DAMN Problems

[Ragamuffin 9]

Daely's Advanced Menu Navigator has been working well for me. It's very easy to find things now. The problem is that my menus are still cluttered up. The "zzz_DAMN Remove" folder that is supposed to remove icons from the Maxis menus isn't working for some reason. All the icons are still in the parks and landmarks as well as the DAMN Menus. Yes, it is the last folder being loaded. Thanks for any help... I'm pretty stumped.

[ArchangelMichael 51]

If you are using SSP Tool to create your DAMN menus, select the lots in the bottom center pane titled "DAMN Menu Lots" (click the first one, then hit CTRL+A or SHIFT+END to select them all at once), then click the white paper icon to "Hide Selected Lots." After this, you should see in the bottom right pane titled "DAMN Menu Lot Detail" that there is now a check mark in the box next to "Hidden" when you select the lots individually. Save your changes and you should be good to go. If you want to always remove lots from your default menus once you have created a DAMN menu for them, click the "DAMN-Options" button, select the "Hide Configuration" tab, and place a check in the box for "Set hidden for lots which are DAMNed."

Another user was having the same problem. You can view their post here at SC4D and the response in the post that follows it for a solution to use if your "zzz_DAMN Remove" folder is not working for you. Toward the end of that page is a link to some DAMN tutorials on SimPeg, and if you do enough clicking you don't have to register to view them. The rest of the DAMN Development Thread should be a helpful resource, and I recommend jumping to the first page of it and adding it to your bookmarks.

[Ragamuffin 9]

Thanks for your help. I had never even used the white paper icons. However, it still isn't working and I can't figure it out. I've tried everything you've mentioned, and a few other crazy things myself. Yes, I'm using the SSPTool and I'd really rather not mess around with the ILIve reader... do you think it's the SSPTool or Simcity's fault?

[ArchangelMichael 51]

I'll need some more info to help diagnose this.

1. What version of Windows are you running? Maybe SSPTool doesn't work well with it, or maybe it requires admin permissions. Browse through the DAMN support thread linked in my previous post and the SSPTool support thread, or run a couple searches at SC4D to see if anyone else has similar issues.
   
2. Do you have the latest version of Java? SSPTool requires version 6 or later.
   
3. Have you tried re-downloading and re-installing the three components (DAMN, SSPTool, and the DAMN plugin for SSPTool), or even re-installing Java? Sometimes things get corrupted for any number of reasons, especially during updates.
   
4. After you click the white paper icon to hide the selected lots, are you also clicking the violet-blue floppy disk icon in the bottom right pane to apply the changes before clicking the "Apply" button at the bottom center of the program window?
   
5. When you open the "zzz_DAMN Remove" folder, what's in there? If it's empty, then there might be a problem with SSPTool. If this folder does contain files, I would need you to open them with the Reader or SC4Tool to look for the lot resource key property mentioned in the post at SC4D.
   

Don't be afraid of With a little practice, it becomes easier and easier to use. The task here is actually very simple, and I can walk you through it if you're willing to try. Many people find SC4Tool easier to use. It can quickly and easily do a few things that Reader cannot, but in general, Reader is the more powerful tool and will probably be the best (and fastest) method of removing the lot resource keys. Also, have a look at the DAMN tutorials at SimPeg. It doesn't touch on hiding menu items, but perhaps you're missing one of the other steps. Chances are, the problem is with SSPTool -- either a key step is being overlooked or the program needs control permissions over some folder(s) somewhere. I'm still running XP, but if I move up to 7 (Windows 8 looks like another Vista debacle to me), the first thing I'll do is turn off UAC.