Mod Manager - Interpreting Status - prior to TNG 10.1

Revision as of 10:22, 17 April 2018 by KenRoy (talk | contribs) (add TNG v9 category)
Caution Note do not click the Clean Up button before analyzing the error messages that trigger the requirement for Clean Up.
TNG version: 8.1.3
  • Bad Target can never be cleaned up, it requires a rework of the mod.
  • A missing file can never be cleaned up, it indicates that a file is missing in the mods folder structure.

TNG version: 9.0
In TNG V9, the Clean Up button has been replaced by the Unable to install this mod message.

TNG version: 9.1.0
In TNG V9.1, the Clean Up button is provided to allow cleaning up partially installed mods even though part of the mod may contain Bad Target. Once cleaned up, it will then display the Unable to install this mod message message.
Caution



The purpose of this page is to provide information on interpreting the Mod Manager Status displays.

Ready to Install

The following image shows a config file that verifies correctly and is ready to be installed.

 

Installed Correctly

The following image shows a config file that installed correctly and shows a Remove button, which when click allows you to remove the mod.

 

Cleanup Required

The Mods Manager may show a status of parts of the mod not being installed with a Cleanup button, under the following circumstances:

Code has changed

TNG version: 8.1.3
TNG version: 7.1
  • the config file is coded incorrectly, or the code at the verified location has changed with a new TNG release
 
If the status shows Bad Target for one of the locations in the config file, you need to verify that the code in the config file is correct and that the code in the TNG module has not changed. Either cases are possible and will require an update of the config file. Using Copy and Paste is the simplest approach to ensuring the code verifies.
A Bad Target can never be cleaned up. It requires that the mod be updated for the code change.

Variation of same mod

  • two different config files are provide where the code is slightly different, such as when the image is displayed by TNG or when it is displayed by Bret Rumsey's Image Viewer, which may result in Not Installed for some of the locations because of the different code.
The following image shows two different versions of the same mod, where the code ends up being slightly different and therefore produces a Cleanup status.
 
In this case, however no cleanup, other than possibly deleting the config file that was not used for installing the mod.

Code Modified by other mod

TNG version: 8.1.3
TNG version: 7.1
  • a config file code location was modified after installation by another config file that changed the code at that same location


 
No action may be required in this instance, since you know that another file changed the location. This may end up very confusing for the user, so developers should avoid creating this situation if possible. The above image shows a scenario on my personal site, where I have installed another modification. Neither of these modifications are published or made available.

New Version of mod

  • a new version of the mod config file changed the code so shows partially installed for the new version
 
In this case, you should Remove the previous version of the mod to restore the original code. If the newer version of the mod, then shows OK with an Install button, you should Delete the previous version of the mod, and install the new version as shown below.
 

Not Unique

The Not Unique error code is most likely to be encountered by the mod developer when developing the mod.

 

Two scenarios come to mind:

  • the code being used for the %location: is used in more than one place in the target module.
In which case, you need to either add more information in the verify or change the verify to a line before or after. In other words, use a different snippet of code for the verify location
  • the config file was coded incorrectly, as shown in the example below.

 
which was caused by a construction error in the mod as shown below

 

Unable to install

TNG version: 9.0

TNG V9 removes the Clean Up button for cases where a clean up will not work and issues the Unable to install this mod message which is proceeded by another message that provides the reason why the mod cannot be installed. This includes the following cases:

  • Missing Target keyword
  • Missing Target file
  • Bad Target
  • Missing source copy file

Missing Target Keyword

The Target file is required is set when a mod config file is created without the required %target: keyword.

 

In order to add new files to TNG, you need to include at least one change against a TNG target file. So in order to add new files to TNG without changing other files, you could include something like the following change to the css/mytngstyle.css file.


// Target file added to avoid Pkg Error:no target files from Mod Manager
%target:css/mytngstyle.css%
%location:%
/*your custom style goes in this file*/
/*if you're overriding style blocks from genstyle.css, you only need to include the attributes you're overriding, not the whole block*/
%end:%
%insert:after%
/* end of Mod Manager inserts */
%end:%

Missing Target File

The Target file is not installed message is issued when a mod targets a file that does not yet exist.

 

This could be helpful when a mod config file needs to make changes to a file created by another mod, which might not be installed by everyone. For example, if you are using the Google Maps - More Place Levels Mod and you install the Ancestor map mod, then you need a change for the number of place level pins. Until the Ancestor Map mod is installed, the Ancestor Map - Add 4 Place Levels mod will show the Target file is not installed error message.

Empty Target File

The Target file is an empty file message is issued when the target file is found but it is an empty file. This normally should not be encountered, but you can create the scenario by saving an empty file with the name of the target file.

 


Mod Updates Required

Code has changed

The Mod updates are required message is issued when Bad Target errors encountered when verifying whether a mod can be installed.

 

In TNG V9, this replaces the Clean Up button, since these type of errors cannot be cleaned up. They require that the mod be reworked because:

  • the TNG code being modified has changed
  • the mod conflicts with a previously installed mod

Not all code replaced

The Mod Updates are Required message could possibly be returned on a TNG upgrade if you did not remove the mods before upgrading, when the code has changed and the mod was not completely replaced by the upgraded scripts as shown below

 

In this case, the Bad Target must be resolved before a Clean Up button will be made available to remove the partially installed mod that will then allow installing the new version.

Caused by new mod

The Mod Updates are Required message could possibly be returned when a new version of the mod is uploaded to the mods folder if you did not remove the old mod first, as shown below

 

In this case, the Bad Target might be resolved by clicking the Remove button on the old mod, which will return an Install button for the new mod.

You should also Delete the old mod to avoid any confusion, since it will also return Bad Target once you install the new version of the mod, as shown below

 

Missing Source File

The File to be copied is missing from source folder message is issued when the file that is the source for a %copyfile or %copyfile2 keyword is not found in the specified source location.

 


Related Links

For Mod Developers

Other Uses of Mod Manager: