I was just curious how many of ya'll have zip, rar, or just package files that you have no idea who made it, where you got it, or know what it is (without putting it in game to see it or in SimPE). You downloaded somethin but don't rename it somethin so you know what it is for later it ends up in a folder to sit unknown.

For the past year I have been slowly tryin to organize my zip and rar files so I can tell what I have and get rid of the duplicate ones where I might of downloaded it from years back, but not knowin what, where, or who a file might be, then when I saw it again I Dl'ed. Or in the case of MTS the name change from MTS2 to MTS. Though most of those files are easiest to identify, not all as right now I'm tryin to figure out feeEssens.

I have files from '07 that would probably be neat to have in my game seein as how I don't think I'd of downloaded it if I didn't ... lol.
I know I can't be the only one with this issues .. can I ... lol :D

I have stacks of those, which is why these days I try and drag a picture into the zip.

I usually save the link plus at least one picture with each zip file, so I know what's in it. The picture, so I don't have to open the zip file to see what's in it. The link, so that if there's some missing info or someone asks me where I got it, I'll know where to find it (or have a rough idea, in case the web site is down or gone). If there's some intricate install info, or other things I'll need to know, I sometimes also save a notepad file.

Now, it might sound like I'm a little organized, but I've got download files all over my two computers, plus several external harddrives and USB memory sticks. I've tried organizing everything several times, but I'm not in any way an organized person, so the system usually flies out the window the next day or so. The above method is the only way I'll know what's what, without having to open thousands of zip files...

It's my habit adding site name and author name(unless they're already there) to filename so I can identify who made it and where I found it. However gosh, I wish CC authors put readme file to their contents.

So what do you do if the link you saved .. no longer works :p

I too try and take pictures, but sometimes when ya get in the download mode start downloadin oodles of stuff cuz it all starts lookin cool and neat, but you forget to get a pic to go with them all. Then when ya look back later your left wonderin the who what where.

I'm not talkin just recent downloads, but from years and years past where a lot of what was is now no longer. How do you track down the info then :D

If they are that old, unless they are a mod, you can probably find something new and better made anyway. I took a look at some old male elder clothes I had in AGS some months back and was like yeah, mm, nope. I tossed most of them.

I have lots of these. I have a separate EA folder for testing my own stuff, that only has a handful of downloads in it. In that folder is one called TOPS (testing - other people's stuff). Sometimes, I'll open those zip files in SimPE, edit the price so they're $0 (so that the items will be at the beginning of the catalog). Then I'll stick them in TOPS, load up the game and check and see if it's something to be moved to the main EA folder, or if it should be deleted.

I might get rid of them, but I really, really hate throwin somethin out that I have no idea what it is. This holds true in my RL too .. lol. To give you an idea of how bad I am I moved (sorta involuntarily as I'd got sick) from Texas to California in February of 2003. My mom and aunt came out packed up my condo. What could be taken on my aunts truck was brought back to Cali, what couldn't was put in storage as it was my plans of goin back once I was able to get back on my feet.

We are now in 2016. I just did finally make the trip back to Texas a few months ago to clean out and get rid of the storage. Bein that I had no idea what was in the storage, what personal papers or info as well, I couldn't just let it go. Yeah, I know I"m sure I could have bought what I had in there a handful of times over with what I'd paid over the years for it to be stored. What I couldn't buy was my peace of mind if I'd of let it go not knowin what personal information was in there that could be used for identity theft.

Same goes for my sim files. I hate just tossin somethin out without knowin what it is that I'm tossin out especially since tryin to get stuff back from long dead sites is almost impossible. I also don't want to just go throwin stuff in my game not knowin what it is or what it might conflict with.

Sometimes I google filenames to find out what it is, sometimes it's easier to open a file in SimPE or Clean Installer (if it's a bunch of them). Most of the times I throw it away or let it be.

I usually rename if the filename is something I'm likely to go Huh? at later.

I used to have that problem all the time, now I not only rename the rar files to something detailed (if necessary), but I also keep an image of what the download is along with it. Also, I try not to download a bunch of random stuff anymore. Though, there are still times when I miss saving an image assuming one is in the download, and simply just take a look at the item in SimPE.

If I have the link, I'll know which site it used to be on, even if the link no longer works (either in the link name itself, or via right-click --> properties). Sometimes, the wayback machine can be of help. Knowing the site is also very helpful in a WCIF.

As for the picture, I usually save the pic shown on the downlaod site or the ones included in the zip. Occasionally, creators put their name or site name in the picture, which can be a hint on where to find it. I prefer when simmers use their screen name first in the file names. It's so annoying with those files you have no idea who made, or what they're for.

For a lot of older downloads I didn't do this, and when I a while ago had reorganze some stuff, I had a large folder without pictures. I did recognize some files because of creator name or other things, but most of it I just had to leave in because I had no idea what it was, and was afraid I'd lose things I liked.

