A Guide to Downloading or Uploading User Interfaces
This is mostly a guide for beginners, but it also includes some helpful tips for anyone having trouble downloading, installing, uploading or configuring a UI Compilation.
Understanding the Basics
On the most basic level you are removing 2 folders from the WoW folder on your computer and replacing them with 2 new folders from the UI Creator in the download.
These 2 folders are the
WTF and
Interface folders.
Your Interface folder holds all the default Blizzard components that make up your standard UI and any additional Addons that you add.
Your WTF folder holds your account information. If you click on
"account" in the WTF folder you come to
"your account name". Click on that and you come to a window with several folders.
At the top you will have
"your server/realm name". Just below that is a folder called
"Saved Variables". This is where all the settings for the addons are stored. Do not change anything in this folder unless you know what your doing or you will break your UI.
Inside the
"server/realm" folder you will have a folder for each one of your characters on your account.
Downloading and Installing
Before you do anything you want to make a backup of your WTF and Interface folders. Simply right click each one and select "copy". Then right click your desktop and select "paste". Create a new folder called "backup" and drop them in.
Now that you have your backup you can safely delete the WTF and Interface folders in your WoW folder.
Go to the download page for the UI you want. Download and extract the UI to your desktop. Once you have the UI unpacked on your desktop open it up and pull out the WTF and Interface folders and place them in your WoW folder, right where you just deleted yours from.
Then go into the WTF folder and rename all the appropriate folders with your information. Most UI Creators will put in generic stuff for you, such as:
"Your Account Name"
"Your Server/Realm Name"
"Your Character Name"
Just follow the paths laid out in the first part of this guide to get to these folders. Then right click the folder and type in the new name.
It is important that you have correct spelling for these folders. Your account name should be in ALL CAPS. Your server/realm name should have First Letter Capitalized and include any other punctuation. Your character name should have the First Letter Capitalized.
At this point you are done with folders.
In Game Set Up
First stop at your character selections screen. In the bottom left corner you will see a red button called
"addons". Click that and a addons window will open. At the top check the box called
"use out of date addons". Now typically most UI's have their addons up to date. But some addons work just fine in their current state and do not need any updating. So you need to check this box to ensure they are turned on. You will also need to check it again after a Major Game Patch until addon authors release new versions to work with what Blizzard changed.
Now select your character and log in.
Once inside you will see that not everything looks how it should. You need to set some profiles.
Most UI Creators will have a list on their download page of slash commands you need to type to open addon configuration windows. If they don't or after you go through all them things are still out of place, go to the actual web page for that addon. They typically have helpful tips listed there, including a slash command to open the configuration window.
You can also access some addons through the blizzard menu. Press
"ESC" and select
"Interface". There will be 2 tabs in the top left corner, select
"Addons". It's interesting to note that the only way you can select a profile for the addon Recount is to go this route.
After you have all the profiles set you should reload you UI. Type
/console reloadui. Some addons may not look right until you do this part.
Then log out of the game to save the changes and your done!
Some Tips
1) Never download and install a new UI on a raid night. Sure it might work out, but more often than not your just asking for trouble. Take some time to become accustomed to your new UI. Do some PvP, do some Heroics. Check out all the bells and whistles and see if they do what you want.
2) As a beginner I recommend selecting a UI package that is made for your resolution (monitor size). This will ensure it will look how it was meant to after you complete the set up process.
3) Read the instructions on the download page. As a UI Creator I see this all the time. People glance at the instructions or skip over them completely. They are written for a reason, to provide you with the information you need to quickly and properly set up your new UI.
4) Read the comments and related links for the UI. Typically users have a lot of the same questions and answers can be found there.
5) I recommend getting an addon manager. I personally use the Curse Client, but there are others. This will help you to easily keep your addons updated.
6) If you want to remove an addon from the UI simply go into the Interface folder and delete it.
7) If you want to add an addon to the UI simply download and extract it to your Interface folder.
Different Resolutions
I'lll start by saying there are
no short cuts here. If you want to take a UI that is set for a different resolution than yours you need to be willing to set aside some time to work on it. If your not, your only option is to download a UI that fits your resolution already.
When you download a UI the hard parts are already done. The color scheme's, how it will appear, display information, and overall work as a whole. So to make any UI work for your resolution all you really need to do is unlock and re-size the addons. Which once you take a few minutes to look at the configuration window for an addon is quite simple.
Just type the slash command for the addon you want to move and start looking at the options.
Don't be afraid to play with all the options. So what you mess the thing up beyond repair. Just dump the settings for that addon and start over again. To do this just go into your Saved Variables folder. There are 2. One just under your
Realm/Server Name and One in your
Character name. The bulk of these will be in the Main one under Realm/Server. Delete the
.lua and
.lua bak folder for the addon you screwed up. When you log back in the game new folders will automatically be created as you start playing with the options.
I also recommend using some sort of alignment addon. That way once you start moving things you can get them in line with each other and looking nice. I personally use
Graph Paper , but there are a few others.
Really making a UI fit to your resolution is not a complicated task, its just a time consuming one. But once you learn how to unlock and move 1 addon, you start to get the hang of it and it becomes easier as you go on to the next one.
How to make your UI available for others to download. (Originally Written by Bloodwraith)
1. Copy your WTF and Interface folders to a clean folder created outside of the main WOW Folder.
2. Go into the copied WTF folder and:
a. Under WTF/Account, Rename the account folder to something like, Rename to your account name ALL CAPS.
i. If you have more than one account just delete the other account names.
b. Under Account you will find the name of your server. Rename the folder to Your Server First letter cap.
i. If you have toons on more than one server, just delete the other servers.
c. Under the Server folder you will find all the names of your toons. Delete all but one (should keep the toon that the UI is primarily used for) and rename that folder to something like, rename to your Character.
d. DO NOT mess with any of the saved variable folders as these have the settings for your addons you have so carefully laid out.
3. Zip your WTF and Interface folders.
a. I use Winrar. It has a wizard that makes zipping folders a no brainer.
Available at WinRAR archiver, a powerful tool to process RAR and ZIP files
4. Go to
WoWInterface - Find World of Warcraft AddOns!
5. Under Other Categories, choose
Compilations & Suites.
6. Click on the Upload and Update option on the top bar.
7. Using the drop down menu, select an upload category. Generally the category you will want to upload to is Graphical Compilations, found below Compilations and Suites.
8. Browse to your file and you can then upload it to the site.
9. Be sure to include a description of the UI and screenshots. It is usually most helpful to have raid, party, and solo shots.
10. A list of the addons, with a brief description, is a good thing to have. It is a bit tedious to create but can help others decide whether or not they want to use your interface.
11. There will be a brief delay while your file is vetted by the site and then it will be posted to the category you chose and is one click away from being downloaded.
Did I miss something?
If anyone has any tips they would like to add to what I have written or sees something I have explained incorrectly please don't hesitate to drop a reply in.
Thanks for reading,
Bodasafa
Eldre'thalas
