Morrowind Mod:Wrye Mash:Mods Tab

The Mods Tab in Wrye Mash lists all the plugins (active and non-active) present in your Data Files folder. It allows to change load order, import levelled list and more.

Mods List

• Sorting
  • Sort Mod list items by (left) clicking on a column header, or by using the sort submenu of the column popup menu.
  • Reverse a sort by redoing it. E.g., left click on the File column header twice in a row.
    • "Load Order" is the exception -- it will always appear in correct order.
  • Force ESMS to the top of the list by selecting "Sort by Type" from the context menu.
  • Force selected mods to the top of the list by selecting "Sort by Selection" from the context menu.
• Selecting Load Mods
  • Select load mods by clicking on the checkbox next to their file name.
  • Note: When a mod is selected, its master mods will also be selected.
  • Conversely, when an esm is unselected, any mods that depend on it will also be unselected.
• Line Colors
  • Blue: An esm file.
  • Pink: A file that shares a modification date/time with another file. Not a problem unless they're both selected, in which case, the lines turn...
  • Red: A file that shares a modification date/time with another file -- with both files being selected. This should definitely be corrected! Use details view to change the modification date of one of the files by a second or more.
  • Orange: Overloaded Exclusion Group (See below.)
• Checkbox Colors
  • Checkbox colors indicate the "health" of the mod file's master files. See Master List Updating. Basically, with mod files, you're okay unless the checkbox is red -- which indicates that a master file is missing.
• Exclusion Groups
  • Oftentimes users will have different versions of the same mod, or different mods which do the same sort of thing in an incompatible way. Exclusion groups can be used to help flag these mods so that you don't accidentally load more than one at once. When an exclusion group is violated, all violating mods will be highlighted in orange.
  • Defining an exclusion group is easy -- just change the name of the mod to include a comma. The part of the name before the comma is the exclusion group.

Mod Details

This is the area on right side of window. Here, you can make changes to the file in the details view. Note that changes made do not take effect till you click Save near the bottom right corner.

• File Name Change the file name.
  • Note that changes to the file name are not automatically reflected in any mods that have the current mod as their master, which may cause Doubling.
• Modification Time Change the file modification time.
  • Note that this affects file order.
• Author Change the author name.
• Description
  • Edit the mod description.
• Masters List
  • The masters list show the esm files that the current mod depends on, and the load order (modIndex) of that master.
  • While there's rarely a need to edit the masters of a mod, if the need does arise, you can use the masters list to do so. It is recommended that you be familiar with editing masters of save games before you attempt to edit masters of mods.
  • For more information, see Mod Updating below.

Using Load Lists

Aside from using checkboxes to select and unselect mods, you can also use load lists. These are accessed through right-click on coloumn header > Load

• None: Unselects all files.
• Save List... Saves your currently selected files to a new load list.
• Edit Lists... Allows you to delete and rename previously defined load lists.
• [Load List]: Selecting a load list causes all of its files to be selected. This action is not exclusive, but additive -- i.e., the files will be selected in addition to the currently selected files.

File Commands

• File Operations are accessed through right-click on a mod > File
  • Backup Create a backup of the file. Note that backups are also automatically created (see "Revert to Backup" below). If you want to be sure that you can late restore from a specific point, use Duplicate or Snapshot instead.
  • Duplicate... Creates a duplicate of the file in the mods directory.
  • Snapshot... Creates a snapshot copy of the current mod in a subdirectory Mash\Snapshots.
  • Snapshots are indicated by appending to "-l.n.m" to the root of the file name. E.g., "My.esp" becomes "My-01.esp" or "My Mod v1.01.esp" becomes "My Mod v1.01-01.esp".
  • Note that Mash will automatically generate the next available snapshot number. However, you are free to chose a different number if you like.
  • Also, if there's an existing version line (e.g., "Version NN.MM-LL") in the description field of the mod, then it will updated with the new version plus snapshot number when the snapshot is saved.
  • Delete Deletes the file... Permanently.
    • Also deletes all backups and temp files, but **not** snapshots.
  • Hide Moves the file to a subdirectory (Mash\Hidden).
  • Use this on seldom used mods to keep them from cluttering the mods listing.
  • This is especially useful when modding, since the TESCS Data Files list cannot be sorted.
  • Note that there's a corresponding "Unhide..." command in the column context menu.
  • If the file's group is defined (e.g. Heads), and if the Mash\Hidden directory has a subdirectory with the same name (e.g. Mash\Hidden\Heads), then the file will be hidden in it.
  • Sort Reorders selected mods to make them sort in alphabetical order.
    • Modified time of first mod is set to earliest modified time of set. Other mods follow it at one minute increments.
    • WARNING: Some mods must be loaded in a certain order (e.g., a patch mod must be loaded after the original). Sort may break that required ordering! Use sort with extreme caution! Note too that there is no "undo" command for sort!
  • Revert to Backup Reverts the file to the last Backup made of it.
    • Mash will make a backup of a file the first time it is significantly changed in an application session.
    • E.g., if you make two or three changes to a file in a given application session, then only the first change will generate a backup.
  • Revert to First Backup Same as Revert to Backup, only it reverts to the very first backup that Mash made of the file.
    • The first backup is generated the first time that Mash alters a file, and is never overwritten. Hence it is guaranteed to be free of any problem that Mash might introduce.
    • Of course, this also may mean that it's badly out of date!
  • Revert to Snapshot Reverts the file to a selected snapshot.

