, 04:00 PM   #18
mchaelhansen1000
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What happened with me is I dowloaded a bunch of add ons, took a break from wow, and when i came back they were out of date. Clicking on the load out of date add on button is not working and I have completely deleted my interface folder and they are still there. Also, when i dowload new add ons and go through the whole process, the new add on does not appear when i click that little add on button in the log in screen. HELP ME
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08-10-07, 10:34 PM   #19
Seerah
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Do you have your game installed in two locations?
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"You'd be surprised how many people violate this simple principle every day of their lives and try to fit square pegs into round holes, ignoring the clear reality that Things Are As They Are." -Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

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08-11-07, 11:54 AM   #20
mchaelhansen1000
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I don't think so. I go to my computer, then local disk (c, then program files, then the world ofwarcraft folder, then interface, then add ons. I dont think I have another WoW folder. I do know that I dont use the laucher to play WoW. I have tried the laucher but I get a wierd thing that pops up. It says:

The application has encountered a critical error.

ERROR #134(0x85100086) Fatal Condition
Program: C:/Program Files/World of Warcraft/WoW.exe

Failed to open archive texture.MPQ:The system cannot find the file specified.

Click OK to terminate the program


Then i click ok and thats it. I'm not sure why that happens or if that it why my add ons arent working.
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WoWInterface » AddOns, Compilations, Macros » AddOn Help/Support » The Definitive Macro and AddOn FAQ

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