Wrye Bash Advanced Readme

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Advanced Installation
   1. Alternative Install Locations
   2. Python Components
3. Installers Tab
   1. The User Interface In Detail
   2. Skipped Files
   3. Script Extender Plugin Installation
   4. OMOD Conversion Data
   5. BAIN Conversion Files
   6. Context Menu Commands
4. Mods Tab
   1. Exclusion Groups
   2. The Plugin Details Panel
   3. CSV Files
   4. Context Menu Commands
5. Advanced Bashed Patch
   1. Viewing & Editing The Bashed Patch
   2. Bash Tags
   3. Merge Filtering
   4. Item Interchange Mode
   5. Tweak Options In Detail
   6. Default CSV Files
   7. Leveled Lists
6. Saves Tab
   1. Overview
   2. Save Profiles
   3. Face Import
   4. What Symbols & Colours Mean
   5. Context Menu Commands

7. Screenshots Tab
   1. Overview
   2. Context Menu Commands
8. Advanced Launchers
   1. Hiding Launchers
   2. Custom Launchers
9. PM Archive Tab
   1. Overview
   2. Buttons & Context Menu Commands
10. People Tab
    1. Overview
    2. What Symbols & Colours Mean
    3. Context Menu Commands
11. Miscellaneous Tools
    1. Settings Menu
    2. Docs Browser
    3. Mod Checker
    4. Oblivion.esm Swapping
    5. Keyboard Shortcuts
    6. Command Line Arguments
12. Internationalisation
    1. Overview
    2. Translator File Format

Introduction

Wrye Bash is a powerful mod management utility for TES IV: Oblivion and TES V: Skyrim. Its features include:

• A mod installation and conflict manager
• A plugin load order manager
• Increased mod compatibility
• Lifting of the 255 plugin limit through automatic merging of compatible mods
• .ini and settings files tweak management
• Screenshot management
• Many, many more features

Wrye Bash can appear daunting at first. To help make it more manageable, the documentation has been split into a few readmes that are targeted towards different usage requirements.

A companion to the General Readme, this document details those features that were omitted from the aforementioned readme. These features are often more specialised, advanced or complicated, and many area geared more towards mod authors than mod users. This readme is also more technical and goes into more depth on how Wrye Bash functions. It assumes the reader has previously read the General Readme.

Note that the People and PM Archive tabs are hidden by default. You can toggle the visibility of the tabs in Wrye Bash's main tab bar by right-clicking the tab bar and checking or unchecking the options in the context menu displayed.

Advanced Installation

Alternative Install Locations

Wrye Bash can be installed in any folder, but if it is installed outside of the game's folder, then the OblivionPath bash.ini option must be adjusted.

To do so:

1. Open bash_default.ini in the Mopy folder and save it as bash.ini.
2. In the new bash.ini, enter the full path of your game's installation folder (the one that contains the game's executable) for the sOblivionPath setting.
3. Save the edited bash.ini.

Alternatively, you can launch Wrye Bash with the -o argument, quoting the path as the argument's parameter. Note that backslashes must be doubled as Python treats a single backslash as an escape character. For example, "Wrye Bash Launcher.pyw" -o "C:\\Games\\Oblivion\\" if you are running Wrye Bash for Oblivion.

Python Components

If you are installing the Python version of Wrye Bash and wish to install the Python dependencies separately, the following must be installed.

• Python 2.7.3
• wxPython 2.8.12.1 unicode for Python 2.7
• PyWin32: This component is required for Wizards to function. If you do not wish to use Wizards, then it need not be installed.
• Comtypes 0.6.2: This is an optional component, only required for users of the PM Archives tab. If Comtypes is not installed, the PM Archives tab will not be visible.

Installers Tab

The User Interface In Detail

The Installers tab is split into three main sections: on the left is the Package List, and the right is split between the Information Tabs at the top and the Comments field at the bottom. The Information Tabs and Comments sections display information specific to the currently selected package. Much of the contents of the Information Tabs depends on the install status and order of the package. The information tabs are detailed in the table below.

