Guide to submitting content

This tutorial was written by APY, last modified 2012-05-11 02:44:21.

Here at Planet Elder Scrolls, we're hosting one of the biggest libraries of mods for Oblivion and Morrowind. Anyone can submit their mods for hosting on the site. However, it might not always be clear what to do when you want to submit a new mod to us, or when you want to update an older mod. We have therefore written a short guide on Planet Elder Scrolls' content submission system. This guide aims to explain clearly which steps to take to submit and manage your files. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate, and let us know via our contact form.

What kind of files can I submit?
How do I submit a mod/wallpaper/(insert anything)?
What happens after I submit a mod/wallpaper/(insert anything)?
How can I edit an entry I already submitted?
How do I delete an entry?

What kind of files can I submit?

Well, basically anything. We have numerous sections to submit Elder Scrolls related content to. Every section is listed in the navigation menu at the left side of the page. From there, you can browse through all submissions. Planet Elder Scrolls is divided into the following sections to submit files to:

• Mods. Subdivided in Oblivion mods and Morrowind mods sections. This section holds all user-made modifications to the game, such as the ones you can make with the Elder Scrolls Construction Set.
• Savegames. Subdivided in Oblivion savegames and Morrowind savegames sections. Here you can add savegames, to show off your character for example.
• Utilities. Subdivided in Oblivion utilities and Morrowind utilities sections. This section is the place to add game-related software that's not technically a mod. For example: if you make a program to edit Morrowind savegames, that would be a utility.
• Picture of the Day (POTD). Here you can submit all screenshots you make. For example, if you want to show off your in-game character, you can make a screenshot and submit it for POTD. The latest images will also be displayed on the front page, and the all screenshots are also accessible through the POTD archive.
• Wallpapers. If you've made a wallpaper, you can submit it to this section. These are typically high-resolution images related to the Elder Scrolls.
• Artwork. Any imagery that's not a screenshot or a wallpaper goes in the Artwork section.
• Community links. If you're running an Elder Scrolls fansite of some kind, you can submit the link to our Links section.
• Other. Anything that hasn't been covered by the sections above should be submit to the Other section.

If you have a suggestion for a section we could add to the site, just let us know!

How do I submit a mod/wallpaper/(insert anything)?

The following is intended as a clear guide on how to submit and manage entries on Planet Elder Scrolls. Although the submission form differs per section, the process is similar.

First of all, you will need to register an account on our site. This is a one-step form which only consists of picking a username and password, and giving your e-mail address and date of birth. After registering you can log in at the same page.

Once you've picked the right section to submit your file to, you can load the submission page. In this example, I'm going to submit an Oblivion mod called "APY's Happy House". For that purpose, I load up the Oblivion mod submission page:

Mods submission intro page

To submit a mod, click the Submit form link. The other link can be used to update an existing entry - that'll be covered later on in this guide. The submission page will load; it contains a form where you can enter all required information.

Mods submission form part 1: Title, Version, Author

The first three fields of the form should be easy to fill in. The title of your mod is the title you made up. Typically, the mod's ESP file is also named like this, and so is the archive file you're going to upload. In this case, "APY's Happy House". The next field is the mod's version number. If this is the first version, you want to enter "1.0". However, if it's a beta or incomplete version, people typically use numbers starting with 0, such as 0.9 (if it's close to completion) or 0.1 (if it's really beta). In the "Author" field, you can enter your own name. Or, if you made the mod together with other people, the names of everyone who worked on it.

Mods submission form part 2: Category

The category can be a bit harder to choose. Since my mod is just a house, I chose "Houses". However, if you made a mod that adds an island with a few towns and houses, for example - you will need to choose the most applicable category: Landmasses, Towns or Houses. Only one category can be chosen. Of course you can always describe other categories in your description to clarify what the mod does.

Mods submission form part 3: Description

Your mod's description should consist of a clear and concise overview of what your mod does. Common practice is to copy your mod's readme file into the description field. This is fine - just don't forget to remove any unnecessary or duplicate information like title or version number. Longer is not always better.

Mods submission form part 4: Changelog

The changelog is meant for a log of changes throughout your mod's development. You will typically only use this when you're updating a mod - the initial version of a mod hasn't gone through any changes yet so won't have a changelog.

Mods submission form part 5: Related mods and official files

The next two options on the form ask you to indicate which files you are using besides the default game install. If your mod file depends on another mod, you should select that mod from the "Related mods" list and click >> to add it to the right list. If you have the Shivering Isles expansion, or if you have any patches installed, select those from the "Required official" list and click >>.

The next two fields are essential to any submission: "Upload files" and "Upload images".

Mods submission form part 6: Upload files and images

Clicking on the "Upload files" link opens a pop-up window. It allows you to browse and select your mod's files. Click "Choose..." to select the file on your harddrive. If the file is hosted somewhere else online, you can choose to enter a file URL instead of uploading a file. Then, enter the description of the file. This should be short, for example the name of your mod and the version number: "APY's Happy House 1.0". This field should not be used to display a description about what the mod does: that's what the Description field is for. Note that you don't have to add a description, the field can be empty.

Once you've entered the description (or not), click "Add file" to start uploading the file. Depending on the filesize and on the speed of your internet connection, this might take a while. Also note that there currently is a 25 MB filesize limit while using this upload form. For files that are larger, you can enter a URL or contact us to have us host the file. Once the file has finished uploading, the window will look like this:

Mods submission form part 7: Upload files pop-up window

If your mod has more than one file, you can repeat the process to upload another file. When you're finished, you can close the pop-up window. Warning: the files are NOT saved until you also save the original form. After closing the pop-up window, you will ALSO need to finalize the form by clicking "Save" or following the next steps of this guide.

Uploading images works in the same way. You click the "Upload images" link to open a pop-up window. In the pop-up window, you can browse for the image (such as a screenshot of your mod), add a description and upload it. Note that you cannot link to images; you have to upload them. Images need to be in the JPG or PNG file format. Use Paint or a similar program to save your images in the appropriate file format.

Mods submission form part 7: User comments, comments & ratings

If you have any notes for the Planet Elder Scrolls staff, you can add them to the User Comments field. This field will not be displayed in public and is meant for any information that we might need when reviewing your mod.

Using the "Show Comments/Ratings" field you can determine whether the people who visit your mod's page can vote for it or comment about it. The default option is "Yes", but you can disable the option if you want, or replace the default comment & voting options by a link to a forum of your own to discuss it on. To do that, select "Personal Forum" and enter a link to the forum thread in the "Forum Thread" field".

If all information is correct, you can now proceed to save the entry. Just review everything one more time, make sure you added the files in the pop-up window, and click "Save". That's it for submitting files!

What happens after I submit a mod/wallpaper/(insert anything)?

After you save your entry's form, the file is entered in our pending queue. A staff member will review it (typically within 24 hours), after which it will appear on the site. During the time that the entry is pending approval, you can still edit it. In case you made a typo, or if you want to update the file, you can edit the entry by going to "Manage submissions". That page is also the place to manage all your submissions to Planet Elder Scrolls. From there, you can edit any entry you've submitted, whether it's pending approval or already on the site.

Managing submissions

The page lists the title of your entry, the date when it was first added and the date of the last modification, its current status and eventual admin comments. As you can see, "APY's Happy House" is pending approval. When the status column says "To Publish", the entry has been reviewed and will be online shortly. "Completed Final" means the entry is publically available. This will usually be the status of all your entries, unless something goes wrong.

If your submission doesn't appear on the site, you can use the Manage Submissions page to track what's happening. The Status column indicates what's wrong with the entry. For example, "Duplicate Entry" means that the same entry has already been published on the site. Another possible status is "Copyright Violation", which means that the entry was denied because it contains copyrighted material that you cannot redistribute. The "Admin Comments" will list additional info about why the entry was denied. It will also contain information on how to fix whatever is wrong with it. Occasionally, the "Admin Comments" might not tell you what to do - in that case you can always e-mail us to ask us to take a look at the entry.

Note that any entry status which is not Completed Final, Pending Approval or To Publish, means that your mod is not and won't be available on the site until you take action. Either by submitting a new entry which fixes the problems, or by contacting us.

How can I edit an entry I already submitted?

If there's anything wrong with your entry, or if you want to update it to suit a new release of your mod, you can simply edit your entry. Go to the Manage submissions page (you need to be logged in).

The Manage Submissions page is available through the link on the navigation menu on the left side of the page or by clicking on "Update form" on the general content submission page:

Update form

Find the entry on the Manage Submissions page, and click "Edit" in the "Action" column. You will be presented with the exact same form you filled in when first submitting the entry, except this time all info is there already. You can update any of the fields and save the entry.

Updating files needs a little more attention than that. Upon clicking the "Upload Files" link, the same pop-up window as before opens. You can still add new files, but if you want to update an existing files, follow these steps:

1. Click "Choose" to select the file on your harddrive or enter the file URL.
2. Enter a short description for the file.
3. Click the button "Update" next to the file you want to update. Do not use the "Add file" button.

Updating a file

After a few minutes (again, depending on filesize and connection speed), the form will show the new version of your file and the updated filesize. This also preserves the download count your file has. You could also delete the old file and add the new one, but this erases the download count of your mod (an important statistic).

Don't forget to click "Save" on the form after closing the Files pop-up window!

How do I delete an entry?

If you want to delete an entry, for example an outdated mod, you will have to contact us. Unfortunately, at this time we don't offer the possibility to delete your entry by yourself.