Submenus DLL

[memo 1,444]

4 hours ago, unaguayabita said:

It's a very outdated version of the DLL that's in your plugins. Upgrade to the latest version, currently 1.1.4.

[atsf189 460]

@unaguayabita

Try renaming your plugins folder to Plugins.old

Create a new Plugins folder and add only the Simgoober canals and the submenu mod.

Try this with a blank test city.

If this works then you can add the plugins from Plugins.old one by one until you find the one that is causing the issue.

[monicadm 40]

 

14 hours ago, memo said:

It's a very outdated version of the DLL that's in your plugins. Upgrade to the latest version, currently 1.1.4.

This worked!!! It fixed all menus. 

Most menus were empty, I just assumed it was the lots. Now they all work great!

Thanks again!

[Chrisim 44]

Being able to create additional submenus is changing the game! Fun instead of frustration, when searching in organised sub- and sub-sub-menus instead of one long top-down menu. Thank you to memo for creating the submenu DLL plugin, to Panda for creating the impressive icons, and to everybody who helped to develop it!

I started from version 1.1.4 (it is well designed!) and then I added my own additional submenus for my specific plugin folder.
This involved creating PNG files for own submenu's icons. It is an art. Attached I share some PNG files that I created for my own use. Not as good as Panda's icons (no perspective, plain colors). If you like, you can use them for your own submenus, or improve them ...

For Lot collections:

BSC: 

PEG: 

SFBT: 

(the LTEXT description for these icons give information about the contents of a submenu)

Landmarks:
Church:

Entertainment:

Government:

Maxis :
(the original Maxis logo does not look good after size reduction)

Money:

More Landmarks:

Restaurants:

Shops:

Parks:
Beach:

Embankment:

 

[TheEstGuy 720]

Hello guys, I really like the submenu DLL mod I have tried for a bit and it works nicely ingame but there is a problem I can't for the life for me figure out how to create my own submenus. I have tried to figure it out by reading this thread and Seba's submenus thread and the github threads and various others and installed sc4 cli tool and I have iLive but I can't do anything with because I have insufficient knowledge what to do with it. Also is there a thread or a place where there is a proper tutorial on how to create your own submenus because I am not an expert modder and reading threads here I can not figure out myself what to do? There should be a proper step by step tutorial made on how to make your own submenus and how to add lots to it and manage it properly. Because for me I installed it tried it to see how it works ingame, perfect it works! Then I opened the threads etc to figure it how to make my own submenus now for 3 hours I have read everything to try to figure it out and I just can't because the information is all over the place. Also sorry if I sound a bit angry or annoyed here Im just tired and close to giving up this ordeal, I just want 1 guide to make submenus .            Also my english may be imperfect here, if there are major errors feel free to let me know.  

Here are my questions and my understanding currently of what I have read and tried to figure out. So basically what I have figured out is that i can make Submenus with the SC4 cli tool but I can't figure out how to add lots to the submenu. Do I need iLive for that I don't know, that is the biggest issue, how to add lots there. So where do the submenus I create go, I created 1 submenu but where is it? With the submenu icons i understand I can make my own, does the file format matter or not just in case, it needs to be 44x44 right? Also I understand I need ilive to edit or make lots in my mod folder submenu compatible so how does it work. I have seen that SC4pac is mentioned here too, is there a list of Submenu compatible plugins and there are now downloadable Submenus that can be installed which is great, is there a list which shows which plugins are compatible and submenus which support them?

 

Here are a lot of questions I know, but I just want to get clear answers to a lot of questions and to make sure I get everything so I could make submenus too. If I can finally my plan would be to make IRM lot submenus for my own use first and then If I get it working properly make IRM lots submenu pack so that using IRM would be easier with it. The submenu mod is great but it has been a year since the inception of the mod and a lot of progress but a bit chaotic trying to understand the mod fully for a newcomer. Please there should be a ultimate guide to submenus made that details all of the intricacies of it. 

[Dono 178]

15 hours ago, TheEstGuy said:

Hello guys, I really like the submenu DLL mod I have tried for a bit and it works nicely ingame but there is a problem I can't for the life for me figure out how to create my own submenus.

Hi, I mightn't be too much help as I haven't made any submenus for a while but hope something might get you on track.

Yes, the icon is 44x44px and has to be in .png format.

