Mini-Tutorial: Batch-fix Custom Objects to make them *placeable on OFB shelves*

[Numenor]

Mini-Tutorial: Batch-fix Custom Objects to make them *placeable on OFB shelves*
(Read additional hints and info on post #2 (http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?p=1112851#post1112851))



:here: Italian version by MaryLou available HERE (http://www.marylousims2.it/utility/Tutorial_OggettiCustom_OFBshelves_Numenor.htm) (external link)



WHAT YOU NEED

SimPE v.056 (http://sims.ambertation.de/en/download) or newer.


PURPOSE OF THIS TUTORIAL
If you have Open for Business, you may have noticed that custom objects can't be placed on Maxis' business shelves; this is because the custom objects don't contain any information about their physical size, and this information is needed for the game to properly place the objects on the shelves.
All the custom objects in the Downloads folder, therefore, must be "fixed", in order to provide the missing information.
(Read the technical explanation on post #2 (http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?p=1112851#post1112851)).

BATCH-FIXING PROCEDURE

Start SimPE and select the menu Tools -> Scan Folders; the Scanner window will open up (the Scanner has a lot of functions: we will use it *only* to batch-fix the shelf placement).

In the topmost drop-down list, the "Download Folder" should be already selected by default (if not, select it by clicking on the arrow located on the right of the drop-down menu). Select the "Scanner Settings" tab and deselect all the options, except "OFB Shelve Scanner" (be warned that there are more options in the list then the ones visible: scroll down in order to see them, and deselect them, too). Select the "Recursive" option and lastly click on the "Scan" button.
http://thumbs.modthesims2.com/getimage.php?file=256061

Wait for the scanner to complete its task (if you have a huge Downloads folder, it may take a while!). When finished, sort the list by clicking on the "Shelve Dimension" column title, and then on the "Type" title.
Then, scroll down until, in the "type" column, you'll see the first Object files.
IMPORTANT: ignore any other file type different than "Object", including - unless you know exactly what you are doing - the "Maxis Objects"; scroll down until you see the "Object" files.
http://thumbs.modthesims2.com/getimage.php?file=256069

Now, you have to select all the "Object" files that have an "Unknown..." tag; again, ignore all the files (even if reported in red) that are not "Object".
You can select an entire block of files by selecting the first line of the block, and then shift-clicking on the last line of the block.
When the block of files is selected, click on the "Operations" tab (in the bottom-left); here, you can set the size for all the selected objects: Big, Medium or Small (read hints about choosing the most suitable size on post #2 (http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?p=1112851#post1112851)).
The chosen Size will be applied to *all* the selected objects!
When done, click on "Set Shelve Dimension", and you have finished.
http://thumbs.modthesims2.com/getimage.php?file=256070

[Numenor]

Additional Info and Frequently Asked Questions


WHICH "SIZE" TO CHOOSE? BIG, MEDIUM OR SMALL?
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU CHOOSE A "WRONG" SIZE?

Obviously, you *have* the possibility to set the size of the objects one by one, choosing the most suitable size for that particular object (you can understand what each object is, by reading its filename on the first column, or by selecting it and clicking "Open" in the bottom-right corner).
But if you have many downloaded objects to fix, it would take too long.
Therefore, you'll probably find more convenient to provide the same setting for all the objects, taking the "risk" that som objects will get a "wrong" setting, compared to their real size. The consequences are not harmful, anyway: basically, some objects may show an inproper placing on the business shelves.
All objects set to "BIG": if you choose to assign a "big" size to all objects, the smaller custom objects will be treated by the game as large ones, and therefore you'll be able to place only one item of that type per shelf; the shelves will look a little "empty", but that's all you risk. This is the "safest" choice, because in no cases the objects will intersect, overlap od collide with the other objects.
All objects set to "SMALL": in this case, you'll be able to place up to six objects on a single shelf; but if the objects are big, they will overlap each other: not a beautiful sight :) In any case, you can always choose not to put six objects of that type on the shelf...! (Note: when placing an object on the shelf, you can press the "M" key in order to select the location of the object, among the six available).
All objects set to "MEDIUM": this is an adviceble setting, because it allows to place up to two objects on the same shelf; some larger objects may overlap, and some smaller objects may look "lonely" on the shelf, but this is an overall good choice, in my personal opinion.



BATCH-FIXING ALL THE CUSTOM OBJECTS IN THE DOWNLOADS FOLDER WILL FINALLY SOLVE THE ISSUE CONCERNING THE "RESTOCK SIGN" BEING MISPLACED?

It will greatly help, yes; but from the reports I've recieved by many users, I guess that there is a bug in the game that can't be solved that easily; therefore, every now and then, you still will see your restock signs being "teleported" at one corner of your lot.


AFTER HAVING FIXED MY DOWNLOADS, MAY I STOP USING NUMENOR'S HACKS? (http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=137561)
Yes :) You don't need it any more. If, while playing, you notice that a particular object (perhaps a recently downloaded one) can't be placed on the OFB shelves, run this tutorial again.