It's also much easier to remove items if you have a picture to go with it. Removing the sweaters you downloaded 3 years ago - you know, those that looked so good on the preview but turned out to have a butt ugly mesh ingame; or the mailbox that wasn't deco but a replacement, and now has taken over the entire game; or any other item you don't want to keep - it's so much easier with a picture, than looking around in a 10+ GB downloads folder with only files and nothing else to go by. I learned that the hard way. My first round of TS2 gaming saw an 8-10-ish GB folder without a single subfolder or picture. Imagine that mess...

In that case I would use AGS or a new sims 2 folder with no downloads and place your old files one set at a time into it to see what it is.

You can also use SimPE for figuring out which recolors and meshes to keep. It can be a little less time consuming than going in and out of the game.

I do use SimPE, but not everything give a showin or description of what it is.

I know all the things I should do and do sometimes, just didn't always do in the past and not consistent now.

From the posts so far it seems like ya'll have everything organized and know what everything ya have is :p

I sorta was figurin, hopin :D, that there were more procrastinators, less .. umm... disciplined, simmers that I wasn't the only one.... lol.

SimPE doesn't show you how the item looks though.

I just recently organized my downloads. Since I am lazy, objects, clothes, hair and makeup went into one folder whereas the mods and more important objects (SimBlender, InSIMinator, etc) went into folders by themselves. Also I have several folders by the creator name (Boiling Oil, TwoJeffs, etc).

That being said, I have 6000+ objects that I got from a friend. They are old and unnamed like; 7ghytr5678uyjhgfret5r.package

One had a in the start up log. I had to write down the long a$$ name with random letters and numbers and then find it and remove it. IDK what it was, but it wasn't a mod or anything I needed, it seems.

So if it has no name and isn't a mod I need to find quickly, it goes in the big ETC folder

I have a few, which are sitting in my Unsorted folder until I figure out what they are. Though 3/4 of it is taken up by a folder of stuff from Holy Simoly that I downloaded somewhere.

I usually don't run into this problem though - because of my short-term memory problems, it's become pretty much ingrained in me to sort stuff the moment I get it. I save everything too. Sometimes I do stick something in the wrong folder though.

This is just for the folder of zipped stuff. In my actual games download folder, I have an enormous folder of stuff that came packaged with lots. It's a mess. Aside from that I know what's in my game - though I do go through it every so often just to refresh my memory.

It can show meshes in the GMDC. You can also look at textures. It also shows the description of the item under "Catalog Description". "Object Data" can help you locate the item ingame (shows category and price). You can also figure out which object recolors belong to, if you compare the GUID from the mesh with the GUID in the MMAT of a recolor. The resource names in the TXMT/TXTR can also give you a hint of which object it belongs to, or which creator made the item. SimPE is the program that tells you the most about an item, if you know where to look.

Maybe I'm looking in the wrong area but what I see in SimPE doesn't tell me how the object looks like in game, if it's crunchy, badly meshed etc. Maybe as someone who makes objects you can tell but I need to see a sim wearing it or place furniture down in game to be able to tell if I want something.

You can see the object in SimPE, in the GMDC resource. To know how big it is, or exactly how it looks with smoothing and TXMT properties applied, ingame view is best. If you're just wondering which object is which, or want to sort out things you don't want without opening the game, SimPE is fine. You can also use it to sort out textures you don't want, by looking at the TXTR resources. It's not so good for viewing body meshes (they show without textures), but works fine for objects.

My current version of SimPE for some reason shows meshes as not smoothed and with brighter colors, even if they show up smoothed and fine ingame. Not sure why, because I think the one on my other computer shows the meshes just fine. Maybe it's just a setting or something... Anyway, I still find the preview function very useful.

You can also use the Clean Installer to figure out what you're looking at-it does show a thumbnail (if available) of the item with its description-that is, if you dare open it from zip format to look at.

As for me, I try not to change my CC folder too many times, and thus I don't download much stuff except when I'm at Jodelie Joedelie's site where her houses are available for either empty or not..I'm bad. I've got things I don't know I'll ever have a use for, but they're pretty!

Lots of 'huh, what the hell is that?" so I try to folder it appropriately. Not very good at it though.

I'll rename the files when I download them, if they're just numbers-and-letters random gibberish. Or even if they're already labeled, but in a language I don't speak.

I also use subfolders extensively.

Well that picture looks a lot better than anything I have seen in SimPE before, I was probably looking in the wrong place.

Also, if you wonder which mesh part is which, you can tick the boxes for the parts you want to see before clicking the preview button. Nice to know if you're recoloring a mesh with several textures.

If you don't have a meshing program, you can test out new recolors with the preview function, by replacing the texture with your own (probably a good idea to work with a copy of the mesh file). The 3D view is also very handy, since you can see all sides of the mesh.

The MMAT has a preview function too, but I don't use it much. Can't remember if there's a 3D view there, or if it even shows custom meshes properly.