Revision as of 08:02, 11 January 2024

The information in this Wiki Page applies to TRS19, Trainz Plus and TRS22. This page is intended to provide information for understanding the different asset Status labels used by Content Manager.

1 Installing Assets into Content Manager
2 Content Manager Status
3 Status Label Qualifiers
- 3.1 Newer Version Available
- 3.2 Obsolete
4 Available for Download
5 Installed
6 Unknown, Incompatible, Not Installed/Not Active
7 Packaged and Payware
8 Faulty
9 Missing Dependencies
10 Trainz Wiki

The Content Manager Status column:-
	identifies assets on the DLS that are available for downloading
	provides information about the origin and health of your installed assets
	is a starting point for trouble-shooting problems with installed assets

Installing Assets into Content Manager

There are three common ways that assets can be installed into Trainz using Content Manager:-

selecting an asset shown in the Content Manager display that is listed as Available for download (see the section

Installing the Latest or an Older Version of an Asset). This is the preferred method as it will also download and install any dependencies required by that asset, OR

using saved .cdp files and the Content Manager Import Content Files... option from the File Menu. This method is commonly used to backup assets that you have created or modified yourself such as routes and sessions, OR

using an open asset folder and the Content Manager Import Content Folder... option from the File Menu. This method is frequently used to install assets that you have created yourself

The two Import methods listed above will install the selected .cdp files or the asset folder (only one folder at a time) but Content Manager will NOT search for any dependencies on the DLS. Selecting the Import options will often result in assets having the message Missing dependencies added to their status labels (see the

Missing Dependencies section below). You must manually find these missing dependencies yourself

In addition, assets can be installed by purchasing DLC packages from the Content Store which is found on the Trainz Launcher. Each package contains all the required assets

Content Manager Status

Start Content Manager by clicking Manage Content from the Trainz Launcher.

The Status column in the Content Manager display gives information about each listed asset - its location, availability, and "currency" (installed, obsolete, modified, Payware, unknown, etc).

If the Status column is not present in the Content Manager display, then:-

Steps: To add the Status column:-
	Right Click on the column heading where you want it to be inserted
	select Insert Column and then Status

Columns in Content Manager Can Be:-

	Removed Right Click on a column heading and select Remove Column
	Moved Left Click and Drag a column heading left or right
	Resized Move the tip of the mouse pointer onto the dividing line between two column headings then Left Click and Drag it left or right

Notes:

It is important to remember that:-

many assets on the Download Station (DLS) are available in more than one version, the original and at least one update. When an asset is updated by the release of a new version, the original, and any previously existing updates, will remain on the DLS for those who prefer to use them instead of the latest release. The status labels Newer version available and Obsolete are the result of updates.

an update will not always have the same name as the original or previous updates. It may also have a completely different Asset ID (or <kuid> code number) as shown in the examples below.

Example 1: the list below shows the same asset, the original and 3 updates, using 4 different names for the same <kuid> - the trailing :digit> is the update number.

Example 2: the list below shows the same asset, the original and 2 updates, all with the same name but each has a different <kuid>. The fact that they are updates of the same asset can be shown with the List Asset Versions option.

Assets with negative <kuid> can only be updated by issuing them with new <kuid> codes but this can also happen with any asset update.

it is not uncommon for two completely different assets to have identical names. If one is not an updated version of the other then both will appear in the Surveyor asset selection lists and if they are of the same type, e.g. scenery, road spline or track object, then they will appear under each other in the same selection list.

The Status labels are described in the following sections.

Status Label Qualifiers

	Status labels can have qualifiers added that provides additional information about each asset
	Two of the most common qualifiers are Newer version available and Obsolete

	Notes:
Other status qualifiers that can also appear include:-
	Open for Edit
	Faulty
	Missing dependencies
Each of these labels are listed in the Table of Contents above and are explained in the various sections below

Newer Version Available

This means that the selected asset has another version available on the DLS that is a more recent version. This qualifier label can appear on any assets such as Installed from DLS, Packaged, Built-in

You can download and install the newest (latest) version by a Right Click on the asset and select the option Download from the popup menu. Any versions of the asset, including the one selected, that are are not the newest version will be ignored and Content Manager will locate and download only the newest version. If the latest version was installed it will be relabelled as Installed from DLS with no further qualifier. If an earlier version was installed it will be relabelled as Installed from DLS, Newer version available

You can ignore the newest version to download and install the selected version by a Right Click on the asset and select the option Download this version from the popup menu. Any newer version of the asset that exists on the DLS will be ignored and Content Manager will only download and installed the selected version. The installed asset will be relabelled as Installed from DLS, Newer version available

Notes:

The qualifier label Newer version available can sometimes lead to a "dead end". In the following example several assets have the qualifier Newer version available on their status but one leads "nowhere".

Open the options menu of a selected asset (Locomotive Sand in this example) by a Right Click and select the option List Asset Versions . This will reveal all the available versions of that asset

The latest version, shown at the bottom of the list in the image above, has Unknown Location as its status (see the

Unknown Location section below for more information on this situation) while the previous version is already installed

Packaged and Payware assets with the qualifier label Newer version available can usually be updated by firstly listing all their asset versions.

