Normally all resources such as [[wall_texture]]s, menu graphics and fonts, background music and sound effects are loaded from [[wad]] files. [[doomsday]] has a mechanism that allows replacing these resources with //external resource files// placed in specific directories. The files are called "external" because they are regular files and not contained within a [[wad]] file.

External resource files are easy to use. They do not require making changes to any configuration or definition files. As long as a resource file is placed in the correct directory, Doomsday will load and use it automatically. The external file's name (extension doesn't matter) must match the [[lump_name|name of the lump]] that is being replaced.

External resources are divided into a number of //categories//. Each category has its own subdirectory under the **Data\<Game>\** directory. The table below lists the resource categories and gives a brief description of each.



^ Category^ Purpose |
| Textures| Textures for walls and flats (floors and ceilings) |
| Flats| Textures just for flats (floors and ceilings) |
| Patches| Graphics for menus, fonts and sprite frames |
| LightMaps| Textures for dynamic lights |
| FlareMaps| Textures for primary flares (halos) |
| Music| Background music |
| Sfx| Sound effects| Resource categories |




For example, sound effects for [[j_doom]] would be placed in the directory **Data\jDoom\Sfx\**.


====== See also ======

  *  [[game_mode]]s
  *  [[auto_folders]]