AFCAD File Question

[onurksn 1]

Hello fellow simmers,As far as add-on airports are concerned I don't like .exe files, I prefer knowing where the files are going. You may have noticed, some freeware sceneries (airports) come with a seperate AFCAD file which you have to place in the Addon Scenery/scenery folder (according to it's installation instructions). Mostly though, the AFCAD (AF2.bgl) file is already placed in the scenery folder of the add-on. What is the difference?My second question is, would it be possible to place directly the AF2 file in the scenery folder of the add-on airport itself instead of the Addon Scenery/scenery folder?Thanks in advance

[Opa 6]

>Hello fellow simmers,>>As far as add-on airports are concerned I don't like .exe>files, I prefer knowing where the files are going. >You may have noticed, some freeware sceneries (airports) come>with a seperate AFCAD file which you have to place in the>Addon Scenery/scenery folder (according to it's installation>instructions). Mostly though, the AFCAD (AF2.bgl) file is>already placed in the scenery folder of the add-on. What is>the difference?>>My second question is, would it be possible to place directly>the AF2 file in the scenery folder of the add-on airport>itself instead of the Addon Scenery/scenery folder?>>Thanks in advanceI have been placing afcads in the scenery subfolder of the airport's scenery entry for several years and have had no issues whatsoever.I do this as placing them in the "traditional" Addon scenery/scenery subfolder soon clutters up that subfolder.If I should want to remove the airport in question, one delete gets it all if I have placed the afcad in it's scenery subfolder - no stray afcads left over. I do the same for any associated traffic files - makes housekeeping much easier.FS2004 seems to work just as well with the afcad and traffic files placed in other than the "traditional" locations.

[N60JBravo 27]

Onur,I am not a fan of .exe files either and always direct them to a temporary folder and then copy the files into the sim. This way I can see what is there and also run any uninstall after the files are copied to clean things up.Afcad files can go in any scenery folder as long as it is an active one and FS will see it.Some people like to put all of them in ...FS9Addon Sceneryscenery. The primary reason I have seen for this strategy is it makes it easier to see duplicate Afcads for the same airport.I also think this is popular with people who add a lot of Afcads for the primary purpose of adding/modifying parking for AI without necessarily changing the visual scenery. Something I don't do a lot of.I personally like to keep the Afcads in the individual scenery folder of the addons. This way if I decide to get rid of the airport I don't have to go looking for the Afcad separately. I also have some airports that I have more than one addon for that I switch back and forth between. By having the Afcad in the local scenery folder I don't have to worry about having the right one active, or having duplicates active. I believe that Afcad type files that are created with AFX instead of Afcad2 can include "exclude" polys, and their priority can create havoc with scenery objects if they are in the wrong place.The bottom line is, as I see it and I am no expert, no 2 computers or FS setups are the same. Everyone has their own opinion as to what is "correct". The most important thing is to pick a strategy, no matter which one, and be consistent in it's use. This will make troubleshooting easier when it is inevitably needed.Hope this helps.

[onurksn 1]

Thank you very much gentlemen.Opa, my concern is pretty much the same, stray afcads, I find it much easier to keep things tidy, it prevents CTD's.>I am not a fan of .exe files either and always direct them to a temporary folder and then copy the files into the sim.Joe, thanks for the hint:), I just deleted any scenery with an .exe, now with this technique I can at least take a look at it.>The bottom line is, as I see it and I am no expert, no 2 computers or FS setups are the same. Everyone has their own opinion as to what is "correct". The most important thing is to pick a strategy, no matter which one, and be consistent in it's use. This will make troubleshooting easier when it is inevitably needed.I absolutely agree with you.