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Field Researcher
Original Poster
#1 Old 16th Apr 2018 at 3:29 PM

This user has the following games installed:

Sims 2, University, Nightlife, Open for Business, Pets, Seasons, Bon Voyage, Free Time, Apartment Life
Default Organising Downloads
Hi
I just can't decide how I should organise my downloads folder. Right now it's sorted by rooms but i want to change it but just not sure hoW. Going by artist name, etc, any suggestions? (I've read the page about organising custom content)
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Field Researcher
#2 Old 16th Apr 2018 at 7:47 PM
Sorry, wall of text.
It's hard to tell you how to do it, since most people prefer different ways of organizing. I would sort it by type, then depending on the type and whether you combine files, by artist or artist-'name of set'. This way, if you just want to do stuff in Bodyshop you can easily take out the unnecessary stuff like walls and furniture and it will load faster. The other way around, if you just want to open your game to build, you can take out clothing, make-up and hair. (Don't take out neighbourhood objects if you load your game, stuff will disappear from your hood! Also, don't take out certain hacks, like hacks preventing something from spawning.) More importantly, you can find what you are looking for quickly because you don't need to remember who makes furniture and who makes make-up. Organizing by rooms is often impractical because some stuff fits in multiple rooms, like cushions, end tables or plants.

For example, some of my folders (items following a '\' are folder within folders):
Accessories_Animals
\DeeDee_4t2CollarBowtie_Cat
\DeeDee_4t2CollarBowtie_Dog
Accessories_Sims
\Glasses
(I combine all recolours of glasses in one file and name the file so I know who made it, what it is and which mesh it uses)
\Head (Here go all non-glasses accessories like bows and hats, also combined)
Compressorizer (This is a kind of folder I use to put stuff in temporarily so I can see if I really want it.)
Genes
\Default_skins
\Default_skins_Supernatural
\Eyes_Defaults

(also some loose files in the Genes folder, like fixes and stuff)
Objects_Build (lots of folders in here, named like Creator_NameSet, I don't combine Build stuff yet)
Objects_MM_Buy (MaxisMatch buy items, folders in here are named EP/SP_NameObject, the file names tell me who made what)
zzzMods (The zzz is so the hacks load last)

Other folders: organize by bodyshop/buy/build/neighbourhood: Bodyshop_Eyes, Bodyshop_Hair, Buy (or even: Buy_Deco, Buy_Furniture), Build_House, Build_Garden, Hacks, NeighbourhoodObjects
People who use Pooklet hair colours might sort by 'family', you might want to sort clothes by type instead of creator, I personally separate painting recolours from other object recolours because there are so many!
If you download a LOT of furniture, you might want to make separate folders for sets by creator and folders for single objects: Buy_Delonariel_Sets, Buy_M0xxa_Sets, Buy_M0xxa_Singles (Or Buy_Sets with subfolders 'Delonariel' and 'M0xxa')

So you see, there are lots of ways to organize your stuff. The most important thing is to do it the way you can find where to put it and where you put it. If you're not doing this already, don't put stuff you download directly in the game files. Put it in a separate folder on your computer, this way you can chuck out stuff from your game without being afraid you can't find it later on the internet. And organize that folder too. This way, you will have it somewhere no matter how often you throw it out of your game.
Don't layer your game's folders too deep - Folder\Subfolder\Subsubfolder should be plenty.
This might take a few tries - I know my The Sims Downloads folder is a gigantic mess because I did not realize how important using folders was when I started playing the series. You can practice with a mock 'downloads' folder: use empty folders and look if you like the structure you just made. Do you like to see all folders in the 'downloads' folder in one go? Do you like them alphabetically but also in a certain order? I think only you can answer that.
Needs Coffee
retired moderator
#3 Old 16th Apr 2018 at 11:25 PM
It needs to be something that makes sense to you. I tend to have folders called after areas in the catalogue although not fully so, some are just areas that I can remember. The game doesn't have a school area, I do, but the game does have a pet area which I also have. It depends how large or how important an area is.
I have Accessories as a first tier folder not a second tier under Body Shop.

So if you asked me if I could find a window I would look in my Build folder. Some people are more organized then I am and would have Build>Windows>The folder with the window. I don't as I figure some windows are just windows but other are a part of a set with doors as well and I can't remember such details. I simply try to have the folder with a name that I will recognize inside of Build. This also means I go less deep. Try not to go more than 3 deep.
Defaults is also a first-tier folder.

The only room that I have as a first tier folder is kitchen, and again this is because of how much is in it. Other furniture I simply have in a furniture folder rather than a by room. I try and use maxis recolours where possible so I have a Recolour Maxis folder.

