Wrye Bash General Readme

Contents

1. Introduction
   1. Glossary
   2. Title Bar Info
2. Installation
3. Uninstallation
4. Installing Mods
   1. Overview
   2. Restructuring Packages to be BAIN-Compatible
   3. Installing/Uninstalling Via BAIN
   4. BAIN Package Order
   5. What Symbols & Colours Mean
   6. Useful Context Menu Commands
5. Setting Up Load Order
   1. Overview
   2. Setting The Load Order
   3. What Symbols & Colours Mean
   4. Useful Context Menu Commands
6. Setting Up A Bashed Patch
   1. Overview
   2. Merging Plugins
   3. Importing From Plugins
   4. Applying Tweaks
   5. Other Bashed Patch Options

7. Applying Ini File Edits
   1. Overview
   2. What Symbols & Colours Mean
   3. Buttons & Context Menu Commands
8. Launching Applications
   1. Toggle Buttons
   2. Game & Editor Launchers
   3. Game-Specific Utilities
   4. Other Applications
   5. Wrye Bash Feature Launchers
9. Troubleshooting
   1. Generating A Bug Dump
   2. File Permissions
   3. Backing Up & Restoring Settings
   4. How To Report Bugs Helpfully
   5. Known Bugs
   6. Common Issues
10. Credits
11. Contact
12. License
13. Advanced Readme Topics

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.

This readme covers only the most commonly used features, so that the average user can start using Wrye Bash without being overwhelmed. Information on the less commonly used features and more technical details of the features covered in this readme may be found in the Advanced Readme. Information on some of the syntaxes and file formats that Wrye Bash uses are found in the Technical Readme. Finally, Wrye Bash's version history is stored in the Version History document. There is also a summary of the contents of the Advanced Readme near the end of this readme.

Glossary

Modding for Oblivion and Skyrim has a wonderful history of confusing terminology. The list below details some terms commonly used when dealing with mods.

• The game is the game that Wrye Bash is running for, either Oblivion or Skyrim.
• CTD is an acronym for Crash To Desktop. Used to describe the game crashing.
• DLC refers to any of the official downloadable content for the game.
• Mod refers to any unofficial user-made modification to the game.
• Mod author refers to a person that makes modifications to the game. It can also refer to those who are involved in the creation of utilities that are used by mod authors and/or users.
• ESP (case-insensitive) refers to any file with a .esp extension. It is an acronym for Elder Scrolls Plugin.
• ESM (case-insensitive) refers to any file with a .esm extension. It is an acronym for Elder Scrolls Master.
• Plugin refers to any ESP or ESM file.
• Master refers to any plugins that another plugin is dependent on to function. (It can also refer to an ESM file, as it used to be that only ESMs could be masters, until mod authors developed methods of using ESP files as masters too. The latter definition will not be used in this documentation.)
• The game's master file refers to the ESM that must be loaded for the game to function. For Oblivion, this is Oblivion.esm, and for Skyrim this is Skyrim.esm.
• Conflicts occur when two different mods try to change the same game variable or resource, which could be anything from a specific object in game to a script or a texture. Conflicts can cause problems, including CTDs or save game corruption, but they are not inherently bad, and most modding is the result of purposeful conflicts.
• Resource Conflicts occur when two mods contain two different files that go in the same place, so one mod's file overwrites the others's file. This type of conflict can be managed by altering the install order of mods.
• Data Conflicts occur when two mod plugins alter the same game data. This type of conflict can be managed by altering the load order of plugins.
• BSAs are Bethesda Softwork Archives, with .bsa file extensions. They can be used to store resource files such as textures and meshes.
• ITMs are Identical To Master records, ie. data in a plugin for something that is identical to the data for that thing in the plugin's master(s). Usually a type of unintended edit, known as a dirty edit, which can break the functionality of other mods that require the record in question to have a specific value, but which have that value overriden by an ITM record.
• UDRs are Undeleted and Disabled References. Deleted References can cause crashing, and this can be avoided by first undeleting and then disabling them instead. A type of dirty edit. This acronym is generally misused - the UDR acronym is frequently used to refer to the deleted references, rather than their fixed counterparts. For example, Scan For UDRs will scan for deleted references, not undeleted and disabled references, and BOSS will report the UDR count for a plugin, which is actually the number of deleted references that can be fixed.

This readme will also use the placeholder [Game]. Replace this with Oblivion or Skyrim depending on which game Wrye Bash is running for. Additional terminology specific to Wrye Bash's functions will be introduced as required. Also, links that are followed by go to pages that are not part of the Wrye Bash documentation.

Title Bar Info

As a quick note that doesn't really belong anywhere else, Wrye Bash's title bar contains some useful information. The title is formatted as:

Wrye Bash [Bash Version] [Install Type] [Game Modifier], Cbash v[CBash Version]: [Save Profile] [Version Indicator]

The square bracketed information is:

• [Bash Version]: This is the version number for the version of Wrye Bash running. Useful when troubleshooting.
• [Install Type]: If the Python version is running, this will read Python. If the Standalone version is running, it will read (Standalone). See the Installation section for more information.
• [Game Modifier]: If the option is selected in the Settings menu, this will display for Oblivion or for Skyrim depending on the game it is being run for.
• [CBash Version]: This is the version number for the version of CBash included with the Wrye Bash install. Useful when troubleshooting. See the Setting Up A Bashed Patch section for more information.
• [Save Profile]: This is the name of the save profile Wrye Bash is currently using. By default it is Default.
• [Version Indicator]: This is only displayed when Wrye Bash is running for Oblivion. It indicates the version of Oblivion.esm currently being used. This is related to the Oblivion.esm Swapping feature.

