So I have been adding custom content to my game and the process, as most know, is unzip (extract whatever), transfer "extracted" files to...

But I accidentally double clicked the zipped folder and it opens, and inside are what appear to be the exact same files that I am transferring after extracting. The files don't look ANY different if I just double click on the zipped file and get to them that way.

It may not mean anything.. I just assumed that the files would somehow be "different" if they were not first "extracted".

If I transfer the files from the zipped folder to my "mods" folder, what would happen? Nothing, would they just not be in the game?

I guess I am just wondering if anyone understands why they look the same before and after extraction..

And also, I thought you couldn't get "into" a zipped file "without" extracting. I thought that was WHY we had to extract... Is that not accurate?? Cause I can just by double clicking..

Double clicking on a file will open the file with the default program. In this case, your default program for zip files has opened your zip file, which is the correct action.

The game, however, needs the extracted files and will not read the files from inside of the ZIP.

A .zip or .rar is kind of like a folder, in that it contains a bunch of files. They're mostly used to compress files so that they aren't so big, meaning they don't take as long to download. So yes, you can open up the .zip and look at those files just like you can with a normal folder, however the difference is that the game won't be able to read the files if they are in a .zip. So you do have to take them out of the .zip first and put them in your mods folder, by the "extract" function. Otherwise they won't show up in your game.

..I hope that made sense :/

Oh, you meant files? I read the title and thought ...

... never mind.

If you double click on a .zip or .rar and drag the files into your mods folder they will work perfectly fine. I guess you could call it manually extracting the files. There is no difference between dragging them out and extracting them, except maybe all the time you'll save by just doing it yourself.

Yeah this is what I discovered. I can't do it on Rar files, I have to extract those. But compressed files I just double click and drag the files out and drop them in my game files.

I wish I had realized that a week ago. I have been extracting them all. What a waste of time. LOL

Is that normal (not having to "extract" compressed files)?

When you double click and drag, you ARE extracting the compressed files, using the zip program included with Windows.

AHHH! I see. Man, why don't any of the tutorials tell you that! I put like 40 custom items in my game last week and went through the process of extracting the stupid folder on each individual one. I didn't need to, but I didn't know!

I've always done it the drag and drop way. I've never understood why all the tutorials do it the other way; it makes it seem so much more complicated than it actually is.

Does anyone remember Sims File Maid from the original game...that thing was fantastic. I think there was a version for Sims 2 also.

I always double-click and drag-and-drop the files from archives. That way I know exactly what I am extracting and where it goes. I don't like extracting, as the files always seem to end up where I don't want them. Some people sub-folder their archive files to Mars and back, and I end up having to move them or edit the folder anyway.

If you use CC Magic, you don't even have to double-click em It opens zip, rar or 7z files for you. Just download em directly to TS3\Downloads and it finds em.

It makes it a lot easier to use the right click > extract, in my opinion. But I guess it depends on how many you're extracting... I'm guilty of going on downloading sprees and usually have quite a handful at a time

This is, of course, selecting ALL of them (Ctrl or Shift + click multiple files) then right click > "extract here". That way you get the whole lot of them done with a couple of clicks, rather than doing each file individually.

Well I'm confused about compressing. If the data is squeezed together, can't taking it out without uncompressing make some of the data unreadable? (yes, that is right, I'm clueless when it comes to science!) Or at least give you errors as not all the data can be read. So I've been thinking it is safer to extract. But if that isn't the case then yes, moving the file out without unzipping is quicker.

In some cases, the OS will perform the extraction for you when you move the file out. In other cases, you have to "unzip" (or really "unRAR") the packages. However, you are correct. Placing a compressed file that has not been uncompressed will leave it in an unreadable format by the game, even oif the file ends with .package or .Sim3Pack. I use WinRAR, which is pretty popluar around here. When I open a zipped folder, it automatically opens it with WinRAR (preference set by default on installation). Then, it has pull down menus for places I commonly unzip (or unRAR). to. Package files get unpacked to the package folder (well, actually a New Content folder inside of Packages). Sim3Packs get sent to the Downloads folder for installing with the Launcher. .sim goes to the savedsim folder. You get the idea. It handles both .zip and .rar compression techniques, as well as the occasional .7z file. So, do whatever works best for YOUR workflow. But the correct answer is yes, a compressed file that has not been properly uncompressed before adding it to your game cannot be read by the game.

I believe that it's impossible to take a file out of a compressed file without decompressing it. You may not be aware of what's happening, but the operating system and / or compression program is handling the decompression for you.

Yes, errors can occur when decompressing. I don't know whether one method (drag) is more likely to cause errors than another (extract).

I think when I "double click" the file it automatically decompresses the files inside. I am making an assumption here though. It only does it on files labeled "compressed", not the ones labeled "rar"... As I understand it, rar files are just compressed files, so I don't understand why they work differently.

Different compression method, so it requires a different "decompression" program. zip compression is supported natively in Win, Rar (and 7z) requires another software package to complete the operation. That's why I just use WinRAR to extract all my compressed files. It keeps my workflow consistent so I'm less likely to screw up because I didn't pay attention to the compression format.

You right. Since Windows XP, Microsoft built archiving via the zip protocol into the OS so that in File Explorer zip files function as their own folder and you can view the contents as if they are files in a normal folder. Because it's built into the system double clicking un-compresses the file without a third party software as an intermediary.

RAR is a different compression algorithm-- there are quite a few, but only zip is built into Windows.

Edit: Ninja'd

I don't know for sure, but I believe that this is not quite right. I believe that double clicking on the file just decompresses and displays the index of files in the collection. Decompression of the individual files only occurs when necessary; that is, when you try to open or copy the file.