I’ve been asked so many times in my streams and videos about how to create a Sims 2 userstartup cheat file and how I shorten my cheat codes. So, I’m making this tutorial (along with a Youtube video) to show you how.
If you want, you can also download my userstartup.cheat file and place it in your own game if you don’t want to make your own.
What is a Sims 2 userStartup Cheat File?
If you’re not familiar with the term, it refers to a text file you can add to your Config folder that automatically turns on cheats when you start the game. It also allows you to create aliases for cheat codes – so you can shorten them.
Sims 2 cheat codes are long and cumbersome, and they can be difficult to remember. Plus, they’re a pain to type in every single time.
With a custom userstartup cheat file, you can alleviate a lot of these problems by auto-enabling certain cheats and/or shortening them to just a few letters. You can choose the cheats you want to enable or shorten for your own game.
How to Create a Sims 2 userStartup Cheat File
First, create a new text document in Notepad. Just open up a blank Notepad document, then without doing anything else click “File > Save As” at the top.
Now, change the “Save as Type” to “All Files” at the bottom of the screen (below where you enter the file name).
Next, name the file exactly like this: userStartup.cheat (Make sure there is no .txt at the end of the file name. It should only say “userStartup.cheat” in the “File Name” field and that’s all.)
Save the file to Documents > EA Games > The Sims™ 2 > Config. If you have the Ultimate Collection, save to Documents > EA Games > The Sims™ 2 Ultimate Collection > Config.
If you’ve done this correctly, you should have a new file in your Config folder called userStartup and the file type should be CHEAT.
Now, right-click on the userStartup cheat file and choose “Open with > Notepad.” Now you can open and edit your file as you choose.
Adding & Shortening Cheats
Your userStartup cheat file won’t do anything until you add some cheat codes to it. There are two types of codes you can add:
- Cheats that you want to enable automatically every time you start the game
- Aliases that shorten existing cheat codes
Automatically Enable Cheats
To add cheats that you want automatically enabled, simply list them at the top of the document – one on each line. Here is a screenshot of my userStartup.cheat file to show you what I mean:
When you start your game any cheat codes listed like this will be automatically enabled. Make sure that you add boolprop in front if the cheat requires it.
Shortening Cheat Codes (Aliases)
An alias is basically a shortened version of a cheat code. You can take a very long cheat – like “moveobjects on” and add an alias that allows you to enable it with the letters “mon” or something similar. This makes it much easier to remember cheat codes!
You must add aliases in the following format (or they won’t work):
alias textstring “cheat command” “short description” “long description”
Here’s what each part means:
- alias – This starts the text string and must always be used so the game recognizes the rest of the string as an alias.
- textstring – This is the text you want to use for the alias. For example, “qton” for setquartertileplacement on. (It must be unique!)
- “cheat command” – This is where you type the full cheat code you are creating an alias for.
- “short description” – This is the text that is shown when the player uses the help command in the cheat console. It’s optional, and I usually just put the name of the cheat here.
- “long description” – Again, this is optional. It is the text the player sees if they use the help command, along with the name of the alias. It can be longer and more specific and detailed than the short description.
If you just want to quickly create an alias for a long cheat, you can definitely omit the short and long description. For most cheats, I just put the name of the cheat, but they’re not necessary for the alias to function. You only need the alias, textstring, and cheat command.
To continue our example, the entry on my userstartup.cheat file for the setquartertileplacement cheat looks like this:
alias mon “moveObjects on” “Move Objects On” “Move Objects On”
alias moff “moveObjects off” “Move Objects Off” “Move Objects Off”
You can set an alias for both turning a cheat on and turning it off. In my game, I only have to type “mon” or “moff” into the cheat console to make these cheats work.
What’s In My Sims 2 userStartup Cheat File?