The Comments field is provided as an area in which notes may be kept on packages. It is useful for keeping track of what packages do, what your favourite install options are, etc.

Skipped Files

BAIN skips the installation of some files and directories. The types of files skipped are:

• Silent skips. These are thumbs.db files, and the omod conversion directory and its subfiles.
• Developer files. Any file or directory that begins with '--' and is at the top level of a package or a subpackage will be silently skipped. This is so that mod authors can include files related to a mod that are not required for it to work (eg. screenshots) in packages.
• Non-standard directories. Standard directories include all the game's default directories (including those only found in BSAs by default) and 'ini', ini tweaks', 'pluggy', 'scripts', 'streamline' and '_tejon'. Installation of these directories may be forced by using the Has Extra Directories option. Files skipped because of this will be listed in the Skipped panel on the right.
• Archives & executables. Executable files, apart from Script Extender plugins if the Skip OBSE Plugins option is disabled, and archives in packages will be skipped. Files skipped because of this will be listed in the Skipped panel on the right.
• Specified skips. There are a few options in BAIN to skip the installation of certain file types. If any such options are enabled, the file type(s) in question will be skipped.

Script Extender Plugin Installation

Script Extender (OBSE, SKSE) plugins (.dll, .dlx extensions) may be installed through BAIN if the following conditions are met:

• The package or subpackage containing the OBSE plugin has it in OBSE\Plugins (for Oblivion), SKSE\Plugins (for Skyrim) or a subfolder of the same.
• The Skip OBSE Plugins option found in the Installers tab column header context menu is disabled.

When attempting to install a specific Script Extender plugin for the first time, Wrye Bash will display a warning dialogue and ask you to confirm or deny the plugin's installation. Thereafter you can uninstall and install the plugin as you like without seeing the warning. These additional requirements are due to the significant (though currently theoretical) dangers of installing executable files.

The list of allowed and disallowed Script Extender plugins can be imported and exported using the Import list of allowed/disallowed OBSE plugin dlls and Export list of allowed/disallowed OBSE plugin dlls options in Wrye Bash's Settings menu.

OMOD Conversion Data

If a mod author is building a mod that supports BAIN, manual and OMOD installs, they can use the Omod Info... option in the package context menu to create or update the OMOD config file.

If a mod author wishes to include a screenshot for use by the OMOD, they simply need to copy the screenshot saved as a JPEG to the OMOD Conversion Data folder and rename it to screenshot with no file extension.

An OMOD installation script may also be created by creating a text file named script.txt and writing the script in any text editor. Testing is still best done in OBMM though.

The OMOD config file is the only true requirement for an OMOD to be created from OMOD Conversion Data. The screenshot and installation script can be used to enhance an OMOD. Note that the info.txt file that OMODs create when exporting Conversion Data in OBMM is unnecessary, and is provided for purely informational purposes.

BAIN Conversion Files

BCFs are effectively automated archive converters, converting an existing archive or several archives into a new layout. They can be used to make BAIN-incompatible archives compatible, or make compatible archives easier to install. As they don't contain any files that are found in the existing archive(s), the only copyright/permissions that apply are those that the BCF creator stipulates, which generally makes distribution easier. BCFs are also usually much smaller, only containing new files that it adds (commonly package.txt and ini file tweaks) and a BCF.dat that tells Wrye Bash how to reorganise the archive(s).

To create a BCF:

1. Add all of the source archives to BAIN.
2. Create a new project with the contents of the source archives, and rearrange the files as you see fit.
3. Right-click the project and select Pack To Archive....
4. Name the new archive, and choose whether to use solid compression or not. Solid compression results in smaller file sizes, but also reduces performance.
5. Set any options on the new archive package that you wish to be set whenever the BCF is applied (such as default sub-packages or Skip... options).
6. Select all the source archives in the package list, then right-click them and choose Conversions->Create. Select the archive that you just created, and name the BCF.
7. Look over the result log to make sure it looks OK. If it looks wrong, try again, you may have gotten the sources/target wrong. If it looks right, you can find the new BCF in [Game] Mods\Bash Installers\Bain Converters. It is recommended that you copy/paste the result log into your readme for your BCF.

