If you are installing custom content for the first time please check through the steps below. If you have missing content after installing a new Expansion pack please see this topic here

You need to physically click on the picture to get the file to download from our servers to your computer! I would also recommend paying attention to where you download the zip to - somewhere easy and memorable like your Desktop, My Documents or your Sims 2 folder.

Zip files wont do much good simply dumped in your game folders, even if they're in the right location on your hard drive, the game can't read them so you need to get the files out from the zip. If you haven't the first clue what a zip file is and how to go about getting the files out of one then please read our complete Zip support topic here so you can find a suitable Zip program. There are easy options including some free ones which will take virtually no time at all to use once you're familiar with them!

There are 2 different types of custom content files here at Parsimonious (and in fact many other Sims 2 websites). 

• sims2pack files are executable files that once unzipped you need to 'run' the file by double clicking on it to install it either with the awful Maxis sims2pack installer or with the Clean Pack Installer. If you are getting an error message that reads 'Please double-click a custom content package file to install the content' then it is NOT a sims2pack file

• package files are the most common file format for Sims 2 custom content - these simply need to be placed in the appropriate folder and LEFT ALONE. Once they are in the right location they don't need to be run or opened with anything.

If you're not sure where the package files are supposed to go please read the instructions provided in our FAQ by item type and make sure you follow them precisely. Do be aware that some of our complete Sims contain both types of file inside the zip!

You may need to  run your game twice and enable your content twice over before it actually works,  it doesn't always 'stick' on the first try!

With The Sims 2 and University custom content is enabled by default, however could be that you've inadvertantly disabled custom content being displayed in your game catalogs. Run your game and go into the game settings tab and check that it is set to display custom content in your game catalogs

With Nightlife and all later Expansion packs custom content is DISABLED by default, you MUST ENABLE it and then RESTART your game.

Over the years we've found it alarmingly common that a lot of people don't know where certain items should appear. A lot of ex-Sims 1 players tend to complain their installed clothing doesn't show up but on investigation it transpires they have expected clothes to automatically be able in the Sims dresser instead of understanding that all new clothes must be purchased from a clothes rack in a community lot. 

Certain items like eye colours and skin tones will not be able to be 'change into' after a Sim has left the Create-A-Family area. Some items are only available to certain age groups, people do frequently ignore the age group labeling on clothes and complain that Teen items are not available for adults and so on. 

Maxis object colour options often get reported as a 'no show' because people assume they'll appear as a stand-alone object in the Buy/Build catalogs. For such items you need to find the Maxis item of the same shape and using the Design Mode Colour tool you should find the colour option is available from its Design Mode menu.

If you are seeing custom items in your catalog which look like Maxis items but have the custom content flower on the thumbnail this is not so much a missing custom content issue, so much as the item is present, but its missing the mesh that required. Make sure you have the appropriate expansion pack and/or any custom meshes included with the item are placed in your Saved Sims folder along with your clothing. 

Its even worse for furniture items - if you've downloaded a recolour we've made for a custom mesh but forgotten to add the included base object then you wont see anything at all until you add everything in the zip to your game. Don't forget too that you need to install the CEP for custom furniture, most items wont show up without it or will be flashing blue!

Generally items which need an Expansion pack that you do not have installed will also not show up - they include a 'kill me' routine which prevents them from being displayed in game (unless you're unlucky and the game simply crashes) and therefore if your game doesn't support them you may not see them.

You can't go far wrong with the self-installing downloads from the official site, if you have internet access available when you are playing try connecting to the official exchange and installing one of the Maxis objects available. If not then try connecting when you are not in The Sims 2, download one of the Maxis Custom Objects - double click to install the item and check if it is available in your Buy Mode Catalogue. On the off-chance that you've wrongly named your Downloads folder or similar that should correct the issue and confirm whether or not your game is fundamentally broken in some fashion that is preventing it from behaving normally (i.e. accepting custom content!). This also works with the CEP package for the same reason and has the added bonus that it'll be freshly installed so you can use custom furniture!

Move your Downloads & Saved Sims folders out of The Sims 2 folder and place them somewhere else on your computer - doesn't matter where. Next run Bodyshop (Start > Programs > EA Games > The Sims 2 Bodyshop). Let it load - it can take a few minutes but once its loaded simply close it again. Move the contents of your old Downloads & Saved Sims folders into the new Downloads & Saved Sims folders that Bodyshop has created. Delete the old folders you do not need. Repeat step 4 twice if necessary!

There really isn't a whole heap that can go wrong with this process. If you've been through the steps above and tried enabling custom content at least twice then I can only really suggest removing the files you've added and starting over, going back to the beginning and working through the installation instructions and these steps again a couple more times. 

Whilst reports about no-show content do trickle through to us, we've yet to encounter an instance where the person hadn't made a mistake somewhere in the installation/enabling process, however small. 

Certainly don't get discouraged if one single item doesn't work - try a few items from different places, if you don't like our instructions then try other instructions on other sites because the process is the same everywhere and a different way of explaining it might be more fluffy and easy to follow! Trying out a wider selection of items should help rule out a broken file, incomplete download or corrupt zip too, especially if you're on slow-dial up and often have problems with incomplete downloads when accessing the internet for other types of files.

If you've completely exhausted all other options and you can't get someone else to try and help you through the process then you can always consider reinstalling your game although generally its unlikely to help unless you've managed to make a total pig's ear out of your game folders in an attempt to get your content working!