Utility - FL Mod File Updater
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Some of you modding friends out there may find this useful.
It asks you for the locations of your current Mod work folder, your FL Game folder, and for the location and name of a new destination folder.
Then it scans your current Mod working folders and refreshes all of your modded files from your FL Game folder into the new folder without disturbing your mod files.
It also finds any files in the mod root folder like script.xml and copies them too.
So you can use it to make fast Restore Points when your mod is running cleanly, for refreshing mixed up files when you lose track of what you saved, and you can also zip up the new folder and simply rename it into an FLMM package if you are using standard modding methods.
And it does this in about 2 minutes, saving a lot of hair-pulling in my case. ;D
Remember that you must have your mod activated and running clean, or you will be just getting buggy files, standard FL files or another mod’s files in the new folder. But it does warn you about htis.
Here’s the link to download it…
http://forums.seriouszone.com/showthread.php?t=57897Have fun at my expense! :P.
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Hi Startrader,
I find your Flmodfileupdater utility very useful.
Unfornately, at first it generated only error messages for me.
Since I could see it’s potential usefulness I decided to dust off my batch file knowledge and see whether I could take away the causes of the error messages.The error messages were due to the fact that apparently the flmodfileupdater was more or less written for your setup. So I had to adjust that to my setup.
A compare with your original bat file and the modified one will show where I made the changes.While I was at it, I decided that I would I like the utility to be more automated instead having to type in the folders and such every time and so avoid typo’s. And having updates saved without having to think about it is a great good, because most of the time I always think about doing that …. afterwards.
The thought behind this was that most of the time you are working on 1 mod. The FL folder stays the same (in relation to the mod under construction anyway) and the same applies for the Mod folder.
So when I start working on another mod, I simply have to change the variable(s) in the header of the file.
Even the save folder could stay the same. In order to create a relatively unique name for each update saved, I added a routine that would base that name on current date and time. The only drawback here is that if you would update twice within a minutes time, the 2nd update fails. That could be easily cured, but I failed to see the need for that.
Oh, there is a perculiar line in your bat file that insist finding non existing folders and wanting them to delete first. Probably in there for a reason, I can see that, but with my solution (date-time) not necessary.
Next I remmed out the YesNo’s.
Having the whole proces automated, the next step was to keep the save folder not to crowded with mod file updated folders. So I added a routine that keeps the number of those folders at 9 max.To complete the automation of the saving process I linked it to the starting of the Mod manager. This seems to me the most logical, since starting FLMM and deactivation of a mod is the point where trouble could start for modders. So now every time I start the mod manager, I actually start the flmodfileupdater first and let it start FLMM when it is finished. Only drawback here is that occasionally an update is saved, while the was no mod active, but who cares.
I can live with the fact that the flmodfileupdater does not save newly created files (new as in not in the mod file folder present yet). Scanning for that would, I guess, add substancial time to the runtime of the utility. It would probalby therefore be the first thing to be removed from it by me.
I did send you my modified flmodfileupdater by email in case you might be interested. Feel free to use parts you like to make other modders happy.
See you in Sirius,
Buck Danny -
Hi buck.
No problem, glad you could make use of it.
My Bat file knowledge is as old as Dos 3, so I learned and fixed as I went with this one.
And thanks for the copy of your modded one, too, I/m interested in seeing where the setup needs improving.
Wish I could write C++ ;D
All the best.