[AnyOS] KSP Mod Admin v2 - Mod install with a few clicks

[MacTee]

Hi cy-one and Godit,

i'm totaly guessing without a look into the issue.

There could be a problem with the KSPModAdmin.cfg file in "C:\ProgramData\KSPMODAdmin\KSPModAdmin".

Could one of you check this folder ("C:\ProgramData\KSPMODAdmin\KSPModAdmin") if there is a sub dir 1.3.11.0 with a KSPModAdmin.cfg file in it?

If there is a cfg file please check the Name attribute of the KSP_Path XMLNode and the FullPath attribute of the Known_KSP_Path XMLNode.

Do those paths exist?

If there is no cfg file or folder, create a 1.3.11.0 folder and copy a cfg file from an earlier KSP MA version into it.

If this don't help please try a 1.3.10.0 named folder and delete (rename) the 1.3.11.0 folder.

If nothing helps please delete (rename) the C:\ProgramData\KSPMODAdmin\KSPModAdmin folder an restart KPS MA.

Edited January 8, 2014 by MacTee

[cy-one]

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<ModAdminConfig>

<Version>v1.0</Version>

<General>

<Position x="-1002" y="207" />

<Size Width="937" Height="971" />

<WindowState maximized="False" />

<KSP_Path Name="E:\Spiele\Kerbal Space Program" />

<Known_KSP_Paths>

<Known_KSP_Path FullPath="E:\Spiele\Kerbal Space Program" Note="" />

<Known_KSP_Path FullPath="E:\Spiele\Kerbal Space Program .22 Workbench" Note="" />

<Known_KSP_Path FullPath="E:\Spiele\Kerbal Space Program .23 Workbench" Note="" />

</Known_KSP_Paths>

<checkforupdates checkforupdates="True" />

</General>

</ModAdminConfig>

I will rename it and see if that helps

After restarting, the new .cfg is this (did nothing within KSPMA)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<ModAdminConfig>

<Version>v1.0</Version>

<General>

<Position x="-854" y="518" />

<Size Width="963" Height="915" />

<WindowState maximized="False" />

<KSP_Path Name="E:\Spiele\Kerbal Space Program" />

<Known_KSP_Paths>

<Known_KSP_Path FullPath="E:\Spiele\Kerbal Space Program" Note="" />

<Known_KSP_Path FullPath="E:\Spiele\Kerbal Space Program .22 Workbench" Note="" />

</Known_KSP_Paths>

<checkforupdates checkforupdates="True" />

</General>

</ModAdminConfig>

Then I drag'n'dropped the .23 workbench folder into it (just for completion's sake) and set my mod/dl-folder.

Another restart: Mod/DL-Folder-setting empty again

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<ModAdminConfig>

<Version>v1.0</Version>

<General>

<Position x="0" y="0" />

<Size Width="963" Height="915" />

<WindowState maximized="False" />

<KSP_Path Name="E:\Spiele\Kerbal Space Program" />

<Known_KSP_Paths>

<Known_KSP_Path FullPath="E:\Spiele\Kerbal Space Program" Note="" />

<Known_KSP_Path FullPath="E:\Spiele\Kerbal Space Program .22 Workbench" Note="" />

<Known_KSP_Path FullPath="E:\Spiele\Kerbal Space Program .23 Workbench" Note="" />

</Known_KSP_Paths>

<checkforupdates checkforupdates="True" />

</General>

</ModAdminConfig>

Edited January 10, 2014 by cy-one

[hawkwing]

Thought I'd mention, download location is not persisting across sessions for me either. Each time I run kspma I have to remind it where to download mods to. Here's my kspmodadmin.cfg file, right where you said it would be, by the way.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<ModAdminConfig>

<Version>v1.0</Version>

<General>

<Position x="175" y="47" />

<Size Width="1577" Height="899" />

<WindowState maximized="False" />

<KSP_Path Name="C:\Games\Steam\SteamApps\common\Kerbal Space Program" />

<Known_KSP_Paths>

<Known_KSP_Path FullPath="C:\Games\Steam\SteamApps\common\Kerbal Space Program" Note="" />

</Known_KSP_Paths>

<checkforupdates checkforupdates="True" />

</General>

</ModAdminConfig>

From what I can tell, shouldn't this file also be saving a download location in it, in addition to the ksp install location? That doesn't seem to be the case, obviously. I'm just sticking the DLs in C:\Games\Steam\SteamApps\common\Kerbal Space Program\downloads", but that piece of information never gets saved.

