I am OK with the compressed, FS8 style bgl files - it's easy to get them to sca files, edit that and recompile with BglComp... But I have never understood what happens with FS9 files. Can anyone please help me on this?I have a bgl file which contains a lot of extra buildings around Dubai - all very nice, but the file also contains the Burj tower, which I already have (in a much better representation), so I now have two towers side by side. Clearly I want to remove the less good one. I cannot use BGLAnalyze for this, as the said bgl is an uncompressed file and that programme won't open it of course. OK, I use 'NewBglAnalyze', which gives me the option to disassemble to an XML file. When I do that I get a small XML file and several mdl files.OK, so now what do I do? In theory I'd remove the model of the extra Burj tower and reassemble, but in practice I don't suppose it works like that. I have no idea how to get the files back to a working bgl, if indeed that is at all possible.If it is, what do I do with the little xml file and the mdl files? If not, is there an alternative method?Many thanks for any advice on this.Martin

I am OK with the compressed, FS8 style bgl files - it's easy to get them to sca files, edit that and recompile with BglComp... But I have never understood what happens with FS9 files. Can anyone please help me on this?I have a bgl file which contains a lot of extra buildings around Dubai - all very nice, but the file also contains the Burj tower, which I already have (in a much better representation), so I now have two towers side by side. Clearly I want to remove the less good one. I cannot use BGLAnalyze for this, as the said bgl is an uncompressed file and that programme won't open it of course. OK, I use 'NewBglAnalyze', which gives me the option to disassemble to an XML file. When I do that I get a small XML file and several mdl files.OK, so now what do I do? In theory I'd remove the model of the extra Burj tower and reassemble, but in practice I don't suppose it works like that. I have no idea how to get the files back to a working bgl, if indeed that is at all possible.If it is, what do I do with the little xml file and the mdl files? If not, is there an alternative method?Many thanks for any advice on this.Martin

Hi Martin:Actually, the procedures you described are already on the right track if you want to edit your own FS Scenery Object Library, then recompile a new library with your own custom objects (...it is best NOT to decompile / edit default or 3rd party library BGLs).See this wiki: http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?...Creator_XML_2.0...and download Arno's Library Creator XML 2.0.2: http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/downloads...o=file&id=8If you are trying to edit a default or 3rd party airport, you could import and edit a COPY of the airport with Airport Design Engine for FS9 (ADE9) :http://www.scruffyduck.org.uk/filemanager/...b03b4dea219d7eeADE9 Support Forum: http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=95ADE9 allows excluding (and adding) your choice of airport and generic / scenery library objects via a copy of the airport.To do this, the existing series of airport and object placement BGLs must be placed below the new ADE9 copy of the airport in the FS Scenery Library user interface "stack of layers".ADE9's GUI allows use of a picklist of object types to be excluded in FS Scenery Library "layers" below that of the copied ADE airport BGL, but does not impact BGLs in its own layer, or layers above it.Alternatively, one can use a 3rd party utility or NotePad to construct a small XML file using the proper codes to exclude the airport and/or generic / library objects no longer desired to be seen in FS9.The "exclude XML" file is then compiled to an "exclude BGL" with FS9 SDK's BGLCompiler, and placed in the same scenery library layer containing new BGLs you have created to edit the airport (ex: object placement BGLs etc.).Note: This method allows either excluding all objects with a large rectangle, and then rebuilding with the desired objects, or being careful to make only tiny exclusion rectangles; one must be sure to intercept and enclose the LAT/LON coordinates of an objects reference point (which is sometimes off-center of the objects visual model!). Hope this helps point you in the right direction to both simplify ...and expand the options available for your task ! :( GaryGB

Many thanks for the reply: I'll go through this carefully and let you know how I get on!Martin :-)

I agree that simply creating a small exclusion to get rid of the object you don't want is best. You probably need to give the resulting file a name starting with "z" if you put your exclusion in the same scenery folder as the rest of the scenery. If you then are going to place your own object at the same position, it's best to put the placement in the same file, or you are going to have to name it something like "zz" so that the files are processed in the desired order.Alternatively, if you want to edit the existing bgls, as you see in fs9 scenery objects consist of the .mdl which is compiled into a bgl, and placement xml code that actually places the object into the world. The linkage is the GUID tag. If you edit out the specific placement entry, then of course the object won't show. scott s..

... Gary, looking towards the end of what you wrote, is it really possible to exclude objects from 3rd. party scenery with an exc file? I have made many such files, but as far as I have ever understood it they only seem to work on FS9 default autogen. How to I get an exc file to exclude ALL objects, including 3rd. party addon objects which are part of an airport or other scenery folder?M.

Scott, only saw your post when I added my reply above. Once I edit out the placement entry in the xml file, as you suggest (fine so far) what I don't understand is how I replace the original bgl file with my updated version: what exactly do I do with the little xml file I have changed and the mdl files that resulted from disassembling the original bgl? I think there is a big gap in my understanding here, I get the feeling we are at crossed purposes..

