Settings window
The Settings window allows for changing settings related to Mod Organizer or the current instance. Settings are saved per-instance.
The General tab has options for the user interface and updates.
Changes the language displayed by Mod Organizer and some tools such the LOOT reports.
Changes the visual theme. The Explore... button opens the folder that contains the style files in Windows Explorer.
Mod Organizer will remember the size and position of most dialog windows it opens, such as the mod information window. However, when moving the main window to a different monitor, dialog windows will stay on the previous monitor because they remember their last position. Checking this option makes sure the dialog windows are always centered on top of the main window.
Unchecking this option will remove the confirmation window when changing instances. Mod Organizer will immediately restart and show the instance selection window.
Items can be double-clicked in various lists: in the Data tab as well as the Conflicts and Filetree tabs of the mod information window. If the file is an executable, it will be launched. If not, Mod Organizer can either open a Preview window if it's available (such as for .txt files) or open the file with the associated program.
- If this option is checked, the file will be previewed if available or opened with the associated program if not.
- If this option is unchecked, the file will always be opened with the associated program.
Right-clicking the file opens a menu where the Preview option can always be selected if previewing is available for that file.
Many dialog windows have a "Remember my choice" checkbox, such as when launching a program that requires Steam. Clicking this button will forget all the choices for all the dialog windows, allowing these windows to be shown again.
Opens the list of available categories where their names or IDs can be changed. Changing IDs is not recommended. This window can also be opened by clicking on the Edit... button in the Filters list on the main window.
The "Name" column in download list normally shows the filename on disk of the download. Enabling this option will show the name of the mod instead if it can be found on Nexus.
Reduces the height of the items in the list so that more are visible.
When enabled, Mod Organizer will check on the Github releases page for updates on startup.
When enabled, Mod Organizer will update to pre-release versions when available. Pre-release versions (also known as "release candidates") are typically released a few weeks before the official version to get feedback and bug reports from users.
This controls the various colors used in the mod list on the main window. For example, if mod A is being overwritten by mod B, selecting mod A will change the color of mod B in the list to red whereas selecting mod B will change the color of mod A to green. These colors can be changed here by double-clicking on the various entries.
The columns next to the color name contain useful visual cues as to how the color interacts with text or icons in the mod list.
When enabled, the scrollbar in the mod list (if available) will draw marks at the same position as colored items. This makes it easier to navigate to conflicting mods, for example.
This button will reset all the colors to their default values.
The Paths tab configures the various paths for the current instance.
The first entry is the Base Directory, which is a folder that can be used in the entries below by using the name %BASE_DIR%. This allows for easily changing the folder where most of the files are stored for a particular instance.
Note that regardless of the base directory, an instance will always have a folder in C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\ModOrganizer. This folder contains ModOrganizer.ini as well as some folders like crashDumps and logs. These files and folders are critical to Mod Organizer and cannot be moved. For a portable instance, these critical files and folders are always inside Mod Organizer's installation folder and cannot be moved. The base directory is only a convenient "variable" that can be used in the entries below it and is not used otherwise by Mod Organizer.
The next entries Downloads, Mods, Caches, Profiles and Overwrite define where the corresponding files are stored. Any mention of %BASE_DIR% in their text will be replaced by the text in the Base Directory. These folders are independent and can reside on different drives.
Changing any of the folders will not move the files. This has to be done manually. It is recommended to first change the paths, close Mod Organizer, move the files manually to the new locations and then start Mod Organizer again once the transfer has completed.
The last entry Managed Game can be changed if the game has been reinstalled to a different folder, for example.
This tab configures the credentials for Nexus as well as some general network settings.
Any operation within Mod Organizer that queries the Nexus website, including downloading files, requires an API key. This is a long string of random characters that is generated per account and is visible on the account page on Nexus. Mod Organizer must have this key to be able to talk to Nexus.
There are two ways to enter this key into Mod Organizer:
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Clicking the Connect to Nexus button will open a web page in the system's default browser. Clicking the yellow Authorise button will automatically send the key back to Mod Organizer, which will then display "Linked with Nexus Successfully."
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Clicking the Enter API Key Manually button will open a new window where the key can be entered manually. The Open Browser button will open the web page https://www.nexusmods.com/users/myaccount?tab=api in the system's default browser. On the web page, the API key will be visible next to Mod Organizer 2. If there is no key available, clicking Request an API key will create one. The key can then be copied and pasted into the box in Mod Organizer.
The easiest way to link Mod Organizer with Nexus is the first method. However, the server used to communicate with Nexus is sometimes unavailable. The manual method will usually work at all times.
Regardless of the method used, the API key will be stored in the Windows Credential Manager and can be seen by opening the Windows Start Menu, typing "credential" and selecting "Manage Windows Credentials". The key is stored under "Generic Credentials" with the name ModOrganizer2_APIKEY.
Clicking Disconnect from Nexus will make Mod Organizer forget about the API key entirely.
Mod Organizer needs to be restarted after it is linked. Once linked with an account, it will display the user ID, username and account type on top, as well as some statistics about the remaining number of requests.
Prevents Mod Organizer from connecting to the internet at all.
Shows whether mods have been endorsed or not in the mod list.
Whether Mod Organizer should use the system proxy settings to connect to the internet.
Whether to hide the API informations in the status bar.
Sets Mod Organizer to run when clicking Mod Manager Download on Nexus.
Mod Organizer has an internal cache when it accesses web pages, much like a regular browser. This clears it. It shouldn't be necessary.
This is mostly useful for premium users. Anytime a file is downloaded, a list of servers where files can be downloaded from is provided from Nexus. These servers will appear in the list of Known Servers and can be moved to the Preferred Servers list in any order. When downloading files, the preferred servers will be used first.
Mod Organizer can start Steam automatically when it detects that the game requires it. It will use the username and password provided here when starting Steam. The username is stored in the instance's ModOrganizer.ini, but the password is in the Windows Credential Manager and can be seen by opening the Windows Start Menu, typing "credential" and selecting "Manage Windows Credentials". The key is stored under "Generic Credentials" with the name ModOrganizer2_steam_password.
A few things to note:
- Steam itself has a way of remembering credentials, which should probably be used instead by leaving these entries blank.
- Entering the credentials in Mod Organizer can interfere with 2FA (two-factor authentication).
- The username and password are passed in plaintext in the command line when starting Steam and so will be visible in Task Manager or other tools.
In general, this feature shouldn't be used at all.
Mod Organizer comes with a variety of plugins installed in the plugins/ folder. Every game that can be managed has its own plugin, but there are also various tools provided by plugins.
Plugins can have settings that can be configured in this tab. Clicking on a plugin in the list on the left will display information on the right, as well as all the options it supports. Some plugins have no options. Double-clicking on a setting will show a box where the value can be changed.
The Blacklisted Plugins list at the bottom shows plugins that have been disabled by Mod Organizer. This happens when a plugin fails to load on startup. Blacklisted plugins can be enabled again by selecting them in this list and pressing the Delete key on the keyboard.