I am installing two mods that are a year or two old each- Improved Fruits and Veggies, and Improved Trees and Flora. Both have the following Archive Invalidation settings:

Mode: Directly edit BSA archives

File types to include:
Textures

Other options
Ignore normal maps
Only include files...
Only include files...
Generate archive invalidation entries on hash collision



I suspect that my version of OBMM is more recent that what existed when these mods were made. I do not have a Directly edit BSA archives mode. Instead, I have the following: BSA invalidation, BSA alteration, Universal, and BSA redirection. BSA alteration is the default checked.

Should I use BSA alteration, or one of the other three?
Also, Ignore normal maps setting was not checked, and was greyed out. Assuming I need to check this, too.

I installed Improved fruits and veggies mod as an OMOD but didn't have Ignore normal maps checked. Should I reinstall or edit it so that there's a check beside Ignore normal maps?


Thanks.

Use BSA alteration and tick where it is recommended; ie all the options mentioned in your post. If you have any body replacer mods (particularly Robert's Male Body Replacer) you should also tick meshes to make sure the Vanilla Bodies don't take precedence over the mod ones.

Artorius.

Use BSA Redirection. Those mods' archive invalidation notes are very old. No other archive invalidation method is necessary.

BSAs and Archive Invalidation - http://tesivpositive.animolious.com/?page=bsas_and_archive_invalidation

You don't have to worry about that one. Just make sure that Textures is checked. Normal Maps work just fine with or without archive invalidation, it's only the textures themselves that need it.