Some points of interest regarding BCFs:

• BCFs must end in either -BCF.7z or -BCF-*.7z (where the * is a wildcard matching any character string).
• The converted archive may use 7-zip (.7z) or Zip (.zip) compression.
• BCFs support an arbitrary number and level of archives embedded within an archive.
• BCFs store the configuration settings of the original converted archive used when creating the BCF, allowing authors to pre-select options (see instructions above).
• BCFs found to be duplicates will be moved to [Game] Mods\Bash Installers\Bain Converters\--Duplicates.
• BCFs use data CRCs to verify the integrity of source archives. These use the contents of an archive, but not the name or type of the archive, so a source archive may be renamed or recompressed without affecting its ability to be used by a BCF. Wrye Bash displays the data CRCs of packages on the General Info tab for this reason.

Context Menu Commands

The tables below detail the full list of context menu commands available in the Installers tab.

Mods Tab

Exclusion Groups

Exclusion groups can be used to help flag plugins that are incompatible. Incompatible plugins can be placed into exclusion groups, and when more than one plugin in a group is present, the plugins will be highlighted in orange.

An exlusion group may be defined or added to by renaming a plugin, putting the exclusion group name first, then a comma, then the plugin's original name. Eg. Group, My plugin.esp. If plugins share the same exclusion group name, they will be members of the same exclusion group.

Note: The usage of exclusion groups is not recommended. Renaming plugins will cause them to become unrecognised by features such as BAIN or utilities such as BOSS that expect plugins to have the names they are distributed with. Renaming plugins will also break any plugins that are dependent on them.

The Plugin Details Panel

The plugin details panel contains the following:

CSV Files

Wrye Bash uses CSV files for many of its plugin data related features. CSV files are a very widely supported type of spreadsheet file, and once exported may be edited in programs like Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice Calc or even in text editors such as Notepad or Notepad++.

CSV files are used by the Import/Export... commands as this allows much easier editing of record data in large batches or in systematic manners than in the Construction Set. The data may be exported, edited in the CSV, then imported again. The following notes apply to CSV files.

• Wrye Bash will ignore any lines in a CSV file for which the second column does not begin with 0x, so such lines can be used for comments.
• For Sigil Stones and Spell Stats CSV exports, additional effects can be added to a stone/spell by appending effects to the end of a line, leaving one blank column between each effect. If any of the Script Effect columns are set to None then all the script effects for that effect will be ignored.
• For the values of object stats such as price or weight or damage, etc., formulae may be used to work out the numerical values, but the file should contain the resulting numbers, not the formulae used.
• The faction lists for actors do not need to be complete - only the actor/faction pairs added or changed need to be listed. A rank of -1 in a faction will remove an actor from that faction.
• Relation lists do not need to be complete for each faction - only the added/changed main/other pairs need to be listed.

CSV files can also be used when building the Bashed Patch, for a number of options. The Bashed Patch builder will automatically detect the presence of any CSV files in the Data\Bash Patches folder and have the correct filename ending. These filename endings are:

Context Menu Commands

The tables below detail the full list of context menu commands available in the Mods tab.

Advanced Bashed Patch

You can have multiple Bashed Patches, though one is generally enough per save profile or character. The only requirement for Wrye Bash recognising a plugin as a Bashed Patch is that its Author field is set to BASHED PATCH, so you can name a Bashed Patch whatever you want.

Viewing & Editing The Bashed Patch

As the Bashed Patch commonly has .esp files as masters, viewing and editing it can be more complicated than for the average plugin. If you wish to view its contents, it is easiest to use TES4Edit, which can also be used to edit most types of data in plugins. To edit it using the Construction Set or Creation Kit (required when editing scripts), you'll need to first use the Esmify Masters command on it. Be sure to use Espify Masters before attempting to play the game.

