SC4 Dat Packer

[BarbyW]

 ;DNikNik, I wasn't having problems but reply to canadacactus who seems to have lost all his files - the post above mine. It is the way the program works and is useful for a number of tasks including just packing one folder for a prop pack. The Merge facility in SC4Tool does the same thing but it does remove the originals and sometimes not where you think. SC4DatPacker only packs folders in plugins into a new folder - default name Plugins_Compressed - and should leave the folders still in place to be manually - or  using SUM - to somewhere outside plugins.

[canadacactus]

I found that after using SC4 Dat Packer I have undermined the usefulness of SC4 Startup Manager because all I'm left with is the plug-ins compressed folder. I no longer have the options to select what plug-ins I wish to use within my cities and regions.

Have I done something wrong or is it a case of one or the other?

I want to be able to select different plug-ins for each city within a Region.

Also many of the plug-in developers note in their read-me file that their folders should be left intact for future updates.

Gerry

[RippleJet]

Each folder that you want to be able to select separately by the Startup Manager should in that case be datpacked in its own file.

And whenever you're installing new custom content or updating existing custom content you need to reinstate the original folder structure.

[Rayden]

I really don't understand how some people deal with this such easy and usefull program. Let me put down how I deal with it.

1 - It doesn't matter how you have your plugins organized. Install any plugins you have, clean up all the useless files by running Cleanitol or any other program that does the same, or you can browse around manually, and get rid of jpg, txt, url, and so ones like. Delete any empty folders too.
2 - Run SC4DatPacker. When it finishes, you should find an extra folder inside your Plugins, called Plugins_Compressed. That folder contains now your entire plugins all packed. Each dat file in there is the correspondent folder of your Plugins.
3 - Move that Plugins_Compressed to the same place of your Plugins folder ...\Documents\SimCity 4\
4 - Rename your Plugins folder for someting like Plugins_original, Plugins_uncompressed, whatever you feel like.
5 - Rename your Plugins_Compressed to Plugins. This is now your Plugins folder.
6 - When you need to update or install some more plugins, do the reverse, rename back your Plugins to Plugins_Compressed (make sure it is spelled correct, as SC4DatPacker will need it), and your Plugins_Original, uncompressed or whatever, renamed back to Plugins. Don't move the Plugins_Compressed yet into the plugins folder.
7 - Install all the plugins you have, do the cleaning again, and then, move the Plugins_Compressed from outside into the Plugins folder. This is necessary as, when you run again the SC4DatPacker, the program is going to check what changes/additions were made to the Plugins folder. Done that, the program will only compact any new or changed folders (if you copy a single file to a folder, the program will update the compacted dat file). After finishing compacting, repeat all the steps from the 3rd to the 5th.

Note: Try not having files on the root of your Plugins. If by any reason a plugins install put some file/s on the root, try to move them to the root of the Plugins that is on the game's folder, instead of the one on the Documents folder. Other option is to copy those files directly to the Plugins_Compressed folder.

Well, this is my method, it doesn't have to be the perfect or the only one, but it works for me, and I never had any problems. I hope now, people start to understand how this works, even without reading the readme file that was within the Program zip file.

[JoeST]

Just another note, DatPacker removes any junk files also, so you dont need to go through deleting .txt's and things

Joe

[canadacactus]

Thank you for the speedy response.

It all makes sense to me now.

Gerry 

[RippleJet]

rename back your Plugins to Plugins_Compresed (make sure it is spelled correct, as SC4DatPacker will need it)

Indeed...

[canadacactus]

Will do. Thanks again

[Rayden]

Just another note, DatPacker removes any junk files also, so you dont need to go through deleting .txt's and things

Joe

Wrong, it just ignores them when building the dat file. If you check the original folder, they're still there.

That's the reason Cleanitol was created, to get rid of those junk files.

[JoeST]

thats what i mean, so in reality it doesnt matter does it? they wont get included anyway

[Gaston]

Wrong, it just ignores them when building the dat file. If you check the original folder, they're still there.

That's the reason Cleanitol was created, to get rid of those junk files.

I think ya'll are talking about the readmes and jpg stuff in the readmes that it will remove.


---Gaston

[JoeST]

I didn't know readme's were junk   

[Gaston]

I didn't know readme's were junk   

I never said that.     


---Gaston

[xxdita]

I just noticed that in the latest version, in the error messages below, in addition to the not a dbff file messages, I'm now getting a warning?
Warning: Every entry in SimGoober/Chocolate Boutique/SG_ChocolateBotique.dat were superseed

I'm wondering what this means?

[meldolion]

me too I'm having the same warning....

Warning : Every entries in 001 - Essentials/BLSEssentials.dat were superseed

[wouanagaine]

It means that the specified dat file is not necessary because every data in it have been override by one or many other dat files

[xxdita]

Meaning the file is already packed in? Sounds like I'm going to have to start being more careful to use the Cleanitol before DatPacking, otherwise I could be in trouble. Thanks for the quick response Wou.

[snorrelli]

It means that the specified dat file is not necessary because every data in it have been override by one or many other dat files

So I can delete the files it identifies as having every entry "superseed"?

[meldolion]

It means that the specified dat file is not necessary because every data in it have been override by one or many other dat files

Thanks wou,
but, that warning is given to me just compressing the Mods folder, which is the first folder in my plugins collection....
How can it be?

[wouanagaine]

Snorelli, yuo can certainly move that file  out of your plugins, not really delete it

Meldolion You have a mod that superseed another mod