Installation

The simplest way to install Wrye Bash is using the installer. The installer will handle the installation of Wrye Bash's dependencies and Wrye Bash itself automatically. However, the instructions below are provided if a manual install method is preferred.

Note: There are two versions of Wrye Bash available: the Python version and the Standalone version. Both are the same program, but the Standalone version has fewer dependencies and so is recommended for most people. The Python version requires the installation of some Python libraries, and the Standalone version requires the installation of the MSVC++ 2008 Redistributable.

Windows Vista & Windows 7 users: Windows' User Account Control feature may interfere with the running of Wrye Bash and other utilities. See the File Permissions section for solutions.

Manual Standalone Version Install:

1. Download and install the MSVC++ 2008 Redistributable.
2. Extract the downloaded Wrye Bash archive into the game folder (Oblivion or skyrim depending on the game) so that the Mopy directory appears in the game folder.
3. Run Wrye Bash by double-clicking Wrye Bash.exe in the new Mopy folder.

Manual Python Version Install:

1. Download and install the Wrye Python package from the location Wrye Bash was downloaded from. This package contains all the required Python libraries. If you have previously installed Python and any Python libraries, or the Wrye Python package itself, you may not need to install it again. See the Advanced Installation section for the list of included libraries and their versions to check if you need to install any of the libraries bundled in the Wrye Python package.
2. Extract the downloaded Wrye Bash archive into your game folder (Oblivion or skyrim depending on the game) so that the Mopy directory appears in your game folder.
3. Run Wrye Bash by double-clicking Wrye Bash Launcher.pyw in the new Mopy folder.

Uninstallation

The ease with which Wrye Bash can be removed is dependent on how much you use it to manage your modded game.

• If you use a Bashed Patch, you will need to remove any dependencies on it from your saves before uninstalling Wrye Bash in order to avoid in-game issues. This may be near-impossible to do, depending on what is in your Bashed Patch.
• If you use BAIN to manage your installed mods, you will need to ensure that you have an adequate alternative management system ready, as although uninstalling Wrye Bash will not uninstall your mods, you will no longer be able to use BAIN's conflict resolution features.
• If you use any INI tweaks applied through Wrye Bash, you will need to make a note of which tweaks you have applied, as although uninstalling Wrye Bash will not undo your tweaks, you will no longer have any record of tweaks applied or default values.
• If you use the People tab, you will need to transfer your notes on people and record their karma outside of Wrye Bash.
• If you use the PM Archive tab, you will need to move your archived PMs outside of Wrye Bash's folders.

If none of the above points apply to you, or once you have taken the necessary measures for the points that apply, you can uninstall Wrye Bash by either running the uninstaller, if you used the installer to install Wrye Bash, or delete the following files and folders if you installed it manually.

• [Game]\Mopy - If you've edited any localisation files in the l10n folder that you want to keep, back them up.
• [Game]\Data\Bash Patches - If you've exported any CSV files that you want to keep, back them up.
• [Game]\Data\Docs
• [Game]\Data\INI Tweaks
• Documents\My Games\[Game] - Only delete the BashProfiles.dat, BashProfiles.dat.bak, BashSettings.dat, BashSettings.dat.bak, Messages.dat, Messages.dat.bak, People.dat and People.dat.bak files and the Saves\Bash folder.
• [Game] Mods (in the same folder as [Game]) - The Bash Installers folder stores the mods you've installed via BAIN.

Installing Mods

Overview

Wrye Bash's mod installer is known as BAIN, and is represented by the Installers tab. The first time the Installers tab is opened, a dialog will appear asking if BAIN should be initialized. If you click Yes, BAIN will be initialised, which can take some time. After that, the information refresh performed when the Installers tab is opened is much faster. BAIN's primary function is to install mod packages. BAIN Packages can be .zip, .7z or .rar archives or uncompressed directories. Uncompressed directories are called Projects.

If BAIN is disabled, ie. if you clicked No on the dialog that was displayed the first time you selected the Installers tab, it can be re-enabled by right clicking on a column header in the Installers tab and selecting Enabled.

Restructuring Packages to be BAIN-Compatible

The easiest way to tell if a package needs manual converting to be compatible with BAIN is to try installing it. If it is listed in the Package list with a grey checkbox and name, then BAIN cannot install it. Due to BAIN's flexibility, many mods are already packaged in ways that are compatible, but for those that are not, there are a few possible cases:

• The mod has a BCF. BCFs are special packages that tell BAIN how to restructure the mod to be compatible with BAIN without the user having to do any work.
• The mod is distributed as an OMOD (ie. has file extension .omod). These mods are intended for installation with the Oblivion Mod Manager or Nexus Mod Manager. Such mods usually have a non-OMOD download option: if one is available, download that instead as it is more likely to be compatible. Otherwise, OMOD files can be converted to Projects automatically by dragging and dropping them into the Installers tab.
• The mod is distributed as an archive, or is a converted OMOD Project, but doesn't have a folder structure that BAIN recognises. It will need manual restructuring.
• The mod is distributed as an executable (ie. has file extension .exe). This is very rare, as mods do not require the complexity of executables, and the greater security risk executables represent makes their use unpopular. BAIN cannot install mods distributed in this way: often the only way to install them is to run the executable. You can often run the installer, installing to a dummy folder, and then repack the installed files into a BAIN-compatible format.

If an archive has a BCF, it can be converted for installation with BAIN using the following instructions.