Open the options menu of a selected asset (spring-field 03 in this example) by a Right Click and select the option List Asset Versions . This will reveal all the available versions of that asset

In this case a version that is Available for download from the DLS has been identified. Right Click on this asset and select the option Download

Obsolete

This means that the selected asset has been updated by a newer version that is installed on your system. This qualifier label can appear on any assets such as Installed from DLS, Packaged, Built-in

	If the selected obsolete asset is also showing the label Available for download then this obsolete version is not installed on your system but it is possible for you to download and install it if you need it - use the Download this version option described in the Newer Version Available section above - after it has been installed it will be relabelled as Installed from DLS, Obsolete. The updated version that is already installed on your system will not be affected by this change
	Obsolete Installed from DLS assets can be deleted
	Obsolete Packaged, Payware, Built-in and Base assets cannot be deleted

Available for Download

Available for Download simply means that the asset is on the DLS and is not already installed on your system

The Status labels that you may see would include:-

	The Status label Newer version available means that a later version of that asset is also available and can be downloaded and installed
	The Status label Obsolete means that a later version of that asset is already installed in Content Manager
	You can select and download any asset that is labelled Available for download even if it is also labelled as Obsolete or Newer version available

Available for download	This version is available on the DLS and it is not already installed. This version IS the latest version available. If you are looking to install a new asset or update an existing one to the latest version, then this is the one you would normally select
Available for download, Newer version available	This version is available on the DLS and it is not already installed. It is NOT the latest version available. There is an updated version available on the DLS but you can still download and install this older version if it is required
Available for download, Obsolete	This version is available on the DLS and it is not already installed but it is Obsolete because you already have a more recent version installed but you can still download and install this older obsolete version if it is required

You can check to see what is the latest version of an asset that is listed as Newer version available or Obsolete. This will produce a list of all the previous versions (installed or not), currently installed (if any) and later versions of the selected asset.

Steps: To list the different versions of an asset:-
	Right Click on the asset
	select the option List Asset Versions

The list can be sorted into alphabetical/numerical order using a particular column by clicking on the column heading.

	first click - sort ascending A to Z, 1 to 9, Jan to Dec
	second click - sort descending Z to A, 9 to 1, Dec to Jan
	third click - repeats first click, etc

In the example shown above the latest version of the selected asset is already installed (Installed from DLS) and it does not have exactly the same name as the original. If it is the latest available version and is not already installed then it will be shown as Available for download without any additional labels.

Create an "Available for Download" Filter

This modified search filter will show all the freeware assets including their different versions that are available on the Download Station (DLS).

Steps: To create and save this filter:-

Select the Content Manager search filter Download Station

Open the filter (click the small triangle pointer on the left of the word Filter:)

Remove (click the

buttons on the extreme right) of the filter lines:-

	Out of date, and
	Obsolete

You can save this as a new filter

Click the Save button (which will appear as soon as you delete one of the filter lines)

Give the new filter a name (e.g. Available for Download)

Once saved you can reuse the filter whenever needed.

Any new filters that you create will appear in the drop down list of available filters.

Create an "Updates Available" Filter

A very useful Content Manager filter to create and save is one that will identify and display any installed assets that have updates available on the DLS. Detailed step-by-step instructions for making the filter (it is a simple process) can be found on the Wiki Page

Using Content Manager to Update Assets but a summary is provided below.

Steps: Create a Custom filter as shown in the figure below:-
	Set the Installed filter line to True (it normally is)
	Change the filter line Out of date to True
	Delete ( Left Click the buttons) all the remaining filter lines
	Save the filter - "Updates Available" would be a good filter name

You can then highlight, Right Click and select the option Download to get the updates for the selected assets.

This will show but not update assets that are Built-in or Base. See the Tip Box in the section Installing the Latest or an Older Version of an Asset below for a guide on updating these assets or the Trainz Wiki Page Using Content Manager to Update Assets for more detailed instructions.

Installing the Latest or an Older Version of an Asset

To Install the Latest Version: You can select the version that is labelled Available for download with no other qualifier (Obsolete or Newer version available) or you can select ANY Available for download version (including those marked as Newer version available and Obsolete) and Content Manager will download and install only the latest version.

In the figure above all the assets shown are different versions of the same original asset with the last entry the latest available version.

Steps: To install the latest version of an asset:-
	Select (Left Click on) any version of the asset, it does not matter if it is labelled Obsolete
	Right Click on the asset and select the option Download

Content Manager will ignore all the listed versions to download and install only the latest available version, even if that version is not shown in your filtered list. The asset download will include all the available dependencies of the latest version.

To Install a Specific Older Version: You can download and install an earlier version of an asset (one that also has the label Newer version available or Obsolete) if you don't want the latest version.

In the figure above all the assets shown are different versions of the same original asset with the last entry the latest available version.

Steps: To
	Select (Left Click on) the specific version of the asset you want, it can be one labelled Obsolete which means that you already have a later version of the asset installed
	Right Click on the asset and select the option Download this Version
Content Manager will ignore any and all newer versions of the asset and will download and install only the selected version. The asset download will include all the available dependencies of the selected version.

Some assets will show a status of Newer version available or Obsolete but the Download and Download this Version options will be greyed out and cannot be selected. This will always occur for all Built-in and Base assets and will usually occur for Packaged and Payware assets.

	In these cases select the List Asset Versions option from the menu. This will list all the available versions of the selected asset or assets and will allow you to select one that can be downloaded (i.e. showing the Available for download label).
Packaged and Payware assets are normally updated through the Update option in the Content Store but can sometimes be updated through Content Manager to become freeware (Installed from DLS) as shown in the example below. If the asset is Packaged or Payware and still does not show an available download, then check the Content Store for updates.

Installed

This built-in search filter will show all the assets that are installed in Content Manager. Set the Content Manager search filter to Installed. The Status labels that you may see would be:-

	The Status label Newer version available added to a label means that a later version of that asset is also available and can be downloaded and installed
	The Status label Obsolete added to a label means that a later version of that asset is already installed in Content Manager
	An asset that was originally Base, Built-in, Packaged, Payware or Third Party can be updated to Installed from DLS if a newer version becomes available on the DLS
	Packaged and Payware assets can ONLY be deleted (Uninstalled) using the Content Store and are usually updated through the Content Store

For simplicity only the major labels are shown
Base Built-in	The asset was installed when Trainz was installed
Installed from DLS	The asset was installed from the DLS
Modified	The asset is one you have created yourself, modified or cloned from another asset or have installed from somewhere other than the DLS (e.g. a 3rd party web site)
Packaged	The asset is included in a DLC package that you have installed but it may also be found on the DLS. See the Packaged and Payware section below for more information
Payware	The asset is exclusive to a DLC package that you have installed. See the Packaged and Payware section below for more information
Third Party	The installed asset may have been previously available on the DLS but is now unavailable

You can ONLY delete assets that are labelled as Packaged or Payware using Uninstall in the Content Store, not from Content Manager.