Bash Tags

Wrye Bash uses a tagging system to determine what mods can and should have which records available for importing into the Bashed Patch. These Bash Tags are specified by mod authors in the header descriptions of their plugins, or are applied using data from three sources:

• BOSS's masterlist.txt and userlist.txt files. If BOSS is installed, then Wrye Bash will apply its Bash Tag suggestions. You do not need to use BOSS to benefit from this, it just needs to be installed. REPLACE lines in the userlist will replace Bash Tags suggested in the masterlist, but will not affect Bash Tags specified in plugin description fields.
• The Bash Patches\Leveled Lists.csv file. This file contains a small list that is useful if BOSS is not installed.
• The Bash Patches\taglist.txt file. This is a stripped-down version of the BOSS masterlist as it was when the version of Wrye Bash installed was released.

Bash Tags may also be set manually, by right-clicking a plugin's Bash Tags field in the Mods Tab sidebar and checking or unchecking tags in the list displayed. If you wish to revert to automatic tagging, choose Automatic in the right-click list. If you are a mod author, you may wish to use Copy to Description for your mod's plugins before releasing it to ensure that users have the tags applied automatically.

Note: A Bash Tag should only be applied when it is important that the plugin's change to whatever the Tag relates to is preserved. If a change your plugin makes is not important to the functioning of your mod, do not add a Bash Tag for it. Doing otherwise negates the purpose of the Bash Tag system.

Merge Filtering

Merge filtering is an advanced option that allows records in a merged mod to be selectively filtered according to the current load order. For example, a patch mod could be created to rebalance weapons from several different weapon-adding mods. This feature would allow the patch to be used even if you didn't use all the mods, and the Bashed Patch would just apply the bits for the mods you do use. This saves the need for a separate patch plugin for each mod.

Merge filtering has requisite conditions that must be fulfilled for a plugin to take advantage of it, and some limitations. These conditions and limitations are:

• The plugin must be mergeable and tagged with Filter.
• The plugin must not be active at the time the patch is built. Note that if the user doesn't have all the plugin's masters installed, it will have to remain deactivated at all times.
• Filtering is done according to the currently active plugins: it is therefore very important that all the desired plugins are active when the Bashed Patch is built.
• Filtering is mostly limited to the top level, ie. if the plugin a record is from is missing, the record will be skipped. However, if a record references another record, and the latter's plugin is missing, the former will not be skipped, and the Bashed Patch will end up dependent on the latter's plugin being installed.
• There are a few exceptions to the above limitation: entries in leveled lists will be filtered, as will spells, factions and items referenced in Creature and NPC records.

Item Interchange Mode

Item Interchange Mode is a 'hack' (a horribly inelegant and inconsistent implementation of a feature that nonetheless works) to support Vacuity's Item Interchange mod.

Activation of the mode for a plugin relies on the following conditions:

• The plugin is tagged with IIM.
• The plugin is being merged into the Bashed Patch.
• The plugin is tagged with Filter.

Item Interchange Mode has the following effects:

• Prevents the records in the plugin from being merged into the Bashed Patch, apart from leveled list records, which are merged in.
• Prevents all the patch components except from the Leveled Lists and Import Inventory from even looking at the plugin.
• Causes Import Inventory to ignore all changes in the plugin except inventory changes.

Tweak Options In Detail

Each Tweak... section has a table below that details the options found within it.

Default CSV Files

The following CSV files are supplied with Wrye Bash and are can be used when building your Bashed Patch.

Leveled Lists

The leveled list patcher is slightly odd in comparison to the others: it's effectively an Import... patcher, but its options are decided automatically by default.

First, a bit of background. When different plugins alter the same leveled list, only the last loaded plugin's changes get applied. This tends not to be what is wanted. The leveled list patcher circumvents the issue by instead merging all the changes made to leveled lists and having this merged set of changes applied.

The leveled list merging is dictated by related Bash Tags, and functions as follows.

• The load order of plugins is still important to the result of the leveled list patcher. It decides what plugins' effects override others.
• Untagged plugins can only add new entries to leveled lists. If such a plugin adds an entry that already exists, it will be ignored. Furthermore, even if another plugin has already marked that entry as removed, it will not be re-added.
• Delev tagged plugins can remove entries from leveled lists. Any items present in such a plugin's masters but not in the plugin itself will be removed.
• Relev tagged plugins can relevel an existing entry (ie. change its levels and/or counts in the list), and can also override previous deletions of entries from leveled lists. However, it does not prevent a later-loading Delev tagged plugin from then removing an entry again.
• Delev and Relev tagged mods simply combines the effects of the Delev and Relev Bash Tags.
• In addition to the above, the leveled list patcher removes any empty sublists from leveled lists, as these would otherwise cause the leveled list to select nothing if such a sublist was picked in-game.

