Managing Your Downloads

[(Trustee)ZooGrammy]

Managing your Downloads

 

As to the folders in the game, the dupates and ztupdates are in-game folders and in my experience should be left as they are. But the updates and dlupdates are free for us to use. When you have only ZT, DD and MM in your zoo, the updates folder and the dlupdates folders will be empty. When you install the 2nd disc of the CC set, it will put all the extra material it adds into your updates folder. It's not a whole lot of stuff, but you want to be sure it all stays in there. For me personally, I put all my hacks into updates, like the Super Hack, MMFoliage hack, ZTResearch Hack in this folder. I also leave the invisible fence in there, since I want it to be a permanent feature in my game.

 

When I want to use extra downloads from the websites, I always put them into the dlupdates folder. Most computers can handle about 350 updates in the dlupdates folder at once. I am told that the number, usually 350, means every extra .ztd file, no matter if it is in the updates or dlupdates folder. This means that the CC stuff that is in updates counts toward the total number of extra .ztds your game can handle.

 

It is my understanding that the game "reads" the dlupdates folder first, and then the updates folder. I am not sure exactly what impact that really has. People have advised not to put the hacks into the updates folder, but to be sure and put them in the dlupdates folder. But I have found that if I keep them in the updates folder (plus the invisible fence), the game always recognizes them and they work fine there.

 

With downloads from so many sites, it is a good idea to keep them in separate folders named for the website they came from. I have a ZA folder, a ZTUF folder, a ZKL folder, and a Phoenix folder sitting on my desktop. I don't have all the downloads from each site, just the ones I really like to use. I will leave my dlupdates folder empty until I am ready to build or work on a contest entry or judge a contest. Then I move into the dlupdates folder only the things I will need for that particular project. (Of course, the .dll files if needed will go into the main ZooTycoon directory. Mostly when I move a .dll in there, I just leave it from then on.) Savannah Jan

 

 

 

To store our downloads while not in use we place them in a folder that is in my documents or on the desktop or where you want. We may or may not leave them zipped (I prefer zipped) in the folders until they are needed. Then I take the zipped file out of the storage folder using copy and paste it to my desktop screen. After opening it I then place the ztd file in the downloads folder in the game. You can create folders for just about anything. I name my folders according to the site the downloads come from to the zoo and downloads for that zoo. It frees up your game so when you place only what you need in the game is less likely to crash. Also when you use copy and paste to take things out of the storage folder you will always have a copy if that file and won't have to download it everytime you want it. There is no limit to how many files your storage folders can hold.

 

You can name the folder after its created. Right click on the folder and move your cursor down to rename. click on it. a box will appear under the folder. type in what you want to call the folder and then click on the name. You will now know what is in the folder because the name will be under it. For examble I have a folder for ZooTek, Zoo Admin and several others. Inside the folders are the downloads from that site.

 

Copy and paste is very easy too, Place your cursor on the file you want to move. Right click on it and move your cursor down to copy. Click on it and then place your cursor where you want it placed (such as the desktop) Right click on it again and move your cursor to paste. click on it. You have now done copy and paste. Open up the file you brought out and put the ztd file in your game.

Written by Menolly

[(Trustee)genkicoll]

For more helpful information, see Organizing Your Downloads.

 

Also, if you'd like to learn how to combine ztds, we have two tutorials on how to do so:

Combining using WinRar and Combining using WinZip

 

There is also a tutorial on how to extract an item from a combined ztd:

Extracting from ztds

[(Trustee)ZooGrammy]

I organize my dls on my hard drive a little differently and it works well for me.

 

I start with a folder named Zoo Tycoon Addition. I organize folders in that folder the way the game does: Animals, Buildings, Foliage and Scenery. I also have special folders named: Christmas and Winter, and Fall. All my downloads are renamed with the site name except for Tek dls which are the main dls that I use. For example: I rename "LF Amazon House zip" to "ZALF Amazon House Zip". Just right click on the original zip and click on "rename" then type the site initials.

 

Inside my Animals, buildings, Foliage and Scenery folders are other folders in order to organize the dls.

 

 

 

 

This allows me to find the dls that I want for a zoo very quickly and having the dls named with the site and a picture of the download enables me to use just the one I want in that site's contest.

[(Trustee)ZooGrammy]

Some further info on organizing your dls.

1. pictures: Most of our dls here at Tek now have a .jpg in the zip with the ztd. When I dl something, I put the zip with it's ztd and jpg into the appropriate file folder. I have on my C Drive a games folder that I created that is outside the game where I put all my saved dls. Look at example 1, 2, & 3 of my Building folder below. As you see, I leave them zipped so everything is in one place and I can look at the picture. I open the zip and drag, or copy and paste, the ztd to put it into my game. I always have my original of the dl that way.

If what I dl doesn't have a picture in the zip, I make a copy of the picture that is with the dl at the site I am getting it from. (Right click on the picture and go to "save picture as" from the drop down menu) Then I save it to my desk top and then put it in the appropriate zip folder of the new dl that I just got. If you open the Zip you should be able to drag the jpg file into the zip. It will ask you whether you want to add.

 

2. Zoo Tycoon sites: You will also notice that I change the name of the zip file of a dl if it does not come from Zoo Tek Phoenix. Note my example of my building folder. Right click on the zip and on the drop down menu, click on "rename" then put your cursor in front of the highlighted area and type in the site initials, example ZA for Zoo Admininstration site. This way I always know where the dl came from.