	Assets labelled as Modified, Payware are an exception as these are DLC assets you have modified and they can be deleted using Content Manager.
	But before you uninstall any assets see the Warning Uninstalling DLC below.

Base, Built-in

You will often see the following labels on installed assets:-

Base and Built-in
The asset was installed when Trainz was installed on your system. When you installed your current version of Trainz, or do a reinstall, the Base and Built-in assets will be the only ones installed. All the other assets have to be manually added later from the DLS, DLC or other sources. Base and Built-in assets can also have the label Newer version available which means that an update is available

WARNING:
Base and Built-in assets are optimised for specific versions of Trainz. If you have updated your copy of Trainz to a newer version you cannot copy (via .cdp files for example) any Base and Built-in assets from the old version to the new without creating errors and major problems.

Installed from DLS

You will often see the following label on installed assets:-

Installed from DLS
You have downloaded and installed the asset from the DLS. You may have performed this manually by selecting and downloading the asset or it was downloaded and installed automatically as a dependency of another asset that you have manually selected and downloaded from the DLS, for example a route. Installed from DLS assets can also have the label Newer version available which means that an update is available

Modified

You may often see the following label on installed assets:-

Modified
You have created, altered or cloned the asset, or not installed it directly from the DLS.

This label will appear on all assets that you have:-

	created yourself (it will have your kuid code)
	modified from an installed asset
	cloned from an installed asset (it will have your kuid code)
	imported directly into Content Manager without using the Download option - as a result Content Manager will not know the source of the asset

Open for Edit

Open for edit
The asset is currently in use by another process such as Surveyor, Driver or Content Manager.

Notes: the Open for Edit label will appear on any asset that you have:-

	currently open as a Route or Session in Surveyor or Driver. In this case, exiting Surveyor or Driver will close the open Route and Session assets
	opened in Content Manager for editing - for example changing its config.txt file or image files
	imported into Content Manager from a Content File (.cdp file) or a Content Folder when the same asset is already installed. In this case you will need to manually close the open assets

Steps: To manually close open assets:-

select (Left Click on) the open assets (individually or as a group)

Right Click on an open asset

	select the option Submit Edits to close them with the edits saved, OR
	select the option Revert to Original to cancel the edits and return the assets to their previous unedited states, OR
	select the option Revert if Unchanged if you have opened the assets (in Explorer or have just viewed their config,txt files) but have made no changes. Any opened assets that you have changed will remain Open for Edit

Notes:

	Assets that are Open for edit cannot be exported to a .cdp file or uploaded to the DLS. They must be closed first
	If you import assets into Trainz from a Content File (.cdp) or a Content Folder then Content Manager will not search for and install any missing dependencies from the DLS. You will have to do this manually. See the Missing Dependencies section below
	If Trainz unexpectedly closes while using Surveyor or Driver, such as a Crash To Desktop or it is terminated by Windows Task Manager, then the loaded Route and Session will be Open for edit when you restart Trainz. See the Trainz Wiki Page Route and Session Basics for more information on dealing with this situation

Packaged, Payware

If you have installed routes or other assets from the DLC then you see the following label or labels on installed assets:-

Packaged and Packaged, Payware
The asset has been installed as part of a DLC package. Packaged and Payware assets can also have the label Newer version available which means that an update is available

Both labels mean that the asset was included in a DLC package that you have downloaded and installed.

	Packaged by itself means that the asset can be cloned and modified for your personal use. Many, but not all, Packaged assets will also be found on the DLS
	Payware means that the asset is exclusive to a DLC package and will not be found on the DLS. Some Payware assets are encrypted and cannot be cloned or modified
It is up to the creator of a DLC package to decide if an asset they have created will also be available on the DLS, or if it will be encrypted. See the Packaged and Payware section below for more information.

Third Party

You may occasionally see the following label on installed assets:-

Third Party
The assets availability is "questionable". It may be best to avoid using until its status is resolved.

This will appear on assets that:-

you have uploaded to the DLS but they have not yet been approved for distribution. Usually it takes 24 hours (sometimes more) before approval is given. After approval the Third Party label will be changed to Installed from DLS

have been removed from the DLS listing, for a variety of reasons:-

	if the reason is repair work then they can still be downloaded and installed, as Third Party assets, and the repaired assets will (eventually) become available as updates that will be identified using the "Updates Available" filter as shown in the example below.
	in some circumstances a removed asset might still be downloaded as a dependency of another asset but not as an individual asset in its own right. It will receive the label Third Party once downloaded.
	if the reason was copyright violation then the assets will no longer be available on the DLS to anyone who had not already downloaded and installed them before they were removed. If you had downloaded them before their removal then they will appear as Third Party in your Content Manager.

WARNING:

If a DLS asset was removed for copyright reasons and you have included it in an uploaded route as a Third Party asset, then anyone who installs your route will see it labelled as having Missing dependencies and the asset itself will be labelled as an <unknown asset>.

Running the Updates Available filter (see the

Create an "Updates Available" Filter section above) will identify any Third Party assets that have updates available as shown in the figure below:-

Steps: To install any available updates of any Third Party assets:-
	highlight all the listed assets
	Right Click on any one of them and select the option Download from the pop up menu

Any available updates of the selected assets will be downloaded and installed.

