Setting Up Tools Found on Steam

Modding a Left 4 Dead 2 Survivor

Table of Contents > Setting Up Tools for Modding

Setting Up Tools Found on Steam

L4D2 has its own set of SDK tools separate from other Source engine games, including its own version of HLMV (model viewer), VPK (for packing and unpacking VPK files), and StudioMDL (the model compiler).

Install Tools Found on Steam

1. Open Steam.
2. Click on Library menu.
3. Click on Tools menu item.
4. Install Left 4 Dead 2 Authoring Tools (provides HLMV and VPK tools):
  1. Right-click Left 4 Dead 2 Authoring Tools.
  2. Click on Install Game...
  3. Follow the installer's instructions.
5. Install Source SDK (required for the MDL Decompiler tool described in a later section):

- 1. Right-click Source SDK.
  2. Click on Install Game...
  3. Follow the installer's instructions.

Setup HLMV Tool Shortcut

The following steps allow using HLMV without having to open up the Left 4 Dead 2 Authoring Tools, but you still need to have Steam open.

1. Create a shortcut to "hlmv.exe" found (by default) in "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\left 4 dead 2\bin\".
2. Right-click on the shortcut.
3. Select Properties.
4. Select the Shortcut tab (if not already shown).
5. Delete all text in the Target field.
6. Copy-paste into the Target field: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\left 4 dead 2\bin\hlmv.exe" -game "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\left 4 dead 2\left4dead2"
7. (If not using the default folder for Steam, then edit the Target field as needed. It should be similar to the Start in field.)
8. Move the shortcut to a easily-accessible folder, such as a taskbar toolbar; it should be placed somewhere for convenient opening.

Setup VPK Tool Shortcut

Creating a shortcut to the VPK tool allows for convenient packing and unpacking of addon vpk files. To unpack: Drag a vpk file to the vpk shortcut. To pack: Drag a folder to the vpk shortcut.

1. Create a shortcut to the VPK tool:
  1. Go to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\left 4 dead 2\bin" folder.
  2. Right-click on vpk.exe.
  3. Select "Create shortcut".
  4. Right-click the newly created "vpk.exe - Shortcut" file.
  5. Select "Rename".
  6. Change the name to "L4D2 VPK".
2. Move the shortcut to your "SendTo" folder or to any other folder, such as your desktop; it should be placed somewhere convenient so you can drag-and-drop a folder or a vpk file onto it.