It's best to simply ensure that your plugins have the correct tags and leave this section on automatic. To add plugins to or remove plugins from the list, uncheck the Automatic checkbox, and use the Add or Remove buttons. The latter will remove the currently selected plugin.

To manually override the Delev/Relev Bash Tags for a plugin, right-click it in the section list and check or uncheck the relevant options as desired. To return to the automatic setting, select the Auto option in the right-click menu.

Saves Tab

Overview

The Saves tab allows you to manage many aspects related to your game's saves. Save files are found in the My Games\[Game]\Saves directory and have the file extension .ess. When you quicksave or autosave, the game backs up the previous quick/autosave by replacing the file extension with .bak. This backup may be restored by restoring its original file extension.

If you have Pluggy and/or the game's Script Extender installed, each of your save files will have a corresponding cosave containing the Pluggy/OBSE/SKSE-specific data. These cosaves have file extensions .pluggy, .obse, .skse for Pluggy, OBSE and SKSE respectively.

The Saves tab is divided into two sections: the main panel lists your save files and displays some of their details in its columns. The Save Details panel on the right displays some more information relating to the currently selected save file. It comprises of the following sections:

Save Profiles

Save profiles are like player accounts, in that they consist of a load order plus a set of save files. They can be used to allow safe and easy switching between different characters than may use different combinations of mods, or between different stages of the same character's life (where different mods have been used in each stage). They can also associate different versions of Oblivion.esm with different save profiles, using Oblivion.esm Swapping.

To create or modify save profiles, use the Edit Profiles... command in the Profile submenu of the column header context menu. You can create a new save profile using Add, delete the selected existing save profile using Remove and rename the selected save profile using Rename. The central text field can be used to store notes on the selected save profile.

To select a save profile, select it from the list visible in the Profile submenu of the column header context menu.

To assign save files to a save profile, use the Move To or Copy To submenus in the save file context menu. This will also assign any related cosave files.

Face Import

Faces may be imported from saves to saves or plugins, or from plugins to saves. This allows you to preserve a character's appearance should you wish to restart a character, to roleplay as a particular character, or to turn your character into an NPC that may be encountered during playing, among other uses.

To import a face to a save:

1. Select the Import Face... command in a save file's context menu.
2. Choose the source save or plugin in the file dialogue that is displayed.
3. Choose the actor whose face you want to import. Click on a face in the list to display its details. If an image is associated with the face, it will be displayed.
   • If you chose a source plugin, the plugin's NPCs will be listed.
   • If you chose a source save, the player character will be at the top of the list, possibly followed by some clones of the player that the game uses for various purposes and some other NPCs.
4. Use the checkboxes to select additional characteristics to import.
   • The Race Import is incomplete. It will change the physical appearance and identification of the character, but not the racial powers.
   • Use the Stats Import with care. In-game stats are a combination of base stats, magical modifiers and scripted modifications. This command only affects the base stats. As such, the in-game effect may be negative or bizarrely high. In addition, such alteration of stats often confuses releveling mods, and such a mod may require temporary removal so that stats are imported to a save which does not have it active. Such mods can be reinstalled once the stats have been imported.
5. Click the Import button to finish.

To import a face to a plugin:

1. Create a new plugin using the New Mod command from the File menu of the plugin context menu in the Mods tab.
2. Right-click the new plugin and select Import Face....
3. Choose the source save in the file dialogue that is displayed.

