Revert .package files help!!!!

@Heliel22 I'm not sure if someone else said this in their post as I have to get back to work in 2 minutes, but even if your ts4 content has the s3pe icon it doesnt matter. All of my ts4 and ts2 content shows the s3pe icon but if I accidentally open it s3pe politely tells me it doesnt know what the plum to do with it because it isnt for sims 3. So the s3pe icon really doesnt matter in the slightest.

@Heliel22 - I'm sorry that you are having trouble, but suggest that you post on the TS4 Tech Discussions board for more assistance. It's not the current or former existence of S3PE that has done this, and it's not the file associations. It has to be something else.

@Disfigures I know you're looking for TS4 help, but one point made by posters here is relevant to you. Your computer opens the files in notepad because it "learned" to use notepad by default the first time you tried to open one (when you were likely prompted to select an application for the task). Without intervention, it will continue to attempt to use notepad by default for every file of this same type it encounters. You can remove this association using the steps listed on page 1, but it's not strictly necessary. As long as you're not trying to save the files after you open them, you're not actually changing them, and the game itself doesn't care which application your computer thinks it should use to open the files. It should be reading the mod as it's supposed to regardless.

I don't play TS4, but with the release of the new game pack (and likely a patch as well), you may be having compatibility issues with mccc. The mod's website should tell you if you'll need a newer version, which may or may not be available right away.

There are several threads here devoted to help specifically with TS4's mccc where you can post about your issue. Here's one:

https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/913483/mc-command-center-local-help-chat-thread/p57

This thread is becoming a mess. :/

Different helpful members here have said something like 20 times now that it doesn't matter which program and icons that Windows (or Mac, for that matter) associate with package files, sims3packs, or other assorted file types. The games know what kind of files they are by the way they are created, not by their Windows file associations or what the icons look like to us.

Yet no one is reading the answers because the same questions keep coming up.

So I will say it a 21st time. It doesn't matter what the Windows file associations are nor what the file icons look like for package files. Different programs share the same file format and they "know" and can use whichever kinds of package files are made for that program.

I don't know why this is such a stubbornly difficult concept to get across. Just a suggestion, maybe this thread should stay in place for reference but be locked up?
@EA_Mage
@EA_Lanna

"Cromulent16;c-16461112" wrote:
SIMS 4 PACK CONVERT *FIXED*

I have Sims 4 and I saw your comment I just experienced the same problem I was messing with my computer and I changed the file type so I went back in because I was determined to get it back to a blank .package file and it worked so basically here are the steps I took to fix it

YOU DONT HAVE TO DELETE YOUR PACKAGE FILES TO DO THIS

DELETE SIMS 4 AND SIMS 3 IF YOU HAVE IT TAKE OUT ALL THE FILES YOU NEED FIRST OR THEY WILL BE GONE FOREVER

the reason for this is because anything associated with Sims is why the package files exist so after you delete restart your computer the package files should be back to their former selves and then you can reinstall as long as you keep your backup saves in a SEPERATE folder first you shouldn't have to restart your game hope this helps it helped me I don't know what else you could do but this is the only option I tried out that worked for me have a good day!

I'm very sorry, but that is about the worst possible advice one could give for an issue that is not really an issue. It doesn't matter what the file associations are, package files will work as they are intended to as long as the individual files themselves have not been tampered with.

"AlHollandiyah;c-16461508" wrote:
I have seen much information in this thread boiling down to this: as long as the actual file name isn't changed, plopping it in downloads will be enough for the launcher to recognise them.

However some people still panick because they once used 'open with' with the wrong program and windows conveniently decided this was the program you wanted to use every time from now on, which also changes the icon.

What I miss in this topic is that there is a very simple solution for this issue in the form of Unassoc, a windows tool that is specially made to remove unwanted file associations.

Well, sort of. Package files aren't meant to be placed in Downloads and they aren't read by the Launcher. That's only for sims3packs. Package files in TS3 are meant to be placed within the Mods\Packages framework with a proper Resource.cfg file in place.

I would not recommend the Unassoc application because (a) it's only stated to work on Vista and Win 7, which not everyone has today and (b) sorry, it might be fine but I don't recognize the source as being trustworthy and known to deliver helpful applications free of accompanying ad/malware.

An arguably better strategy might be to install a harmless application that can actually open and edit package files such as S3PE, NRaas Packer, or whatever the equivalent is for TS4, then work with Windows to make the new file association to one of those. The downside is that all package based files, no matter for which game they were intended, will have the same association but it's still all harmless and only eye-candy for the user. The games don't care what the icon or double-click associations are.

Seems like a good strategy. I have personally used unassoc in the past, but one can never be too carefull.

"MelaninMonroex;c-16890491" wrote:
Found a solution? Having the same exact problem, difference is I've accidentally changed all my files to Win.rar
I'm unable to download my skins and dont know how to revert them, does anyone????

I'm afraid the OP is probably not going to answer because they posted this over four years ago and have not returned to the forums since then. The answers have been given on this very thread, multiple times. It does not matter what the file associations are, we are not meant to be double-clicking on .package files for TS3. We are meant to be placing them into a Mods\Packages folder if they are .package files or into the game's Downloads folder to be read by the Launcher if they are .sims3pack files.

Your browser should be directed to Save Target As (or Save Link As), not to actually run the files it is downloading as there is nothing to run. If you are actually downloading .rar files, then you need an application installed such as WinRAR or 7-zip to decompress them after they are downloaded, but actual .package and .sims3pack files do not need that step if they are not compressed into rar (zip, 7z) files.

https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/comment/16444687/#Comment_16444687

Thanks Igazor. I'll close the thread here as it has been necro'd.

Just to let you know, I'm not tech-savvy but I do use mods in my game.

To get a little more information:
What folder did you accidently convert .package files to word docs?

If it was only your mods folder, with your game and the launcher closed, drag your mods folder to your desktop. Or you can create a new folder on your desktop and drag the affected files into the new folder (only if it was mods and/or cc).

Delete your scriptCache.package file.

Try to load your game again after deleting the above cache file.

**This is only if the affected files were mods or custom content**

I don't know if it's possible to revert files from word docs to package files. If the affected files were only mods or CC, you should probably download those .package files again.