The Sims 3 resource.cfg file

Many players like to organise their downloaded mods into folders.  However, by default, The Sims 3 does not support this and can only see mods in the top-most Mods folder, and not in any folders inside that.

To fix this, Electronic Arts created a configuration file that instructs The Sims to also search for mods within folders inside the main Mods folder.  Once you have this file, you can add as many folders as you like, up to 5 nested folders deep, to organise your collection of downloads.

First check you have a Mods folder

1. Open your Documents folder
2. Open the Electronic Arts folder
3. Open The Sims 3 folder

Is there a Mods folder?  If not, create the folder now.  It should look like this:

Download it

Click the link below and save this to your Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Mods folder: 

Resource.cfg

Note: If you receive a security warning such as this, click KEEP.  This cfg (configuration) file is a perfectly safe and can only be used by The Sims 3, but as cfg files are used for all sorts of apps, operating systems do treat them cautiously.

Or, create the resource.cfg yourself

If for any reason you're unable to download the file, here's how to create it yourself:

1. Open a text editor such as Notepad and copy the following text into it: 
   
   Priority 501
   DirectoryFiles Files/... autoupdate Priority 1000
   PackedFile Overrides/*.package
   PackedFile Overrides/*/*.package
   PackedFile Overrides/*/*/*.package
   PackedFile Overrides/*/*/*/*.package
   PackedFile Overrides/*/*/*/*/*.package
   Priority 500
   PackedFile Packages/*.package
   PackedFile Packages/*/*.package
   PackedFile Packages/*/*/*.package
   PackedFile Packages/*/*/*/*.package
   PackedFile Packages/*/*/*/*/*.package
   Priority 499
   PackedFile Test/*.package
   PackedFile Test/*/*.package
   PackedFile Test/*/*/*.package
   PackedFile Test/*/*/*/*.package
   PackedFile Test/*/*/*/*/*.package
   Priority -50
   PackedFile Probation/*.package
   PackedFile Probation/*/*.package
   PackedFile Probation/*/*/*.package
   PackedFile Probation/*/*/*/*.package
   PackedFile Probation/*/*/*/*/*.package
   Priority 500
   PackedFile DCCache/*.dbc
   
   
   
2. Choose SAVE AS, not Save
3. Change the Save as type from Text to ALL FILES: 
4. Enter the File name as resource.cfg
5. Save this to your Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Mods folder

Note: custom content installers such as the TSR CC Manager and Vortex will automatically add lines to this file when you use them.  This is normal and can be ignored.