Some notes on the usage of Face Import:

• Face Import does not check for unique Editor IDs. The Construction Set will inform you of any duplicates and auto-rename them, though you will probably want to rename them manually as DUPLICATE0000 is not very informative.
• If you want to associate an image with a face, save the image to Data\Docs\Images\[EditorID].jpg, where [EditorID] is the Editor ID of the face. The size of the image box is 250x210 pixels. Wrye Bash will scale down any image supplied to fit the box.
• To tweak the stats of an existing character, try importing them to a plugin, editing them there and then importing the character back into your save file.
• Normally when importing a face to a plugin, only eyes and hair from Oblivion.esm or the destination plugin will be imported. However, the following steps can be used to import eyes and hairs that come from other mods.
  • Convert the source cosmetic ESP to an ESM, using the Copy to Esm command in the plugin context menu in the Mods tab.
  • Open the destination plugin in the Construction Set, also loading the converted source cosmetic ESM.
  • Save the plugin in the Construction Set.
  • In Wrye Bash's Mods tab, select the converted source cosmetic ESM in the destination plugin's Masters List and use the Change To... command to select the source cosmetic ESP.
  • Now import the face as normal. The eyes/hair should also be imported.

What Symbols & Colours Mean

Checkbox Colour	Meaning
	Good. Exactly synced with the current load order.
	Good. Compatible with the current load order. However, the current load order includes some plugins that are not used by this save game.
	Good, but not in sync with the current load order. Use Load Masters to sync load order to this save.
	Some plugins have changed order. the game and the Construction Set/Creation Kit will adjust for this when loaded. However, if some of the plugins that you depend made conflicting changes to the same item, a different plugin may now dominate because of the reordering.
	A master is missing. You should check to make sure that you have not inadvertently renamed or removed the plugin.

Context Menu Commands

Screenshots Tab

Overview

The Screenshots tab allows you to preview any screenshots taken in-game using the built-in Print Screen functionality. These screenshots are saved as bitmap files (.bmp). Selecting a screenshot from the list on the left will display it on the right. Screenshots can be converted from bitmaps into a few other formats using context menu commands.

Context Menu Commands

Advanced Launchers

Hiding Launchers

You can hide specific launcher icons, preventing them from being displayed, by right-clicking them and selecting Hide... or by inserting a semicolon before their path in the bash.ini.

• For example, sPhotoshopPath=;C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop 7.0\Photoshop.exe.

You can hide some of the toggle buttons using the bShowTes4... options in the Tool Options in the bash.ini.

You can unhide launchers hidden through the right-click option using the Settings menu. See the Settings Menu for more information.

Custom Launchers

Custom launcher buttons may be added by putting a shortcut to the application you wish to have a launcher for in the Mopy\Apps directory. Wrye Bash will then use the following information from the shortcut:

• Icon
• Working directory
• Command line arguments
• Comments

If you want to have a custom icon for a launcher, place a PNG image with the same name as the shortcut, appending the icon size, in the same folder. For example:

• Notepadpp.lnk
• Notepadpp24.png

Note: 24x24 icons taken from shortcuts do not work well, so if you are using this size, be sure to include a custom icon. Icon size displayed can be adjusted in the bash.ini or the Settings menu.

PM Archive Tab

Overview

The PM Archive tab can be used to archive, view and search Private Messages from the official Bethesda Softworks forums. Due to forum updates, messages archived since the 13th of March 2010 cannot be imported into Wrye Bash. As such, the tab is only available for legacy support of those with messages archived before then.

Warning: This feature is both experimental and outdated. Keep a separate backup of any archives you import into Wrye Bash.

To import PM archives into Wrye Bash, follow the instructions below:

1. Archive your PMs using the forum option, then download the HTML archive that is emailed as an attachment to you.
2. Rename the archive file so that the filename begins with the date the archive was created, in the format YY.MM.DD. Eg. 07.11.06 archive.html. It doesn't matter what the name is after the date.
3. In Wrye Bash's PM Archives tab, right-click the box at the top and select Import Archives... then select the archive files you wish to import.

PMs may be searched using the bar at the bottom of the window, by entering in the search text then clicking the Search button or hitting return on your keyboard. Messages may be sorted by any of the columns by clicking a column header. Selecting multiple messages will display them all at once in the order they are listed.

Buttons & Context Menu Commands

People Tab

Overview

The People tab functions as a simple database that can be used to keep notes on various people (eg. why you blocked a forum user, or what a good mod someone made).