1. Ensure that the BCF is installed in the correct location, [Game] Mods\Bash Installers\Bain Converters. Also ensure that the archive(s) it converts is/are in [Game] Mods\Bash Installers.
2. From the BAIN installers list, select the archive(s) to be converted (i.e., the source packages) and right click on the selected file(s) to bring up the context menu, and select Conversions to open the sub-menu.
3. Click on Apply to open a second sub-menu and select the BCF from it. There may be more than one BCF listed if multiple installed BCFs can convert the selected package(s). An asterisk ('*') is added to the end of a BCF's name for every archive it converts that isn't selected.
4. Optionally choose a name for the converted archive(s).
5. Once Wrye Bash has finished the conversion, the converted archive(s) will appear in the BAIN package list ready for install. You can now delete the original archive(s).

If a package is unrecognised by BAIN and has no associated BCF, its contents will have to be rearranged so that the structure matches one of the three types of BAIN-compatible package structures:

Installing/Uninstalling Via BAIN

Packages must first be placed in the [Game] Mods\Bash Installers directory. This can either be done via Windows Explorer, or by dragging and dropping the package into the Wrye Bash window when the Installers tab is open. If you drag and drop, you will be asked whether you want to copy the package or move it.

If a package contains a Wizard (ie. there is overlaid on its checkbox):

1. Right-click the package and select Wizard. You can also choose to install using the Wizard's default options by selecting Auto Wizard.
2. If you chose Wizard, navigate through the steps of the Wizard to install the package. Otherwise, you will be skipped to the Wizard finish screen.
3. At the Wizard's finish screen, click the Apply button to apply its selections. The Wizard window may need to be resized for the Apply button to become visible.

If a package has a Simple or a Complex/Simple structure:

1. Select the package in the package list.
2. Choose which plugins to install from it using the Esp/m Filter box to the far right of the package list. Checked plugins will be installed, while unchecked plugins will be skipped.
3. Right-click the package and select Install.

If a package has a Complex structure:

1. Select the package in the package list.
2. Choose which sub-packages to install from the Sub-Package box to the right of the package list. Checked sub-packages will be installed, while unchecked sub-packages will be skipped.
3. Choose which plugins to install from it using the Esp/m Filter box to the far right of the package list. Checked plugins will be installed, while unchecked plugins will be skipped.
4. Right-click the package and select Install.

If you install a package then later change the sub-packages or esp/m files selected, you can apply these changed by right-clicking the package in the list and selecting Anneal. A Wizard provides a scripted installation method that can be useful for more complex mods with many options.

When a package is installed, BAIN installs any files that appear to be documentation into the Data\Docs folder. Any files that are simply named readme (eg. readme.txt, readme.html, readme.doc) will be renamed according to the package name to prevent packages overwriting each other's readmes.

To uninstall any package, simply right-click the package in the package list and select Uninstall. You can also uninstall packages that BAIN hasn't installed, which will remove any installed files that match the ones in the package. This is useful for cleaning out mods that were manually installed. Uninstalling via BAIN respects the ownership of files, ie. uninstalling a mod that contains files also installed by a mod listed lower down will not uninstall the lower mod's files. See the next section, BAIN Package Order for more on this. If the Auto-Anneal option is enabled (the default), then files from other packages previously overriden by the uninstalled package's files will be automatically restored.

BAIN Package Order

The install order of packages in BAIN is important as this decides which mod gets its files installed in the case of resource conflicts. Packages may be listed in install order by left-clicking on the Order column header. If two mods try to install the same file, then the mod lower down in the list will have its file overwrite the file of the mod higher up in the list.

The order of sub-packages within a package follow the same rules as packages. Checked sub-packages lower in the sub-package list will overwrite conflicting content from sub-packages above them.

Package conflicts are detailed in the Conflicts tab to the right of the package list when you select a package. This tab tells you which packages have which files that conflict with files in your currently-selected package. It gives this information for packages both above and below the selected package in the package list.

BAIN allows you to easily adjust the conflict status of packages by moving their order around. This can be done by dragging and dropping packages within the list, or by right-clicking packages and selecting the Move To... option. You can also select multiple packages and move them, in which case they will be moved as a group, retaining their order relative to one another in their new location. A third option is to select the package(s) and use Ctrl-Up or Ctrl-Down to move them up or down respectively.

What Symbols & Colours Mean

BAIN uses the colours of packages in the package list and the state of their checkboxes to convey information about their status to the user. A checkbox state may be combined with any checkbox or text colour, and the possible states and colours are described in the tables below.

Note: Installed packages are marked with a plus, eg. . Corrupt or incomplete packages are marked with a cross, eg. . Packages that begin and end with ==, eg. ==Last==, are marker packages. They don't represent an archive or folder and so contain no files, but may be used to organise the package list.

Checkbox Shape	Meaning
	The package is a Project, ie. a directory rather than an archive.
	The package is an archive.

Checkbox Colour	Meaning
	All the files in the package are installed as configured.
	Some or all of the files in the package are not installed as configured.
	All the package files are installed, but the .esp/.esm plugins are not identical (eg. another package has overwritten them with another version of the plugins).
	All the package files are installed, but some resource (ie. non-plugin) files are not identical (eg. another package has overwritten them with another version of the files)
	The package, as configured, has no files to install. This can happen for complex packages where none of the sub-packages are selected for installation.
	BAIN does not recognise the structure of this package so cannot install it.

Useful Context Menu Commands

The following commands found in the package and column header context (ie. right-click) menus are often useful for many users.

