Tes4Mod:Complete Installation Guide for Oblivion/Part 2/BAIN/Introduction to Bash's Automated Installer

Introduction to Bash's Automated Installer

This simplest mod management approach is to use one tool for one task. Use the same process to address each mod. For BAIN users, this means trying to get every mod packed into a BAIN-Friendly format. BAIN supports 7-zip, RAR and ZIP file formats. Therefore, all BAIN-Ready and simple installation mod downloads are install-ready once they have been put into the Bash installers folder.

In that mindset, mod downloads can quickly be broken into three basic groups: BAIN-Ready, Simple Installation (not in need of any repackaging), and neither. When packages are put into the Bash Installers folder, their states are indicated by the check box coloring and package highlighting.

Quick Intro

The Bash Installers folder is located under Oblivion Mods, which, by default, is located in the same folder as the Oblivion folder. This is the packages folder.
BCFs are installed to the Converters directory beneath the Bash Installers folder.
The other subfolder of Bash Installers is Bash, which is where packages are 'hidden' and is also the location of the information for package order.
BAIN offers prioritized installation, wherein higher-order packages' files always overwrite lower-order packages. >> note: Packages must be sorted by 'order' in order to modify package order.
Newly-added (to the Bash Installers folder) archives are position immediately before the 'Last' marker. >> note: "Before" indicates lower priority, just as it does with respect to load order.
Plugins installed by BAIN packages have their associated package listed in the Installer column of the Mods tab.
BAIN also offers scripted installation, via its BAIN Wizard, but the feature is relatively new.
BCFs are only applicable to the exact file(s) for which it was made.

Be Aware

When running installers (executables) to be packed into an archive, when possible, have the installer install the files to a temporary folder, a folder other than the Oblivion Data folder. It is easier to identify the files that need to be repackaged that way. Alternatively, temporarily renaming the Data folder should have the same effect.
Most downloads are simple packages, which are already BAIN-Friendly.
BAIN does not have support for installing shader editors, and it will not install OBSE Plugins or EXE files.

Heads Up

BAIN does not (yet) support the installation of shader editors, files that modify the SDP files in the Shaders folder. For now, install any such mods (or parts of mods) with OBMM.
BAIN cannot install OBSE plugins either. It only natively supports the default folders, Docs, and a few extra folders that are commonly used to store INI files. If a package has extra (non-BAIN-standard) folders (i.e., for INI files), right-click on the package and flag it as 'Has Extra Directories'. If that contains files that would have to be installed into one of the standard folders in order to actually be installed, it will still be skipped.
BAIN only supports 7-zip, ZIP, and RAR archives. It can also recognize projects, which are open folders in the Bash Installers directory.
: Notes: 1) Embedded archives are not visible to BAIN. 2) If a self-extracting 7-zip EXE is renamed to have the .7z extension, it is recognized as a valid 7-zip file by your OS (and BAIN, of course.)
BAIN automatically sweeps loose (at the top of a package or subpackage) documentation and image files into the Docs folder (unless the files is of one of the types BAIN has been told to skip via the Packages tab context menu.)
BSA redirection can be enabled through BAIN via the option in the context menu of the Packages tab. (Right-click on it.)
Also, in the Packages tab context menu are various flags that tell BAIN whether or not to install certain types of (optional) files.
The 'Auto-Anneal' flag found in Packages tab context menu tells BAIN to correct the installation of (lower-order) packages when packages are uninstalled and overlap with other packages.
Where as packages are assigned a number (the Order number) that tells BAIN in what order to sort them, subpackages are sorted alphanumerically (0-9,A-Z).
Bash automatically skips the omod conversion data folder (silently), any unrecognized folders and subpackages prepended with "--".
Unlike OBMM, Data is not a standard folder because everything installed from a BAIN-Ready package is install-ready, which means that the files can be installed into the Data folder without further modification. The Data folder cannot be installed in the Data folder. It can, however, be the name of a package's subpackage.