Confused how to Install Mods

[Viscte]

For whatever reason the mod manager keeps saying it's not configured right so I've decided to just install mods manually. The problem I'm having is that I don't know where to put them. I have mods like Killer SSS patch for RealVision ENB, Real Vision ENB, Open CIties, Sharpshooter classic version, Skyrim Distance Overhaul and others and I'm very confused. Some say they go in your data folder and others say to put them right in your skyrim Directory while others don't say what to do with them at all. How do I install these mods with so many files and folders in each. It's very confusing, thanks for the help

[Jeir]

ENB binaries/presets go into your /Skyrim folder.

Mods go into your /Skyrim/Data folder. A few mod authors have it so the first thing you see when you open an archive is a /Data folder, or even a folder with the mod's name/abbreviation. I usually click through until I find the meshes/textures/etc. folders/files. Thankfully most have it so that the /meshes, /textures, plugin etc. are right there, ready to go into /Data.

The structure should always be /Data/meshes/ or /Data/Textures, etc. If you end up with something like Data/Data/textures or Data/textures/textures, you've installed incorrectly.

Some of the larger mods with many options (e.g. SMIM, Book of Silence, CBBE) have a huge number of folders within holding the choice. Generally there would be a 'Required' or 'Core' folder, the contents of which you would extract to /Data before making your choices. Then it would be a case of deciding which files you want installed, and extracting the contents of each into /Data. A bit of common sense is necessary here; most make it clear with the folder name what the option is, and the only time I've come across one that wasn't really obvious (the author used abbreviations), they provided a readme in the archive to help.

Conversely, have you considered using Wrye Bash instead to install mods? Most people have it anyway for the patch, but it can be used to install/uninstall mods as well as any other manager.