The easiest way, or at least, how I do it, is I open up a previous .cmx file and just write over it. I'll start out with a default one that Maxis has made for their female amazon, the B200Fafit_Bwar.

Use Notepad to open it up. You can do this a few ways. You can:

a) right click on it and select the "open with" option. If you do this MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT LEAVE THE BOX MARKED "ALWAYS USE THIS PROGRAM TO OPEN UP THIS TYPE OF FILE" CHECKED. If you do, you will mess up your .cmx files because they will become text files instead, then you have to hack your way into your computer and fix them. I did that once and it cost me $20 for my tech support company to talk me through it. So please don't do it, especially if your are computer illiterate.

b)just use the open feature in notepad. When you open it up, it will look much like this one, maybe with different file names.

// Character File. Copyright 1997, Maxis Inc.
version 300
0
1
b200fafit_bwar
0
0
1
PELVIS
xskin-b200fafit_bwar-PELVIS-BODY
0
0
0

Well, now you can see the numbers and things we have to change in here. I highlighted them in green. I also have alot of things to add, as well. I have 4 body parts to put together, and this only has one.

Everything I added I will color in purple, the parts to change in green.

So first I change b200fafit_bwar to b504fafit_aurra. The title of my .cmx file. Then I skip down past the 0's and change the 1 to a 4. Now, I'm not going to change the whole xskin name, because it 's not necesary, so I will just change the file name part from xskin-b200fafit_bwar-PELVIS-BODY to xskin-b504fafit_aurra-PELVIS-BODY. I just filled in the b200fafit_bwar with b504fafit_aurra.

Now, I have found that for me, the file has a better chance of working if I leave the PELVIS section or the HEAD section of the file last.

Just so I don't forget to add the other 3 sections, I'm going to copy
PELVIS
xskin-b504fafit_aurra-PELVIS-BODY
0
0
without the extra 0, and paste it in there 3 times in between the 2 sections. Now all I have to do is over write. It looks like this:

// Character File. Copyright 1997, Maxis Inc.
version 300
0
1
b504fafit_aurra
0
0
4
PELVIS
xskin-b504fafit_aurra-PELVIS-BODY
0
0
PELVIS
xskin-b504fafit_aurra-PELVIS-BODY
0
0
PELVIS
xskin-b504fafit_aurra-PELVIS-BODY
0
0
PELVIS
xskin-b504fafit_aurra-PELVIS-BODY
0
0
0

From there, I just change the names of things. I have a file named
"xskin-b504fafit_aurra-L-LEG-BLASTERS2.skn"

I will change PELVIS to L_LEG and the PELVIS-BODY to L-LEG-BLASTERS2.

*note* L-LEG, R-ARM,L-HAND,R-FOOT, etc. will change slightly in the file on the Section title. The file name will stay written the same, but the section title will change the "-" to an "_". Look at the finished .cmx file in section 1 and you will see it better.

And the rest of the three sections are changed as well.

When you have written it the way you want and have proofread it so there are no mistakes, then it's time to save it. Obviously you can't save it as a text file, which it what is going to happen if you just hit the "save" button and make up name. From here, select "save as". Your title will be what you wrote in at the very top section, the b504fafit_aurra above the two 0's and the 4.

Write in "b504fafit_aurra.cmx" in the save box for your working folder of whatever you are making. Don't forget the ".cmx" as this is what makes your file a .cmx file and not a text file.

The head files are the same, excpet there are some extra things you can do with that as well. That will be in section 6.

And your .cmx file is finished. Test it out in Simshow, and see what happens.