Disabling Seasions But Keeping its Stuff - Want to disable weather or make plants in season year-round? You can do so with my new Seasons Tuner Mod
Improving Sims 4: The past month, I've spent every day tinkering The Sims 4, making quality of life improvements, gameplay changes, and new difficulty settings for the game. If you'd like to learn more about my project, visit the post on Patreon where you can download it now.
The Sims 4 Gallery lets you Download and share Sims, Homes, Lots, and Rooms with the Sims Community
What is the Gallery?
The Sims 4 Gallery brilliantly integrates with Sims 4 and allows players to browse and download free content created by fellow Simmers. Households (and single Sims), Houses, Lots, and Rooms may be downloaded and added to your library where you can then place or use them in your game. This is a great feature that can easily be accessed at any time by pressing F4 on your keyboard. This Guide will teach you the basics of using the Gallery and provide how-to information that may answer any questions you may have about utilizing its features.
Be Aware. The Gallery just changed - some information on this page may be outdated. I'll work on updating it later. The Sims Team introduced a new patch on July 31, 2018 that reorganized and massively improved the Gallery and its interaction with gameplay. See the video linked in the above header, or view it below, to learn about these new functions. If you like my content, subscribe and consider supporting us on Patreon using the link in the video's description.
The Community and My Library tabs are the main areas to explore in the Gallery-->
Basic Navigation
There are two main tabs to note when you first open the Gallery. Community is where you will see all items available for download, while My Library are your own creations and downloads from the Gallery. The menus in each of these categories are simple to navigate. It is a very friendly system for players who are not very good with computers.
Community
This is where you will find Sims, Lots (Houses/other), and Rooms you can download. Note that when you click an item, you have the option to Favorite it. This is akin to a 'Like' button and supports the creator. The Favorite button helps players sort to find the good stuff. Only Sims you've actually downloaded will be added to your Library.
My Library
The My Library tab is where you will find all Sims, Rooms, and Homes you've created yourself or downloaded from the Gallery. Rooms and Houses are special cases, but we will get to that later. You can sort your library using the top menu, in order to see those created by you, Maxis, or other players. You can select an item to share it from here. Share your best creations so that they can be enjoyed by other Simmers!
Aging up Kids' Account to Adult
For children under 14, EA has a special type of account that is parentally supervised. If you started with a young person's account, which has filtered out most online features including the Gallery, you can 'Age up' the account to be a full-access account. See here for help on doing so
From 'My Library', click this with a Sim or Household selected to upload them to the Gallery
How to Share a Sim
To upload your own creations to the Gallery, head to the My Library tab and select the little cloud icon that appears in the bottom left when you click a Sim. This will prompt you to fill in the extra information in the description box for your fellow Simmers, all of whom will be able to download your creation should they like it (or find it!). Write a description and use #hashtags (the pound is important) separated by spaces to provide key words that other players can use to find your items.
For example, you may use the hashtag #celebrity to denote that a Sim you've made is a celebrity or #noCC for Sims without custom content. The hashtag #carlsguide is used by our Forum members to help them find one another's creations. You can remove an item from the gallery by clicking the cloud once it's already been shared. Also, you can share a creation on Facebook once it's been shared.
Finding things in the Gallery
At the top right, from the Community tab, you have a few search options. The default is just to let you search for specific keywords. You can select the drop-down box to change it to search for Hashtags or Origin IDs. You don't have to use the # when searching for a hashtag. Try celebrity to see a lot of different celebrities. Other things, like blonde or triplets may let you find specific things. Origin ID is when you know a person's Origin ID (a friend) so that you can see everything they've created.
On the left, depending on the category you've chosen (Households, Lots, Rooms) you can also select different parameters to let you browse. Click Advanced to see more options to let you narrow it down.
Note on CC (Custom Content) in Gallery Downloads
Sims which contain CC may appear different when downloaded, because the content won't normally come along with the download. It is the same as for not owning an Expansion - the hair/clothing you do not have will be replaced with an EA default. This means if you don't want any items brought along, it's safe to download from the Gallery. On the flip side, if a person wants a Sim to look exactly as depicted, the creator should take the time to list the exact CC objects that were used, along with where to download them. The #nocc hashtag is frequently used to help locate Sims that do not require any extra downloads in order to get the intended look.
While in Create-a-Sim, you can select a Sim from the Gallery to help you make your Household.
Use a Sim from the Gallery or Your Library
There is a Randomize from Gallery button to get a random Sim of a specific gender, located just under the Sim. The button looks like a stack of photos. However, let's assume you want to find your perfect Sim. Press F4 to open the Sims 4 Gallery from any screen, then select 'Community' noting there's no 'Sim' category in the Gallery but rather 'Household'. This is where you'll find the thousands of Sims, including celebrities, that other players have created. I strongly suggest you click 'Advanced' on the left while within the Household category to let you narrow down choices to the appropriate household size you're looking to download, from 1 Sim to 7-8 Sims for big families. It's easy to download or favorite the item from there.