Some people prefer to have just a few top-tier folders, whereas I have more.

"I dream of a better tomorrow, where chickens can cross the road and not be questioned about their motives." - Unknown
~Call me Jo~
Scholar
#4 Old 17th Apr 2018 at 6:39 PM
Mine is set up so that each CC type is separate, unless it's part of a large set with multiple types.

The main folders have names such as Accessories, Hair, Genetics, Mods etc. Following that would be the Website I downloaded from (LJ, MTS, GoS etc). I then place it by Creator (Monique, Phaenoh, CatOfEvilGenius etc). The 4th-tier folder (I try not to go any deeper than that, although I think my Mods folder does go to 5) will be the actual folder containing the items themselves, and are labelled as such.

I used to just have the creator name, but that caused confusion when I was trying to re-locate some items, certainly on sites I don't frequent very often.

No need to use my full name, "Selly" will do just fine.
Mad Poster
#5 Old 17th Apr 2018 at 7:01 PM
Having a lot of folders in organizing the CC sometimes slows down the game, so I'd suggest you use as simplest approach as possible-and btw, you can put the following items outside of the regular downloads folder:
"Object recolors"
"Terrains"
"Floors"
"Walls"

They will show up in game as they normally do, and you're not cluttering up your regular downloads folder. Plus, in the event you ever have to do a sort through of the folder, you don't have to go through these items, because they never cause crashes.

I try to keep the hacks and mods separate from regular items, usually by creator if possible. The same goes with sets.

Receptacle Refugee & Resident Polar Bear
"Get out of my way, young'un, I'm a ninja!"
Grave Matters: The funeral podium is available here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/e6tj...albits.zip/file
My other downloads are here: https://app.mediafire.com/myfiles
Alchemist
#6 Old 17th Apr 2018 at 8:58 PM
Mine are usually organized by ideas for playing that make sense to me, like BetterBabies, Camping, Zombies, Barlife... but I also have a few like GameMods (by creator only when I have a lot from one person), Build, and BodyShop. I have one for MINE, with my own mods when I'm experimenting, so I can direct SimPE to it easily, and one that's just NEW, so I can try things out for a while and remove them easily if they cause problems. It's far from perfect. I don't see any difference in loading time with folders, but I do if I have a lot of unnecessary extra files, so I trim it down sometimes if I'm not using something.
Mad Poster
#7 Old 17th Apr 2018 at 9:58 PM
The CC in my testing game is hopelessly disorganized - organized to the point where I find things mostly by searching or by knowing where I've put it, and somewhat by folders (there's at least 4 different folders named "test", "testing" etc.)

Last summer I started organizing the CC I use for my full game (30-35 GB of roughly organized folders, and a bunch of disorganized ones). I'm still not done, but I think that system migh work. I've got folders for CAS items, furniture, deco, my CC, hacks/mods, baby items, etc. and I've tested most of the clothes and hair to weed out items I no longer use or never used at all.

For a system, you just have to find something that works for you. I prefer having sets together by creator, but sorted into clothes, furniture, etc. and I like to have mehes together with the sets (I don't mind duplicates, though I try to avoid them if possile). I also tried to keep to a max of 3 subfolders deep this time. Now I do most of my CC testing on my laptop, so I can manage without a testing folder in my full game since they're set up the same.
Instructor
#8 Old 17th Apr 2018 at 10:27 PM
I just let everything load into the download folder expect mods, that way I'll know if I'm installing a duplicate. If I need to see what a download is and can't tell by the name, it tells me in SimPE, Delphys Download Organisor or Sims2 Clean Pack Installer.
The Great AntiJen
retired moderator
#9 Old 17th Apr 2018 at 11:03 PM
I have too much stuff for that SuzyMarie. My Downloads is organised around game categories I guess. I have a hacks and mods folder, a skins folder, a build mode folder, a neighbourhood decor folder, a Careers folder, a wallsnfloors folder, a food folder, and objects folder and a maxonstuff folder. The food folder is only temporary though - I'm currently fiddling with stuff. I then have sub-folders in those. There's the Sriptorium folder too, of course, but I'm not responsible for that so it doesn't count. I also have a folder called Not To Be Removed and another called Awaiting Approval*.

That's when I'm actually playing the game though. At present, there're only things in there I'm working on and Not To Be Removed. Plus a whole pile of themed CC stuffed in my Any Game Folders (see Gdayar's contest).

*currently stuffed and in need of sorting

I no longer come over to MTS very often but if you would like to ask me a question then you can find me on tumblr or my own site tflc. TFLC has an archive of all my CC downloads.
I'm here on tumblr and my site, tflc
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