Setting Up Load Order

Overview

Wrye Bash displays your installed plugins in its Mods tab. Your load order consists of active installed plugins, which Wrye Bash marks with a ticked checkbox. The load order is important as it decides what plugin 'wins' any conflict between plugins, with later loading plugins overriding those that change the same thing. Load order is not the same thing as install order! Install order determines which mods' files overwrite other mods' files when they conflict. Load order determines which plugins' effects override other plugins' effects in-game when they conflict.

Plugins may be activated by clicking their checkbox so that the checkbox is ticked, or by selecting a plugin or group of plugins and pressing the space bar on your keyboard. Plugins may be deactivated by again clicking their checkbox or pressing the spacebar. If a group of selected plugins contains a mix of active and inactive plugins, pressing the space bar once will activate them all, thereafter it will function as normal.

Some plugins are explicitly dependent on other plugins - they have these plugins as masters. When a plugin is activated, its masters are also activated. Conversely, when a plugin upon which other plugins depend is deactivated, those plugins are also deactivated.

When setting the load order, make sure that Wrye Bash is displaying your plugins sorted by Load Order. Do so by clicking on the Load Order column header near the top of the tab. You can also display the plugins sorted by other attributes by clicking on any of the other column headers. Clicking twice will reverse the display order for any column but Load Order. The load order of plugins is given in hexadecimal digits, from 00 to FF, which is 0 to 255 in decimal. (This number also forms the first two digits of a record's Form ID.)

Note that you can only have a maximum of 255 plugins, not including your game's master file (eg. Oblivion.esm, Skyrim.esm), active at any one time. Wrye Bash displays a plugin count in its status bar, to the right hand side, in the format Mods: [active]/[installed].

Setting The Load Order

The load order of plugins is decided by their relative modification dates, with the exception that .esm plugins always load before all the .esp plugins.

Setting up a correct load order that minimises detrimental conflicts that could cause issues in-game can be a difficult and time-consuming process. Effective load-ordering often requires a knowledge of what each plugin in your load order contains so that you can position the plugins to minimise these conflicts. For simple mods, the description in the mod's readme will usually be sufficient to determine the records it contains, but to be sure a utility such as TES4Edit is required.

BOSS can be used to greatly simplify the process of setting the load order, as it can correctly position thousands of plugins automatically. However, if you use any plugins it does not recognise, you will still need to order them manually.

Wrye Bash provides a number of ways for you to set up your load order:

• Oblivion only. Editing plugin modification dates in the right-hand details panel.
• Alphabetical sorting by selecting a group of plugins and choosing File->Sort from the right-click menu.
• Moving plugins up or down the load order by selecting them and using Ctrl-Up or Ctrl-Down respectively. This also works with groups of plugins and preserves the group's internal order.
• Oblivion only. Selecting a group of plugins and choosing File->Redate from the right-click menu. This will move the first plugin to the specified date/time and position the others at one minute intervals after it.
• Dragging and dropping plugins will also change the load order if the plugins are being sorted by Load Order.

When running Wrye Bash for Oblivion, you can also lock your load order in place to prevent unintended changes to it by selecting the Lock Load Order option in the column header right-click menu. Note that this will prevent other utilities from changing the load order, so uncheck this option if you use such a utility to set your load order. If you use BOSS to manage your load order and you also use Lock Load Order, ensure BOSS Disable Lock Load Order is also enabled to allow BOSS to function correctly.

The Lock Load Order feature is not implemented for Skyrim as Wrye Bash will automatically undo any changes to load order done made by the Skyrim launcher or any utility that does not follow the textfile-based load order standard in order to maintain a fully coherent load order. This effectively means that unintended changes are prevented.

What Symbols & Colours Mean

Like in the Installers tab, Wrye Bash uses colour-coding and other formatting effects to convey information about the state of plugins. The different types of formatting used and their meanings are explained here.

Checkbox Type	Meaning
	Plugin is active.
	Plugin is merged into an active Bashed Patch.
	Plugin is imported into an active Bashed Patch.
	Plugin is not active, merged or imported.

Checkbox Colours	Meaning
	The plugin's masters are all in exactly the same order as is specified in the plugin.
	The plugin's masters are in the same order as is specified in the plugin, but their precise positions are different (ie. there are other mods between them). This is not an issue, and can be considered to be just as good as having a blue checkbox.
	Some of the plugin's masters are in a different order than what is specified in the plugin. This will generally be handled automatically by the game, but it may result in changes in-game.
	One or more of the plugin's masters is missing. This will generally cause the game to crash on startup, and must be corrected.

Useful Context Menu Commands

The context menus for the column headers and plugins contain a large number of commands, most of which are unlikely to be of use to the average user so are not detailed here.

Setting Up A Bashed Patch

Overview

A Bashed Patch is a configurable plugin with three main functions:

• Merging plugins into itself. Merged plugins can be deactivated, avoiding the 255 plugin limit.
• Importing specific types of data records from plugins. This can be used to avoid compatibility issues.
• Applying tweaks to the game. This avoids the need to use other mods to apply the same tweaks.

A Bashed Patch is created by Wrye Bash the first time you run it, with the plugin being called Bashed Patch, 0.esp. It is configured using the plugin context menu commands Rebuild Patch... or Rebuild Patch (CBash *Beta*).... You should rebuild your Bashed Patch every time you change your load order, before playing the game. The Bashed Patch should be last in your load order, unless you have plugins that explicitly state that they must load last.