TECHNICAL EXPLANATION OF THIS "FIX"
Maxis started to use a previously unused data field in the Object Data: the data field 0x004F [Unused - Shadow Brightness (Sims1)]. I've noticed that almost all the existing objects, before OFB, had this field set to 0x96 (very few had a value of 0x64); while in OFB the objects have a value of 0x2 (small objects), 0x1 (medium objects) and 0x00 (large objects).
The Scanner, when used as explained above, writes in the data field 0x004F the value corresponding to the selected "size"

[MaryLou]

Thanks Numenor ! This is an excellent work !!! :)
Only a question:This "update" is only necessary for "old" custom objects, isn't it ?
Hope you understand what I mean

[Numenor]

This fix is needed for all the old objects (i.e. all the ones that were cloned before OFB was released).

But still today, many creators clone objects deactivating the EPs from within the SimPE File Table (to ensure compatibility with the base game, as explained in this thread (http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=107015)).

I order to ensure compatibility with the base game *and* with OFB, the creators should manually set the proper value (0, 1 or 2) into the OBJD field 0x004F.

I guess that many creators will "forget" this, especially in these first days, and therefore - every now and then - a new scan of the Downloads may be needed.

[kralore]

Many thanks for this tutorial :)

[MizzesSimmer]

I was wondering how you did this. Since I corrupted my game the last time I "played" around with SimPe, i was a little afraid to try finding the solution myself, lol.
Thanks for explaining it here, its appreciated!
One question, some of my custom objects say indetermined, should I change that to a more suitable size? I would prefer medium, two per shelf as you say.
***Edit, oops nevermind. I was just skimming through, not actually reading what they were.(Recolors, lol) But thanks anyway.

[Numenor]

If SimPE says it is "Indetermined", probably those files are NOT "Objects": usually the "indetermined" things are Wallpapers, recolours, hacks and such.

You can only set the dimension for files marked as Objects.

[MizzesSimmer]

Yes, I realized after actually looking at them, lol. Guess I was overly excited.

[liz_sssdesigns1]

Hi Numenor

I was following your tut and when i got to the part of selectingthe objects under types I have a question do i select all the objects with unknown2 and 1 i have no unknown only. I don't want to click on the wrong thing so can you please help me out.

Hugs
Liz

[Numenor]

Unknown 2 and 1 can be selected altogether.
In my screenshot you see that only that the unknown2 are selected, but it was only by accident...

[liz_sssdesigns1]

Thank you Numenor for your help and quick reply btw you are awesome and so talented *Thank you for all yo do for us*

Hugs
Liz

[liz_sssdesigns1]

Hi Numenor

after completing the tut and clicking on set shelve dimension after a while I get theis message

Message:
Exception of type System.OutOfMemoryException was thrown.

SimPE Version:
Default (0.56.2262.8311).

Exception Stack:
System.OutOfMemoryException: Exception of type System.OutOfMemoryException was thrown.

Please help I hope my files didn't get messed up :-) also how do I close it I keep clicking on ok but it still keeps coming up Please PLease help me

Hugs
Liz

[Numenor]

I'm sorry, I can't answer to your question. You should ask it in the SimPE Bugs Forum (http://ambertation.de/simpeforum/viewforum.php?f=1&sid=26a3e06a37901034cd4aff8b1c434176), over at SimPE site: Quaxi himself will answer you soon.

[liz_sssdesigns1]

I gotit done I believe the problem was when doing the tut I didn't take your hack out , I took it out and now it batch fixed them :-) once again thanks for this wonderful tut, much appreciated as you are!

Hugs
Liz

[Hairfish]

Thank you, Numenor! It worked!

If you need a promotional blurb for this tutorial, you might say, "So easy, even Hairfish can do it!" ;)

[kat92]

Thank you!!!

[darci321]

Thank you Oh Moderator of Llama Gods !

[freelancergal]

Great tutorial!

[Netza]

Great!!!

[Emma_Barrett]

thanx numenor ..... really helpful Tutorial .. :)

[reKate22]

So, I ran into a problem early. Your directions are perfectly clear, but my Scan Downloads just shows the dropbox at the top. I have nothing below that with the options that appear in your screenshots. Do you have any idea what the problem may be?

Thanks!

[Numenor]

ReKate, either you need to enlarge the window, or your SimPe installation got corrupted (in this case, reinstall the latest version 0.58)

[ironMaiden]

Thank you, Numenor! It worked!

If you need a promotional blurb for this tutorial, you might say, "So easy, even Hairfish can do it!" ;)

And you can add my name also! This is the first thing I have tried, I d/l SimPE just for this and you made it sooooo simple to follow! I'm an ol' goat but you made this easy to do, you can teach an old dog (or goat) new tricks! Thank you so much, we luv you :lovestruc for all you do for us!

ironMaiden

[Numenor]

Dan, I sincerely think that the pictures explain quite well the steps to be done. Read carefully the text, and ask me to explain any part that seems obscure to you.
Generic help requests like "It doesn't work" or "I don't understand" can't be fulfilled, obviously...

[pseudonymph24]

thanks much for the tut :).