After the update, Third Party assets should be shown as Installed from DLS

Disabled

You may occasionally see the following label on installed assets:-

Disabled
The asset has been manually Disabled (from the Content menu select Disable or Hide depending on your version of Trainz). The label will be added to an existing label on the asset (e.g. Packaged, Disabled) and the words will be "grey" not black.

	Disabling assets will "hide" them from other assets, including Routes and Sessions, so they cannot be used. It is a useful technique for deleting troublesome assets from a Route or Session without actually deleting the assets themselves. For an example of this see the Trainz Wiki Page at Deleting Stubborn Scenery Assets.
	Normally you would restore (Enable) the Disabled assets after removing them from the Route or Session.
	Payware assets that are Disabled will have Payware (not active) as their status label.

Unknown, Incompatible, Not Installed/Not Active

Set the Content Manager search filter to All Content and click the Status column heading (once or twice) to sort the very long list according to their Status labels. Scroll down the list and you may see the following Status labels:-

Unknown Location

Unknown location
The asset is listed but it is unavailable

If the Status label Obsolete appears with Unknown location then a later version of that missing asset is already installed in Content Manager

	Notes: The Unknown location label can appear if:-
	a later version of an asset has been uploaded to the DLS but the original version was not uploaded or had been removed for some reason
	the later version of the asset is part of a DLC package but is not on the DLS

If the asset is simply labelled as Unknown location then try the following:-

Steps: To locate possible versions of an Unknown asset:-
	Right Click on the asset
	select the option List Asset Versions

You may find a later version is Available for download
Versions of an Unknown Location asset

In this case simply select and download the asset labelled "Available for download".

But sometimes you can get a different result

This indicates that an older version is installed but the newer version is not available for downloading from the DLS (it may be part of a DLC package).

Incompatible

Incompatible
The asset is designed for a more recent version of Trainz than you are currently using.

For example: The SP4 versions of TRS19 and Trainz Plus will load Routes and Sessions with asset build numbers up to and including 4.9. Routes and Session with build numbers 5.0 and above will be labelled Incompatible and will need a later Trainz version (for example TRS19 SP5 for build 5.0 or TRS22/Trainz Plus for build 5.1) to be loaded.

Build incompatible example

The Build Version column will identify the minimum Trainz build that the asset needs. A list of all the Trainz Build Version Numbers with their corresponding Trainz Version Names and service pack (SP) numbers can be found on the Trainz Wiki Page at "Trainz-build"_number

The build Trainz version of an asset can be shown in Content Manager

Steps: To display the Build Version column in Content Manager:-
	Right Click on any column heading where the new column will be inserted
	select the option Insert Column and then
	select the option Build Version

Not Installed/Not Active

Not installed, Payware (not active)
The asset is in a DLC package and must be installed using the Content Store option from the Trainz Launcher

This status label can appear if you uninstall an original DLC package (e.g. a Route) that you have cloned to create a new modified version for your own use. The (not active) label will appear on your cloned copy. Most Payware assets can be cloned but conditions apply.

See Modifying and Sharing Payware below.

The label can also appear on an asset that:-

	is part of a DLC item that you have not purchased or it requires a membership option (e.g. Plus or Gold)
	has been updated to a newer version but the source DLC package has not yet been updated - there may be a delay before the package is updated. This is almost certainly the case if a working payware (or packaged) asset is suddenly relabelled as (not active) - check the Update option in the Content Store

Unknown Asset

An <unknown asset> can appear when using the List Asset Versions or the List Dependencies options on a selected asset.

The label "<unknown asset>" will be shown in the Name column and the Status column will be blank.

unknown asset
The asset cannot be found on your system or on the DLS.

Using the List Asset Versions option on a selected asset will often reveal one or more unknown assets.

In this example:-

	the first version of the asset (<kuid:122285:1161>) is also the original version and is available on the DLS but it is now Obsolete as a later version is already installed
	the fourth and latest version (<kuid2:122285:1161:3>) is labelled as Packaged and is installed in Content Manager. It was installed from a DLC package and it may also available on the DLS

The two intermediate versions (:1 and :2) are unknown assets and are not available on the DLS. They may have been created but never uploaded. It is not unusual for asset creators to leave "gaps" in the Asset ID update numbers (the trailing ":digit" in the <kuid>) during the development process.

If the two unknown assets shown above had been uploaded to the DLS then they would have been made Obsolete by the latest version.

Apart from the example above, unknown assets are almost always dependencies of other assets that you have downloaded and installed. The installed assets would be labelled has having Missing dependencies. See the

Missing Dependencies section below.

Note:

Having an <unknown asset> is not necessarily a problem. If an installed asset with an unknown asset as a dependency is not classified as Faulty then it can often be ignored. A Route, for example, can be labelled as having unknown assets but still function perfectly well.

The unknown asset may:-
	be from an independent (3rd party) web site
	have been made by the same creator as the dependant asset but was not uploaded to the DLS
	have been removed from the DLS for some reason (a rare event but it does happen)
	simply not exist, anywhere
Fixing this may not be easy. Possible solutions are:-
	There is a very long thread in the Trainz Forum where you can find posts looking for missing/unknown assets. See Missing kuids? Post them here
	You can try contacting the creator via email (their address may be in the config.txt file) or a PM (Personal Message) through the Forum
Neither is a guaranteed solution.

If the unknown asset is in a Route or a Session then a third option is to select Delete Missing Assets from the Tools menu in Surveyor, but make a backup copy of the Route or Session first.

Packaged and Payware

	Packaged assets are installed from DLC packages and may also be available on the DLS or elsewhere
	Payware assets are exclusive to DLC packages or other payware sites (see Notes: below)
	DLC packages can only be installed, updated and uninstalled using the Content Store from the Trainz Launcher

All new DLC packages downloaded and installed from the Content Store now contain ALL the required dependencies in the download package. This includes any assets that are on the DLS or on independent web sites that in the past would have to be downloaded separately from the DLS or elsewhere. This means that all the assets are now in a single package that will be downloaded at the maximum possible speed your internet connection will allow even if you do not have an FCT (First Class Ticket). Older DLC packages are currently being converted to this system.

	If you already have the exact same version of an asset that is included in a package you are installing then you will NOT end up with two identical copies of that asset. Your installed copy of the asset will be re-labelled as Packaged.
	Assets that are Packaged are compressed more than DLS assets. Image files will be in the .texture graphic format used by Built-in assets. This speeds up both the download process and the loading of the asset into a route or session. This means that Packaged assets cannot be copied between different Trainz installs using .cdp files.
	If the version included in the package is more recent than your current version then the newer version will be installed and the previous version will become Obsolete - this is the normal process for asset updates. Problems can arise if the asset included in a DLC package has a higher version number (the :digit> at the end of a kuid2 number) than the version on the DLS. This usually occurs when the DLS version has not been updated to match the version included in the DLC. See How to Check the DLS Status of Packaged Assets below for instructions on how to check if a Packaged asset is also on the DLS.

Notes: Packaged and Payware for Trainz Versions Before TRS19 SP5

In DLC created before TRS19 SP5 the automated process that created the package (TCCP) would classify any assets included in the package it was building as Payware if it could not locate them on the DLS. These assets may have been freeware on third party sites or the specific version included in the package was not on the DLS.

Notes: Packaged and Payware for Trainz Version TRS19 SP5 and Later (including Trainz Plus and TRS22)

	DLC created for TRS19 SP5 and later is packaged by a different automated process (TCCP2.0) that only labels included assets as Payware if the package creator has identified them as payware. It is up to the content creator to decide what is payware and what is not payware.
	If a creator has included an asset in the DLC that is not payware and is not on the DLS then it will be labelled as Packaged, along with all those assets that are on the DLS. If you include that asset in a route that you upload to the DLS (or elsewhere) then users who download the route will have the asset labelled as Unknown. They will have to locate it themselves, as is the case with Unknown assets in DLS downloads.
	If you include Packaged assets in an upload to the DLS it is important to check that they are actually on the DLS in the correct version used in your upload. See How to Check the DLS Status of Packaged Assets below for instructions on how to check if a Packaged asset is also on the DLS.

Installing Packaged and Payware Assets

Packaged and Payware assets can only be installed by installing a DLC package using the Content Store from the Trainz Launcher

Steps: To Install a purchased DLC package:-

From the Trainz Launcher select the Content Store option

Left Click the Purchased icon on the top right of the Content Store window. This will show all the DLC packages that you have installed or are available for you to install

the packages that have already been installed will be shown with an Uninstall button

the packages that you have purchased, or your membership level allows you to install, but have not yet been installed will be shown with an Install button

The Store button will list ALL the DLC packages including those that you have not yet purchased. Packages that can be purchased will have a Price button, in $US currency

Scroll down tle list, and/or enter a search filter, to locate the package to be installed (it MUST have an Install button)

Left Click on the Install button

The DLC package and all its assets will be installed into your copy of Trainz. You can remove an installed package and re-install it again at any time

After Installing any DLC Routes or Sessions:-

It is a good idea to run Content Manager immediately after installing a DLC package to check for missing assets, errors and updates to individual assets. Updates to the entire DLC Package are normally performed using the Updates button in the Content Store

Steps: To check for and install updates to individual assets in a DLC package:-
	Start Content Manager from the Trainz Launcher
	Select the Filter Today (assuming that you installed the DLC package "today" - if not then see Updating Packaged and Payware Assets below)
	Sort the Status column into an order that places all the assets labelled Packaged, Newer version available or Packaged, Payware, Newer version available together at the top or bottom of the list - a series of Left Clicks on the Status column heading will achieve this
	Highlight all the assets which have the qualifier Newer version available - if there are none then terminate the steps here
	Right Click on any one of the highlighted Newer version available assets and select the option List Asset Versions from the popup menu
	Sort the Status column of the new display window into an order that places all the assets labelled Available for download together at the top or bottom of the list - if there are none then terminate the steps here
	If there are assets labelled Available for download then select (highlight) them
	Right Click on any one of the highlighted assets and select the option Download from the popup menu

This will update any assets in the DLC package that have had DLS updates released since the package was released.

Deleting Packaged and Payware Assets

Packaged and Payware assets can only be deleted by Uninstalling the DLC package that installed them

Steps: To Uninstall a DLC package:-

From the Trainz Launcher select the Content Store option

Left Click the Purchased icon on the top right of the Content Store window. This will show all the DLC packages that you have purchased and those that your membership allows you to install

	the packages that have already been installed will be shown with an Uninstall button
	the packages that you have purchased, or are entitled to use, but have not yet been installed will be shown with an Install button

Scroll down tle list, and/or enter a search filter, to locate the package to be removed

Left Click on the Uninstall button

The DLC package and all its assets will be removed from your copy of Trainz. You can re-install a removed package at a later time without any additional cost

WARNING: Uninstalling DLC

If you Uninstall a DLC package then ALL its Packaged assets will be deleted, even if those same assets were previously labelled as Installed from DLS

The Uninstall process has no way of "knowing" if an asset was previously Installed from DLS or came from the package itself. This could result in other installed assets becoming faulty due to Missing dependencies.