Using mlox

Only available with Yacoby's WMSA

• If Mlox is installed somewhere within the Morrowind directory, you will be able to use mlox with Wrye Mash
  • They are accessed through the mod context menu
  • Launch Mlox launches mlox
  • Sort Using Mox sorts your load list using the mlox rules
  • Revert Changes reverts the load order to how it was before you sorted it

Using tes3cmd

Only available with Yacoby's WMSA

• If tes3cmd is installed in the Morrowind directory or Data Files directory, you will be able to use tes3cmd with Wrye Mash
  • To use the clean command, select any number of mods, right click select Tes3cmd > Clean
  • To use the Fixit command, open the mod context menu and select Tes3cmd > Fixit

Export/Import Dialog

• From the mods context menu, select Export: Dialog to export all dialog text to a file, or select Import: Dialog to reimport dialog text from a file.
  • The purpose of these functions is to facilitate spellchecking and general text editing. Accordingly, only the text of the dialog is exported. (I.e., this is a more focussed dialog export/import than the similar TESCS function.)
• Format
  • Exported text is sorted by speaker/topic. However, imported text may be in any order, and can be trimmed to a subset of the originally exported set of entries.
  • Lines beginning with '#' signs are comments and are ignored. Feel free to add additional comment lines to the exported file -- they'll be ignored in import.
  • Lines beginning with '@' encode the dialog type, topic and info entry number. Do not alter these lines!
• Trimming
  • Text is automatically trimmed to some degree on import...
  • Leading and trailing spaces and new lines are trimmed.
  • Some characters are replaced or deleted: curly quotes are straightened; single chararcter ellipses are replaced with multi-character elllipses; reserved characters (@, #) are deleted.)
  • Any remaining text over 511 bytes will be trimmed. If such trims are made, a window will popup detailing them.

Export/Import Scripts

• These paired commands will export all scripts in a mod to a text file, and then subsequently reimport them.
• Note that after importing, you must manually recompile (in TESCS) any scripts that have been changed.

Import Merged Lists

• Overview
  • Leveled lists determine what creatures you will encounter and what items you will find in various containers. Mods that add creatures or items to the world generally modify these lists. However, if two or more mods modify the same list, then the last mod to load will delete any additions/changes made be previous mods.
  • This function combines changes made to the same leveled lists from different mods and saves the combined list to the current mod.
• Usage
  • This function is only available for mods whose author is Wrye Mash. This is a safety feature to prevent overwriting the load lists of a normal mod.
    • If you don't have such a mod available, then start by copying Mashed Lists.esp from Mopy\Extras to the Data Files folder.
    • Note that you may want to have different versions of the Mashed List esp for different load sets. If this is the case, just duplicate one Mashed List esp and rename it as desired.
  • If you have a copy of Merged_Leveled_Lists.esp (produced by TesTool), then remove it from your load list. You won't need it anymore. Note too that you won't need to use the Leveled List Resquencer tool. The Import Merged List lists are already resequenced.
  • Make sure you have your full load list loaded, then right click on the "Mashed Lists" esp and select "Import: Merged Lists".
  • Don't forget to update the masters on your save game when you're done.
• Tech Notes
  • Mash's Merge List function is a bit more efficient that TesTools -- if there's no need to merge lists, then it won't.
  • In merging lists, Mash ignores lists from any of the three Bethesda Masters, under the assumption that anything in them will also be in any plugin that tries to modify them.
  • In merging lists, Mash ignores any mod whose author is Wrye Mash.
  • When merging two lists:
    • Chance None is set to Chance None of last mod to change list.
    • Calculate for Each Item is true if it's true for either list.
    • Calculate from All Levels is true if it's true for either list.
    • All entries from the first list, plus any new items in the second list will be included in the merged list.
    • A deletion of a leveled list will be ignored unless the deletion comes from the last mod to modify that list.