If you created an new submenu but haven't added any lots to it, it won't show in the menu as it is empty.

In the cli tool, I can't remember the order, but you'll either need to choose the submenu you want the lots to show up in....or it will ask 'add lots to a submenu'. For example, If you created a new submenu to show up in Airports, you'd select Transport>Airports>"your new submenus name".  When selecting the Lots,  you need to go down the list to Plugins then right arrow to go into plugins to the folder containing the lots you want to add. (The folder should only have the lots you want to add in it, as it will select all that's in the folder). In the end it will ask you where you want to save a submenu.dat file, if you just click enter it will put it in the folder that the selected lots are in, which is what I do.

Alternatively, if none of this is making any sense, you've probably started off in the the wrong direction from the beginning. If so, maybe let us know the process you are taking to add the lots, what did you open, when I first used it I found it quite intuitive once I opened the tool to how to do it, you could be overlooking something simple. 

Hope this helps a little. 

 

[memo 1,444]

I've updated the Submenus DLL to version 1.1.5. It's been a while since the last update, so this update includes a number of additions:

• one new submenu (boats, ships and watercraft), created by @Tyberius06
• improved categorization for GLR and HRW submenus (they have their own Occupant Group now)
• new icons for the landmark submenus created by @Panda and the embankment submenu by @Chrisim
• fixed pixel alignment of icons for sports and deluxe police submenus (@Panda: The handcuff icon still had the offset, so I've used the tweaked icon by Andreas instead)
• German translations by @Andreas Roth

Thanks a lot for all the contributions.

[Tyberius06 12,189]

4 minutes ago, memo said:

I've updated the Submenus DLL to version 1.1.5.

Awesome, memo, thank you very much!!!! 

[Jamesthe1st 25]

Amazing mod, great to see this game getting better and better!

[Dono 178]

Sorry if answered before somewhere but I had always downloaded the submenu updates directly until version 1.1.4, where I migrated my personally created submenus to the new sc4pac 150 "submenus" folder. If I run the sc4pac download to update to 1.1.5, will I have to copy my created ones and paste them back into the newly updated submenus folder or will they be retained from the old version.
Thanks.

[memo 1,444]

@Dono The convention is that folders with an even number, like 150-mods, are managed by sc4pac. If you install custom files manually, put them elsewhere, for example 075-my-plugins, or 151-my-mods, or any other folder you create and manage yourself.

Especially don't put custom files in a folder that ends with .sc4pac, such as "memo.submenus-dll.1.1.4.sc4pac". All those files in that folder will be deleted when you update to "memo.submenus-dll.1.1.5.sc4pac", so your files would get lost.

[Dono 178]

2 hours ago, memo said:

@Dono All those files in that folder will be deleted when you update to "memo.submenus-dll.1.1.5.sc4pac", so your files would get lost.

I thought that may have been the case. I just liked having it all together as when I had 'submenus' in the 075 folder. I was hoping sc4pac installed the update around the old one ☹️. 

Thanks for your time. 

[MstrFox1982 9]

I wonder when there will be a submenu for the residential, like there is for the commercial and industrial. 

[Kel9509 1,363]

9 minutes ago, MstrFox1982 said:

I wonder when there will be a submenu for the residential, like there is for the commercial and industrial. 

There are submenus for Residential.  You just need some Ploppable Growify residentials to plop first and then they'll show up (if you have the mod installed properly).  I've got some in my files here.

[MstrFox1982 9]

7 minutes ago, Kel9509 said:

There are submenus for Residential.  You just need some Ploppable Growify residentials to plop first and then they'll show up (if you have the mod installed properly).  I've got some in my files here.

oh, cool. So are the 'custom ploppable' skyscraper buildings in the landmark submenu not residential then? 

[Kel9509 1,363]

52 minutes ago, MstrFox1982 said:

So are the 'custom ploppable' skyscraper buildings in the landmark submenu not residential then? 

If the submenu mod is installed properly and any skyscraper offers commercial jobs, it'll be in the submenu of commercial zoning.  If not, and continues to remain in the landmark menu, then it either offers no commercial jobs, no residents, and might just be eyecandy with no jobs at all (a landmark effect) or might only have government jobs.  With the submenu mod, residential ploppables with residents to growify are found as a submenu to the residential zoning section.  

