Addon troubleshooting

1. Download an addon. It will most likely be a zip or a rar file you're downloading. Open it, and tell the programme you're using to extract to the folder C:\World of Warcraft\Interface\Addons . (Making sure it extracts to the directory where you have installed World of Warcraft, which might not be on the C:\ drive, and not in the root).

2. Check if it extracted to the right place. Using Windows explorer, go to the above mentioned folder on your harddrive. For example: Wilgje installs AG_Unitframes, one of her favourite addons, after she has just reinstalled her WoW on I:\World of Warcraft . After extracting the AG_unitframes zipfile she downloaded, she checks and sees a folder AG_unitframes in the Addons directory. Like such: I:\World of Warcraft\Interface\Addons\AG_unitframes .

3. Everything in the right folder? Then it's time to (re)load the game. Addons you install while your game is running will not be loaded until the next time you start WoW.

4. In the character select screen, go to 'addons' at the bottom left of the screen. You will get an overview of installed addons. In the example used above, Wilgje will have a tick-box with AG_unitframes behind it. Hovering over the title AG_unitframes in that list will give a small summary of what the addon does and what other addons it might need to perform.

5. Is the box before the addon you installed ticked, with a gold 'v'? Then the addon will load for all the characters you have on the server. If it's a grey 'v', it will only load for specific characters. You can select top left of the addon-screen which character's addons to check. (If you are installing an addon for the first time, it will automatically be enabled for all your characters until you tell the game not to.)

6. Is the title of the addon colored in red? Then it will not load, as the game assumes the addon is outdated. Most addons (Gatherer and Depositbox fo' sho) didn't need updating after the last patch, so you can tick the 'load out-dated addons' at the top of the addon screen.

7. Load the game. In the general window, a message should appear to inform you the addon has loaded. Something like "Gatherer has loaded. Type /gatherer for options." This not only informs you that the addon is loaded (yay), it also tells you how to access the options screen to edit the settings of that addon

8. That should be it

Go ahead, get cracking with Gatherer and Depositbox. If you have succeeded in installing them I'll post my list of recommended addons (as I have a text file here waiting for it)