Steps: To restore deleted DLS assets that were packaged:-
	run a DBR (Database Repair - see the Wiki Page How to Perform a DBR for details) after the Uninstall
	then reinstall the missing assets from the DLS

Be aware that it is possible that some of the Packaged assets that were uninstalled may NOT be on the DLS - that is a decision made by the creator of the DLC package

Packaged and Payware Status Labels

Some of the Status labels that can appear on Packaged and Payware assets are:-

	The Status label Newer version available means that a later version of that asset is also available and can be downloaded and installed
	The Status label Obsolete means that a later version of that asset is already installed in Content Manager
	An asset that was originally Packaged or Payware can be changed to Installed from DLS if an update is installed from the DLS. It is possible for a Payware asset to be replaced by an updated "Freeware" version,

Packaged	The asset is included in a DLC package that you have installed. See Notes: below
Payware	The asset is part of a payware package, usually from the DLC. Most DLC Payware can be modified but restrictions will apply. See Modifying and Sharing Payware below. Exactly which assets in a package are Payware and which are Packaged is decided by the creator of the package
Payware (not active)	The asset is part of a payware package that is no longer active on your system. You may have uninstalled the package, disabled it, or it may have been installed for a free trial period which has now expired
Packaged, Payware	The asset is Payware and was installed as part of a DLC package. Some Payware assets are encrypted and cannot be cloned or modified
Modified, Payware	The asset is Payware that you have modified or cloned. See Modifying and Sharing Payware below

Notes:

	Assets that are labelled as Packaged or Payware can only be deleted using Uninstall in the Content Store, not from Content Manager
	Modified, Payware is an exception as these are assets you have modified and can be deleted using Content Manager.
But before you uninstall any assets see the Warning Uninstalling DLC above.

If a Payware asset has the label Newer version available and no update can be found on the DLS, then open the Content Store (from the Trainz Launcher) and select the Updates option to check for any updates to the installed DLC packages

You can identify the DLC package that a Packaged or Payware asset was installed from.

Steps: To identify the source DLC for a package asset:-
	Select (Left Click) the Packaged or Payware asset
	Open the Content menu on the Content Manager menu bar
	Select the Report Containing Packages option at the bottom of the drop down list

The DLC package or packages will be identified by their code names (e.g. "sc491d").

Steps: To check the DLS Status of Packaged Assets:-

Set the Content Manager search filter to show the Packaged assets that you want to confirm are available on the DLS - for example you may want to use them in a route you will be uploading to the DLS.

	In the example shown left the assets are in a saved Picklist named Fences & Walls but it could be the Installed filter sorted on the Status column to group all the Packaged assets together or use a Custom filter with Packaged = True.

Select (Left Click on) the Packaged asset or assets to be confirmed as being on the DLS. Right Click on any of the selected assets and select the List Assets in a New Window option from the drop down menu

This will open a new search window with the selected assets.

In the new search window, add the filter line On Download Station and set it to True (it normally is) but see an alteranive setting below

	Any assets that remain in the display will be found on the DLS.
	Any assets that vanish are not on the DLS.

In the example shown on the left, all of the selected Packaged assets can also be found on the DLS.

As an alternative to the above, set the On Download Station filter to False. This will reveal any of the selected Packaged assets that are NOT on the DLS

In the example shown on the left, none of the selected Packaged assets are missing from the DLS.

Updating Packaged and Payware Assets

	Packaged and Payware assets can be made obsolete by a newer version of the same asset appearing on the DLS
	these updates can be downloaded and installed from the DLS

Consider the following examples:-

After running the Updates Available filter (see Create an Updates Available Filter above) the following list of assets is displayed:-

	Assets that are labelled as Packaged, such as Panel access Library (in the image on the left), and assets labelled as Installed from DLS, such as Locomotive sand, are shown with the label Newer version available. These assets can be updated IF the updates are on the DLS
	one Packaged asset in the list, Transformer 1, is listed without the label Newer version available yet it was returned by the search filter as having an update available

If the asset Transformer 1 is selected and its different versions are shown ( Right Click on the asset and select the List Asset Versions option) then the following is displayed in Content Manager:-

The asset shown at the top of the list <kuid2:60238:27118:2> Transformer 1 is the latest version available and if this is selected and downloaded then the result, as displayed in Content Manager, is shown below:-

	Notes:
	the original installed Packaged version is now labelled Packaged, Obsolete and has been replaced by the newer version labelled Installed from DLS
	note the difference in the file sizes of the two installed versions. This could be due to changes made to the asset but it is also due to the lower compression used on DLS assets compared to Packaged assets

The following situation can also occur with Packaged and Payware assets.

Some assets that are labelled as Packaged, Newer version available such as Villa blue, but if they are highlighted and the option Download is selected then nothing will be downloaded and installed

If the asset Villa blue is selected and its different versions are shown ( Right Click on the asset and select the List Asset Versions option) then the following is displayed in Content Manager:-

The list shows an updated version, <kuid2:75607:25008:1>, of the asset with its status listed as Unknown location. It is possible that the update to this asset is found only in a DLC package or it was referenced in a DLC package by its creator but the update was never uploaded

Modifying and Sharing Payware

	Some DLC assets cannot be modified
	Most DLC routes (and sessions) can be modified but the original must always be present and active on your system
	Modified DLC routes can be uploaded and used by those who also have the original present and active on their system
	DLC routes, including modified ones, cannot be merged

It is possible to modify a DLC (payware) route or session and upload it to the DLS provided the creator of the route allows this to happen. There are some conditions that apply:-
	Some DLC assets are encrypted and cannot be cloned or modified
	Your modified route or session will be saved as an alias of the original and, provided the original remains on your system (i.e. it is not deleted or disabled), then your modified copy will work
	You can upload a modified DLC route or session to the DLS (again, if the creator allows this) for others to download and use but they must also have the original unmodified route (and session) installed on their system
	It is NOT possible to merge a DLC route, or a cloned DLC route, with another route (payware or freeware) as this will remove the payware protection from the route

These restrictions are to protect the rights and intellectual property of the payware creators.

WARNING:

If you uninstall or disable the original payware asset then your cloned or modified copy will no longer work. The original DLC payware asset must be present and active in Content Manager for your copy to work.

