FAQ: Installing & Troubleshooting AddOns

Kaivax · November 19, 2018, 9:07pm

How to Install AddOns for World of Warcraft
- By Unkle of Grounding Totem, US Kirin Tor

When AddOns are properly installed, a new button appears in the lower left corner of the character selection screen of World of Warcaft, labeled AddOns. If you do not see this button, your AddOn is not properly installed or no AddOns are installed at all.

- Where to Get AddOns

Always download your AddOns from a reputable source. The author of this guide recommends you use the following sites for most of your AddOn needs.
● WoWInterface.com - https://wowinterface.com/
● CurseForge.com - https://www.curseforge.com/wow/addons.

- Extracting your AddOns

AddOns are delivered in compressed files to save space on hosting sites servers and to reduce the amount of time it takes you to download them. They are commonly in .zip format with some .rar format files. Windows and Macintosh computers have native support for .zip files. If your AddOn is compressed in .rar format, you will need another program to open them. Your web browser may also be able to open compressed files for you automatically after they are downloaded.

For Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 users I suggest 7-Zip.
● http://www.7-zip.org/

For Mac OSX users I suggest The Unarchiver.
● http://wakaba.c3.cx/s/apps/unarchiver.html

When the AddOn is extracted, you should have a folder that is named the AddOn’s name.

Example:
I’m downloading the AddOn Fane from WoWInterface.com.

I get the compressed file Fane-1.6.zip.
After I extract it I have a folder called Fane. This folder contains everything I need for the AddOn.[/quote]
Some AddOns have sub-folders inside their main folder. This is fine, and you should leave them there.

Some AddOns are called one name, but are really multiple AddOns delivered together. When this happens, you download a compressed file that has several folders in it.

Example:
I’m downloading the AddOn AtlasLootEnhanced from WoWInterface.com.

I get the compressed file AtlasLootv6.01.01.zip.
After I extract it I have a folder called AtlasLootv6.01.01 .
-Inside this folder are several folders:
AtlasLoot
AtlasLoot_BurningCrusade
AtlasLoot_Cataclysm
AtlasLoot_ClassicWoW
AtlasLoot_Crafting
AtlasLoot_WorldEvents
AtlasLoot_WrathoftheLichKing
These folders, not the AtlasLootv6.01.01 go into my AddOn folder.[/quote]
- Where to Put AddOns Once You’ve Extracted Them

AddOns belong in the following folder: World of Warcraft/Interface/AddOns

Examples:

Windows XP
C: \Program Files\World of Warcraft\ _retail_\Interface\AddOns\
Windows Vista or Windows 7
C:\Users\Public\Games\ World of Warcraft\_retail_\Interface\AddOns\
Mac OSX
[Macintosh Hard Drive]../World of Warcraft/_retail_/Interface/AddOns/
Put the folder you extracted into the correct folder for your operating system.

Correctly installed, my example AddOn, Fane, looks like this:
● Windows XP

C: \Program Files\World of Warcraft\Interface\AddOns\Fane

● Windows Vista or Windows 7

● Mac OSX

[Macintosh Hard Drive]…/World of Warcraft/Interface/AddOns/Fane

The most common issue with why your AddOn won’t load.
If you have an extra folder layer in the mix, your AddOn won’t load.

More Installing Resources:
● WoWInteface.com’s Instatll FAQ: http://www.wowinterface.com/forums/faq.php?faq=install#faq_howto_install

● WoWInteface.com’s Image of Correctly installed AddOns:
http://www.wowinterface.com/storage/faq/correct.gif

● Seerah’s excellent YouTube video for installing AddOns (using WinZip on Windows XP).

- What to Do When Something Goes Wrong

● Make sure AddOns are in the correct directory.

Do you have more than one copy of WoW installed? If so, did you put the AddOns in the right copy’s folder?

This is especially important if you install multiple copies of the game, or you’re installing the game from DVD after a major expansion such as Wrath of the Lich King or Cataclysm.

You can right-click on the icon you use to launch WoW (Windows) or use “CMD+I” (Mac OSX) to get the properties for the short cut. The properties will tell you the “Target” of the shortcut (or alias) which is where your copy of WoW is installed.

Did you extract the AddOn correctly?

Make sure you are unzipping/uncompressing your addons. WinZip, WinRar, 7zip, The Unarchiver and StuffIt (for Mac) are common unzipping programs. See the section above on Extracting Your AddOns.

WinZIP users: You must make sure the option to “Use Folder Names” is checked or WinZIP will just extract the files and not make the proper sub-folders.

Did you accidentally get an extra folder layer? If you have a folder called something like AddOnName6.01.01 with folders under that named like the examples above, you’ve copied the wrong things to your AddOns folder. See the section above on Extracting Your AddOns.

● I used the Repair Tool and now my AddOns are gone!

When the repair tool is run the Interface and WTF folders get renamed with the date added to the file name. This means those AddOns won’t get loaded. You can simply rename the folders without the date. If the problem that caused you to run the Repair Tool was being caused by a rogue AddOn you’ll have the problem again if you do this.

● Don’t install AddOns while WoW is running.

WoW doesn’t register addon changes until you exit the game and restart it. Save yourself some frustration and install only when you’ve completely exited the game. Log in to check them, log back out as necessary to fix things.

● My AddOns didn’t load after a patch!

From the character select screen, click the AddOns button. In the upper right corner of the AddOns screen, check the “Load Out of Date Addons” box.

Yveralas-dalaran · November 19, 2018, 9:20pm

I don’t know if I should be able to reply to this, but I just wanted to let you know that wowinterface.com is missing a letter!

Also, I would like to point out Twitch and its capability of easily installing and updating addons.

Twitch allows you to select the game you are wanting to install addons for and easily search and maintain them.

Starting to use Twitch for addons is simple:

Create an account: https://www.twitch.tv/signup
Download the Desktop App: https://app.twitch.tv/download
Once installed, log into the app. At the top, press “Mods”.
Select World of Warcraft. Under the title and next to “My Addons”, press “Get More Addons”.

You may select different categories, search based upon certain criteria such as popularity, and sort through new addons.

Once you have found an addon that you would like to add, simply click on the “Install” button. It’ll automatically add it to WoW for you.

Twitch automatically detects when your addons have an update available. To update them, go to “My Addons” and simply press the “Update” button. Please note that you must close and reopen WoW after updating an addon for changes to take place.

If Twitch does not detect WoW automatically, it should prompt you when selecting World of Warcraft under “Mods”. You may manually add the file path for the game. Sometimes, even after using it successfully, it will prompt this. Close and reopen Twitch and it should fix.

It’s pretty self-explanatory, but I know some people don’t know of Twitch’s capabilities with addons.

Hope this helps!

Syloria-malygos · December 15, 2018, 11:35am

A note to update these instructions to include the recent _retail_ directory.

Demonmugsie-antonidas · September 12, 2019, 10:53am

I used to use “Curse” until I discovered they had “something” running in the BIOS and I had to uninstall everything to get rid of what ever they had running.

Elvenbane-veknilash · September 12, 2019, 12:33pm

That’s not a thing…