How To Install Wow Addons

Download which WoW addon you want to install. Most addons are downloaded as a "zip" file, which decreases the actual file size so it takes less time to download. You will need a zip program such as Winzip, WinRAR to extract this file.

You will need to know where your World of Warcraft program is installed in order to pick this location correctly. Mine is "D:\Program Files\World of Warcraft". Yours may be different, but you can easily determine where it is located by finding the shortcut (icon) you use to launch WoW.

The next step is to find your addons folder. The first sub-folder is "Interface". In the Interface folder there will be a folder named "AddOns". This is the folder into which you want to extract your downloaded Addon.

Your now ready to install your addons. If you downloaded addons, take the zip file and place it in the addons folder. A simple cut and paste should do the trick. You will then want to unzip in this directory or "Extract here" or however your zip program labels it. You should see a folder named that should be something similar to the Addon name in your addons folder at this point.

Ok, it's time to get in game. Double-click World of Warcraft and login. You should now be at the character screen. In the lower left-hand of the screen, you will see a button called "Addons". Click this button. You should see a screen that lists your new addon panel. Make sure it is checked. You have just installed your first addon. If you left click on the addon panel bar in game, you'll find a lot of different options for customizing the addon.

A lot of people have had trouble installing their addons for windows vista. In the old days in XP you could find world of warcraft under your program files. The path to extract your addons is different now however with Windows Vista.

The New Path is C: -> Users -> Public -> Games -> World of Warcraft -> Interface -> AddOns

Hopefully this saves you some time in frustration at Vista again lol!

Most addons have to be kept up-to-date or it will cause errors in game, fake lag, and other problems. If your having any of these kinds of problems, the first thing to do is to disable all addons (by unchecking them) to see if that fixes the problem. After that, you can enable one at a time and get in game to see if you see the same problems to try to narrow down which one it is. An updated addon will not usually cause any problems in game.

Keep your addons up-to-date or it could cause problems in game. Addons, by design, cannot do permanent damage to World of Warcraft, but can get you really mad when your character freezes in the middle of a fight. If you would like to make sure you avoid most of these problems, a simple option built into World of Warcraft will save you some headache. In the addons screen there is a box to check/uncheck called "Load out-of-date addons", just don't check this, and you should be fine. If an addon that you have downloaded is out-of-date, World of Warcraft will automatically not enable it, so you have to go in manually to do it.