michaeltmurrayuk Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 (edited) Welcome to the new and improved Football Manager Skins and Graphics Installation Guide. This guide will show you how to install the most common types of graphics (faces, logos, kits) and skins correctly into Football Manager. I've tweaked the format this year to try and make it as simple as possible. For Football Manager 2020 it applies to the Steam, Microsoft Store (GamePass PC) and Epic Store versions of the game. For Football Manager 2019 it applies to both the Steam and Microsoft Store (GamePass PC) versions of the game. For Football Manager 2018 and older this guide applies to the Steam version. Regardless of whether it was a boxed copy, CD-key or direct purchase the instructions are generally the same regardless of your OS, whether it is the Full Mode or Touch Version you are playing or the store you are using and any differences will be noted in the instructions.Please note you are advised as always to run a virus scan on any file downloaded from the internet. Sports Interactive or SEGA have no control over third party content and as such third party downloads are used at your own risk. It is also advisable to read any instructions on the download page for the content you are installing (or found in the readme that comes with the download) as they may contain any extra instructions that are specific to that file. This is especially important for multi-part mega-packs that may need to be extracted in a certain order. Next follow one of the following links depending on what you are trying to add to the game:How To Install Graphics (this includes kits, faces, logos and trophies). How To Install Skins. How To Install Other Stuff. How To Transfer Files from a Previous Version. How To Add Graphics you have created. Change Log - Updated for FM20. Edited October 15, 2020 by michaeltmurrayuk Updated for FM20 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeltmurrayuk Posted October 24, 2018 Author Share Posted October 24, 2018 (edited) How To Install Graphics This part of the guide will cover how to install 3D kits, 2D kits, face-packs, logos, trophies, backgrounds and stadium pictures and whilst each of these packs are slightly different the instructions to install them are exactly the same. After you have downloaded a file it will generally come in one of three formats: zip, rar or 7z file. Zip files should be automatically supported by your OS and may show up as compressed folders, Rar and 7z files may require you to download some software to extract the files, the below software is recommended: Windows: 7-Zip (Choose the most recent .exe) MacOS: The Unarchiver Linux: If you are using Linux hopefully you know how to download and locate programs for Linux already. 7-Zip is installed using the .exe you download, following the instructions on-screen. To install The Unarchiver simply double click on the .zip file you download from their website then drag the program it extracts (called 'The Unarchiver') into your apps folder. Once installed, create a new folder somewhere you can keep track of (on your desktop for instance) and place your downloaded graphics zip, rar or 7z in it. Now we extract: Windows: Right click on your zip, rar or 7z. Choose 7-Zip from the menu, then select 'Extract Here'. MacOS X: Right click (or ctrl + click) on your zip, rar or 7z. Choose 'open with' then select 'The Unarchiver'. Your file should extract and most probably create a folder in the same directory. If you extracted an fmf file (or just straight downloaded one) this isn't a problem, these are just files that have been packed using the FM Resource Tool, and as an end user there is no need for you to mess around extracting these files, just think of these as the same as the folder you'd get from extracting the files.Locating Your User Data Location Once you have downloaded and extracted your files, you now need to move them over to your User Data Location so they can be read by the game. First make sure you have run the game at least once (just getting to the start menu and exiting is fine) so the game can create the required folders for you. The default location of your User Data Location will be slightly different depending on the OS you are using;Windows C:\Users\<username>\Documents\Sports Interactive\ Mac OS X /Users/<username>/Documents/Sports Interactive/ Linux /home/documents/Sports Interactive/ (Replacing <username> with the name of the user account that you use on that computer) If you want to move or have already moved your User Data Location then please refer to this thread to move/relocate it. Once you have located the Sports Interactive folder you should see that it contains folders for every version of Football Manager you have run on that computer, so open the folder that corresponds to the version of FM you are using.FM TOUCH USERS: Since FM17 the Touch Version has it's own folders so if using that version you'll want the Touch folder, for older versions of Touch it just used the same folder as the main game.GAMEPASS/MICROSOFT STORE USERS: If you are using this version of the game then your User Data Location is in a slightly different folder, you'll need to open the Football Manager folder for the year of the game you are using and inside this folder you'll notice a Gamepass folder and this is the folder you need. After you have opened the correct Football Manager folder you should see a list of folders and what you need to do is locate the folder called graphics, if this folder doesn't exist then just create a new folder and call it graphics. Now open up your graphics folder and place the files you extracted inside it. For the most part the sub-folders you put the graphics into doesn't matter, though it is best to separate the different types into their own sub-folders so you don't accidentally overwrite your kits with logos for the same teams. The thing to watch out for when organizing are xml files called config. These are vital and should not be mixed and matched. A set of graphics will come with a config file that is unique to them in the same folder. Make sure they stay together, in the same folder and that new png files or config files are not added or overwritten into their folder. Whilst for best results try to keep the folder names short and simple and avoid special characters where possible. For example below is a screenshot showing what a typical end folder should look like if done correctly, note you have a config file along with several graphic files, with a short simple folder structure that stops you from accidentally overwriting the config file when installing other graphics:Displaying Graphics in-game Football Manager 2020 Once you have added the graphics you wanted load up the game, and go into the Preferences Menu. Then you can either select the Advanced option on the left and on the top right drop down select Interface, then scroll down the Skin section and untick 'Use caching to decrease loading times' and tick 'Reload skin when confirming changes in Preferences'. Or in the search bar at the top type in 'Skin' and in the listed results untick 'Use caching to decrease loading times' and tick 'Reload skin when confirming changes in Preferences'. Next select confirm and your new graphics should now display. (Once the graphics are loaded and you aren't planning on adding any more you can turn the skin cache back on and untick the Always Reload button.) If you want to add more graphics then just repeat the above steps, just making sure you put each pack you install into it's own folder so you don't accidentally overwrite the config files from your earlier packs. Football Manager 2019 and Older Once you have added the graphics you wanted load up the game and go into the Preferences -> Interface menu and untick 'Use Caching to decrease page loading times' and tick 'Reload Skin when confirming changes in Preferences' So the screen should look like this: Next select confirm and your new graphics should now display. (Once the graphics are loaded and you aren't planning on adding any more you can turn the skin cache back on and untick the Always Reload button.) If you want to add more graphics then just repeat the above steps, just making sure you put each pack you install into it's own folder so you don't accidentally overwrite the config files from your earlier packs. Edited October 15, 2020 by michaeltmurrayuk Updated for FM20 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeltmurrayuk Posted October 24, 2018 Author Share Posted October 24, 2018 (edited) How To Install Skins This part of the guide will cover how to install skins, first note that skins will only work on the version of the game they are designed for (so FM19 skins will only work with FM19 and not FM18) and Touch and Full Mode skins aren't compatible so if you are using the Touch version you will only be able to use Touch skins. After you have downloaded a file it will generally come in one of three formats: zip, rar or 7z file. Zip files should be automatically supported by your OS and may show up as compressed folders, Rar and 7z files may require you to download some software to extract the files, the below software is recommended: Windows: 7-Zip (Choose the most recent .exe) MacOS: The Unarchiver Linux: If you are using Linux hopefully you know how to download and locate programs for Linux already. 7-Zip is installed using the .exe you download, following the instructions on-screen. To install The Unarchiver simply double click on the .zip file you download from their website then drag the program it extracts (called 'The Unarchiver') into your apps folder. Once installed, create a new folder somewhere you can keep track of (on your desktop for instance) and place your downloaded graphics zip, rar or 7z in it. Now we extract: Windows: Right click on your zip, rar or 7z. Choose 7-Zip from the menu, then select 'Extract Here'. MacOS X: Right click (or ctrl + click) on your zip, rar or 7z. Choose 'open with' then select 'The Unarchiver'. Your file should extract and most probably create a folder in the same directory. If you extracted an fmf file (or just straight downloaded one) this isn't a problem, these are just files that have been packed using the FM Resource Tool, and as an end user there is no need for you to mess around extracting these files, just think of these as the same as the folder you'd get from extracting the files.Locating Your User Data Location Once you have downloaded and extracted your files, you now need to move them over to your User Data