The configuration dialog consists of a list of major sections to the left, and the contents of the selected section to the right, with the build and save buttons at the bottom. The sections and their items have checkboxes: checking a section will include all its checked items in the Bashed Patch. Unchecked sections and items will not be included. Some sections don't have any items, and so just need the section checkbox checked.

A short description of each section and some items is displayed near the bottom of the window if the section/item is hovered over. Bolded items are new since the last time the Bashed Patch was built. Wrye Bash will try to auto-configure most sections, but some will still need tweaking.

Note: There are currently two methods of building a Bashed Patch. One uses Python, and the other uses CBash, which is a software library written to speed up the reading of plugins. Both methods offer the same options. The CBash method is faster and allows more types of plugin to be merged, but contains some bugs as CBash is still a work in progress. CBash will become the default in the near future, once its bugs have been fixed. For now, it is probably safer to use the Python method.

Merging Plugins

Plugins that contain only certain types of data records can be merged into the Bashed Patch. This then allows these plugins to be deactivated, freeing up space in your load order.

You should check the checkboxes of all the plugins listed in the Merge Patches section, and ensure the section is checked too. Once the Bashed Patch is built, these plugins can then be deactivated (Wrye Bash will ask to do this for you).

Do not remove merged mods from your Data folder. They will need to be present when you next rebuild your Bashed Patch.

Importing From Plugins

Plugins can be tagged with Bash Tags that tell Wrye Bash that they contain certain changes that should be preserved even if another mod also changes the same things. This is usually because the changes are important to the functionality of the mod. Wrye Bash then allows you to choose which plugins should have which types of changes preserved, by selecting from the various Import sections when building a Bashed Patch.

If a section's description in the table below begins with Preserves and two or more mods in its list change the same thing, then the later-loading plugin will override the other plugin(s). Otherwise changes are merged.

Applying Tweaks

The Bashed Patch lets you independently tweak a large number of game settings. Each tweak has a description that is visible when you select it. Some tweaks have several possible values, with the current value given in [square brackets] in the tweak name. Right-clicking these tweaks will display a menu from which you can selected a different value. The tweaks are catagorised into different sections.

Other Bashed Patch Options

The Bashed Patch also gives you a number of other sections providing additional functionality besides the above merging, importing and tweaking. These options are described below.

Applying Ini File Edits

Overview

The Ini Edits tab allows the user to quickly apply edits to Oblivion.ini or Skyrim.ini, depending on your game, and mod-added ini files, including those containing scripts used to configure mods. Edits are applied from ini tweak files, which are just a text file that contains only the lines of the ini that you wish to change. Ini tweaks are stored in the Data\Ini Tweaks folder, and may be installed through BAIN or placed there manually.

The drop-down box allows you to select the current ini file. The Browse... option in the drop-down box can be used to select an ini file not listed.

Selecting a tweak will display its contents in the middle column, and highlights the changes it applies to the current ini file in the right column. To apply a tweak, right click it and select Apply.

Warning: Incorrect Oblivion.ini or Skyrim.ini settings can cause bugs, CTDs or other damage to your game. Advanced settings in particular tend to be machine-specific and should not be casually copied from one computer to another.

What Symbols & Colours Mean

Checkbox Style	Meaning
	Some or all the variables the tweak sets do not exist in the current ini file.
	The variable values in the current ini file do not match the values set by the tweak.
	Some, but not all, of the variable values in the current ini file do not match the values set by the tweak.
	Some, but not all, of the variable values in the current ini file do not match the values set by the tweak. The values that don't match another tweak from the same installer.
	Tweak is applied.

Buttons & Context Menu Commands

Launching Applications

At the bottom left of Bash's main window you'll find launch buttons for your game and other applications if they're installed. You'll also find a few toggle buttons and some Wrye Bash feature buttons. Each of the application buttons will be present if the corresponding application is present in the game install directory, or in their default install location if the application is not game-specific.

Clicking an application's icon will launch it, and clicking a toggle button will change the state of the toggle. Clicking a Wrye Bash feature button will open that feature's window.

Toggle Buttons

Icon (On)	Icon (Off)	Toggles	Behaviour
		Script Extender	When checked this will launch the game's Script Extender when either the game or game's editor (Construction Set or Creation Kit) buttons are clicked. If the LAA Launcher also launches the game's Script Extender, then unchecking this toggle will also uncheck the LAA Launcher toggle.
		LAA Launcher	When checked this will launch the LAA Launcher when the game button is clicked. If the LAA Launcher also launches the game's Script Extender, checking this will also check the Script Extender toggle.
		Auto-Quit	If checked this will cause Bash to quit when launching the game. This is useful if you're concerned about memory usage.

Game & Editor Launchers

The game and editor icons displayed will depend on which supported game you have Wrye Bash installed for. Using Wrye Bash's game launcher opens the game itself, rather than the game's launcher.

Icon	Application
	Oblivion
	TES Construction Set
	Skyrim
	Skyrim Creation Kit

Game-Specific Utilities

Tes4Edit, Tes4Trans and Tes4view are just different modes of Tes4Edit.exe and will be available if Tes4Edit.exe is available. Tes4Gecko & Oblivion Book Creator will be available if the javaw.exe is present in Windows\System32 and their .jar file is present in Oblivion install directory or for OBC in the data directory. The BOSS launcher has some options:

• Right-clicking the BOSS icon and selecting BOSS Disable Lock Load Order will cause Wrye Bash to temporarily disable Lock Load Order when BOSS is run from its application launcher in the status bar, to allow BOSS to set the load order, re-enabling it after BOSS has finished running. It has no effect when BOSS is run from outside Wrye Bash, or when Wrye Bash is running for Skyrim.
• Right-clicking the BOSS icon and selecting the Launch BOSS GUI will cause Wrye Bash to launch BOSS's GUI instead of its command line interface.
• If V is pressed, it will disable version parsing.
• If R is pressed, it will do a level 1 revert (to the state just prior to the last sort).
• If Shift-R is pressed, it will do a level 2 revert (to the state just prior to the 2nd last sort).
• If S is pressed, it will run BOSS in its silent mode, so that the BOSS Log does not automatically open once it has finished running.
• If C is pressed, it will run BOSS with its Display File CRCs option enabled, so that plugin CRCs are displayed in the BOSS Log.

Oblivion		Skyrim
Icon	Application	Icon	Application
	Oblivion Mod Manager		BOSS
	Insanity Sorrow's Oblivion Launcher
	Insanity Sorrow's Readme Generator
	Insanity Sorrow's Random Name Generator
	Insanity Sorrow's Random NPC Generator
	Oblivion Face Exchange Lite
	Oblivion Mod List Generator
	Oblivion Book Creator
	BSA Commander
	Tabula
	Tes4Files
	Tes4Gecko
	Tes4View
	Tes4Edit
	Tes4Trans
	Tes4LodGen
	BOSS
	Interactive Map of Cyrodiil and Shivering Isles

Other Applications

Model Tools		Texture Tools		Audio Tools		Misc
Icon	Application	Icon	Application	Icon	Application	Icon	Application
	Art of Illusion		AniFX		Audacity		Fraps
	AutoCad		Artweaver		ABC Amber Audio Converter		Logitech G11 Keyboard Profiler
	Blender		CrazyBump		Switch		Media Monkey
	GMax		DDSConverter				Notepad++
	Maya		DeepPaint				Steam
	3ds Max		Dogwaffle				EVGA Precision
	MilkShape 3D		Genetica				WinMerge
	Mudbox		Genetica Viewer				FreeMind
	Sculptris		GIMP				Freeplane
	Softimage Mod Tool		Gimp Shop				Filezilla
	SpeedTree		IcoFX				Egg Translator
	Treed		Inkscape				RAD Video Tools
	Wings3D		Irfan View				WinSnap
	Nifskope		FastStone Image Viewer
			MaPZone
			MyPaint
			NVIDIAMelody
			Paint.NET
			PaintShop Photo Pro
			Photobie Design Studio
			PhotoFiltre
			PhotoScape
			PhotoSEAM
			Photoshop
			Pixel Studio Pro
			Pixia
			TextureMaker
			Twisted Brush
			Windows Texture Viewer
			xNormal
			XnView

Wrye Bash Feature Launchers

Icon	Feature	Description
	BashMon	Oblivion only. This launches bashmon.py in a command shell window, for use with Wrye Morph.
	Doc Browser	Show the Doc Browser. (You can also view the doc browser by double clicking on any mod file in the Mods tab.)
	Mod Checker	Show the Mod Checker.
	Settings	Brings up the Settings Menu.
	Help	Show this help file in the default web browser.

Troubleshooting

Generating A Bug Dump

If Wrye Bash encounters an issue, it will generate a bug dump that will appear in a popup window. If an issue is encountered during startup, Wrye Bash may be unable to create the popup window, and so the bug dump will be saved to a log file, either bash.log or Wrye Bash.exe.log depending on the version of Wrye Bash you use. If no log file is present, then you will have to generate it yourself, using the steps below.

1. Open a command prompt. This can be done by selecting Start->Programs->Accessories->Command Prompt.
2. Change the working directory to the Mopy directory. E.g. cd /D "C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion\Mopy" if Wrye Bash is installed for Oblivion.
3. If using the Python version of Wrye Bash: Run "Wrye Bash Debug.py" -d > bash.log.
   • If that does not work, try "C:\python27\python.exe" "Wrye Bash Debug.py" -d. This assumes that you have Python 2.7 installed to the default directory. Adjust the above to reference the correct path if not.
   If using the Standalone version of Wrye Bash: Run "Wrye Bash.exe" -d.

The log file will detail the cause of the problem that is stopping Wrye Bash from starting. Read it and the rest of this section to see if the problem is something you can fix yourself. If not, report it to an official Wrye Bash thread for support.

File Permissions

If you are running Windows Vista or later, Wrye Bash (and other modding programs) may be prevented from working correctly by the UAC security feature. There are four common workarounds to this problem:

