What programs do i need to download and use files from eXpresSims?

You need WinRar. I use it to compress my files with. It compacts files smaller than winZip. This is freeware.
Another great free utility is Sims2 Clean Pack Installer . It allows you to control what you want to install from sim2.package files. This program isn't essential in downloading from this site.

You also need a 'program' called CEP (Colour Enable Package). This will enable objects to have recolours that were not originally recolourable. Credit to Numenor, RGiles and Quaxi who created SimPE and the CEP. The link leads to the thread where you can download it and also where you can get more info. Here is a quote from the site:

What do I do with the file I downloaded?

I usually save my downloads to either my desktop, or a special folder on my desktop for easy access. Unrar (similar to unzip) the downloaded file. All bodyshop files must be saved to \My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Downloads . Lots and Houses are sims2.package files. Just double click on it to install it automatically. All Build Mode and Buy Mode files must also be saved to \My Documents\EA Games\The Sims 2\Downloads

Everybody who has Nightlife (and newer) expansion packs; I have some good news for you. You can make subfolders in your Downloads folder. You can now subfolder ALL downloaded files. e.g I keep my downloads from favourite creators separate from the others. I have all my custom walls, floors, catagorised rocolours etc. in different folders. It makes cleaning up too many downloads a lot easier.

What are meshes and do I need them?

A mesh is a special type of file that your game, The Sims 2, needs.
The game generally uses two types of meshes: Body meshes and object meshes. A mesh is like a 'wire' shape of the objects/outfit. Textures are the 'skins' that are pulled over the meshes to make meshses visible.
Body meshes: Most of the clothing downloads on this site are recolours of Maxis meshes. This means that the mesh is part of the original game and thus built in (or one of the expansions). For some of the outfits on this site, you might need to download an extra file called a mesh. This is a file created by simmers who design meshes, I search for meshes I like and then create textures for said mesh. You NEED this external mesh for my texture to show up in your game.
Object Meshes: Objects, like clothes, also have meshes. Again, most of the files on this site are recolours of Maxis created in game meshes. You might need CEP for the recolours to work...see paragraph on CEP. However, I have recently started making object meshes. I create my objects with the basetexture and mesh as a single file. Thereafter I make recolours of that mesh.
I will state which expansion pack and which mesh is needed for certain textures to work, and also whether CEP is required. All downloads have been tested on my system and work. I will not accept responsibility for the performance of said files on your personal computer.

Maxis have made sorting objects a bit easier by bringing in collection folders. It's just a little folder in-game that you can place your favourite or frequently used objects into. Then you can view only these in buy/build mode without having to scan through dozens of objects and custom content looking for your favourite vase etc.

I'v made collection files for the different object sets available on this site. Just unrar the file and place it in your collections folder usually found in MyDocuments/EAGames/The Sims 2/Collections. When you go to buy/build mode ingame and click on the collections folder tab (it looks like a file) then you can use the custom folder to make finding objects from the relative sets easy. Nots that you have to download the objects in order for them to show up in the relative collections file.

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