Getting started - Healix/Gw2Launcher GitHub Wiki
Adding an account
Click the "add account" button to create your first account.
Note: The button will be hidden after creating your first account. To see it again, hold ALT, or you can alternatively right click any account to bring up the menu.
Configuring an account
Settings that are specific to the account will be shown after selecting to add a new account. To access these settings later, right click the account and select edit.
Required account settings
You're only required to give the account a name. This will only be used to reference the account, so it should be something you can relate it to, such as the account's display name or email.
If no Local.dat or GFXSettings.xml file is selected, you will be prompted with a few options to help automatically set one up for you.
Local.dat
Local.dat is the file that notably contains your email/password, so each account that you want to have remembered by the launcher will needs its own file. This file also contains your local settings (such as graphics and sound), as well as the manifests used for patching.
Note: Each Local.dat file will need to be patched with every update, since it contains the patch manifests. Patching each one will be automatically handled under normal circumstances, or it can be done manually by right clicking the account > selected > update.
Note: If you've enabled Gw2Launcher to automatically enter your email/password, you can choose to use a shared Local.dat file.
To configure which Local.dat file to use, select the Local.dat tab and browse for one. You may choose to either use one from an existing account, an existing file or you can create a new one.
Note: If you need to change any of the settings stored in Local.dat, the account must be launched in normal mode by right clicking the account and choosing selected > launch (normal).
GFXSettings.xml
GFXSettings.xml is the file that contains most of the available graphics settings.
To configure which GFXSettings.xml file to use, select Graphics under the Local.dat tab and browse for one. You may choose to either use one from an existing account, an existing file or you can create a new one. You may also modify the graphics settings here, or load one of the presets.
Automatically logging in directly to the character select
As of January 22, 2019, the -email and -password options have been disabled, meaning it's no longer possible to skip the launcher and go directly to character select.
As an alternative, Gw2Launcher can now automatically enter your email/password into the launcher and login, and/or automatically start the game. This has been split into two options so that accounts may automatically "play" regardless of whether the credentials are stored by Gw2Launcher or the launcher itself.
Two-factor authentication
Gw2Launcher has built-in support for using an authenticator, which can be used to automatically handle the authorization of your IP. These features can be configured under the security tab; account authorization is required. Note that network authorization must be additionally configured under the global settings to enable it.
Settings
Settings for Gw2Launcher and settings that apply to all accounts can be configured by right clicking any account and selecting settings.
Required settings
Before launching an account, you must set the location of Gw2.exe or Gw2-64.exe.
Recommended settings
Localized account execution
When multiple accounts are launched, CoherentUI is copied up to 2 times per launch. If too many copies are wanted simultaneously, there's a chance that it could fail and cause it to crash. To prevent this, this option gives each account its own executable path with its own copy of the bin folder. This has several other advantages, such as saving space, reducing the initial load time and allowing each individual account to have its own DLLs if desired. This option can be found under settings > general > launching.
Note: Each account will add roughly 14 MB to your Guild Wars 2 folder, rather than 50-100 MB to your cache folder. If you look in this folder, you will notice copies of Gw2.dat and other related files. These are only virtual files and don't actually take up any extra space, with the exception of some of the DLLs located in the bin folder.
Warning: Placing custom DLLs in GW2's bin folder will not apply to accounts that have already been initialized. If you wanted to add or remove ArcDPS and have it apply to all accounts for example, simply delete the Gw2Launcher folder (found in your Guild Wars 2 folder) to re-initialize all accounts.
Prevent using CoherentUI from the default bin folder
A simpler option to prevent CoherentUI from crashing due to the simultaneous launching of multiple clients. This should only be enabled if localized account execution isn't.
Allow Gw2Launcher to directly update Local.dat
If you're using multiple Local.dat files, this option will greatly reduce the time it takes to update them by only having to update one, then copying the changes between them. This option can be found under Settings > Tools > Local.dat.
Limiter
If you're starting multiple accounts (5+) at a time without a break, you may notice some failing to login. This is due to the servers limiting how many requests you can make within a period of time, and once it is triggered, each additional request will double the time it takes to respond. Enable the limiter (settings > general > launching) to help against this.
Launching an account
Clicking an account will cause it to launch. If you have not yet set the location of Gw2.exe, you will be prompted to do so now.
On your first launch of a new Local.dat file, you will be asked if you want to launch the game normally to modify your settings. If you need to change anything, notably the email/password that is remembered by the launcher, select yes. If you want to launch an account normally at a later time, right click that account and select launch (normal) under the selected menu. If you want to use Gw2Launcher simply as an account manager, you may change the functionality to always launch accounts normally under settings > style > actions.
Updating
Gw2Launcher will automatically handle patching the client and each Local.dat file under normal circumstances. There is an option to check for a new build prior to launching, but this is not required since Gw2Launcher can detect if the game crashed due to requiring a patch.
"Download failed!"
If an account is launched with an outdated Local.dat file, a "download failed!" message will be shown on the launcher. To manually update it, right click the account > selected > update, or you can choose "launch (normal)" if you plan to change any settings.
Recommended tools
Tools can be found under the menu by right clicking any account.
Asset server proxy
Each Local.dat file needs to be updated with every patch. By using the asset proxy, these files will be cached, preventing you from having to download the same ~30 MB update each time. Which servers you're downloading from will also be automatically prioritized based on their performance.
Advanced: The proxy server is capable of throttling your download speed or forcing a secure connection if you have problems patching normally.
Delete cache folders
Caches will be created every time Guild Wars 2 initializes its web browser, which is used by the launcher and the BLTC. This can quickly add up to a lot of wasted space. Enabling this tool will automatically delete any unused caches when launching the game.
Note: This is not needed when using a static cache location (Settings > Tools > Local.dat).
Screenshots
Tired of the 999 limit, low quality JPEGs or uncompressed bitmaps? The screenshots tool can be found under the tools tab of the settings and be used to rename screenshots and/or convert them as they're taken. Bitmaps can be converted to either higher (or even lower) quality JPEGs or lossless PNGs.