Is there a proper way to update mods using Nexus Mod Manager, in order to avoid resetting the mod completely? I updated my Sabrecat mod last night, installed the new version, then deleted the old one. This reset the mod. I was thinking that could be bad for more content-oriented mods. Is there a way to do this that prevents the mod from getting reset?? Or do you just have to stick with old versions to avoid that?

Yes. When you get the option to update, click no. Then when you get the next option, click yes to all for the new files to over write the old ones.

i just deactivate old, delete it then add the new and install, why would it get reset if you dont play and save your game in between update?

If the mod is an update, that won't work, because you need files from the old mod and the new mod.

If the mod is a new version of the old file then your way works just fine.

I do as above poster. Download with manager, then deactivate and delete old mod, then activate new mod.

There doesn't seem to be a proper "update" feature for NMM, unless I'm being a rem

Sabretooth used to have the version number in the file name, now it doesn't. It was a small error with the mod, not nmm.

oh i see sorry, your talking about installing part of the mod via NMM just using the changed/updated files, thought you were talking about installing a whole new version of the mod. Which is what i do, if there is a update, to save things from getting messy i just download the whole new version of the mod and do my method, unless its a 1gb+ texture pack where i would download the update and let it overwrite whatever.
Sorry, i misunderstood the question.

Okay so it was an error with Sabretooth? Normally to install an update though, do I install the new one and overwrite files, and then delete the old one? Or do I delete the old one completely then install the new one? I've read the other responses but I'm not quite sure.

mindman, if you have downloaded a WHOLE new version of the latest mod file you then simply deactivate and delete the old version and add and install the new version. But if you download a UPDATE which is only the changed files then you need to install it and keep BOTH files otherwise the mod will not work as you deleted some of the files that werent overwritten.

The manager detects when you are trying to install an update/upgrade of the mod. It asks something like "do you want to upgrade and deactivate the previous version?"

So if the update is an real update select: NO which simple installs the update of the mod the normal way oweriting every existing files installed by the main mod.

And if it is just a new version of the mod select: YES which first deactivates the previous version of the mod and installs the updated version. After it you can simply remove the older version.

This is the best explanation I have seen for the way NMM works.