Take a look at the pictures in this file and you'll see the buildings in a submenu of the residential zoning section.

[Dono 178]

If in the wrong place please move/delete.

I've just finished a bunch of IRM I-M base texture security fences with roads. In PIM I lotted them all under Parks, specifically about half were created under Parks/With invisible building/Parks and the other under Parks/With invisible building/Neutral lot. Unforeseenly, now in game half my lots show up in the normal Park menu and the other half show in the Parks submenu Green Spaces...which industrial fences don't fit well with  Is there a property I can add or change to assign them to the same menu/submenu. Obviously I can assign them to my own submenu in the cli tool but if I ever did release them I'd like them to be in the same spot to start with. I've tried a few searches but not knowing the terminology I don't know what I'm looking for 

Thanks

 

[memo 1,444]

On 7/25/2025 at 5:02 PM, Dono said:

Is there a property I can add or change to assign them to the same menu/submenu.

@Dono Yes, check the Readme file. You'll need to add a Building Submenus property, for example using ilive's Reader. You can copy it from another building exemplar, for example.

[Dono 178]

3 hours ago, memo said:

@Dono Yes, check the Readme file. You'll need to add a Building Submenus property, for example using ilive's Reader. You can copy it from another building exemplar, for example.

I read through the readme a few times before but couldn't find the items it mentioned. I just tried again, my bad, I had opened two similar lots so was comparing apples with apples, it's all pretty obvious now. I assume I can just delete the Building submenu exemplar.

Thank you.

[Simizen 1,098]

On 7/1/2025 at 5:25 AM, Chrisim said:

Being able to create additional submenus is changing the game! Fun instead of frustration, when searching in organised sub- and sub-sub-menus instead of one long top-down menu. Thank you to memo for creating the submenu DLL plugin, to Panda for creating the impressive icons, and to everybody who helped to develop it!

I started from version 1.1.4 (it is well designed!) and then I added my own additional submenus for my specific plugin folder.
This involved creating PNG files for own submenu's icons. It is an art. Attached I share some PNG files that I created for my own use. Not as good as Panda's icons (no perspective, plain colors). If you like, you can use them for your own submenus, or improve them ...

For Lot collections:

BSC: 

PEG: 

SFBT: 

(the LTEXT description for these icons give information about the contents of a submenu)

Landmarks:
Church:

Entertainment:

Government:

Maxis :
(the original Maxis logo does not look good after size reduction)

Money:

More Landmarks:

Restaurants:

Shops:

Parks:
Beach:

Embankment:

 

honestly, some of these would be great to add into the mix, just cause there's some stuff that could utilize some custom icons. Like, we could utilize the Church, Government, Money (great for like Casinos or so), and the Embankment lots for sure

I'm always down for more Maxis-match icons. I prefer them over some of the other styles (nothing against them, but they're just not my thing)

[hugues aroux 3,784]

...  ... There's something for everyone...

 

[marcio1977 207]

6 hours ago, Simizen said:

honestly, some of these would be great to add into the mix, just cause there's some stuff that could utilize some custom icons. Like, we could utilize the Church, Government, Money (great for like Casinos or so), and the Embankment lots for sure

I'm always down for more Maxis-match icons. I prefer them over some of the other styles (nothing against them, but they're just not my thing)

Some are already included in version 1.1.5, such as embankments and churches.

But where I'm having fun is creating patches for various plugins that are scattered across random menus...
Every now and then, some dilemmas arise about how to group them: by function or by collection.
For example: some park systems have paths, green areas, and fillers. I don't know whether to separate them among the existing submenus or group them all into a single, dedicated submenu...

 

[TiepiNL 182]

2 hours ago, marcio1977 said:

Some are already included in version 1.1.5, such as embankments and churches.

But where I'm having fun is creating patches for various plugins that are scattered across random menus...
Every now and then, some dilemmas arise about how to group them: by function or by collection.
For example: some park systems have paths, green areas, and fillers. I don't know whether to separate them among the existing submenus or group them all into a single, dedicated submenu...

 

Personally I'd prefer a single dedicated submenu per park system, since they usually have different themes and textures. I love the modularity but hate the menu clutter of the sets - parks and (IRM) fillers - from creators like tariely and kingofsimcity. Separating them  among submenus would make park sets kinda unusable imo.

