Question about uploads w lost patterns

[Joria]

Recently I had to completely uninstall and reinstall everything, (including my anti-virus!).  I saved many games in a separate folder but was not able to save all my downloaded patterns.   When I went into my games, some were corrupted, (which probably caused some of my problems to begin with), and those with my recolors and patterned items showed those items as plain white.  Since my patterns were gone, they obviously couldn't show up.  So my question is, how to keep that from happening again, and more importantly, if someone has downloaded items I have put up in the swap shop and/or exchange, would those colored items show up as white if they don't have my patterns?  I checked my beautiful Pink Flamingo Dance Club and it's hideous now!  No colors left.

I've spent most of the day re-downloading all of the patterns our folks have put in the Swap Shop, (blessings on you all!), and trying to find the ones I have from Blue Murder, (FIVE HUNDRED PAGES before I stopped!), but some will probably never be found again.  Is there a way to keep items like that?  Suppose EA removes them from the exchange?

I would feel really bad if I uploaded something for you guys and then it turned all white or grey and ugly, but I am not fond of most of EA's patterns.

[Gheez]

Sorry to hear that you had to uninstall and reinstall and sorry to hear about the disappointing look of your lovely club.  Hope this helps, just in case, in the future, you have to do something similar.

The patterns that I create show up in my Exports folder. I move them into the Downloads folder and the Launcher finds them there.  If you were to save your Downloads folder somewhere else, then, after reinstalling everything, you'd just move it back or copy the contents into the new Downloads folder*.

(Hope that makes sense.)

Unfortunately, you will need to install, via the Launcher, all your patterns again to get them to show up in-game as it won't happen automatically.

I wonder, if you were to download your Pink Flamingo Club, from the Swap Shop, and install it, using the Launcher, if it might not then be restored to all it's former glory?

*The Downloads folder that I mean is ...My Documents/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3/Downloads.  I use Windows Vista, it's location may be different for you.

Edit: This suggestion about what to do assumes that you do the same as me:  When I download a pattern, I save the Sims3Pack file in the Downloads folder, so all my downloaded patterns are in one place. I always install using the Launcher, rather than double-clicking on the file and I don't delete the file after I've installed it.