How to remove omod files from OBMM without uninstalling them?

[chaospearl]

Is there a way to use TES4Files to find unreferenced files in the Data folder without needing to "export" every mod you currently use and then check to see which files aren't needed? I'm a newbie to using the program, but I can't figure out how to use it for this purpose. I'm thinking there's probably an easy way to do it and I'm just not seeing it because I'm looking for a complicated way.

 

I just want to be able to look through my entire Data folder and pinpoint which meshes\textures\audio aren't being used by any mods, so I can get rid of those. I know there must be tons of those leftovers from mods that I installed manually and later removed. I usually try to remove all the mod's associated files when I uninstall it, but sometimes it's late and I'm frustrated and tired and just don't feel like looking through the readme's list of a hundred individual files and then hunting down each one to delete it.

[wetblanket]

I don't think so. I think I misunderstood the question anyway. The OP mentioned having some mods originally installed via omod but later manually modified. I suggested TES4Files as a way of saving that mod installation rather than losing the new files if the omod is uninstalled.

[Striker879]

@chaspearl

I'm only starting out down this modding road so I have some advantage over you in terms of number of mods installed and uninstalled. The method I've developed to combat the situation you describe is:

 

1) Download and extract to a named subdirectory of the OblivionDownloads directory I have created. I include a text file with the mod author, uploader, version, link to the mod, main file, update and optional file details (from the files tab) and a copy and paste of the mod description.

2) After I have installed the mod I move the subdirectory for the mod from the OblivionDownloads directory to my OblivionInstalled directory with all it's contents (a refinement I've developed after my installed mods list started to grow ... I download more mods than I install). Any peculiarities in installing the mod are noted in a text file (e.g. files overwritten, optional files used etc.). I keep backups of overwritten files in a sub of my OblivionBackups directory.

3) When I want to uninstall a mod I can refer to the extracted contents in my OblivionInstalled and see what was added by that particular mod and the text file regarding details of the install and any backups that need to be restored.

 

Complicated, but it simplifies the process of mix and match mish mash somewhat. You are down the road a long ways for this to solve your cleanup woes, but it's never too late to start new habits.