Stupid question time. I'm working on a mod, and wish to create two versions of it. I could store them in separate archived folders, but I prefer making it easier for my players, and want different names. Can I simply rename my ESP file for one? I seem to recall that doesn't work, but there's no Save As option in the CS.

Yes. Just duplicate your .ESP file and rename the copy.

Really? Not to doubt you, but I'd heard this could cause problems.

What kind of problems?

For example, I renamed Reznod_Mannequin.esp to Reznod_Mannequinmine.esp, to differentiate it from another version I'm working on for distribution. I redid my Bashed Patch, since it didn't recognize the ESP as the same. Then I entered the game, and looked around for the mannequins I'd previously placed there a few seconds okay, when the mod was named Reznod_Mannequin.esp. They were gone.

I've duplicated this problem twice, now, just to be sure. If I change the mod name, the mannequins I've placed that come from that mod vanish. If I switch the name back, the mannequins reappear.

I do this all the time without problems. I have a MyTemplate.esp file that I duplicate whenever I start a new project.

You have to keep in mind that the renamed esp is a NEW mod, as if you had downloaded a different mannequin mod from tes nexus. Not a continuation of the original mod. You have to activate the new one and deactivate the original one.

I don't see how the mannequins in my game could have vanished if I hadn't activated the new version, and deactivated the old. Would it be possible to export item data using Wrye, from the first version, and import it into the second? Could that work? It's a minor point, since I understand that you're saying the saved game basically doesn't perceive the mods as identical, so content in it goes unclaimed.

I suppose your mannequins are created in a hidden cell and you have, somehow, moved them to some other places, therefore they are 'tied' to the mod (their reference starts with the mod ID - XXxxxxxx). When the savegame is loaded, as you said, the mannequins from the original mod will be discarded, as the mod is no longer active.

The manequins from the renamed mod should be in the new mod's hidden cell and you have to repositioning them from scratch.

As I understand your setup, you don't need to import/export. Each mod has its own set of mannequins.

It wasn't more than a minor inconvenience. I can certainly live with keeping the mod's name that it currently has, while changing the names on the versions intended for release. I'll just keep playing my own copy, tailored to my own set of masters. Thanks for the response!