Edited January 11, 2014 by hawkwing

[MacTee]

Hi all,

sry that it took so long, but there where to much to do in the past weeks.

Anyway, what's new ...

KSP MA v1.4.0 PR: (EDIT: Link removed look here)

• KSP MA auto update:
  
  • New option on the Option / Update Tab that allow to choose if KSP MA should auto install the new downloaded KSP MA version.
    

  [*]Mod update check (KSP Spaceport Mods only):

  • New button on the Option / Update Tab to check all mods for updates (when a Spaceport URL to the mod is availabel).
    
  • New option on the Option / Update Tab that allow to choose when KSP MA should check for mod updates.
    If a update is available the mod will be displayed in blue (on the ModSelection).
    
  • New columns on the ModSelection TreeListView.
    There are a few new columns that will contains some mod related informations (mod infos - like SpacePortID, URL, Author, Rating, ...).
    If you use the integrated ModBrowser to download a mod from KSP Spaceport KSP MA will get those infos for you, otherwise you have to enter at lest the URL to the Mod).
    
  • Three new ModSelection contextmenu buttons:
    
    • "Edit mod infos"
      Opens the mod info edit dialog to edit mod spaceport infos.
      
    • "Visit mod download site"
      Opens the ModBrowser with the URL entered in the mod Infos.
      
    • "Check for mod update"
      Starts a update check for the selected mod.
      If a update is available the mod will be displayed in blue (on the ModSelection).
      

How to prepare already installed mods for the update fature:

If you already have installed mods, you can edit the mod infos with a rightclick and the "Edit mod infos" button.

The mod infos edit dialog will open where you can change the mod infos.

Enter the URL to the KSP Spaceport site of the mod and press the button next to the TextBox. KSP MA will get the mod infos for you.

Now the mod is prepared for the "Mod update fature"

(You can enter a URL to another site then KSP Spaceport but then KSP MA won't get the mod infos, but you can visit the site with a right click on the mod and the "Visit mod download site" option.)

How does the update feartue work:

I download the WebSite (with the URL from the mod infos) and search it for key words (like id, creationdate, author, ... )

If i find those key words i update the mod infos of the mod and compare the Creationdate of the site with the AddDate of the mod.

If a update is available the mod will be displayed in blue (on the ModSelection).

There is a problem with the guest account of KSP Spaceport. If you don't login with your created user account the infos of the mod won't be actuel!

They (KSP Spaceport) updates the mod infos you can see with a guest account in a very long interval!

So it may take a while that KSP MA notices a mod update. (Any ideas how to solve this problem?)

@cy-one & hawkwing:

Could one of you check if you still have the problem with the download path please?

Edited January 21, 2014 by MacTee

[Filippe999]

does it feature an auto-buy option for the tech tree? i get a huge lag whenever i'm there sop having to unlock 100+ parts by hand is really a pain, specially because you have to scroll down all the way everytime and the lag...

[MacTee]

Hi Filippe999,

sry, i dont understand what you meen.

What should a "auto-buy" fature do?

Where do you have lags and how do you "unlock" parts?

[diomedea]

This is a very useful tool, and gets improving. Many thanks for it.

I have been using it for a couple weeks now (in parallel with my system of manual recording my installed mods I kept doing before), and KSP MA has proved accurate and dependable, so I may soon forget about my system once I finish reversing all supplementary info with each mod (author's name, notes, version). For the record, I keep notes of (up to now) 97 "configuration items" (mods, mod-mods, and tools) tied with each KSP version. And in case, yes, that develops from configuration management (CM) practices used in large projects.

I have a few notes about KSP MA. It may be some feature exists, but I was not able to find or to use those. Or, maybe, it could still be possible to find ways to improve it?

1. Automatic update of list entries. All is well when I add a new item to the list. Quite often, this "new" item in KSP MA is a newer version of a mod already installed. If I just "process" this new mod version, it gets installed over the existing one, however, the existing one still remains on the list (so, KSP MA still provides an entry for an item that was radically changed, but has no info about that change with that entry). The only way out is, for me, to find and remove the previous version, before processing the newer one. Suggestion: could KSP MA use a check, if a new item is corresponding with previous ones (it may require to verify one or more key files with the new item are already existing, in the same folder structure), so to remove the previous entry in the list?