1. Install the game outside Program Files or Program Files (x86). UAC prevents unauthorised edits to these folders, so by installing the game outside of them, you remove it from UAC's reach, allowing you to use mods more easily. Steam users can move their Steam installation and games using these instructions.
2. Deactivate UAC. This can be done from the Control Panel, and will turn UAC off across the whole of your computer. It is up to you whether you feel that you have adequate security measures in place to do this without risk.
3. Give yourself Full Control permissions over your game install folder. This will allow you to make any edits you desire while keeping UAC active and on guard for any edits made by programs you do not run, and also means that you do not need to reinstall your game to a new location.
4. Do nothing. Wrye Bash will detect if it needs to run as Administrator, and give you a dialog with a few opotions:
   1. Start Wrye Bash as Administrator: This will give Wrye Bash full Administrator Rights, allowing it to function fully with no further action, with one exception:
      • You will not be able to drag and drop archives into the Installers window to move or copy those archives into BAIN. This is because non-Admin processes (explorer.exe) are not allowed to communicate with Admin processes (Wrye Bash) in this manner.
   2. Start normally. This will start Wrye Bash without Administartor Rights.
      • Many actions that require Administrator Privileges will cause a UAC prompt to be shown. Commonly, these are:
        • The first time Wrye Bash is started, approximately 4-6 times, depending on the number of directories Wrye Bash needs to create.
        • When the Bashed Patch is rebuilt, 2 times, once for the Bashed Patch itself, once for the associated readme.
        • Installing, Uninstalling, Annealing, and other operations in the Installers Tab that require modification of the game's Data folder.
        • On shutdown, you may be prompted multiple times when saving various .dat files to the Bash Installers and Bash Mod Data folders, if these folders are under UAC protection.
      • A few actions are restricted:
        • Saving files into the UAC protected area: Windows does not allow the Save File dialog to select a target within a UAC protected folder.
        • Ghosting: Wrye Bash will not be able to un-ghost already ghosted mods. Wrye Bash will not ghost mods. Both of these require renaming mod files.
        • Other actions that require Administrator Privileges may not have workarounds coded. Be warned, any errors you encounter while running as a non-Admin under a UAC protected directory will most likely not be fixed. Follow one of the alternate solutions to solve these errors.
   Launching Wrye Bash with some command line switches can avoid this dialog:
   • --no-uac: Always start normally, without Administrator Privileges
   • --uac: Always start as Administrator (if required)

For those that wish to take the third option and give themselves Full Control permissions, here is a guide:

1. Right-click the folder you wish to change the permissions for, and select Properties.
2. In Properties, select the Security tab, and click the Edit... button. A UAC prompt may appear, simply allow yourself to continue.
3. In the Group or user names box, select the Users option.
4. In the lower box, check the box opposite Full Control in the Allow column. Press OK to exit. If a UAC prompt appears, allow the change.
5. In the Properties window, select OK to exit. You should now have Full Control permissions over your chosen folder.

Backing Up & Restoring Settings

The easiest method is to just run the Backup Settings and/or Restore Settings commands, which are available in the Settings menu. These commands do not backup/restore any mod files or saves, just the Wrye Bash settings/data. When run, the commands ask you for the location you wish to back up to or restore from.

If you wish to manually back up your settings, the directories Wrye Bash stores files in are below.

How To Report Bugs Helpfully

Bugs should be reported in an official Wrye Bash thread (links can be found in the Contact section of this document). In order to best help you, the following information is required.

• Your Wrye Bash version. This includes whether it's the Python or Standalone install, the version number and the SVN number (the latter only if using the SVN).
• The symptoms. Provide a step-by-step description of what you did, what you expected and what happened.
• What you see. Error messages are very helpful.
• Your version of Windows. If you're using Windows with UAC enabled and you have your game in the default install directory, please resolve any permissions issues using one of the methods in the File Permissions section before reporting any bugs.
• Any modifications you have made to your bash.ini, if you are using one.
• If you're having an issue with the Standalone version, make sure to uninstall any Python components on your computer and try again, as they can sometimes interfere.
• If the issue is related to the Bashed Patch, please include the following:
  • Your load order. Get this by right clicking on a column header in the Mods tab, and selecting List Mods....
  • Your Bash Tags. Get this by right clicking on a column header in the Mods tab, and selecting List Bash Tags....
  • Your Bashed Patch config. Get this by right clicking on the Bashed Patch and selecting List Patch Config....

Known Bugs

Wrye Bash, being a complex program, has a few bugs that are known to its developers. The team is aware of the issues below and will fix them if possible.

• Mapped paths and junction links can confuse Wrye Bash, leading to file not found errors. Avoid using mapped paths and junction links for your game install.

Common Issues

Credits

Current Maintainers

• Pacific Morrowind: New imports, exports, tweaks, etc.
• Lojack: Wizard based install system, Ini tab, etc.
• myk002: Project management, Asynchronous installer tab, etc.
• Waruddar: Extensive additions/improvements/fixes, primary author of CBash

Past Authors

• Wrye: Monkey God of Modding!
• Ralgor: Cell support and Import Cells.
• Raziel23x: new tweaks etc.
• Haama: OBSE cofile definitions, various fixes, improvements etc
• Badhair: OBSE cofile reading code, various optimizations etc.
• Breeze582000: Bashmon

Additional Credits

• Translators
  • German: DWS
  • Italian: Abot
  • Portuguese: Hadoki
  • Russian: DJ_Kovrik
• Mod and Save File Gurus
  • GhostWheel
  • Dave Humphreys
  • ElminsterEU
  • Rick
  • Resetgun
  • ScripterRon
  • Wrye
• Python Kings
  • Guido van Rossum and many, many others.
• Special Thanks
  • dev_akm: Archive Invalidation, etc.
  • ElminsterEU: Tes4View etc. Crucial for adding/checking new record types.
  • Quarn: BSA-Redirection, Black Screen Fix
  • Timeslip: BSA editing code, OBMM integration, etc.
  • Veritas_Secreto: Tamriel NPCs Revamped
• Additional Thanks
  • ElminsterEU: Bug catching, technical suggestions.
  • Metallicow: Shiny new tool launcher icons, Graphics, Mooo, & the WizBAIN Editor.
  • Tom Suprgan: Several well researched suggestions.
  • Sativarg: Proofreading.
  • Kmacg94: Additional power exhaustion coverage.
  • To the testers/bug finders/helpful people on the forum when others have trouble: Arthmoor, Corepc, Daemondarque, TommyH, Surazal and many others.
  • WrinklyNinja: The BOSS API and the rewritten documentation included in v297 and later.
  • Alt3rn1ty: For supplying the screenshot images used in the documentation, many INI tweaks for Skyrim, and being an all-round bon oeuf and snappy dresser.
  • To those members of the community that contributed to the upkeep of Wrye Bash while its developers were absent (May/June 2012): Alt3rn1ty, Arthmoor, Daidalos, trira, WrinklyNinja, and many others.
• Misc. Resources
  • FamFamFam Icons
  • Python and Chameleon images

Homage Credits

Aka. ideas/stuff stolen from other people.