Location so they can be read by the game. First make sure you have run the game at least once (just getting to the start menu and exiting is fine) so the game can create the required folders for you. The default location of your User Data Location will be slightly different depending on the OS you are using; WindowsC:\Users\<username>\Documents\Sports Interactive\ Mac OS X/Users/<username>/Documents/Sports Interactive/ Linux/home/documents/Sports Interactive/ (Replacing <username> with the name of the user account that you use on that computer) If you want to move or have already moved your User Data Location then please refer to this thread to move/relocate it. Once you have located the Sports Interactive folder you should see that it contains folders for every version of Football Manager you have run on that computer, so open the folder that corresponds to the version of FM you are using.FM TOUCH USERS: Since FM17 the Touch Version has it's own folders so if using that version you'll want the Touch folder, for older versions of Touch it just used the same folder as the main game.GAMEPASS/MICROSOFT STORE USERS: If you are using this version of the game then your User Data Location is in a slightly different folder, you'll need to open the Football Manager folder for the year of the game you are using and inside this folder you'll notice a Gamepass folder and this is the folder you need. After you have opened the correct Football Manager folder you should see a list of folders and what you need to do is locate the folder called skins, if this folder doesn't exist then just create a new folder and call it skins. Now open up your skins folder and place the files you extracted inside it. If it is an fmf file you have downloaded then just place this file directly inside the skins folder. If you have a folder after extracting the files then you need to make sure you are copying over the correct folder because if the skin files are nested inside another folder they will not work. So you need to open the folders you extracted until you find a folder that is laid out like this with the skin_config file present; You then want to grab the parent folder to this [folder name from screenshot] and copy this into your skins folder, if done correctly it should look like this: Displaying Skins in-game Football Manager 2020 To select the skin in game you will need to load the game, and go into the Preferences Menu, then in the middle you should have a section called Interface and in that is an option called Skin with a drop-down menu under it. If you select the drop-down menu it should list all of the skins you have installed, if the skin you want is listed then just select it and press the Confirm button to load it. If the skin you want isn't showing. Then you can either select the Advanced option on the left and on the top right drop down select Interface, then scroll down the Skin section and untick 'Use caching to decrease loading times' and tick 'Reload skin when confirming changes in Preferences'. Or in the search bar at the top type in 'Skin' and in the listed results untick 'Use caching to decrease loading times' and tick 'Reload skin when confirming changes in Preferences'. Then click Confirm at the bottom, this should then take you out of the Preferences menu and if you re-enter, it should have refreshed the list of skins and your skin should now be in the list. Once the skin is loaded you can turn the skin cache back on and untick the Always Reload button.Football Manager 2019 and Older To select the skin in game you will need to load the game, and go into the Preferences menu and on the left panel in the middle you should have an option called Skin with a drop-down menu next to it. If you select the drop-down menu it should list all of the skins you have installed, if the skin you want is listed then just select it and press the Confirm button to load it. If the skin you want isn't showing then go to the Preferences -> Interface menu and at the bottom left you'll see another drop-down menu to select your skin from, below this menu untick 'Use Caching to decrease page loading times' and tick 'Reload Skin when confirming changes in Preferences' then select Confirm. This should then take you out of the Preferences menu but if you re-enter it should have refreshed the list of skins and your skin should now be in the above list. If done right the screen should look like this: Once the skin is loaded you can turn the skin cache back on and untick the Always Reload button. Edited October 15, 2020 by michaeltmurrayuk Updated for FM20 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeltmurrayuk Posted October 24, 2018 Author Share Posted October 24, 2018 (edited) How To Install Other Stuff It is also possible to replace other items in Football Manager, for the most part these are installed into various folders within your User Data Location. First make sure you have run the game at least once (just getting to the start menu and exiting is fine) so the game can create the required folders for you. The default location of your User Data Location will be slightly different depending on the OS you are using; Windows C:\Users\<username>\Documents\Sports Interactive\ Mac OS X /Users/<username>/Documents/Sports Interactive/ Linux /home/documents/Sports Interactive/ (Replacing <username> with the name of the user account that you use on that computer) If you want to move or have already moved your User Data Location then please refer to this thread to move/relocate it. Once you have located the Sports Interactive folder you should see that it contains folders for every version of Football Manager you have run on that computer, so open the folder that corresponds to the version of FM you are using.FM TOUCH USERS: Since FM17 the Touch Version has it's own folders so if using that version you'll want the Touch folder, for older versions of Touch it just used the same folder as the main game.GAMEPASS/MICROSOFT STORE USERS: If you are using this version of the game then your User Data Location is in a slightly different folder, you'll need to open the Football Manager folder for the year of the game you are using and inside this folder you'll notice a Gamepass folder and this is the folder you need. After you have opened the correct Football Manager folder you should see a list of folders and what you need to do is locate the relevant folder for the item you are wanting to install, below I have listed some common examples, for other items you are best checking the site or thread where you downloaded the item from as they should have provided installation instructions. If the below folders don't exist (and they generally won't) then just create them and once done place your extracted files in the folder indicted below:3D Match Ball\mesh\ball\Pitch Textures\textures\pitch\2D Match Ball\textures\match_icons\2D Winter Match Ball\textures\match_icons\winter\ Also note it is generally recommended to replace these items whilst the game is not running as refreshing the skin doesn't tend to refresh the match related files. Once you have added what you want then load up the game and go into the Preferences -> Interface menu and untick 'Use Caching to decrease page loading times' and tick 'Reload Skin when confirming changes in Preferences' then select confirm and your new graphics should now display. (Once the graphics are loaded and you aren't planning on adding any more you can turn the skin cache back on and untick the Always Reload button.) Edited October 15, 2020 by michaeltmurrayuk Added Gamepass info Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeltmurrayuk Posted October 24, 2018 Author Share Posted October 24, 2018 How to Transfer Files from a Previous Version Nearly all user created graphics can be transferred from one version of Football Manager to the next, the exceptions are: - Skins, skins can only be used for the version of the game they were made for. It may seem that a skin from last year may initially work on the new game, however when you get to a new screen you are likely to get a broken/blank screen at best or even possibly you'll cause the game to crash, so it is best to wait for the skin maker to update the skin (or make your own with permission). - 3D kits were changed again with FM18, so if you are using FM18 on-wards you will need kits made using templates for that game on-wards, if you are playing an older version then you will need pre-FM18 templates. - Graphics that are released in the fmf format might not work across versions, if the later version of Football Manager cannot read the fmf files you'll need to use the Resource Tool from the previous to extract the contents of the fmf file, and then either keep them extracted and treat as normal files or repack them using the Resource Tool from the current version. There are two ways of transferring your graphics between versions of Football Manager; 1. Manually move your graphics folder (or the folders that contain the stuff you want transferring over) from the User Data Location of the current Football Manager, to the same location within the User Data Location of the new Football Manager. When transferring content over make sure it keeps the same folder structure (unless instructed otherwise). 2. Change the User Data Location of the new version of Football Manager to point to the location you were using for the current version. (Note if doing this you might want to move none graphical user files to another location to save you accidentally overwriting them with the new edition or you causing problems by trying to read older version files in the current edition.) Once you have done that then: Go into the Preferences -> Interface menu and un-tick 'Use Caching to decrease page loading times' and tick 'Reload Skin when confirming changes in Preferences' then select confirm and your new graphics should now display. (Once the graphics are loaded and you aren't planning on adding any more you can turn the skin cache back on and un-tick the Always Reload button.