WoW Forever UI Setup: Edit Mode, Bartender4, Plater and ElvUI Status

WoW Forever looks like old Azeroth but uses the modern interface underneath, so the tools for arranging your screen are the ones retail players know: Edit Mode, a handful of focused addons, and full replacements such as ElvUI. This guide builds a WoW Forever UI setup in the order that causes the fewest headaches: UI scale first, then an Edit Mode layout you can save and share, then single-purpose addons for bars, unit frames and nameplates, and finally the honest status of ElvUI and the Classic look. Checked on 8 November 2026 for WoW Forever 1.60.1. Addon versions are a snapshot from launch week; check each Files tab before installing.

Short answer

• Set the UI scale before you move a single frame, because changing it later shifts everything.
• Edit Mode, opened from the Game Menu, offers Modern and Classic presets; copy one, move frames, then press Save.
• Layouts can be shared as text strings and imported, which makes backups and copying a friend's setup easy.
• For more control add Bartender4 for bars, BetterBlizzFrames for unit frames and Plater for nameplates.
• ElvUI 16.00 added initial Forever support; get it from tukui.org, not CurseForge, and never run it with Bartender4.
• ClassicUI Forever gives the old 1.x look piece by piece over the modern interface.

Start with UI scale and Edit Mode

1. Open Options and find the "Use UI Scale" setting in the graphics section. Tick it and move the slider until chat and tooltips are readable without crowding the screen; on 1440p and 4K monitors the default often looks small.
2. Press Escape and choose Edit Mode. One guide also reports an Edit Mode entry when you right-click your character portrait.
3. Open the Layout dropdown. Modern (Preset) is the centred retail-style layout; Classic (Preset) puts the bars and frames where old players expect them.
4. Presets cannot be changed directly, so copy the one you like and give your copy a name.
5. Click any highlighted frame to drag it or to change its options, such as the number of action bar rows, icon size or whether a bar shows only in combat.
6. Press Save before leaving. Closing Edit Mode without saving throws your changes away.

Your Experience preset from first login (Classic or Enhanced) also sets a starting layout, but you can switch layouts at any time without changing the preset. If you have not chosen yet, see Classic vs Enhanced preset.

Sharing and backups. The Share button (Copy to Clipboard) copies the whole layout as a text string; paste it into a text file outside the game folder. To use someone else's layout, choose Import in the Layout dropdown, paste the string, name it and confirm, then save. Import under a new name so your own layout stays safe.

Built-in tools. The damage meter, swing timer and Cooldown Manager are all off by default. Switch them on in Options, then place them in Edit Mode like any other frame. The Cooldown Manager and its limits are covered in WeakAuras alternatives.

Add single-purpose addons

When Edit Mode is not enough, add one addon per area. All of these had a file tagged WoW Forever on CurseForge on 8 November.

Addon	What it changes	Forever file seen	Opens with	Do not combine with
Bartender4	Action bars: paging, fading, more bars and finer placement	4.18.4, 3 Nov	/bt or /bartender	Dominos, ElvUI bars
BetterBlizzFrames	Keeps Blizzard's unit frames but adds class colours, dark mode, buff filters and party cast bars	v2.2.0i, 8 Nov	/bbf	Full unit-frame replacements
Plater	Enemy nameplates with readable cast bars, threat colours and profiles	v663, 4 Nov	/plater	Other nameplate addons
ClassicUI Forever	The 1.x look for bars, frames, map, bags and more, each part on its own toggle	v0.50.0, 8 Nov	/fcui	ElvUI, other Classic-look skins

Setting order that works:

1. Install Bartender4, type /bt, unlock the bars and rebuild the layout you had in Edit Mode. Disable the matching Blizzard bars in Edit Mode so they do not overlap.
2. Install BetterBlizzFrames, type /bbf, turn on class colours and, if you like it, dark mode. Leave buff filtering for later.
3. Install Plater, type /plater and keep the default profile for a week; change only the enemy cast bar size at first.

Forever hides some combat data from addons in instances, so odd nameplate behaviour in a dungeon is often a limit, not a bug. More picks: the best Forever addons.

Full replacements: ElvUI and the Classic look

ElvUI. ElvUI's own changelog says version 16.00, released on 13 October 2026, added initial support for Forever, and 16.01 on 3 November added gamepad support there. Fan sites still disagree about its state, so read the changelog yourself. Download it from tukui.org or an app the project lists there; it is not on CurseForge, and "ElvUI Forever" ports on GitHub are unofficial.

1. Back up _forever_\WTF before the first install.
2. Disable Bartender4, BetterBlizzFrames and any other bar or frame addon, because ElvUI replaces them.
3. Install, log in and follow ElvUI's installer from start to finish.
4. Move frames with ElvUI's own movers, not with Edit Mode.

ClassicUI Forever. If you want the original look rather than a modern one, ClassicUI Forever restores it piece by piece. /fcui help lists every toggle and /fcui status prints a report for bug reports. There is a similarly named "Classic UI Forever" project by another author; check the author before you install.

A starting layout by play style

Play style	Suggested setup
Solo levelling	Classic or Modern preset copy, one extra bar, built-in damage meter off
Dungeons	Bartender4, Plater, built-in damage meter or Details!, party frames as raid-style
Healer	Raid-style party frames in Edit Mode, Click Casting from the key bindings, BetterBlizzFrames
Classic feel	Classic preset copy plus ClassicUI Forever
One unified look	ElvUI on its own

Common problems

Problem	What helps
Frames jumped after changing UI scale	Set the scale first, then rebuild or re-import your layout
Edit Mode changes vanished	You closed Edit Mode without Save; redo and save
Two sets of action bars	Hide the Blizzard bars in Edit Mode or remove the second bar addon
ElvUI does not appear in the AddOns list	You downloaded a Retail or unofficial copy; reinstall from tukui.org
Nameplates look wrong inside dungeons	Forever hides some data from addons in instances; update Plater and keep defaults
Imported layout string fails	It was made for another client or is incomplete; ask for a fresh string

Tips

• Change one area of the screen per evening so you know what caused any problem.
• Keep a text file with your Edit Mode string and the date it was made.
• Put the most important information near the centre, where your eyes already are.
• Do not mix ElvUI with any other bar, frame or nameplate addon.
• Return to the Modern or Classic preset to rule out a layout problem.
• Read our install guide if an addon does not show up.

ForeverBot and this setup

ForeverBot is easiest to set up next to the default interface: keep the default UI scale, leave your bags and action bars visible, and add interface replacements only after your first sessions work. A saved Edit Mode string makes switching back painless. Start with the ForeverBot first-run setup. Any automation breaks Blizzard's rules, and Blizzard bans accounts for it.

FAQ

How do I get the classic UI back in WoW Forever?

Open Edit Mode from the Game Menu and choose Classic (Preset) in the Layout dropdown; copy it if you want to change anything. For the old textures and frame art as well, install ClassicUI Forever from CurseForge and switch its parts on with /fcui. The Classic Experience preset also starts you with a classic layout.

Does ElvUI work in WoW Forever?

Yes, in an early form: ElvUI's changelog says version 16.00 added initial Forever support in October 2026, and 16.01 followed on 3 November. Install it from tukui.org, not from CurseForge or GitHub copies, and back up your WTF folder before switching.

Can I share my Edit Mode layout?

Yes. In Edit Mode, the Share button copies the layout as a text string that anyone can import through the Layout dropdown. Store the string in a text file as a backup too, because a lost layout is tedious to rebuild by hand.