[iamsimplyspoiled]

for some reason when I open my SIMPE and open the scan folder, the options at the bottom do not appear, when I try to expand the box I still am not able to see the rest of the options that even allows me to scan...

[reKate22]

for some reason when I open my SIMPE and open the scan folder, the options at the bottom do not appear, when I try to expand the box I still am not able to see the rest of the options that even allows me to scan...

Exactly the same thing happened to me, Spoiled! I even tried completely deleting SimPE from my computer and re-downloading it, but that didn't work either. Maybe something corrupts the program every time I download it, but I can't figure out what the problem is. If anyone figures it out, I would also appreciate it!

[Numenor]

I think it's just a problem of visualization. Can you both please post a screenshot of your "Scan Folder" window?

[Marsan]

hello wise and wonderful Numenor,

I am also having that same problem
even when i drag the window
the bottom tabs never show
it just expands the white space in the center
here's the pic after i tried to expand
(sorry it's so small)

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j265/Nasram/Scanner.jpg

[Numenor]

I see... Seems that simPe has a problem adapting itself to your screen resolution...
What resolution do you use? Do you use a widescreen monitor?

[Marsan]

my res is 1024 x 768,
i tried 800 x 600 but it didn't help
and i don't use a widescreen
so who knows?

[Numenor]

I've reported your problem on the SimPE forum, where hopefully someone will take care of the problem.
If you want to track the thread by yourself, here is the link:
http://ambertation.de/simpeforum/sims2/SimPEaposs-Scanner-faulty-window-resizing

[soakedmaster]

I need some help regarding this. I'm sure anyone who has done this can help. When using SimPE version 0.58 (the newest one), after selecting a size and clicking "set Shelve Dimension", nothing happens. The size remains Unknown 1 or 2. Anyone know what the problem is?

:EDIT:

Whoops, turns out I just needed to scan the folder again. Hehehe......

[Corylea]

Thanks so much for this. You're a genius, as always!

[maxon]

Amazingly lacking in pain - thanks Numenor.

[milly111]

thank you!!!
it was very easy to follow~*kisses*~

[nychic_emt]

Thank you Numenor for another great hack... very simple instructions.. heck.. even Hairfish could do it... (he he he) *wink*

[Reyn]

It looks like I'll need to try the hack. Unfortunately, my simpe, even after shrinking my text to normal, will not show anything but the top and the big white block, I don't even see tabs. Perhaps when the new version comes out, I'll be able to use it then.

Of course, I could go in and give everything a weight, but.....headache inducing even the thought of it.

[Steel_Mule]

Reyn,

Just curious if you got your SimPE to work. I responded a while back to Numenor's thread at the SimPE forum (see link at message #32). After changing my text height, I had to reboot for the scanner window to work right. I haven't heard of any other problems. I hope you get yours to work.

[Reyn]

Thanks, and I did look at that thread as well :) But, so far, no luck. Of course, I haven't checked back to see if it worked or not after booting, either.

[TwoHorses]

OMG!! :blink: I was looking everywhere for this information!!

And this tutorial is easy, simple, and it works!! :)

THANK YOU Numenor, and to everyone behind the SimPE! :lovestruc

If I could hit the thanks button 100 times for this, I would! ^^

[Kitty01430]

Thanks so much!!!

[LifeJunkie]

Hi, I have a question that may be very stupid, but can you change the shelve dimension of objects that already have one? Like change big into small? Or does it only work for objects which are unknown?

Thanks.

Great tut though!

[Numenor]

You can safely select items that already have a shelf dimension, and change it the same way as for the "unknown" ones; the new setting will completely replace the old one.

[tellemonstar]

Thanks! This helped a lot.

[centime]

I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the work you put in to making my game better.

Thank you so much for all you do, and especially for your patience and teaching. What would we all do without you?

centime :bunny:

[lucy kemnitzer]

So I've been trying to do this without success.

Let's see if I'm doing it right. I opened "tools --scanner." I checked and the folder to scan is the downloads folder, and I checked the recursive box. I unchecked all the scan options except the OFB shelf dimension, and I checked that. I clicked scan.

It scanned. It gave me a long list of objects in red, labelled objects, with "unknown1" or "unknown2" as their shelf dimension.

I selected objects (I tried different objects, and different combinations of single and multiple objects, and always got the same results). Under operations, I found the drop-down menu and selected a size (I tried different sizes, and got the same results, except with multitile). The "set shelve dimesnion" turned into a blue link, except when I tried multitile, when it didn't change. I clicked it. Nothing happened to the object. And when I moved away from the object, the drop-down menu for that object returned to "unknown."

I'm missing something. What is it? Can you tell? I don't have anything to show, or more details, because nothing happened.

[TheWizardofodd12]

is it free?

[Numenor]

Sure. Both SimPE... and this tutorial are completely, absolutely, entirely FREE :)

[outmask1]

Do you click save after you change the files?

[cessie06]

pls i have this problem at the sims open for business, some of my items are invinsible including the shelfs where i can put the item that will be sell, the open/close sign infront of the dor ect and even the electronic ticket how can fix this? plss need unswere now.