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeltmurrayuk Posted October 24, 2018 Author Share Posted October 24, 2018 (edited) How To Add Graphics you have created. If you are planning on creating your own graphics, then you can first refer to these guides on how to create various graphics in the same style as the default graphics: How To Create Standard Football Manager Logos How To Create Player Faces How to Create 3D Kits for FM2018 Once you have created the above graphics you will need to create an xml file called config and place it in the same folder as your graphics, for instructions on how to create a config file then please read this guide:How To Create A Config File Locating Your User Data Location Once you have created your graphics and the config file(s), you now need to move them over to your User Data Location so they can be read by the game. First make sure you have run the game at least once (just getting to the start menu and exiting is fine) so the game can create the required folders for you. The default location of your User Data Location will be slightly different depending on the OS you are using;Windows C:\Users\<username>\Documents\Sports Interactive\ Mac OS X /Users/<username>/Documents/Sports Interactive/ Linux /home/documents/Sports Interactive/ (Replacing <username> with the name of the user account that you use on that computer) If you want to move or have already moved your User Data Location then please refer to this thread to move/relocate it. Once you have located the Sports Interactive folder you should see that it contains folders for every version of Football Manager you have run on that computer, so open the folder that corresponds to the version of FM you are using.FM TOUCH USERS: Since FM17 the Touch Version has it's own folders so if using that version you'll want the Touch folder, for older versions of Touch it just used the same folder as the main game.GAMEPASS/MICROSOFT STORE USERS: If you are using this version of the game then your User Data Location is in a slightly different folder, you'll need to open the Football Manager folder for the year of the game you are using and inside this folder you'll notice a Gamepass folder and this is the folder you need. After you have opened the correct Football Manager folder you should see a list of folders and what you need to do is locate the folder called graphics, if this folder doesn't exist then just create a new folder and call it graphics. Now open up your graphics folder and place the files you extracted inside it. For the most part the sub-folders you put the graphics into doesn't matter, though it is best to separate the different types into their own sub-folders so you don't accidentally overwrite your kits with logos for the same teams. The thing to watch out for when organizing are xml files called config. These are vital and should not be mixed and matched. A set of graphics will come with a config file that is unique to them in the same folder. Make sure they stay together, in the same folder and that new png files or config files are not added or overwritten into their folder. Whilst for best results try to keep the folder names short and simple and avoid special characters where possible. For example below is a screenshot showing what a typical end folder should look like if done correctly, note you have a config file along with several graphic files, with a short simple folder structure that stops you from accidentally overwriting the config file when installing other graphics:Displaying Graphics in-game Football Manager 2020 Once you have added the graphics you wanted load up the game, and go into the Preferences Menu. Then you can either select the Advanced option on the left and on the top right drop down select Interface, then scroll down the Skin section and untick 'Use caching to decrease loading times' and tick 'Reload skin when confirming changes in Preferences'. Or in the search bar at the top type in 'Skin' and in the listed results untick 'Use caching to decrease loading times' and tick 'Reload skin when confirming changes in Preferences'. Next select confirm and your new graphics should now display. (Once the graphics are loaded and you aren't planning on adding any more you can turn the skin cache back on and untick the Always Reload button.) If you want to add more graphics then just repeat the above steps, just making sure you put each pack you install into it's own folder so you don't accidentally overwrite the config files from your earlier packs.Football Manager 2019 and Older Once you have added the graphics you wanted load up the game and go into the Preferences -> Interface menu and untick 'Use Caching to decrease page loading times' and tick 'Reload Skin when confirming changes in Preferences' So the screen should look like this: Next select confirm and your new graphics should now display. (Once the graphics are loaded and you aren't planning on adding any more you can turn the skin cache back on and untick the Always Reload button.) If you want to add more graphics then just repeat the above steps, just making sure you put each pack you install into it's own folder so you don't accidentally overwrite the config files from your earlier packs. Edited October 15, 2020 by michaeltmurrayuk Updated for FM20 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeltmurrayuk Posted October 15, 2020 Author Share Posted October 15, 2020 Football Manager 2020 Guide has been updated to reflect some minor changes for FM20. - Preferences menu has been slightly reworked, it's the same options just how you get to them has changed a bit. - Added info about the Gamepass versions which use a slightly different User Data Location. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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