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How To Download and Install Clothing, Houses, Objects, Makeup, etc. into Your Game

If you downloaded stuff for The Sims2 from any websites and are unable to get them into your game, here's the step-by-step instructions for how to do that.

NOTE: Before you do any of the following steps, you must know that any object that previously only showed one color option (piano, some kitchen appliances, etc.) will not show the recolored downloads unless you install this Color Options Package (VERSION 2.0 ADDED 3/14/05) created by RGiles and Numenor at ModTheSims2. For Nightlife, Open for Business, Pets, Seasons, or Bon Voyage this has been updated to CEP7, which you can get HERE.  Download the zip file, then extract the exe file to a temporary folder, then double click it AFTER it is extracted, and it will install the two package files to the right places.

ANOTHER NOTE: There's definitely a problem when creators make objects with an expansion pack installed that you don't have (particularly OFB, which changed a LOT of stuff so it won't work in earlier versions).  Many times this will make the objects either unusable or they don't show up at all.  For instance, if I make a table with OFB installed and you download it and put it in your game without OFB, you probably won't see it in your game.  There's a fix for this, developed by Numenor, but it's so involved that most creators can't be bothered (creators can read this).  So, if you download something and you don't have every expansion pack installed, there's a chance you won't see the object, and there's really nothing you can do to fix that.

ONE MORE NOTE:  If you have one of the later expansion packs, you MUST turn on Custom Content or you won't see anything you've downloaded.  Go into the game's options and make sure you are allowing custom content.

Or, if you are having technical problems with your game, please do NOT email me ... go here instead:
Unofficial Sims2 Tech Guide

All that said, here's the directions for properly downloading and installing stuff for Sims 2:

IF NONE OF THE DIRECTIONS BELOW MAKE YOUR DOWNLOADS SHOW UP IN YOUR GAME, you can download the Sims 2 File Maid.  This is a little program which gives you a screen where you can drag your downloads onto the "lawn" and the File Maid will install them for you. No need to unzip any files - just drag the zip or rar file onto the Maid's lawn.
Click this image to get the Maid >>> 

Read on, if you would prefer to install stuff without the Maid's help:

1. When you click on a file to download it, the box that comes up has two buttons.  One that says "Open" or "Run" and one that says "Save".  Click on the "Save" button.

2.  The next box that comes up is the "Save As" box and this is where you need to choose the location on your hard drive where you want to put it.  All Sims2 downloads go into a folder made for you by EA games in your My Documents folder.  The name of the folder is "Downloads" and it's usually located here:

In Windows 9X/ME:

C:\My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Downloads

In Windows 2000/XP (in these versions of Windows, you MUST be sure to put it in the My Documents folder for YOUR user profile. It will only show in the My Documents folder of the user whose profile it is in.):

C:\Documents and Settings\<your user name>\My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Downloads

NOTE: If you have never downloaded anything before, you may not have this folder.  It is created when you download something from The Sims2 Exchange directly from inside the game.  But, you can create one.  Just go to your My Documents folder, then EA Games, then The Sims 2 and create a new folder and name it Downloads.  You MUST name it exactly that, in order for it to work.

You MUST put the files here so they will show up in your game.  And The Sims2 can NOT be running while you do this, so make sure you close the game before you download from a website.

3.  When you download, you usually get one of three types of files. 

• A package file which will show up in the game automatically once added to the Downloads folder.
  

• A zip file which must be unzipped first, then the package file inside must be EXTRACTED to the Downloads folder.  The unzipping program I recommend is WinZip, which you can download here.
  
  NOTE!! Please do not email me if you don't know how to use WinZip.  WinZip has two modes - Classic and Wizard - the instructions for extracting files are different for each. READ WINZIP'S HELP FILES or visit WinZip's site for help using WinZip.
  NOTE TWO!! Some sites will zip the files, then put all of these zips into a main zip file.  You MUST unzip the sub-files too.  Putting a file in your My Documents folder that is still zipped, will NOT show in your game!)
   

• A Sims2PACK file which must be double clicked after it's in the Downloads folder, in order to be installed in the game.
  

Sometimes you get a zip file and inside that file is a Sims2PACK file, so you need to use an unzipping program to Extract the Sims2PACK file into your Downloads folder, THEN double click the Sims2PACK file to install it. 

Sometimes, when you download sets, the individual items are in zip files inside the main zip file.  So you need to double click the main zip file, then double click each of the individual zip files inside it and extract each to the Downloads folder, one by one.

4.  On some occasions, you will get a rar file, which is simply a different type of compressed file, similar to a zip file.  To open this you will need a program that extracts files from rar files, then you can extract them the same way you do with WinZip.  The program I use for rar files is WinRAR which you can download here.  A rar file will then look like this when you download it:

5.  Once you've got the file installed in the right place, start the game. 

• If you downloaded a house, it will show in your houses bin in the neighborhood view.

• If you downloaded an object, it will show in the proper object category when you go into Buy Mode.

• If you downloaded clothing, it will show up in your choices when you "Create a Family" or when you go to a Community Lot and shop for clothing.