Now that You Own the Store Installing, Backing Up and Organizing Your Items Crinrict is a technical master on Sims issues. Her
blog includes discussions on technical game issue. She has a section dedicated to the
Store and Exchange.
Please see Calents post regarding
Reinstalling Post-Patch 1.69Installing
- A must read - Ciane's indispensable threads of her Spreadsheet/Links for reinstalling/tracking store stuff and How to Install Store Items. She provides excellent instructions for installing content. Ciane discusses glitched items that need to be installed before the set is installed for the item to work or show up in the game. She also provides a list of items that include patterns that also need to be installed before the sets or the patterns do not show up in CASt. As well, if the items with patterns are not installed before installing the sets, if the items are used in a build, the build will not upload to the Exchange.
- A must watch - ZeeGee's video tutorials on YouTube of Ciane's method for reinstalling store content. These are excellent for those who learn best by seeing the procedure rather than reading instructions
- Valgon57's thread Store Mega List for Extra Quick Redownloading allows you to download and install without going into Purchase History
- HollownessDevour's thread Own the Store Breakdown
Backing Up Sims3packs are the uninstalled store content files. After installing the Sims3packs, the files should be moved out of the downloads folder and saved on an external hard drive, the cloud, DVDs or USB stick. The external hard drive and cloud are the preferred storage medium as they are more reliable than DVDs or USB sticks. I would also suggest making two copies of the backups.
Many of the Sims3packs are not named to easily identify the set or item. For instance, BeachCAS2Set.Sims3Pack is Beach Bummin’. Crinrict’s S3S browser includes this information.
After installing the Sims3packs, the store content files are saved in various folders in your Sims 3 folder. The following is advice from Ciane's thread,
"ciane" wrote:
I save all the important files and folders on my desktop as well as a thumb drive.
The easiest way is to save your sims 3 folder from documents. The smallest size way is to save just the important files and folders.
Library will have venues, dccache folder will have the actual store items, installed worlds will have the store world files, and userpreset will have the unlocked and blank stencils as well as any recolors you may have saved.
The ccmerged file in dcbackup can be found on the internet, but I save that one too.
So, my EA folder has a Sims 3 folder for what I'm playing, a Sims 3 empty folder (often called a vanilla folder - one generated when there is no Sims 3 folder & that hasn't got any store stuff installed & hasn't been played), and a Sims 3 everything folder (which is where I finished installing everything I have, but didn't play yet). I just rename folders all the time.
Here are links to some other sites with information on backing up your store content
- Amjoie's extensive and very informative thread Know What is Inside Your Game: The Sims 3 includes information on backing up the game files and store content files. Amjoie has written a lot of information and others have added links to other useful pages. Her second post on page 1 "Part 2: The insides of your Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3 folder" includes information on backing up the game and installed store content.
- The Backing Up Store Content thread gives examples of how people set up the folders to back up store content.
Q.
If I have all my store purchases backed up and get a new computer after the store closes how do I get the items back in game?A. After you install and patch your game on the new computer, you can copy and paste your backup folders in their respective folders on the new computer. See the end of
this post on page 26 for a discussion.
Building Guides
- frozenorangejuic's Sims 3 Community Lots Compendium provides an complete catalogue of all the community lots available sorted by type. This is perfect when you want to see, for example, all the art galleries and pick the one that fits your town best.
- Kellycot1's Simdex, which was noted above for helping to track what you have purchased from the store, is an excellent resource for when you play the game and want to locate just the right outfit or piece of furniture to fit into your theme or decorating schemes.
- What started as a true community effort to create a world exclusively of lots created by DDers, Dwellings, Destinations, & Designs - A Creation-Sharing Thread (Formerly DDSBA) thread hosted by @bouquetcatcher and @Meg1626 evolved into a showcase of amazing builds and a resource for building and designing tips.
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