What happens to my modifications if the creator of the original payware route issues a new update?

If the update is issued by the normal method, as an increase in the build number (the trailing :digit> at the end of a kuid2 number) then your modifications should not be affected.

If, however, the content creator has released the update with a completely new <kuid> number then your modifications will most likely not work.

Using Packaged Assets in Routes Uploaded to the DLS

Packaged assets can be used in routes and sessions that you upload to the DLS provided the asset is also on the DLS or is already installed as Packaged by users who have downloaded your route or session

An asset will be labelled as Packaged if it part of a DLC package that you have installed. It may also be on the DLS or a 3rd party web site. The same asset can be in both a DLC package and on the DLS and its status will be labelled according to how it was installed.

The most important first step is to confirm that the Packaged asset you have added to your route is also available on the DLS.

See How to Check the DLS Status of Packaged Assets above.

A Packaged asset that is NOT on the DLS will appear as an <unknown asset> or as Not installed, Payware (not active) if your route is downloaded and installed by other users.

For example:-

You have installed a DLC package that contains an asset NZ House 1-4 as shown. Even if you had this exact same asset from the DLS before you installed the DLC package, it will now be labelled as Packaged in your Content Manager.

If, after confirming that this asset is on the DLS (see How to Check the DLS Status of Packaged Assets above), you then use this asset in a route that you have uploaded to the DLS. Anyone who downloads and installs your DLS route, and who does not already have the asset or the same DLC package installed, will have NZ House 1-4 downloaded and installed from the DLS by their Content Manager as normally happens with all DLS dependencies during the asset installation process.

When they look at the asset in Content Manager they will see:-

If they later install the same DLC package, or another that contains the same asset, its status will change to Packaged.

Using Different Versions of the Same Asset

Complications can occur if a Packaged asset has been updated to a newer version but the DLS version has not been updated to the same version. That is usually a decision made by the content creator.

WARNING:

If an updated Packaged asset is a dependency of a route you have uploaded to the DLS then anyone who downloads and installs the route and does not already have the updated asset, either Packaged or Installed from the DLS, will see the route labelled as having "missing dependencies" and the asset itself labelled as an <unknown asset>.

This makes it very important that you check that every Packaged asset in your upload is also available in the same version on the DLS.

Update: The good news is that this problem seems to has been solved in the latest Trainz release

In the examples shown below, an updated asset, <kuid2:33404:501440:4>, is installed from a DLC package in one copy of Trainz (shown on the left). An earlier version of the same asset also exists, <kuid2:33404:501440:3>, as Installed from DLS in a different copy of Trainz (shown on the right). The updated version has not been uploaded to the DLS so there is no Newer version available status label.

Computer 1
Tomato Spline 117669.png

Computer 2

The updated asset is then used in a route and uploaded to the DLS. If that route is then installed in a copy of Trainz that does not have the packaged update, then:-

	if an earlier version (:3 in this example) has been installed then it will be used instead of the update (:4 in this example) and no missing dependency or <unknown asset> messages will appear on the new route
	if an earlier version of the asset is NOT installed, then the latest Available for download version (:3) can be downloaded and installed from the DLS. This will occur automatically if the route was installed directly from the DLS, or manually if it was imported from another source. After the :3 version has been installed, the missing dependency and <unknown asset> messages will not appear on the route. Because the updated :4 version has not been uploaded to the DLS then the label newer version available will not appear on the :3 version
	if there is NO Earlier version of the :4 asset available from the DLS then the installed route will be labelled as having a missing dependency and the asset will be labelled as an <unknown asset>

Faulty

This label can appear on any asset that:-
	you have incorrectly modified so that it now has an error
	has been installed from the DLS or elsewhere but contains errors

Faulty
The asset has an error or errors that will prevemt it from either loading into Trainz or working correctly if it does load

The causes of this can be many. A few common examples:-

Compliance Failure:

When an asset is installed into Content Manager from the DLS, or imported from a .cdp file or a folder, it will be put through a series of "compliance tests" which will check that it meets the minimum standards set for the version of Trainz for which it was created. These test will vary between versions of Trainz but, in general, will be tougher for the later version than they are for the earlier versions.
The standards that asset creators are required to meet have increased significantly over the years with the result that many assets that were allowed in the earliest versions of Trainz can be labelled as Faulty in the more recent versions. This is the main reason why assets built for Trainz versions before TS12 will no longer be accepted for uploading to the DLS - the majority of those earlier assets do not meet the quality and performance standards expected today.

Missing Components:

A common issue here is missing images or other required files (for example: a thumbnail image is now compulsory in all assets). The image below illustrates this. The config.txt file refers to an image (driver1.jpg) that is missing from the asset.

Faulty Tags:

Tags are found in the assets config.txt file and control how an asset appears and what it does. Some common examples of faulty tags are:-

	a tag or its data has not been correctly formatted (spelling and syntax errors were common problems in the early days)
	data, files or tags are missing when they are required to be present (as shown in the error message above)
	tags are in the wrong "container" (another type of tag)
It may be possible to fix some of these errors if you understand the structure and rules of the config.txt file and, more importantly, you know what you are doing

Faulty assets that are Built-in, Packaged or Payware can often be repaired by Reverting them to their original versions.

Steps: To "repair" faulty Built-in, Packaged or Payware assets:-
	In Content Manager select (hightlight) the faulty assets
	Right Click on any one of the highlighted assets
	select the option Revert to Original from the pop-up menu

This method usually works because the original assets are stored separately from the Content Manager Database. The Revert command fetches those original files and installs them in the database replacing the faulty copies.