People are listed in the column on the left, and the large text box on the right can be used for writing notes on the selected person. Notes are saved automatically as you type them, but otherwise the text box behaves as a simple text editor such as Notepad.

The Karma column displays the karma level you have set for them. Karma is a simple way of rating your disposition towards a person. The Header column displays the first 75 characters of text in a person's notes. Clicking a column header will sort by that column.

What Symbols & Colours Mean

Checkbox Colours
Checkbox	Meaning
	Person has +5 karma.
	Person has +3 or +4 karma.
	Person has +1 or +2 karma.
	Person has 0 karma.
	Person has -1 or -2 karma.
	Person has -3 or -4 karma.
	Person has -5 karma.

Context Menu Commands

Miscellaneous Tools

Settings Menu

The Settings menu is where Wrye Bash's global settings may be accessed. The Settings menu can be opened by clicking on the Settings button in the status bar. The Settings menu's items are detailed in the table below.

Doc Browser

The Doc Browser allows you to quickly and easily scan through your mods' documentation. The supported document types are: text files, HTML files and MHT files (HTML archives). To display the Doc Browser, double click any plugin in the main list of the Mods tab.

When you double-click a plugin, Wrye Bash will open the Doc Browser and attempt to determine which document to associate with it. If it can determine one, it will display it. Otherwise, a blank page will be displayed. To associate a document with a plugin, use the Set Doc... button in the Doc Browser. To disassociate a document with a plugin, use the Forget Doc... button in the Doc Browser.

You can also rename an associated document using the Rename Doc... button to select a new name and/or location. The document will be renamed and/or moved to this location.

You can edit a document by clicking the Edit Doc... button. The document can then be edited in the viewing window. To finish editing, click the Edit Doc... button again. Changes are automatically saved when you select a new plugin, close the Doc Browser or finish editing.

A document can be opened in its default external editor by clicking the Open Doc... button.

A new document can be created for a plugin by clicking the Set Doc... button and choosing a new filename. This creates a document using a blank template that you can then edit. The default template is Data\Docs\My Readme Template if it exists, or if not, Data\Docs\Bash Readme Template.txt. The latter is written in Wrye wiki text format, which will be displayed as HTML when the Doc Browser is not in edit mode.

To view a different document, select a different plugin in the list on the left of the Doc Browser or in the Mods tab.

Some notes on Doc Browser behaviour:

• If a plugin is renamed in the Mods tab, then any documents associated with it will become associated to the plugin's new name.
• If a plugin is copied in the Mods tab, then any documents associated with it will also become associated with the copy.
• Documents can be stored in any location, though Data\Docs is the standard location.
• If you delete a plugin, its documentation will not be deleted, but it will no longer be viewable through the Doc Browser.
• If you hide a plugin, its documentation will still be viewable through the Doc Browser.

Mod Checker

The Mod Checker checks your active and merged plugins for errors, and provides warnings for any found, as well as configuration recaps and suggestions. It can be opened by clicking the Mod Checker button in the status bar.

At the top of the report is the Active Mod Files section, which lists your load order. It also displays any warnings that are applicable beneath the plugin(s) that they are applicable to. These warnings are either regardinng missing masters or delinquent masters.

• Missing masters occur when a plugin that an active plugin depends on is not active. This results in an immediate CTD when the game is launched.
• Delinquent masters occur when a plugin's master loads after the plugin itself. This shoud be fixed to prevent issues in-game.

The next section of the report details the output of any rulesets installed. These are text files that contain a set of instructions that tell the Mod Checker what to look for and what to say in the report if anything is found. Currently the only ruleset distributed by Wrye Bash is for Cobl. Rulesets are stored in Data\Bash Patches and end in Rules.txt. Information on ruleset syntax can be found at UESP: Wrye Bash Mod Checker.