2. Mod-mods. A bit of clarification here: a mod-mod is anything conceived to alter, or improve over, an existing mod, and in particular if originated from a different author (so, it would not generally ever be included with the main mod). One single icon or texture or config file, if provided separately, is a mod-mod. I need to have those recorded if I want to be able to replicate an install. Issue here: mod-mods are generally not created by programmers, and don't include a folder structure according to the gamedata folder in KSP. So, where and how to put them to work, must be provided to KSP MA at the user responsibility.

Mod-mods should be listed with a clear reference to the main mod thet are built for. To show, they could use the tree structure that KSP MA already shows with each mod files. But, it should also be possible to make them clearly out as separate items (listed with other colors? a different icon?) that also must have separate information about them.

Note: until a time when KSP MA allows automatic removal of the old entry with a newer version of a mod (as suggested in 1.), removal of a previous version before installing the newer one also means to remove (without even noticing) all the mod-mods with that.

3. Tools. With tool I mean any software item created to have significance in KSP, but not depending on KSP to be opened/run. KSP MA is certainly one such. Just like mods, tools also are versioned and there is need to keep track of them. It would be useful if KSP MA gave the possibility to record tools, of course those don't go installed within gamedata, but it may be let to the user to provide another directory where to install them. KSP MA may mark them apart from mods, again with another choice of color or different icon in the list; however best thing should be to have a different panel in KSP MA for tools (as mods, parts, crafts, flags...tools!), provided that information fields like exist for mods can be used for tools as well.

4. Documentation. It could be relevant for someone to extend recording to documentation items, meaning any human-readable item connected with KSP (personally, I would not use that, but someone with CM expertise may feel better to have it. Documentation is, generally, one main area to be kept within CM). Such items may only be recorded, using the information fields KSP MA already provides for mods. Best if those are listed with yet another panel.

[Horman]

When entering the Spaceport URL (by copy&paste), I get the message, that the URL has a wrong format.

The autocheck for KSP Mod Admin wants to "update" to 1.3.11

When hitting check for Mod Updates I get an Error (sorry, just in German: (StartIndex darf nicht kleiner Null sein. ParameterName:startIndex")

Edited January 18, 2014 by Horman

[C4pt.Miles]

Thank you so much for the autoupdater!

This is one of the best "mods" for KSP.

[MacTee]

This is a very useful tool, and gets improving. Many thanks for it.

...

I have a few notes about KSP MA ... to improve it?!

1. Automatic update of list entries. ...

2. Mod-mods. ...

A) Issue here: mod-mods ... don't include a folder structure according to the gamedata folder in KSP. So, where and how to put them to work, must be provided to KSP MA at the user responsibility. ...

Mod-mods should be listed with a clear reference to the main mod thet are built for. To show, they could use the tree structure that KSP MA already shows with each mod files. But, it should also be possible to make them clearly out as separate items (listed with other colors? a different icon?) that also must have separate information about them.

C) Note: until a time when KSP MA allows automatic removal of the old entry with a newer version of a mod (as suggested in 1.), removal of a previous version before installing the newer one also means to remove (without even noticing) all the mod-mods with that.

3. Tools. ... best thing should be to have a different panel in KSP MA for tools ...

4. Documentation. ... Best if those are listed with yet another panel.

Thanks, for the suggestions!

1.

This is on my todo list, some code for this feature is already implemented but it was to buggy to enable it yet. This is the next thing i'm working on!

First check will be the SpaceportID then i'll check the filename (with some parts of the mod archive path). If i find a installed mod with matching ID or filename i'll ask for a update of the mod. If a update is wanted i'll try to copy the destination paths of the old mod to the new, unistall the old and install the new mod.

2.

A) You can change the install path (destination) of a modfile by right click the file and chose Destination -> Select new destination.

For now there is no linking of mods planned, but you can use the note column for the reference.

C) This won't be a problem. I don't delete a mod folder if there is a file left after deinstallation of the mod (in the case its not a file replacement - if the mod-mod is a filereplacement then you should uncheck the file of the original mod befor installing the mod-mod!).

3.

This is on my to do list too. But with low priority.

4.

Sry, i don't understand what you meen here, could you explain what a Doc Tab should do? =)

When entering the Spaceport URL (by copy&paste), I get the message, that the URL has a wrong format.

