Visual Workbench Minecraft Mod

in Mods

By Nathan Young

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Overview

Adding features to Vanilla Minecraft allows for a wide variety of improvements, with some being better than others. This requires using modifications, which allow players to quickly change in-game aspects. If you’re wanting to increase the quality of life in your world, then consider trying the Visual Workbench mod. Using this makes any default and custom recipes appear over the crafting table with animations. It’ll also keep any items placed inside of its GUI, making it easier for you to make anything. Setting this up is straightforward, especially on our panel due to its friendly user interface. However, some newcomers to the modding scene may be unfamiliar with the entire process. Due to this, we’ll show you how to install and use Visual Workbench on your Minecraft server in this Apex Hosting guide.
 

How to Download

1. Navigate to Visual Workbench on CurseForge, then click Files near the top.
   
2. Scroll down and locate your desired Game Version, then select it.
3. Afterward, simply click the Download button on the right.
   
4. Save this file somewhere easily accessible on your computer for later.

Important: If you’re using Forge for this modification, then ensure to also install the Puzzles Lib dependency. Without doing this, Visual Workbench will not work properly. Similarly, if you’re using Fabric, then install the following: Fabric API, Forge Config API Port, and Puzzles Lib. Afterward, keep all these files for the client and server installation process.

Client Installation

Before setting this up on your Minecraft launcher, ensure that you’ve installed Forge or Fabric depending on your setup. Either one of these are required for mod support, making it essential for this process. After you’ve done this, follow along below to begin loading the mods.

1. Open your Minecraft launcher and navigate to the Installations section.
   
2. Locate the already installed Forge or Fabric profile, then click its Folder icon.
   
3. In the new window, find and enter the mods directory.
   Note: If you don’t see this, create it before proceeding.
4. Afterward, drag and drop the downloaded files into this area.
   
5. When you’re done, return to the modded profile and press Play to begin loading it.

Server Installation

Similarly to the client setup, you’ll want to select Forge or Fabric in the Game File area of your main server panel. This is needed for mods to become compatible with Minecraft, meaning it’s required. When you’re ready, review the steps below to begin the installation process.

1. Head towards your Apex server panel and click FTP File Access near the top left.
   
2. Continue to type your Password in the text box, then press the Login button.
   
3. Afterward, locate and enter the mods directory from the list.
4. Once there, click Upload at the top left corner from the options.
5. Proceed to drag and drop your mod files into the respective area.
   
6. Wait for this to reach 100%, then Restart the server from the main panel to load it.

Getting Started

Upon joining the server, everything may seem the same before you installed Visual Workbench. This is due to the mod’s impact on your world, as it only tweaks the crafting table. Start by making this in your inventory with 4x Wood Planks or navigate towards your existing bench. Right-click it and begin crafting anything you want, which does involve collecting additional resources depending on your desired item. Afterward, exit out of the workbenches GUI menu to start looking at the visual display.
 

Item Animations

While viewing a recipe outside of the crafting menu, players should be able to see tiny materials on top of the block. If the assortment of them is correct, the craftable item will hover over everything. When players move around, the animations should follow their point of view. This is a simple quality of life enhancement in your Minecraft server, so don’t expect too much from it.

However, custom items from other modifications should also appear over the crafting table. This may require minor configuration changes, which we’ll discuss later on in the subsections below.
 

Material Interactions

If a player decides to break the crafting table while items are stored within it, everything will drop normally. In a way, this acts like another container unit for your base. Although, this isn’t the main function of Visual Workbench. This is useful for displaying items you want, which may come in handy for screenshots or showing off to other players. Additionally, it’s a good feature to have around so your materials don’t get lost after removing the workbench.

Custom Item Support

As for implementing custom and modded items into Visual Workbench, you’ll need to tweak its configuration file from the FTP panel. There are already popular materials from common mods inside of the settings, but must be manually set otherwise. For example, if you try to add an item from Create, then make sure to copy and paste its ID in the configuration with proper formatting. This mimics Minecraft’s default material names, such as “minecraft:stone” or “minecraft:diamond_sword”. Obtaining your other mod’s item IDs may be challenging, so we encourage you to search for a wiki or use additional resources to accomplish that. Besides this, the steps below will guide you through the process to edit and apply your desired changes for Visual Workbench.

1. Navigate to the FTP File Access area, then Login with your Password.
2. Afterward, locate and enter the config directory.
   
3. Continue to press Edit on the visual_workbench.json file.
   
4. Make any desired changes, then click Save at the top.
   
5. Return to the main panel and Restart the server to apply the edits.

Common Issues

In cases where players are unable to join the server, ensure they’ve successfully entered a valid IP Address:Port or Subdomain for the connection. This information can be found in the main panel, which can be sent to incoming users so they may connect without problems. Alternatively, improperly installing the mods on the server can result in the same issue. For instance, uploading the files in the wrong directory will trigger an error upon joining in-game. Similarly, failing to restart from the panel will result in this error. Make sure to upload everything correctly and reboot the server so the modifications can load properly.

Occasionally, the server and client will crash or fail to load due to missing dependencies. Ensure that you and anyone else are using Visual Workbench’s required modifications so everything runs properly. The type of them changes depending on your setup since Forge and Fabric have unique designs. This applies on the server and launcher, including matching the game version you’re loading. Besides this, allocating more memory to your client might resolve the situation if it persists.
 

Useful Links

Visual Workbench on CurseForge
How to Upload Mods on a Minecraft Server
Modded Minecraft Server Optimization Guide
How to Use and Navigate the FTP Panel