• Names Files
  • Flak: Flak's Complete Names Project
• Bash Features
  • Kyorisu: Tes IV Save Manager (Save Profiles)
  • No Light Flicker: Crypton's No Light Flicker mods
• GMST Tweaks
  • Aelius: Arrow Litter, Essential NPC Unconsciousness
  • David Moyer: PC Death Camera
  • dbolivar, Acleacius: Horse Turning Speed
  • demuerte: Chameleon: No Refraction
  • Ravida: Fatigue from Running/Encumbrance
  • timmypod: Unlimited Amulets and Rings
  • Woodman: Chase Camera
  • KseAli: POI Visibility
  • Tom Supergan: Chase Camera Distance
  • showler: AI: Max Dead Actors
  • ??: Compass Disable
  • ??: Compass: POI Recognition

Contact

If you have a question/comment about Wrye Bash, it's best to post it on the current RELZ topic on the Bethesda Game Studios (BGS) forums.

License

Wrye Bash is released under Version 2 of the GNU General Public License. See enclosed license.txt file for license details, or visit the GNU Website for information on all their licenses.

Packaged Programs

Additionally, Wrye Bash comes packaged with the following programs:

• Mozilla's chardet library.
  • Website: Python.org
  • License: LGPL 2.1
  • Usage: Wrye Bash uses this library to help in detecting character encodings use when reading and writing encoded Unicode strings.
  • Modifications: Minor modifications to bring chardet in line with Python 2.7 - removed the EUCTWProber, from the MBCSGroupProber class.
• BOSS API
  • Website: Google Code
  • License: API - GPL 3.0, Documentation - GNU FDL 1.3.
  • Usage: Wrye Bash uses this libarary to modify Load Order, and retrieve Bash Tag suggestions and Dirty mod information from BOSS's plugin databases.
• CBash
  • Website: SourceForge
  • License: Triple-license MPL 1.1/GPL 2.0/LGPL 2.1
  • Modifications:
    • cint.py - some changes made that have not yet been merged into the CBash SVN repository. These are committed to the Wrye Bash SVN repository.
    • C/C++ Source Code: Version 0.5.1 - 0.5.3 of CBash are built off modified source code, which can be found in the Wrye Bash SVN repository, here.
• 7zip:
  • Website: 7zip.org
  • License: LGPL
  • Usage: Wrye Bash uses 7z to pack and unpack archives.
• LZMA SDK:
  • Website: 7zip.org
  • License: Public Domain
  • Usage: Wrye Bash uses lzma.exe from the SDK to unpack OBMM compressed data streams.

Advanced Readme Topics

This final section gives a brief summary of what may be found in the Advanced Readme. The some of the topics covered are:

• Installers:
  • How to install Wrye Bash in any location.
  • What the individual Python components required for the Python version are.
• BAIN:
  • What the rest of the user interface of the Installers tab does.
  • Which files BAIN skips by default, and how to tell if files have been skipped.
  • How to install Script Extender plugins.
  • How to edit OMOD Conversion Data using BAIN, for OMOD-Ready, BAIN compatible mods.
  • How to create BAIN Conversion Files, and more about them.
  • What the rest of the context menu commands do.
• Mods tab:
  • Different ways to sort the listing of plugins in Wrye Bash.
  • What exclusion groups are, and how they may be used.
  • What the plugin details panel on the right-hand side of the Mods tab does.
  • What CSV files are, and how Wrye Bash uses them.
  • What the rest of the context menu commands do.
• Bashed Patch:
  • How to view or edit the Bashed Patch outside of Wrye Bash.
  • What Bash Tags are, what Tags exist, and when and how they can be used.
  • What all the various Tweak... options are.
  • What Merge Filtering is, and how and when to use it.
  • What Item Interchange Mode is, and how and when to use it.
  • What the default CSV files that Wrye Bash comes with are, and what they do when imported into the Bashed Patch.
  • What the Leveled Lists patcher does, and how best to use it.
• The Saves tab:
  • What the functionality of Saves tab is, and how it may be used.
  • How to use save profiles.
  • How to import faces from other savegames and mods.
  • What all the context menu commands do, and what all the colours and symbols used mean.
• What the functionalities of the Screenshots, PM Archive and People tabs are, and how they may be used.
• How to customise which launchers are displayed, including adding your own new launchers.
• How to use Wrye Bash's Settings menu to customise its general behaviour.
• How to use the Docs Browser to view mod readmes through Wrye Bash.
• What the Mod Checker is and how to use it to detect issues with your installed mods and more.
• What Oblivion.esm swapping is, and how it can be used and why.
• What Wrye Bash's keyboard shortcuts are.
• How to translate Wrye Bash into other languages.

The Advanced Readme is a more technical document aimed more towards mod authors and advanced users of Wrye Bash than the average user. If you find yourself wanting to know more, or not understanding why something in Wrye Bash behaves the way it does, then the answer you seek may be found in the Advanced Readme.