If you've previously downloaded the Sim, they'll be in your Library which is accessed through the Gallery, of course. So, let's assume you're in Create-a-Sim starting a new game and want to pick and start a new game with a Sim from the Gallery or your own Library:
Tip: Delete Sims you Don't Want
If you download more than one Sim in a single Household package, you can delete those you don't want. In a cruel example, you could search 'triplets' to find a family with triplets, then create your own parent Sim, hover over the parents' portraits in CAS and delete them. Now your Sim has three kids to raise.
So let's look at the process if you want to then give them a home from the Gallery.
Placing Homes from the Gallery
This is how you place lots whether for a new family or just to edit your own. Even with a newly created Sim family placed on a blank lot, you can get a house from the gallery for them to call home. Just after the Sims are placed, save your game then press ESC and go to Manage Worlds. You can also do this at any time to add homes to the world, or even delete entire lots to make room for new homes for a fresh look. If you need simple instructions for placing a lot from a game pack you've downloaded, see this tutorial.
Using Move Lot will move the house along with any decorations the lot's builder has placed. Move house will leave the landscaping in the default spot, and may look silly. If the lot has 0 landscaping, this doesn't matter. Plus you can line things up nicely.
See what I mean? This house is ready to live in, and there is a nice yard out back and to the left.
From there, F1 will return you to the world map. You can go back to the neighborhood you were playing in, pick the house, and the play button to resume your game.
Cheating to Get a Home - Free Real Estate
If you want your Sims to live in a nicer home that you can't afford yet, you can use Money Cheats or the Free Real Estate cheat: Do this from Manage Worlds before you go to the gallery. Press Control + Shift +C then type freerealestate on. This will make all homes free, so newly created Sims can live in a mansion. A way to use Gallery homes without cheating is to either stay within your Sim's budget by using the pricing selectors from the Gallery so that you can afford it, or else placing the new home on a different lot, playing and saving up Simoleans to move the old fashioned way!
Rooms are dealt with differently as far as placement. Placing a home is covered above, and the process is the same regardless of whether you're starting a new game or not. You can do it at any time through Manage Worlds. Placing Rooms on the other hand, can be done by opening the Gallery while you are playing normally and in Build/Buy Mode (F2). Go to Community > Rooms > and select a Room type under Advanced. You must have sufficient funds to place a room. The Free Real Estate cheat doesn't work, so you can either make sure you can afford it or use a money cheat.
Sharing Rooms and Lots is done through Build/Buy mode using this button.
Sharing Homes and Rooms
Sharing Homes and Rooms is again different from Sims. You can do this while in Build Mode (F3). If you want to share the whole house, click the button pictured above to save it to your library where you can then access the gallery, go to My Library and click the home to share it, providing a description and hashtags to help people find it. Sharing a room requires you to select one from build mode, or else the button won't light up. Same process. Save to your library, then go to the Gallery and share it. Nice and easy.
Further Reading
Other articles that may interest you:
We now have a Youtube Channel with over 50 guides in video format to go along with the huge site I've already created. Check it out and consider subscribing if you like my style.
The Sims 4 Seasons expansion now has options! Want to disable weather or make plants in season year-round? You can do so with my new Seasons Tuner Mod
The past month, I've spent every day tinkering The Sims 4, making quality of life improvements, gameplay changes, and new difficulty settings for the game. If you'd like to learn more about my project, visit the post on Patreon where you can download it now.
Cottage Living Guide! Here is my guide to new features in the Sims 4 Cottage Living Expansion
You can also find handy Cottage Living Cheats
I have much more to come, since you can actually write a few guides about this pack!
Blender has been incredibly useful in video production, so I made my own Physics and Simulation Improvement Addon that lumps a ton of unique tools into one compact interface.
Snowy Escape Cheats
Lifestyles in Snowy Escape
Climb Mt. Komorebi
Sentiments in Snowy Escape
Rock Climbing
Skiing Skill
Snowboarding Skill
I've released a guide to Sentiments in The Sims 4 & Snowy Escape.
There is a new platform tool in The Sims 4. There's also a new Sentiments system, but it'll take some time to create a guide to that. Players can also use rental lots in any world now by changing lot types of builds in manage worlds.
I've created a massive List of The Best Mods in The Sims 4 that should be very helpful to new players and those who have not yet explored modding and how much it can do for your gameplay.
New - Secrets I have a new guide to secrets in the game. If you prefer, you can also watch a video about secrets in Sims 4.