Here’s a list of all the cheats and aliases in my userStartup.cheat file. Feel free to copy and paste the ones you want into your notepad. Or you can download my file below and simply drop it into your Config folder.
boolProp testingCheatsEnabled true
boolProp allow45degreeAngleOfRotation true
floatProp tvVolume 0.7
boolProp dontMergeNHFlora false
boolprop ControlPets on
boolprop PetActionCancel true
boolProp ShowCatalogEPFlags true
boolprop ShowLotPackageFilename true
uintProp lotSkirtSizeIncrease 500
#——————————————————————
# Aliases
#——————————————————————
alias mton “modifyNeighborhoodTerrain on” “modifyNeighborhoodTerrain On” “modifyNeighborhoodTerrain On”
alias mtoff “modifyNeighborhoodTerrain off” “modifyNeighborhoodTerrain Off” “modifyNeighborhoodTerrain Off”
alias mon “moveObjects on” “Move Objects On” “Move Objects On”
alias moff “moveObjects off” “Move Objects Off” “Move Objects Off”
alias qton “setquartertileplacement on” “setquartertileplacement On” “setquartertileplacement On”
alias qtoff “setquartertileplacement off” “setquartertileplacement Off” “setquartertileplacement Off”
alias kc “kaching” “Grants 1,000 cash”
alias ml “motherlode” “Grants 50,000 cash”
alias soff “boolProp snapObjectsToGrid false” “Snap Objects to Grid Off” “Snap Objects to Grid On”
alias son “boolProp snapObjectsToGrid true” “Snap Objects to Grid On” “Snap Objects to Grid Off”
alias coff “boolprop constrainFloorElevation false” “Constrain Floor Elevation Off” “Constrain Floor Elevation Off”
alias con “boolprop constrainFloorElevation true” “Constrain Floor Elevation On” “Constrain Floor Elevation On”
alias ton “boolprop testingCheatsEnabled true” “Testing Cheats Enabled On” “Testing Cheats Enabled On”
alias toff “boolprop testingCheatsEnabled false” “Testing Cheats Enabled Off” “Testing Cheats Enabled Off”
alias res “changeLotZoning residential” “Make residential lot”
alias comm “changeLotZoning community” “Make community lot”
alias greek “changeLotZoning greek” “Make greek house”
alias dorm “changeLotZoning dorm” “Make dorm lot”
alias secret “changeLotZoning secretsociety” “Make secret society”
alias ff “FamilyFunds” “needs family name; e.g. ‘fam smith 1000′”
Download my File
Click the button below to download my Sims 2 userStartup cheat file to use in your own game. You can edit it to add or remove cheats, or just use it as-is.
Alternate Download Link: Mediafire
To install, unzip and place the file directly into your Documents > EA Games > The Sims 2 > Config folder. Once you start the game, your cheats should be working. Try entering an alias to test it out.
Sims 2 userStartup.cheat Not Working?
If your userStartup.cheat is not working, this might be because you didn’t save it properly. Make sure to save as a .cheat file and NOT a .txt file. This is the most common mistake people make.
If you’re still having issues, try downloading my file above and see if it works for you. If it does, you can always edit it to add or remove the cheats and aliases you want.
Also, make sure you’re putting it in the correct folder. You need to navigate to DOCUMENTS > EA Games > The Sims 2 > Config. If you put the file in Program Files or any other location, it will not work.
for some reason I was able to download your file and it partially worked… I cant get the Aliases to work but the start up cheats do… with the exception of one and that is “boolProp simShadows false” 🙁 any suggestions from anyone?
hello! ive used this file before and it worked ok. however, i used it again after installing sims 2 in a different pc and now my game is so laggy. like really really laggy. i removed it to see if theres any changes but its still the same. pls help TvT
What a great post! Thank you for walking us through it and for sharing your file for us lazies. I also will try adding faceblendlimits off, as I like as much variety as possible. (Should controlpets be true, vs on?) Thrilled to not have to type all those things every time or paste them from a txt file!
Thank you so much Cindy! You are truly a blessing for helping the community so much! <3
You’re so welcome!!