The autocheck for KSP Mod Admin wants to "update" to 1.3.11

When hitting check for Mod Updates I get an Error (sorry, just in German: (StartIndex darf nicht kleiner Null sein. ParameterName:startIndex")

A URL should look like this http://www.kerbalspaceprogram.com/ksp-mouse-controller/ for the KSP Mouse Controller mod.

Yes, 1.3.11 is the newest official release, so KSP 1.4.0 trys to update to the newest version

But seriously there is a small bug in the version compare, i'll fix it till the offical 1.4.0 release. Thanks!

Do you have add some mods or is the ModSelection empty? Can you give me more detalis what steps are needed to reproduce this error? (Kannst du mir auch auf deutsch schicken =))

Thank you so much for the autoupdater!

This is one of the best "mods" for KSP.

Thanks =)

Edited January 19, 2014 by MacTee

[diomedea]

4.

Sry, i don't understand what you meen here, could you explain what a Doc Tab should do? =)

First, thanks again, happy to know you have already plans for some of the improvements I want.

About the "Documentation": that is one of the pillars in Configuration Management. All information about a project/system in CM is kept in sync with the parts. So, e.g., blueprints or technical sheets, and even user manuals, are versioned and valid only in relation to a specific version of the items mentioned in them. In software industry, documentation includes about everything but the compiled object: case studies, analysis, CASE diagrams, models, source files, and anything to be read by the users.

In case of KSP, we are not involved with what Squad does to manage it. The only "documentation items" we may have available and (in case) be interested to keep versioned, should be source files and version notes with mods. Even if I am writing about this possible "feature", I may not ever use it. But, in general, somebody may find useful to have that feature to keep consistent records of everything about KSP, and KSP MA has the potential to make so.

So, my idea is that another tab (at the level of the ones in KSP MA for mods, parts, crafts, flags...) should be easy to make (believe most of the code done for other tabs can be reused), and allow to enter information about any kind of document if someone wants to keep a record.

[longbyte1]

Does this have (or is ever going to have) auto-installation when a new version of a plugin is out? I like mod managers, but when a new version of KSP is out, I have to go and download everything... manually... again...

Or at least that's the case in Minecraft mods.

[MacTee]

@diomedea:

Thanks for the clarification!

I'll keep this in mind. If any other user thinks this Doc Tab feature is useful let me know

@longbyte1:

Yes, a auto-install of updateable mods is implemented but not enabled yet ... to buggy.

Stay tuned

New prerelease available

KSP MA 1.4.0 PR2

KSP Mod Admin v1.4.0 PR2:

- Version compare (KSP MA Update) bug fixed.

- ModInfo URL validation bug fixed.

- Mod Update CreationDate - AddDate compare bug fixed.

New prerelease available

KSP MA 1.4.0 PR3

KSP Mod Admin v1.4.0 PR3:

- Adding of mods with SpaceportID Bug fixed.

Edited January 21, 2014 by MacTee

[LeadMagnet]

@diomedea:

Thanks for the clarification!

I'll keep this in mind. If any other user thinks this Doc Tab feature is useful let me know

I can see this being useful, but only to a very few. Most users don't care about such things. I would think the auto-install feature would far more useful to users (and in some cases, neccessary!)

[lacqui]

@diomedea:

@longbyte1:

Yes, a auto-install of updateable mods is implemented but not enabled yet ... to buggy.

Stay tuned

Is there a way we can enable it ourselves? Knowing the risks, try it anyway, the Kerbal way?

[MacTee]

@lacqui:

No, there is noch way to activate it, except your are able to change to source code, fix the bugs of the auto-install code and rebuild the KSP MA exe (in this case plaese send me the code changes ).

Edited January 26, 2014 by MacTee

[cpottinger]

MacTee,

I want to T H A N K Y O U so very much for this utility - I wouldn't even think of trying to manage my 25 installed and 13 currently uninstalled mods and their various versions without this tool. Awesome.

Can I make a small request? The log panel at the bottom of the window does a great job of showing the files affected by tasks and letting you know when the task is done, but it doesn't tell you when the task has begun. Sometimes, when you have a lot of stuff, and slow connection to your NAS (like I do), you begin to wonder if you actually did hit that "backup saves" button or not. It would be nice if it just said "starting backup" in the bottom panel, so I don't have to try hitting a button again to finally see that it is doing the requested task.

I hope that makes sense.

And thanks again.

[MacTee]

Hi cpottinger,

thanks for the flowers!