Performing a DBR (DataBase Repair) can sometimes fix other faulty assets. See the Wiki Page How to Perform Database Repairs for the details

Unfortunately there are many faults that can only be repaired by the person who created the asset

The first step in repairing a faulty asset, if it is possible, is to identify the cause of the fault

Steps: To identify the cause of a Fault:-

in Content Manger Right Click on the Faulty asset and select the option View Errors and Warnings

This will run a Validation or the "compliance tests" on the selected asset and report any errors and warnings

In general

	Warnings can be ignored but a warning in your current version of Trainz may become an error in a future version
	Errors will usually cause problems for the asset or any other assets, including routes and sessions, that use the faulty asset

Missing Dependencies

Missing Dependencies can occur when an asset:-
	has been installed from a .cdp file (e.g. from a 3rd party site) without also installing other assets it requires
	has had assets that are dependencies deleted or disabled
	has been downloaded from the DLS but contains dependency assets that are not on the DLS or built-in

This is a label to be avoided if possible.

Missing dependencies
The asset relies on the presence of other assets (dependencies) that must be installed on your system and at least one of those assets has not been installed or has been disabled.

The first thing to check is to see if the missing asset or assets can be identified.

Steps: To identify Missing Dependencies:-
	Right Click on the asset
	select the option List Dependencies
All the assets that are required by this asset will be identified.

In this case, the Missing dependency is shown as Available for download so it is on the DLS and can be installed to fix the problem. If there are several assets that are listed as Available for download, select and download them all.

If the Missing dependency is an <unknown asset> then it can be a much harder problem to solve. See the section Unknown Asset above for possible remedies.

This situation shown in the example above can occur if you have:-

	deleted the asset without realising that it is needed in other assets, such as a Route or a Session, OR
	used the Import option to install the asset from a .cdp file or a content folder - Content Manager will not search for and install missing dependencies when you import an asset.

If you have imported an asset from a .cdp or content folder and see the Missing dependencies label then:-

Steps: To find and install assets missing after an import:-
	Right Click on the asset or assets with the missing dependencies and select List Dependencies
	select all assets marked as Available for Download
	Right Click on any one of them and select Download

To avoid accidentally deleting an asset that other assets are depending on:-

Steps: To check an assets dependents:-
	Right Click on the asset to be deleted
	select the option List Dependants

This will give a list of all other assets that use the selected asset.

Deleting the selected asset ("Abuttment 2" in the example shown) will produce Missing dependencies errors for all the assets shown in the Dependants list.

Trainz Wiki

More Tutorials and Guides to Using Trainz

Related Links

This page was created by Trainz user pware in January 2022 and was last updated as shown below.

@@ Line 77: / Line 77: @@
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-<td>using saved '''.cdp''' files and the '''Content Manager''' <span style="font-weight: 700; font-size: 15px; color: white; background-color: black;">&#160;Import Content Files...&#160;</span> option from the '''File Menu''', <span style="font-weight: 700; font-size: 15px;">OR</span></td>
+<td>using saved '''.cdp''' files and the '''Content Manager''' <span style="font-weight: 700; font-size: 15px; color: white; background-color: black;">&#160;Import Content Files...&#160;</span> option from the '''File Menu'''. This method is commonly used to backup assets that you have created or modified yourself such as routes and sessions, <span style="font-weight: 700; font-size: 15px;">OR</span></td>
 </tr>
 <tr valign="top">
 <td>[[image:Cblue.png|link=]]</td>
-<td>using an open asset folder and the '''Content Manager'''  <span style="font-weight: 700; font-size: 15px; color: white; background-color: black;">&#160;Import Content Folder...&#160;</span> option from the '''File Menu'''</td>
+<td>using an open asset folder and the '''Content Manager'''  <span style="font-weight: 700; font-size: 15px; color: white; background-color: black;">&#160;Import Content Folder...&#160;</span> option from the '''File Menu'''. This method is frequently used to install assets that you have created yourself</td>
 </tr>
 <tr valign="top">
-<td colspan=2>The '''Import''' methods listed above will install the selected '''.cdp''' files or the asset folder (only one folder at a time) but '''Content Manager''' will '''NOT''' search for any dependencies on the '''DLS'''. Selecting the '''Import''' options will often result in assets having the message '''Missing dependencies''' added to their status labels (see the [[image:PageLink.PNG|link=]]&#160;'''[[#Missing Dependencies|Missing Dependencies]]''' section below). You must manually find these missing dependencies yourself</td>
+<td colspan=2>The two '''Import''' methods listed above will install the selected '''.cdp''' files or the asset folder (only one folder at a time) but '''Content Manager''' will '''NOT''' search for any dependencies on the '''DLS'''. Selecting the '''Import''' options will often result in assets having the message '''Missing dependencies''' added to their status labels (see the [[image:PageLink.PNG|link=]]&#160;'''[[#Missing Dependencies|Missing Dependencies]]''' section below). You must manually find these missing dependencies yourself</td>
 </tr>
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@@ Line 116: / Line 116: @@
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 <td width=629><span id="stepStatus"></span>
 ='''Content Manager Status'''=
 </td>

Understand Content Manager Status Labels

Revision as of 08:02, 11 January 2024

Contents

Installing Assets into Content Manager

Content Manager Status

Status Label Qualifiers

Newer Version Available

Obsolete

Available for Download

Create an "Available for Download" Filter

Create an "Updates Available" Filter

Installing the Latest or an Older Version of an Asset

Installed

Base, Built-in

Installed from DLS

Modified

Open for Edit

Packaged, Payware

Third Party

Disabled

Unknown, Incompatible, Not Installed/Not Active

Unknown Location

Incompatible

Not Installed/Not Active

Unknown Asset

Packaged and Payware

Installing Packaged and Payware Assets

Deleting Packaged and Payware Assets

Packaged and Payware Status Labels

Updating Packaged and Payware Assets

Modifying and Sharing Payware

Using Packaged Assets in Routes Uploaded to the DLS

Faulty

Missing Dependencies

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