Import Replacer

• Overview
  • Ref replacers allow you to systematically replace one set of references with another. For example you can "NOMify" a mod that adds towns by systematically replacing empty bottles with equivalent NOM bottles; and static ovens, grills, cauldrons and kegs with equivalent NOM activators.
• Setup
  • Select Import: Edit Replacers, and use the resulting dialog to add a replacer file. Be sure that the file that you have selected is a replacer file!
• Usage
  • Select Import: [Replacer Name]. You'll receive a report on all replacements made and records imported.
• Tech Notes
  • The mod replacer file defines which object ids's are to be replaced and with what object ids, and (optionally) which source mod to copy records from.
  • If multiple replacements are defined, then each of the replacements objects will be used in turn. E.g. for NOM, the first morrowind kegstand will be replaced with a beer barrel, the second will be replaced with a wine barrel, etc.
  • If you define a source mod (srcmod), then the replacer will grab a copy of each object id used from the srcMod and copy it to the target mod. E.g., if the user only replaces bottles, then only bottle object definitions will be imported into the target mod. If you don't define a srcmod, then nothing will be imported.
  • In the mod, only the id of the placed object will be changed. Thus, the replacement should work at the coordinate/orientation used by the original, and the original should not have extra info that is incompatible with the replacements type!
  • I.e., if the original is a soulgem and includes info on the type of soul included, then the replacement should not be anything but another soulgem.
  • This means that you have to know what you're doing when you're defining a replacement. (Probably the main limitation is not replacing soulgems or things that have uses.)
  • Be aware that ref replacement doesn't do any spell checking... So be sure that both the original and replacement items are spelled correctly.

Renumber Refs

• This is an advanced feature intended to reduce the likelihood of local refs conflicts between mods. It works by renumbering the local refs placed by the esp, so that instead of starting objectIndex numbers at 1, it starts them at some random number between 1,000 and 10,000 (or a user selected number between 1 and 100,000.)
• Notes
  • This feature is **experimental!** Seems okay so far, but it does something a little unexpected and perhaps Morrowind engine won't like that.
  • The main problem with doing this is that every time TESCS is used to edit the esp, it will renumber the object indexes starting from 1. So, this feature is best used by end users rather than by modders. (Since end users don't re-edit the esps.)
  • This command remembers the starting object index numbers for each mod. If used a second time on the same mod, it will default to the same starting index number it used last time. So, if you have to edit the esp with TESCS, just run the command again.
• Usage
  • [Optional] Duplicate the original mod and make changes to the duplicate rather than the original. If you're going to modify an esp that is already in use by save games, you'll need to do this (and create and use an updater) in order to prevent doubling.
  • After selecting the command, you can either accept the suggested first value (randomly chosen between 1,000 and 10,000), or manually enter a value between 1 and 100,000.

Copy to Esm/Esp

• Copies the esm to an esp and vice versa.

Sort Records

• This sorts the file records so that they can be more easily found in the TESCS Details view.
• Ordering Details
  • TES files are only semi-ordered. Some records must be in a certain order, e.g. DIALs and their associated INFO's form a block. Other records seem to have a record preferred by TESCS/Morrowind, while other types of records are loosely intermixed (e.g., most object type records).
  • The sort record commands follows both the required and preferred record order rules, but also orders records more strictly by record type and by record id (when available, and when not in conflict with other rules). This stricter ordering makes records easier to find.
• Inherited Order
  • Records that are modifications of pre-existing records (i.e., records inherited from master esms and even from esps selected in the load list) will be reordered when TESCS saves the esp file so that the inherited records are moved to the top of their TESCS save group (e.g., the "most objects" group), in the order that TESCS originally saw them in -- which is fairly disordered.
  • However, it seems to be safe to use the Sort Records command on the Bethesda esms themselves. (But don't be surprised if Mash hangs for a minute or so while sorting Morrowind.esm!) Once this is done, when saving your esp, the modified records will still be moved up, but at least they'll be ordered by record type and id.

Statistics

• Displays statistics for the file's record types.

Updaters

• See Mod Updating