So I'm a very picky player and for years now I've been trying to play worlds only to have them always not be good enough for me. I'm just now getting the hang of caw and not all the worlds I want to edit have CAW files handed out by the creator.

So... idk if it's taboo but I'd like to figure out how to extract caw files from a world already made, I dont share or anything I just prefer to make the worlds I play Base game and with the spawners I'd like. Anyone willing to help me....? I couldnt find any info on this ;o; but there most likely is...

Well hum, it's actually the same methods you already know about, from what I can tell from your thread in the help section: Editing premade worlds.
Apart from asking the creator of the world if they'd be willing to share those CAW files, I'm afraid there is no other methods than the ones you were already told if you want to edit a world in CAW.

I've always used the first method from the thread I linked and I've rarely had trouble saving or exporting, so I might not be of much help, if what you're asking is an alternate way of doing this.

Wait really?
Do you mind explaining further?
So what I'm wanting from a premade world is a completely new set of ".settings", and the folder containing the layers. From the methods I've been using I've been overriding data that has ended up not working when I export and try to use the world in-game. Someone told me it was because I was missing the EPS... I think that may be it but I haven't figured out all the things that can go wrong in CAW yet.

I'm sure that the tutorial thread has instructions and I'm just missing them but I'm lost on how to get those resources.

As Blyss said and as I have said in your other thread, method 1 should work fine if you follow the steps. I told you how I do it (not from a package but from extracted files), but basically it's the same steps. Your settings file and the folders come from caw, not from the premade world. You import the data of the premade world into your caw-made world file. The world you made in caw serves as a "shell" for the data of the premade world. So, import from package or the extracted files, save, close everything. Open world again in caw, "save as" and you are good to go. And then the folders and the settings file should be there, too. There is no more to it.

If it still doesn't work for you, please detail every step you take following method 1 (and I mean every step). Maybe something goes wrong there.

Oh I'm so sorry I didn't realize that the method provided works for this instance as well I've separated editing a premade world and making a world from a premade world in my head. Also thank you again for making the files the first time. After you made them I figured I should learn myself.
Ok, so I will stop asking questions and do as you both have said and post the results in this thread.

EDIT:
Well for starters I had no idea what I was doing yesterday since it was my first time. I apologize for making u guys reiterate yourselves. This is all really simple. Method 1 makes complete sense I was just importing the wrong files yesterday because I didn't make the connection of placing the world files I actually wanted into a shell I created in CAW

Everything is working. It all makes sense now! :lovestruc

Yes, importing the correct files helps! LOL Glad you now know how it works.

Glad that you got it working now

sorry, is this topic about populating/un-populating custom worlds?, since i'm having difficulty editing my own saves,.

What is it that you are trying to do @sam374 ? This thread is about opening finished worlds in CAW for editing; if you are trying to do something different then you could start a new thread.

so i basically want to import sims directly into the CAW file, like EA when the sims are readily available, with story already started,.

i thought this was somewhere to start,.?

This might help with that:
Tutorials:Populating CAW Worlds^wiki