Nifty Knitting is now available. Learn all about the stuff pack on my guide page here.
NEW - Nifty Knitting CheatsNew features in the Sims 4 June 2020
The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle Guide
Eco Footprint: How it Works
Neighborhood Action Plans
How to Cheat in Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle
Civil Designer Career
Insect Farms & Bio Fuel
Fabrication Skill in Eco Lifestyle
Juice Fizzing NEW
Traits and Aspirations in DLC
Gameplay Ideas for Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle
Updated
Trait Cheats Updated
Traits List Updated
Aspirations List Updated
Readers who use adblock or those who'd like to thank me for my efforts can now pledge $1/$5 monthly via Patreon. This helps a lot with server costs and provides some stability for my business.
This is inspired by a new series in which I start at toddler and gradually take on the major bonuses. Here's a link to the full playlist!
I now have a guide page to Tiny Living Stuff where you can learn about Murphy Beds, the new death, as well as the lot bonuses you'll receive if you manage to keep the size of your lot down with this new pack's Tiny Home Lot Type.
New I now have a guide to Making Super Sims in The Sims 4. Look for a text version within the next 72h. It won't have THAT much more info but it will help out as a checklist.
This was inspired by a series, "Let's Play a Super Sim" in which I start at toddler and gradually take on the major bonuses. Here's a link to each part for people who are interested. You can also see the Let's Play as a Playlist on Youtube.
The Sims 4 Discover University has been announced for November 15 for PC/Mac and December 17 for Xbox and Playstation 4 consoles. Click to learn more about the pack, see my summary of the livestream or read our FAQs below.
Other Guides to Discover University:
New Lot Traits: Study Spot and University Student Hang Out
New: Discover University FAQ: Gameplay Features
New Video The Sims 4 Discover University Gameplay Tips Video
More videos coming soon!
Disclaimer This site is not endorsed by or affiliated with Electronic Arts, or its licensors. Trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The Sims and The Sims 4 Logo are trademarks of Electronic Arts, Inc. Game content and materials copyright Electronic Arts Inc. and its licensors. All Rights Reserved. All original Guides on this site © Carl's Guides
Comments (25)
Aging up an EA Account to an adult account
How To: Turn On and Use Testingcheats
I've seen a lot of people in the gallery who have zoomed in on the sims faces on the "thumbnail pictures".
Does anyone know how to do that?
I couldn't manage to find an explanation for this icon.
There's quality CC and there's a lot of stuff I don't want.
Notes about Origin
All games have this. You may not be able to go online to see the Gallery if your Origin account is a kid's account, in which case you will be able to upgrade your child account to an adults when you are of legal age where you live.
Updating to an Origin Adult Account
How do you save a whole family to the library after playing with them?
Take one of the Sims into CAS via a dresser or wardrobe and then save them into your Library. Or find the household in Manage Households menu and save them from there.
Hi. Can other people see my sims' photos if I upload a house to the Gallery where my sims photos (taken with a camera) are on the wall? Would be super cool if that's the case
I have nothing shared, and nothing shows in my catalog as being shared (with cc checked and cc not checked- either way), but on the top right where it shows stats such as how many followers you have, it is indicating that I have 1 shared item. Is this a bug or am i somehow sharing something i cannot find to unshare?
No idea, probably a bug. I wouldn't worry about it tbh. There's no bug report on this but the Gallery can be very buggy at times. It might be some sort of de-sync happening as the gallery gets taken off-line regularly for maintenance.
Does anyone know if there's a way to see if someone reuploaded your lot or sim to the gallery? Like they downloaded, edited, and then uploaded to their account.
You could maybe try searching for the item you made by hashtag or item name or your gallery user name. But it's perfectly allowable to re-upload items other people make as long as original creator is acknowledge - which they are automatically. It's frowned on by the community but within the 'rules'.
Thank you. I have no issues with people doing as such, especially for the builds I left open ended in regards to decorating. I'm just curious to see if anyone has since I can't see who downloaded or even favorited.
Just took a look at the Gallery and searching the names did bring some up. Thank you again!
No problem, happy to help
How do I see how many downloads my sim has? There's no count where it looks like it should be.
If you upload a Sim who is registered as a university student to the gallery, will they still be a student as long as the person who downloads them has Discover University?
No idea, try and let us know.
I am changing laptops. I was getting save bloat on my old one so I'd like to upload my favorite families in their current houses so I can download them onto my new laptop. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to upload the 2 together. Is it not possible anymore?
You have to save and download households (families) and lots separately in TS4
Cool
PlayStation 4 Sims 4 need back to normal update I want a container to make a chance to fix the gallery turn off I do not like saying no results found turn it off firewall please I really want have access I'm old enough
thanks this is a life saver I completely forgot how to add houses to the gallery