Patch 3.3.3 addon survival guide
by Mathew McCurley 
Mar 23rd 2010 at 1:00PM
- Step 0 - See if any of your addons have a "day of" update. Mod and addon creators have been working with PTR code to, hopefully, make sure their addons come ready to roll with Patch 3.3.3.
- Step 1 - Enable out of date addons. For minor content patches, most of the code should still be perfectly usable. Many addons will have updates available day one, but to hit the ground running, you'll want to load your out of date addons if an update isn't available.
- Step 2 - Disable any addons giving you Lua errors and make note of those disabled. If addons are still giving you Lua errors that are affecting your gameplay, disable those addons so they do not interact poorly with other code. Check for updates when you can, and remember to re-enable any previously disabled addons.
- Step 3 - Update DBM/BigWigs/DeusVox. Your raid leaders will thank you. This is especially important for raids that run on Tuesday, so update your raid warning addons early. Don't be that guy. You know who that guy is.
- Step 4 - /framestack. An incredibly powerful diagnostic tool is the /framestack command. Typing in this command will bring up an interface window that will display information on any addon or user interface module that the mouse pointer is hovering over. Use /framestack to diagnose user interface problems or to figure out what addon is controlling what portion of your UI. You will save yourself a lot of headaches remembering what the name of the addon was that you use to track your buffs, or what addons are hovering over other, possibly hidden, modules.
Filed under: Add-Ons
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Eamara Mar 23rd 2010 1:03PM
Wow, I never knew that /framestack command existed. Very useful indeed! Thanks for the tip. :)
jaybrous Mar 23rd 2010 1:09PM
How have I not heard of this /framestack before?
Wraithanne Mar 23rd 2010 1:26PM
+1 to this. How is this not a well-known troubleshooting tool?
Jamie Mar 23rd 2010 1:33PM
After a quick wowwiki search: http://www.wowwiki.com/index.php?title=Special:Search&search=Framestack
It seems these features were added in the default UI in 3.2, do yourself a favour and have a look at the two links included in that search link they both seems fairly helpful for further reading.
Rowan Mar 23rd 2010 1:40PM
Add me to this list. I'll have to try it out when the servers come back. Thanks WoW.com. :D
Fallen Mar 23rd 2010 1:49PM
wow o.O I as well hadn't heard of this command before o.O
Tori Mar 23rd 2010 1:50PM
*blinks*
This command is news to me!
Superthrust Mar 23rd 2010 2:09PM
WHY DID I NOT KNOW OF /FRAMESTACK BEFORE!?!?!?
Omfg, this would have sooooo been helpful when i was making addons!
by the way, anyone interested in giving some help with an addon that provides translations, etc? Kinda like an in game dictionary/translator?
erknost Mar 23rd 2010 2:25PM
I have a tiny, but very annoying problem. What happens is that for some unknown reason, just in my main toon (Human Holy Paladin) the original Chat Frame constantly reposition itself to its original WOW UI position. Doesn't matter where I move the Chat Frame, if I have the Main chat and the Combat Log together or apart, if I have it lock or not, if I have a Chat Addons as Prat or Chatter or none, the chat frame constantly reposition itself to its original WOW UI position. The only way I can keep them from shifting is to let it in the original WOW UI position.
This is very, very, very annoying since don't use the WOW Default UI, I use Bartender4, and it means I can't really have viewable space and I can't keep the frames in a desire location. I get no error messages. The original Chat Frame constantly reposition itself to its original WOW UI position randomly almost every time a logging screen finish the job, for example after Hearth home, take a portal, enter or exit a Instances, etc.
Anyone know if /framestack will tell me who is controlling my chat frame? Anyone has the same problem? Anyone know how to fix it?
RobertHMayfire Mar 23rd 2010 2:34PM
/framepalm
Marathal Mar 23rd 2010 1:04PM
Thank you. Very helpful suggestions.
Falcon6 Mar 23rd 2010 1:04PM
I'd say the biggest need for updates for 3.3.3 would be any Auction addons due to the changed interface. If you're using Auctioneer, Auction Lite, or such things and haven't updated to a new one after today, you'll most likely have problems.
The only other possible add-on conflicts might be with any sort of add-on concerning battlegrounds and /maybe/ addons that were designed to track when certain procs are up (seeing as how they're passive now).
Dave Mar 23rd 2010 1:05PM
I hate to admit it but days like today I really enjoy Curse's free client. Let's me know quick and easy which ones have already been updated. I'm running WoW on two computers now, so I'm thinking of the premium version, but I can't stomach a monthly payment for a game I already pay for monthly.
Still, free version, awesome!
Dookieshed Mar 23rd 2010 1:08PM
I agree with you 100%. I used to not use the Curse client, but they made it SO much better than it used to be. You will never have to look for an addon on random websites ever again.
dunverys Mar 23rd 2010 3:52PM
Unless, of course, you're using an addon that isn't updated at Curse. :)
Zef Mar 23rd 2010 1:28PM
You can always use a service (free) like Dropbox so keep your Wow settings synced between more than one pc. It also serves as a good offsite backup for your wtf, addons etc.
Abbadon Mar 23rd 2010 1:32PM
I've been tempted to the the client a try, but there are still a couple addons I use that aren't on their site. I've followed the logic that if I'm gonna have to manually update a few anyway, I might as well just do 'em all that way...
But now that I put that in writing, that's a pretty weak excuse. Gonna go setup the Curse client now. ;-)
Dave Mar 23rd 2010 1:34PM
Ohhh that's not a bad idea Zef. Better than USB jockeying like I am now.
Tori Mar 23rd 2010 1:52PM
I remember a while back that there were rumors of the Curse Client having malware or something malicious with it that was causing some account hacks.
Were these completely unfounded? I can't help but feel leery about it after that spur of 'Client bad = don't download', but I realize that there might be no truth to that.
Task Mar 23rd 2010 2:04PM
@Tori
I use the Curse Client like the repliers here and I can say that no it's never had a malware issue when I've updated my addons.
I recently updated DBM on Sunday (the update came on Saturday) and my antivirus never gave me a warning message about malware or the like.