testing comment post permissions

here is the link to the newer pic

work in progress: in progress

/node/5818

I suggest:

• SBF (Satrina Buff Frames) for the buff/debuff list customization
• SexyMap cause it's sexy for the minimap
• XPerl since you don't wanna mess with customization of Pitbull
• SpellReminder, for my Pally I've gotten to like it to give me warning bars/timers and sounds to remind me stuff like Bacon is falling off.    Ditched ClassTimers for it.   Cause I figure it might not always be my focus target, or target, could just be anyone anywhere anytime!

If you're trying to put together an awesome UI from the ground up, you want to take it one step at a time or you'll be overwhelmed with a mess of clutter and confusion that you won't even know where to start.

My current UI was pulled from a prepackaged UI I found online, but I'll post a link anyway just to give you an example of my prefered placement of elements.Most of my raid elements aren't shown there, but I keep my MT frames above the chat window (replacing questhelper) and everything else that is necessary off to the side, out of the way.

If you want my advice for starting from the ground up, you might want to try this:

1. Turn off all of your aesthetic UI mods except for one at first. I'm going to suggest you start with your Bar frames, because they're going to be the foundation for the rest of your UI to build on.

2. Log in with just your Bar mod turned on, and set them up to your desire, wherever you'd like them to be and however you'd like them to look. If you notice in my screenshot, there are only 3 main bars showing, the same as you've got.

The bottom bar is where I keep most of my main combat spells; attacks and the like. Above that I've got a slightly smaller bar (I find different size bars extremely useful as they help me differentiate and organize my spells based on different combat uses) which is where I keep my "secondary" combat spells and attacks that are necessary for different forms of combat (in the case of Fartblast, I keep AOE up there. On Deje, that's where I keep my most-used totems).

The third bar is my "wildcard" actionbar. I have Bartender set to switch that bar out with another, based on whatever modifier I have held down at the time. No modifier held down, I've got combat cooldowns/runic power dumps, consumables, and my mount/noncom pet of choice. If I hold down Shift, the bar is replaced with another, where I keep various extra consumables on hand as well as a few other spells that I couldn't find enough use to fit into my main bars. Holding down CTRL, and i've got a half-empty bar that I use for dumping random odds and ends into (such as quest items you need to use from the bags and cosmetic items like Dartol's rod or Nogg), holding down ALT brings up a bar full of various macros that I keep on hand. That's 4 bars worth of clutter condensed into one.

You get the idea, right? Set up your bars to your own liking, but keep in mind the versatility options at hand. Simple things like different sized bars can make browsing your own spells (if you forget a keybind or need to click) a lot easier, and less of an eyestrain.

3. Okay, you've got your bars set up, now log out and turn on the next most important mod you've got. I noticed you're using the default Blizzard unit frames, which just adds to the clutter of your UI (and they don't play along very well either, from my experience). You might want to consider getting something like Pitbull and setting up your own unit frames. I suggest Pitbull because it's more lightweight in memory than xPerl and far more versatile than AG_UF. You can expect to spend at least an hour or two just shaping up your unit frames, but once you get the hang of it you'll be golden.

I tend to keep my unit frames right in the center of my screen so that I've always got a close eye on my own health, but it's up to you where you put yours. Since you use Grid, you can just disable the party and raid modules and just keep Player/Target/TargetTarget/Focus/FocusTarget or whatever you like there.

4. After your unit frames are set, log out once more and turn on Grid, as well as all of your necessary Raid mods. While you're at it, download Nshakedown and install it if you haven't got it already. It takes all of your mods and test runs them at once so that you can organize them all at the same time with a few clicks and drags. The last thing you should do is wait until you're raiding to set these up, so queue up for AV. Since AV has gone to the shits, it has become prime real estate for setting up Raid mods. Start by setting up Grid. Play around with all of the options and functions, since you'll always have to be staring at it anyway. You'd be surprised at how good you can make Grid look with some tweaks. After Grid's set up, fire up NShakedown and organize all of the raid mods to your liking, out of the way but still accessable. As you're organizing them, consider which mods you'll actually need to see while raiding and which you can just shove in a corner.  Example: As a healer, you probably won't be following main tank targets very often, so move it somewhere that's out of your way.

5. Once your raid frames are set up, you're ready to log out once more and flip the switch on all the rest of your mods. What I'm seeing in your UI that stands out the most is Fubar. You don't need to have Fubar and all of its buttons showing at all times, if ever. Yes, it's a very useful mod, but it's still just as useful when it is hidden at the top or bottom and only appears on mouseover. In its generic state, it creates a miniature "frame" around your WoW game that takes away from the game itself.

With all of that being said, follow this golden rule to a good looking UI:

If you don't need it visible at all times, hide it!

It's still there, you just don't have to stare at it all day. Try to seperate your interface mods between necessities (bars, unit frames, grid, chat, buffs and raid mods) and aesthetics/perks (minimap, bags, etc) and go from there. If you're trying to get the best looking interface with good functionality, I'd consider downloading a couple mods to replace what you currently still have as default. For you, that's buff frames and the minimap. I use SatrinaBuffFrames and Chinchilla, and they both work great for what I want in a UI.

Hopefully this little guide helps.

Before anyone asks - yes I play in windowed mode.  I have the horsepower to do that