Hmm, tried several bgls, variously named, and also added an exclusion line to the scenery.cfg. Nothing works. The co-ordinates are:N25 11.66, E55 16.37, N25 11.85 E55 16.41

Hmm, tried several bgls, variously named, and also added an exclusion line to the scenery.cfg. Nothing works. The co-ordinates are:N25 11.66, E55 16.37, N25 11.85 E55 16.41

Hi Martin:Although FS9 and FSX still honor the exclude statements in the Scenery.cfg file, they must be entered properly in a specific sequence of LAT/LON coordinates.Getting high-decimal-precision coordinates for small exclusion rectangle vertices can be more easily achieved by slewing around in FS using the Finney Ground Crosshairs Plus and using the cockpit gauge for data readout (very handy for scenery building in general too!) :http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID...amp;DLID=130805...I think the above updated version still works in FS9 as well as FSX, but if not, use the original:http://library.avsim.net/search.php?Search...t&Go=SearchAdditionally, FlattEx v.1.0.1 - Flatten and Exclude Capture Program can assist with doing scenery.cfg exclude and flatten edits:http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID...&DLID=77732I would recommend using an exclude BGL rather than the Scenery.cfg entries to avoid errors in editing the coordinates, and possibly clobbering the Scenery.cfg file itself (yes it can be repaired with either of several utilities or brute force NotePad editing, but prevention is the best cure !)FYI: There are a number of airport, autogen and scenery generic / library object types that can be excluded (in addition to just autogen) with statements in an XML file compiled to a BGL as mentioned above.Additionally, I would recommend taking a look at some 3rd party FS9 airport and scenery "exclude BGL files" de-compiled with NewBGLAnalyze to see how the XML exclude statements are set up, then practice with a few using the scenery library layer location and naming scheme suggested by Scott above.I strongly encourage use of scruffyduck's ADE9X, as it should allow you to more easily do all the things you are likely to want to do with modding an airport for FS9, not the least of which is making excludes.Although ADE9X may offer the ability to retain the exclude codes inside the output airport BGL, IIRC it also can write the exclude out into a separate file if that is all you want to do initially.NOTE: I just tried the link above and it didn't work, so try this one instead to get to the Scruffyduck Download Center:http://www.scruffyduck.org.uk/filemanager/...4c43386dc7daf28ADE9X lets you do as much or as little as you wish with the imported copy of an airport, so don't let it overwhelm you with its potential.I suggest downloading it and the other associated / required files, then browse the Readme and Manual first before starting it up; in particular see "14.3 Exclusion Rectangles" on page 170 of that "ADE9x-Manual-EN.pdf" file:http://www.scruffyduck.org.uk/filemanager/...ccion=descargarAlso note that in ADE9X one can view an FS9 version of XML code for excludes (and other objects) existing in an imported airport, copy it to NotePad and edit the coordinates etc. to make a test exclude of one's own (although the GUI of ADE makes it so easy you'll likely never want to go back to hand-made excludes !) :( Let us know how things come along for you with this approach, and we'll try to be of further assistance here as time permits.Hope this helps a bit more ! :( GaryGB

Gary,Thanks again for the detailed reply - it's very good of you to give me your time like this. I did enter the co-ordinates properly, I am pretty sure. I could post the format of the file, but I'll read through what you've written first and see how I get on, then post back (may be a day or two).Regards,Martin

Well, I installed ADE9X and configured it as necessary. Amazing programme, it will be good to explore its possibilities - but so far no success with the exclude. I am one of those people who just wants to get stuck in to a project without reading the manual, but that wasn't a good idea in this case and I read as much as I felt I needed. But did I do it correctly?I opened the stock airport (OMDB) and followed through the instructions to get an exclusion rectangle (whilst connected to FS9 of course to get the right co-ordinates). I got the Exc dialogue box OK and chose 'All', then saved the project. Then I compiled and a file was produced called OMDB_ADE9_MS.bgl, which I placed into my OMDB/scenery folder, removing the 3rd. party AF2 file for OMDB. (This was just to test that the exclusion worked - I'd need to work on the 3rd. party AFCAD, not the FS9 default AP******.bgl of course). But, oh woe, the duplicate tower is still there.Have I missed out something or does this sound OK? If the procedure is correct I can retry with slightly different co-ordinates, but they looked correct in ADE9X. (I usually use ExcBuilder to make exc files - I never add lines to the scenery.cfg file: but I have never managed to exclude any object apart from FS9 default scenery - I assumed it was not possible. Any idea why that might be, am I naming the file incorrectly?).Thanks again. I do intend to crack this problem!!Martin

