Introduction

We all know how to add texture variations for clothes, skins, eyes etc. You just simply drop a subfolder with a texture variation to Mod\ActiveMod folder. That's super easy but in the longtime it becomes super busy with thousands of subfolders. As I mod the game a lot I need a quick access to a specific folder, sometimes copy it etc. I found out that it's more and more difficult to find something there even with folder tagging (like [cloth], [skin] etc.). You know what I mean?

So I was trying to find a solution to that and organise the folders there. The solution I came with are symbolic links or symlinks for short. In layman terms they allow to pin any file or folder from anywhere on your computer to a specific location. It's like a copy of but without the data - it's just a link to original file/folder.

Prequisitions

Although we can create symlinks using Windows shell it's much easier with Link Shell Extension. You can download it from here: https://schinagl.priv.at/nt/hardlinkshellext/linkshellextension.html and install it.

Method

1. Creating a library

First you need to create your library. I've done it in my VX game folder but it can be on any other drive - that would also help if you running out of space on your VX hard drive. You can even create multiple libraries in various places. When creating the library, MOVE the folders from Mod/ActiveMod there, do not copy them.

A sample library could look like that:

2. Linking

Once all your subfolders are nicely organised, we can start linking back to ActiveMod. Make sure that you're happy with your library structure. You can't change it after you create symlinks to the files there as Windows would loose track of them.

Go to subfolder where you moved the files from ActiveMod to and select all subfolders. Then right click them and select Pick Link Source from the menu

Then navigate to your now empty Mod/ActiveMod folder. R-click somewhere and select Drop As... => Symbolic Link

You should end with a list of subfolders with small arrow in folder icons

Repeat the process for all your subfolders in the library

Conclusion

That's it. It's a little bit tedious but I can see the benefits of that solution:

1. Easy navigation in the library with clear subfolders for categories

2. symlink don't take any hard drive space. You can put the library on the other hard drive.

Maintain your library files

1. Editing:  find a texture in your library, edit it and it will automatically update in ActiveMod.

2. Adding: add the folder to your library and symlink it to Mod\ActiveMod

3. Disabling: delete its symlink from Mod\ActiveMod folder (keep it in the library). You can then re-link it if you need it again.

IMPORTANT!

Do not change the folder filenames in your library after symlinking. The game would loose track of the original folder in Mod\ActiveMod and won't load it. If you want to change the library structure or folder names then delete symlinks from Mod\ActiveMod and re-link again.

Do not symlink the parent folders in your library. Always symlink the final subfolder - the one you'd normally put into Mod\ActiveMod. Otherwise the game won't find them.