[memo 1,444]

3 hours ago, marcio1977 said:

For example: some park systems have paths, green areas, and fillers. I don't know whether to separate them among the existing submenus or group them all into a single, dedicated submenu...

I agree with @TiepiNL here. I'd usually keep the park sets together. The best place could be a dedicated sub-submenu for a specific set, inside the existing Modular Parks submenu. At least that's how I imagined the Modular Parks submenu to be used. It depends a bit on what kind of set it is, though.

[Simizen 1,098]

4 hours ago, marcio1977 said:

Some are already included in version 1.1.5, such as embankments and churches.

yeah, i just caught that a bit ago. Loaded up the game for something and then I noticed some had icons. I updated the mods via sc4pac the other day, so I guess I didn't catch it during that time, lol

4 hours ago, marcio1977 said:

Every now and then, some dilemmas arise about how to group them: by function or by collection.
For example: some park systems have paths, green areas, and fillers. I don't know whether to separate them among the existing submenus or group them all into a single, dedicated submenu...

yeah, I can see that. The best way I can figure is to group them based on creator mods. So like, Paeng's Modular Parks set, you can throw all of those together under the same sub level.

But if it's like mods but different authors? That could certainly be an issue

 

2 hours ago, TiepiNL said:

Personally I'd prefer a single dedicated submenu per park system, since they usually have different themes and textures. I love the modularity but hate the menu clutter of the sets - parks and (IRM) fillers - from creators like tariely and kingofsimcity. Separating them  among submenus would make park sets kinda unusable imo.

yeah, I've got some IRM fillers and some other things, and I think the various filler pieces should be grouped under their respective Zone submenus. Would alleviate quite a few problems as a result.

[Tyberius06 12,189]

37 minutes ago, memo said:

I agree with @TiepiNL here. I'd usually keep the park sets together. The best place could be a dedicated sub-submenu for a specific set, inside the existing Modular Parks submenu. At least that's how I imagined the Modular Parks submenu to be used. It depends a bit on what kind of set it is, though.

4 hours ago, marcio1977 said:

Some are already included in version 1.1.5, such as embankments and churches.

But where I'm having fun is creating patches for various plugins that are scattered across random menus...
Every now and then, some dilemmas arise about how to group them: by function or by collection.
For example: some park systems have paths, green areas, and fillers. I don't know whether to separate them among the existing submenus or group them all into a single, dedicated submenu...

 

I think when I updated the BSC Parks system I used a multilevel approach, where I put the BSC Parks submenu into the root of the Parks menu, but then it was containing several additional submenus. I think the best approach is keeping the sets together regardless of function. For example if you take the PEG CDK3 and CDK3-SP sets, several items are just plain eyecandy, but crutial corner pieces are actually functional landmarks with jobs. Even in this case keeping the pieces together in the same submenu system would make more sense then separating them. 

 

[memo 1,444]

And merging the BSC parks (which are modular parks) with the Modular Parks submenu would make even more sense to me, as that's what the menu is intended for. Otherwise, we'd just end up with separate "Modular non-BSC Parks" and "Modular BSC Parks" menus, which is a needless distinction.

[TiepiNL 182]

1 hour ago, Simizen said:

yeah, i just caught that a bit ago. Loaded up the game for something and then I noticed some had icons. I updated the mods via sc4pac the other day, so I guess I didn't catch it during that time, lol

yeah, I can see that. The best way I can figure is to group them based on creator mods. So like, Paeng's Modular Parks set, you can throw all of those together under the same sub level.

But if it's like mods but different authors? That could certainly be an issue

 

yeah, I've got some IRM fillers and some other things, and I think the various filler pieces should be grouped under their respective Zone submenus. Would alleviate quite a few problems as a result.

Love the suggestion to place the IRM fillers in a Zone submenu!

[Ulisse Wolf 4,412]

3 hours ago, memo said:

And merging the BSC parks (which are modular parks) with the Modular Parks submenu would make even more sense to me, as that's what the menu is intended for. Otherwise, we'd just end up with separate "Modular non-BSC Parks" and "Modular BSC Parks" menus, which is a needless distinction.

We will make this correction in the next update of BSC Park.

[AsimPika3172 1,136]

I hope all @tariely stuffs will added submenu very soon!