Can Vortex manage mods for games that are not installed?

[SyntaxError]

I'd like to be able to keep my mods for SkyrimAE and Fallout 4 up to date by using Vortex as if the games were installed. It would be easier and quicker than doing it manually with the Download History on the website.

 

I keep the mods in their respective Vortex Downloads folders, so it shouldn't have any trouble seeing them.

 

Is this possible? Maybe there's a way to fool Vortex into thinking these games are installed? Point it to a fake executable maybe, like a txt file named Fallout4.exe for example.

[Pickysaurus]

You can download the mods into Vortex, it just won't install them.

[SyntaxError]

I know I can do that, but they won't show in a list as if the game was installed, so they can't be checked for updates at the click of a button.

They will only show in the Downloads tab, along with a mess of everything else, including extensions.

 

EDIT: I just made a couple folders for both games where I would normally install them, including the Data folders, and dropped in a fake executable. Vortex gave several errors when I added both games, things like missing .ini files in My Games, and a missing .bsa in Skyrim's case, so I clicked the X's on them all, and restarted Vortex. The error messages are gone, and my mods are now showing and can be checked for updates like I wanted. A bit sloppy perhaps but it works.

 

I'm gonna mark this solved and hope I haven't wasted anyone's time. Thanks.

 

EDIT2: Turns out Vortex only checks installed mods for updates, so what I wanted can't be done. I discovered this when checking for updates for Cyberpunk mods, and then manually checking and finding updates. So back to square one.

Edited September 26, 2023 by SyntaxError