Duplicate Catalog Items

[Magicmoon]

I'm having a problem with 2 or more thumbnails showing the same floor tile or wallpaper in the catalog. But there is actually only one of each in the download folder. It started with a few floors showing duplicates, but some are now showing up to 4 duplicate thumbnails.

It started sometime after using WTF editor from DJS. I used the tool to mass rename all of my floors and walls so that their filename matches the internal name that shows up in the catalog. Somewhere along the line I think that duplicate thumbnails or something like that has been created. I don't know for certain that this program had anything to do with my problem, but I suspect it as only walls and floors are showing duplicate catalog pics. There is also an option within the program   to generate a cache to make it faster when editing walls and floors. I did generate this cache, but it is stored in the program folder with the WTF editor, not in the Mydocs>Sims area.

If I delete one of the duplicates from within the game, I lose that particular wall or floor, so I know that it is not real duplicates in the catalog. Plus I've run a program that searches for duplicate files.

I tried deleting the build mode cache, but that didn't help. I don't want to start deleting caches willy-nilly because some of this stuff, like the CAS clothing and hair, takes forever to rebuild the cache.

So anyone know what I should be doing to fix this problem? Delete a different cache? Delete a particular combination of caches? Something else?

Anyone else had this problem with or without the WTF tool?

[Emma]

I suggest you put all the walls and floors you want to keep that are duplicates onto an empty lot, then package the lot to your computer. Delete all the duplicates, save and quit then just install the packaged lot. Hopefully you will just have 1 of each floor/wall.

[moniquinin]

This has happened to me as well, just with floors though (I think) and all I've done is play the damn game, since I'm on a Mac and can't do much else regarding the custom content. 

Actually, upon thinking about it, I think this happens after I do the following:

1.  Install a lot that I've dled from MTS2.
2.  Entered the lot, looked around, realise I don't like it.
3.  Bulldozed the lot, and probably deleted it from my lot bin. (not sure if this is a big nono)

I've deleted, like you, what I thought at first were duplicate files only to discover that when I click on the one thumbnail in the catalog left, it just shows as the generic build floor.  I thought that maybe duplicate files existed somewhere, not properly named, but as those nonsense-named files that are created when using the package installer.  But, apparently not.  I just don't understand why the thumbnails still show up in the catalog when there's nothing behind them, and I think, but can't be 100% certain, they remain even after I quit the game and restart it.  I know for a fact that the duplicated thumbnails remain after restarting.

Don't know if this was at all helpful, but you're not alone in your pain 

[purplehaze]

I too have duplicate sets in my buy mode catalog for a nursery set. I'm extremely anal-retentive about subfoldering my DL file. I searched and only found one mesh and the 4 recolors for each duplicate item. I have no idea how this one set became two in my game .  LOL It must have bred when I wasn't looking.

I'd be interested in how to take care of this also. 

[Emma]

What if you do as I suggested a couple of posts up, then delete the relevant thumbnail packages in the Thumbnails folder. The object/buildmode thumbnails will be replaced when you next start the game. Don't know if it would work, but worth a try.

[moniquinin]

Emma, the problem with that is at least for me on my Mac, (let's see if I can explain this unconfusingly)...let's say I have a house that uses "red mosaic tile floor 3". (I'm making this up for the sake of this post).  I have in my downloads folder, in the build subfolder, in the floor subfolder the file saved as redmosaictile3.package, right, or most likely with the creator's name at the beginning  For whatever reason this is showing up twice now.  Ok so now let's say I do what you suggest - I package a lot that has this floor tile, plus the other dozen duped files, and all the res of the build stuff from the lot.  Once I reinstall the lot, all the files will be renamed something like this: fb8f0270b7e007f6d494b842ffcc5ca2_0001.package, and I then have no idea wtf is what.

What I did last time is try to identify inside the game which file is which, remember what they were, make copies of them on my desktop, delete from the game and place the copies back in the folder, which is a huge PITA and I did lose a few and never managed to remember where I dled them from in the first place.

[witch]

I posted about duplicate files a long time ago on MATY and no-one else seemed to have the same problem. My problem appears to be when I use, say a wall colour, that is stored in a subfolder in my downloads folder, the game will create a duplicate file in the root of the downloads folder. I do a cull of doubles every now and then with Sims2Pack Clean Installer, sorted by the md5 thingy. I don't think the game does this for all used files, just some.

ETA: YEEHAAR! Post 2K

[Emma]

I have no idea ow to solve the problem then moniquinin  Sorry.

[moniquinin]

That's all right, Emm  , I'm sure if there were a useful utility for mac like clean installer, things would be better.  It's just an agravation.

[Magicmoon]

Did a few tests. Found some info, and solved the problem in a unique way.

First I deleted the build mode cache, before ever posting this thread. That didn't solve the problem. I made a new, clean Sims2 folder and put all my floors into it. I have no duplicate floors now, so it has to be in a cache somewhere, just not the build mode cache that I deleted before.

moniquinin: If WTF works for Mac, then I suggest you try that program. You can batch rename all the walls, floors, and terrains and it will use the name that you get on mouseover inside the game for the new name instead of those stupid numbers. If you would rather name each one yourself, you can do that too, as well as change the prices, what sound is made when walking on it, and stuff like that.

http://www.djssims.com/index.php?category=21

In the end, I solved the problem when I made a new Sims2 folder by renaming my old one and then running the game and then closing it. Then I put all my downloads and neighborhoods into the new folder, as well as my config and startup.cheat files. If you do this you must be sure your neighborhoods are numbered correctly, which should only be a problem if you deleted one of the 3 that come with the game. I did not do this method to fix the floor and walls problem, but to do something else totally unrelated. It's just that I realized while I was working, that the floors and walls were correct now.

I'm not suggesting this is the best way to do this, only how I fixed it. The best way would be to figure out which cache is holding this bogus info and delete it. I just don't know which one it is.

This has happened to me as well, just with floors though (I think) and all I've done is play the damn game, since I'm on a Mac and can't do much else regarding the custom content. 

Actually, upon thinking about it, I think this happens after I do the following:

1.  Install a lot that I've dled from MTS2.
2.  Entered the lot, looked around, realise I don't like it.
3.  Bulldozed the lot, and probably deleted it from my lot bin. (not sure if this is a big nono)

That is how I do it, and I believe that is the correct way. The only no-no that I know of, is for the lot to have Sims in it when being being deleted. Besides, when I install the lots, I usually don't install the floors and walls unless I really, really like them, so I don't see how this could be causing the duplicate catalog pics, but who knows?

[Emma]

moniquinin: If WTF works for Mac, then I suggest you try that program. You can batch rename all the walls, floors, and terrains and it will use the name that you get on mouseover inside the game for the new name instead of those stupid numbers. If you would rather name each one yourself, you can do that too, as well as change the prices, what sound is made when walking on it, and stuff like that.

http://www.djssims.com/index.php?category=21

Wow! That is a great program, thanks for the link

[witch]

I generally look at new lots in my test sims 2 folder. I keep the stuff I like, delete the rest, repackage.

[cwykes]

We know the groups.cache gets corrupted - I guess you guys all tried that or ruled it out as the culprit.... Does that store the wrong kind of cache info?

I guess it's not this either, but this was something stupid I did that caused stuff to appear in the catalog - I unzipped the lot in packaged lots and left the floors and walls in a subfolder there for some reason that made sense at the time.  The game found them and put them in the catalog even in the packaged lots folder...