FO3Edit Nub here - "Do not clean UDR records" - What are these?

[Toosdey]

So I don't know any of the indepth stuff with the Bethesda game edits and cleaning files. I know only what S.T.E.P. told me to do, which is Apply Filter for Cleaning -> Remove "Identical to Master" Records -> Undelete and Disable References. 

 

For the two files which say "Do not clean UDR records", does this mean complete the Filter and Identical to Master steps, but not the Undelete and Disable References step? Or is it something else completely.

 

Additionally, unrelated, but when cleaning files, is there a reason you can only select one plugin at a time, and not do a cleaning of multiple at the same time (especially for mods like FWE that require multiple cleanings), or can I just select all the ones in need of cleaning and do the above steps to each one, so I don't have to keep rebooting FO3Edit?

 

Thanks.

[Kelmych]

So I don't know any of the indepth stuff with the Bethesda game edits and cleaning files. I know only what S.T.E.P. told me to do, which is Apply Filter for Cleaning -> Remove "Identical to Master" Records -> Undelete and Disable References. 

 

For the two files which say "Do not clean UDR records", does this mean complete the Filter and Identical to Master steps, but not the Undelete and Disable References step? Or is it something else completely.

Yes, do the filter and ITM steps but not the remove UDR step. Sometimes mod authors add UDRs and/or ITMs when this is the only way to provide the functionality they want.

 

Additionally, unrelated, but when cleaning files, is there a reason you can only select one plugin at a time, and not do a cleaning of multiple at the same time (especially for mods like FWE that require multiple cleanings), or can I just select all the ones in need of cleaning and do the above steps to each one, so I don't have to keep rebooting FO3Edit?

Unfortunately FO3Edit can only clean one mod at a time. It builds complex data structures for each mod it cleans and it can only build one of these at a time.

Also, the order of cleaning matters. Make sure to clean the ESM plugins needing cleaning first, and always clean any "masters" for each esp plugin (if they need this) before cleaning the plugin itself.

Most of the new mods being developed and updated for FO3 have eliminated or at least greatly reduced the number of ITM and UDR errors they contain

 

Thanks.

[13thGeneral]

As a general rule, would you say it is better to simply not clean any UDR records, an err on the side of caution? Perhaps identifying which mods in the guide are typically flagged with a UDR Cleaning message, and if they're ok to clean, as well as the ones shouldn't be cleaned?

[Nozzer66]

If it specifically doesn't say in the guide to NOT clean them than they are OK to clean.

[Kelmych]

Whenever we know that there are problems cleaning a mod we put the details in the guide. The others should be safe to clean. If you discover any problems please let us know.

[Tukka]

My approach is usually is to only clean what LOOT indicates needs cleaning, and to leave everything else alone. The masterlist isn't 100% complete and it's conceivable that there are mods out there that have intentional dirty edits that LOOT isn't aware of.

 

If you want to be thorough about your cleaning though, I'd check the mod's accompanying documentation. If neither the mod's readme nor LOOT say anything to the contrary, cleaning the mod is almost certainly fine.

Edited July 20, 2015 by Tukka

[Kelmych]

LOOT only gets updated by users such as me, so it isn't always up to date on cleaning instructions.