Your right, KSP MA should write more informations of its tasks into the message window. During the project i got lazy about that. =)

But i'll add some essential information (like the begining of a task) to the message window with the next KSP MA update.

[Horman]

Hey MacTee,

have to set up a fresh KSP game, so I used the ModBrowser Tab to download them, so I have the link available for later use.

Now I have downloaded "Engineer Redux", where the ZIP has not the "GameData" Root Folder. In earlier versions KSP MA marked these mods, but added them to the list, so you could enter, where to install this mod - but now, it doesn't appear. Even not, if I try to add it manually to the mod list.

[TranceaddicT]

I've not used KSPMA for a while (Found that not all files were moved.), and am giving it another go.

Is there a way to link the currently installed mods? I've tried the Zip Source>Select new source for all mods & selected mods, but nothing links to the d/l mod.

[diomedea]

Either it is me not knowing (yet! ) how to properly use all the features of KSP MA, or it is missing one (probably already in the plans with the auto-update, but).

Situation: KSP MA has the mods resident in GameData in its main mod list (that, I understand, is maintained through a XML file).

Now, every so often a new version of an existing mod comes out (like, with me having 70+ mods installed, 3 or 4 new versions a day on average!).

So, I download the zipped files for these new versions, and let KSP MA find them (Add mod button). So, the list is updated with a new entry for each new version.

Now, I want the new version to replace the old one in the list, but keeping all the mod information that was entered before: corrected mod name, author, spaceport link, notes... only the version number to be changed.

I know that, if I just instruct KSP MA to proceed with a mod zipfile, it will install its contents where they belong, so updating all files with the same name in the same position already in the previous version of that mod. But that action does nothing to remove one or other of the entries in the list, both actually pointing to the same mod in the same position.

Short of editing the KSP MA XML file myself to remove a duplicate key, I am therefore always checking, carefully, to transfer all mod info in the new version entry, before removing the old version and then installing the new one. Only removal of a mod, for what I know, will automatically remove also its entry from the list, so avoiding duplicates.

[MacTee]

@TranceaddicT:

You can use the scan button on the ModSelection to scan the KSP GameData folder for installed mods.

After the scan you can use the "Zip Source" -> "Create Zip of installed items" -> "with default name" or "..." -> "..." -> "choose name", from the contextmenu of the ModSelection, to create a Zip of the found mods.

@diomedea:

Sry KSP MA doesn't support the auto-update of mods jet.

If you use this KSP MA Version 1.4.0 PR3, the downloaded (updated) mod should be added to the ModSelection with the needed ModInfos. A duplicate of the outdated mod will still be in the mod list. You have to remove it manually. This way you shouldn't have to manipulate the xml file to keep the important ModInfos.

@All:

Hi folks,

sry but in the next time i'll be to bussy (again) to make any coding on the KSP MA Project.

A new rollout on work and my two children will keep me from working on KSP MA.

Please be patient. The second week of march sould be holyday time, so i could do some coding again.

[diomedea]

@diomedea:

Sry KSP MA doesn't support the auto-update of mods jet.

If you use this KSP MA Version 1.4.0 PR3, the downloaded (updated) mod should be added to the ModSelection with the needed ModInfos. A duplicate of the outdated mod will still be in the mod list. You have to remove it manually. This way you shouldn't have to manipulate the xml file to keep the important ModInfos.

I use version 1.4.0 PR3, but any newly downloaded mod, when added to the list is displayed only with the zipfile name. No ModInfos are added, I have to input them all by hand (am I doing something wrong?).

Also, is there a safe way to remove an outdated version from the list? the only way I know to remove a mod, is selecting it and clicking the remove button. But I only do so before installing a new version: if I was to first install the new version, then remove the old, I believe I will end removing all the files with the same name, regardless of the version. So, even if to update a mod I would only need to process the new version, I first have to uninstall the old, to remove its entry from the list.

Could be possible to add another button, to only remove the entry in the list but not touching files within GameData? (actually, its behaviour the reverse of the Add mod button). And, even better, a button allowing to transfer ModInfos from one list entry to another?

[MacTee]

hmm, i thought that i changed the update download mechanic so that the mod will be added with modinfos. Maybe its in the not released PR4.

But the changes have to wait till my holyday, sry!

[Justin Kerbice]

Nice tool, just tried it, it looks good (it looks better than competing tool ), is there any plan for mod version check/update ?