_UTF provides a Unicode input dialog, and adds XML entity replacement for macros and the chat edit box. It accepts XML code point entities and HTML 4.0 entity names, and replaces them with the corresponding characters.
Details
Input Dialog
The input dialog box accepts a decimal representation of the desired character's code point. If the code point is valid, its corresponding character will show up magnified in the box above. On the other hand if a character isn't available in the font, a gray “N/A” placeholder will appear instead.
In addition to manually adding code points, using the mouse wheel over the dialog scrolls through available characters, skipping missing ones along the way. Once you find the right character, clicking the character's large preview will add it to either the macro or chat edit box.
XML Entities
A more general function of _UTF is the addition of XML character entity replacement in chat and macros. If you type an entity into your chat edit box and hit the [TAB] key, that entity gets converted into the right character. This system supports HTML 4.0 named character entities, as well as decimal and hexadecimal numeric references. You can define custom named character entities on _UTF's “Custom Replacements” subcategory in the Interface Options menu, or disable entities entirely from _UTF's main Interface Options menu.
Text Replacement
To make commonly used entities less of a hassle, you can define custom text replacements for all outgoing chat messages using regular expressions. For example, any group of three or more dots at the end of a sentence could be replaced with an ellipsis by replacing “%.%.%.+$” with “…”. These replacements can be added or removed from the _UTF “Custom Replacements” subcategory in the Interface Options menu, and can also be disabled from _UTF's main menu.
Options & Custom Replacements
_UTF's configuration is available in the Interface Options window, where XML Entity and Text Replacements can each be enabled and disabled. The “Custom Replacements” sub-menu allows the addition of custom XML entity names and text replacements.
References
The following links might help you make better use of _UTF:
Installation Guide
- Exit "World of Warcraft" completely
- Download the mod you want to install
- Make a folder on your desktop called "My Mods"
- Save the .zip/.rar files to this folder.
- If, when you try to download the file, it automatically "opens" it... you need to RIGHT click on the link and "save as..." or "Save Target As".
- Extract the file - commonly known as 'unzipping'
Do this ONE FILE AT A TIME!
- Windows
- Windows XP has a built in ZIP extractor. Double click on the file to open it, inside should be the file or folders needed. Copy these outside to the "My Mods" folder.
- WinRAR: Right click the file, select "Extract Here"
- WinZip: You MUST make sure the option to "Use Folder Names" is CHECKED or it will just extract the files and not make the proper folders how the Authors designed
- Mac Users
- StuffitExpander: Double click the archive to extract it to a folder in the current directory.
- Verify your WoW Installation Path
That is where you are running WoW from and THAT is where you need to install your mods.
- Move to the Addon folder
- Open your World of Warcraft folder. (default is C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\)
- Go into the "Interface" folder.
- Go into the "AddOns" folder.
- In a new window, open the "My Mods" folder.
- The "My Mods" folder should have the "Addonname" folder in it.
- Move the "Addonname" folder into the "AddOns" folder
- Start World of Warcraft
- Make sure AddOns are installed
- Log in
- At the Character Select screen, look in lower left corner for the "addons" button.
- If button is there: make sure all the mods you installed are listed and make sure "load out of date addons" is checked.
- If the button is NOT there: means you did not install the addons properly. Look at the above screenshots. Try repeating the steps or getting someone who knows more about computers than you do to help.
Translations
When you download a mod, please be sure that the mod is compatible with your translation of wow. Some mods only work on the US versions, while some only work on some of the various European versions. These variations are called "Localizations".
TOC Numbers (Out of Date Mods)
When Blizzard patches WoW, they change the Interface number. This means that all mods will be "out of date" unless or until the author releases a new version for that interface. Some people go into the .toc files and update the numbers themselves, but this is STRONGLY advised against as it will cause problems locating possible incompatibilities addons. When you log into WoW after a patch, you DO NOT have to delete your interface directory. All you have to do is simply tell WoW to ignore the interface numbers and load all the mods anyway. All you have to do is, while at the "character select" screen, look in the lower left corner and click on the "addons" button. A window will pop up listing all your installed mods.
If you look in the upper left corner of that window there should be a box that says "Load Out of Date AddOns". You want to CHECK this box. Now simply go into WoW normally and all your mods should load. As of the 1.9 patch, you will have to do this after EVERY patch/update that Blizzard posts! If you encounter any problems with a mod after a patch, please be sure to let the author of the mod know so they can fix it.
See also: About "Out Of Date AddOns"
Mac Support
WoW addons are not platformed based. As such, they can be used on either Mac or PC. You can extract both .zip and .rar files on a Mac using StuffitExpander.
Directory Structure
World of Warcraft
|_ Interface
|_AddOns
|_*AddonName*
|_ *AddonName*.toc
|_ *AddonName*.xml
|_ *AddonName*.lua
|_ (possibly others as well)...