The rest of the report details any plugin groups that have been set up. Each group's section contains the following information:

• Notes: These are various notes on the plugin group, as entered by the user.
• Configuration: This is a summary of the plugin group's configuration. It uses a few symbols to denote the status of plugins, these are: x: active; +: merged; *: imported; -: inactive/unmerged.
• Suggestions: Specific suggestions for the plugin group. These are typically activating or deactivating certain plugins, or replacing mods with other mods.
• Warnings: Like suggestions, but the causes are more likely to cause issues. This section will detail what should be activated or deactivated to resolve the problems.

Oblivion.esm Swapping

Oblivion.esm swapping is a feature that allows mod authors to switch between different versions of Oblivion.esm on the fly. This is useful as it allows mod authors to make plugins that are totally SI-independent (as the Shivering Isles patches Oblivion.esm instead of using a new plugin). It can also be used to avoid the need for a fully patched Oblivion to run a plugin, but this usage is not recommended. If you want a plugin to work on older versions of Oblivion, use the Version 0.8 command on it.

The main requirement for swapping to work is that you have the necessary copies of the different Oblivion.esm files. This is only possible if you copy and rename Oblivion.esm before installing Shivering Isles. There are three accepted versions of Oblivion.esm in addition to the latest SI one. These are determined by their file size:

• 247388848 bytes: this is the 1.1 version. Rename it to Oblivion_1.1.esm.
• 247388812 bytes: this is the GOTY version without SI. Rename it to Oblivion_GOTY non-SI.esm.
• 247388894 bytes: this is an uncommon variant of the 1.1 version. Rename it to Oblivion_1.1b.esm.

You can then swap between the different versions of Oblivion.esm using the Oblivion.esm submenu in the Mods tab column header context menu. Your currently active version will be checked, select another to swap them. You can also perform the same swapping in the Saves tab column header context menu, but in addition to the swapping this will also mark the selected version as the preferred version to use with the current Save Profile. If you then switch to another save profile and back to this one, Oblivion.esm will be swapped automatically.

Wrye Bash displays the current version of Oblivion.esm in its version indicators. The main indicator is in the title bar of the main Wrye Bash window, but there are also indicators placed after Oblivion.esm in the Mods tab plugin list, and after Oblivion.esm in the Masters tab for plugins and savegames. The three possible indicators are:

• [1.1]: You are currently using the 1.1 or 1.1b version of Oblivion.esm.
• [GOTY non-SI]: You are currently using the GOTY without SI installed version of Oblivion.esm.
• [SI]: You are currently using the Shivering Isles-patched version of Oblivion.esm.

Keyboard Shortcuts

The following keyboard shortcuts work almost everywhere in Wrye Bash.

Command Line Arguments

The following table lists all command-line arguments Wrye Bash supports.

Internationalisation

Overview

Wrye Bash has built-in support for translation into other languages, using text files that tell it which English strings in the source code should be translated, and into what. These text files are found in Mopy\bash\l10n\. New translations or updates to existing translations should be presented to the Wrye Bash team so that they may be included in future releases.

To begin translating, or to update an existing translation, use the following steps.

1. Select Dump Translator from Wrye Bash's Settings menu. This generates a new version of the translation file for your locale. The new file will be named appropriately, except from the leading "NEW", and will contain any translations already done.
2. Delete any existing translation text file for the same language.
3. Rename the new translator file, removing the leading "NEW". Do not change the rest of the filename.
4. Edit the translator file, adding translations or editing existing translations.
5. To test a translator file, save your changes then restart Wrye Bash, and select the language from the Language submenu in Wrye Bash's Settings menu.

Translator File Format

Below is an excerpt from a translator file. === basher.py, 3711 Active profile cannot be removed. >>>> === basher.py, 3717 Delete profile %s and the %d save files it contains? >>>> DELETE PROFILE %s AND THE %d SAVE FILES IT CONTAINS?

The above contains two separate translation entries. Each entry begins with the source code file and line number the string to be translated is found on.

The file line is followed by the original text string on a new line, which is then followed by a line containing only >>>>. The translation entry ends with a final line containing the translated text string.

Note: It is important that the formatting characters are not removed or moved or added to. Formatting characters are those that start with a percentage sign or a backslash, eg. %s %d %08X \n. If a formatting character is missing, Wrye Bash will throw an exception, which is bad.