Well, I installed ADE9X and configured it as necessary. Amazing programme, it will be good to explore its possibilities - but so far no success with the exclude. I am one of those people who just wants to get stuck in to a project without reading the manual, but that wasn't a good idea in this case and I read as much as I felt I needed. But did I do it correctly?I opened the stock airport (OMDB) and followed through the instructions to get an exclusion rectangle (whilst connected to FS9 of course to get the right co-ordinates). I got the Exc dialogue box OK and chose 'All', then saved the project. Then I compiled and a file was produced called OMDB_ADE9_MS.bgl, which I placed into my OMDB/scenery folder, removing the 3rd. party AF2 file for OMDB. (This was just to test that the exclusion worked - I'd need to work on the 3rd. party AFCAD, not the FS9 default AP******.bgl of course). But, oh woe, the duplicate tower is still there.Have I missed out something or does this sound OK? If the procedure is correct I can retry with slightly different co-ordinates, but they looked correct in ADE9X. (I usually use ExcBuilder to make exc files - I never add lines to the scenery.cfg file: but I have never managed to exclude any object apart from FS9 default scenery - I assumed it was not possible. Any idea why that might be, am I naming the file incorrectly?).Thanks again. I do intend to crack this problem!!Martin

Hi Martin:First, please clarify whether we are talking about the 3rd party Burj Tower objects from either or both of these sources:Downtown Scenery Development for Flight Simulator (aka "DSDG") (FS2004 NOT FSX)Product Website: http://dsdg.webs.com/products.htmDownload Link: http://uploadingit.com/d/xgkovFLYTAMPA LEGACY - DUBAI INTL OMDB/DBX (FS2004 NOT FSX)http://secure.simmarket.com/flytampa-legac...l-omdbdbx.phtmlhttp://www.flytampa.org/downloads.htmlObject Source Download Link: http://www.flytampa.org/dwl/flytampa_dubaicity10.zipIf we are discussing yet another Burj Tower scenery source different than the above, is it from FS2004 or FS2002 (aka FS8) ? :( The reason I ask is to determine if the objects are in FS9 scenery library format (in case you need to exclude both towers via 1 exclude rectangle, then go back and "place" (1) of them again with XML methods).FYI: I saw no Burj Tower in FS9 default scenery objects, so I installed DSDG Burj Tower into FS9.When I loaded the DSDG Burj Tower in FS9, and slewed the aircraft marker on-axis in a zoomed top-down view, FSUIPC coordinates were precisely: E55.2741647500005N25.1971661111649I first kept that position as a saved FS9 *.FLT file, and then in ADE9X, I clicked "Connect" to center on the FS9 aircraft " live.When I zoom out in ADE9X until I see the aircraft marker, I can add a small "Exclude All" rectangle there around the perimeter of that aircraft marker.Again in ADE9X, when I select the edge of the exclude, right-click, and choose "Show XML", I can copy the XML to NotePad for further use.My example XML "Exclude" rectangle vertex coordinates for the base of the DSDG Burj Tower in FS9 are:<ExclusionRectangle latitudeMinimum="25.196984637957" latitudeMaximum="25.197409168" longitudeMinimum="55.273900353" longitudeMaximum="55.2744303463591" excludeAllObjects="TRUE"/>If this is prepared with other required code in an XML file, it can be compiled via FS9 SDK BGLCompiler to make an Exclusion BGL in a file separate from the ADE9X copy of the Dubai airport area BGL.NOTE: The same process above can be used with the other tower (unless they are too close together and the exclude coordinates overlap / conflict ! )BTW: Just how far apart are the "twin towers" that you are trying to "exclude"? :( PS: Have you tried flying a heading of 210 at 1300 MSL from the Dubai airport tower with crash detection turned on (oops... ignore that idea !) :( But seriously, decompile one of your existing FS9 excludes and see how it is structured, then try the coordinates above to see if it excludes the DSDG Burj Tower.It may be easier to first exclude both towers, and then just "re-place" the one you wish to keep in your scenery project with XML methods.Hope this gets you closer to your target ! B) GaryGB

Yes, those are the files. The 'other' tower comes from ftdubaicityaptmods.zip (AVSIM).My co-ordinates pretty much match yours, and the procedure you describe is more or less the same as I have done. I already tried to exclude both towers by having a larger exclude area, but I just had another go. All seems to go fine in ADE9X - and after I mark the location and get the exclude area, I get a bgl file when I choose 'compile airport', as I noted below. I put that file into the OMDB folder, and disable/remove the AFCAD already there. Then restart FS9 and my saved flight - both towers still there.I already tried making a text-based exc file and compiling it to a bgl - with the same result (i.e. none). I am pretty sure I have the syntax right - as I said, I've made exclude files before this way, and they have worked fine (except that I can never get 3rd. party objects to go, only FS9 buildings etc., as I mentioned right at the start).Don't see what more I can do. Maybe if you succeed in getting this to work yourself, you could post up the xml (or sca) text and I can recompile to a bgl and test it myself. Depends how much more time and patience you have!Martin :-)

As I understand, all your files are in a OMBD\scenery\ folder, right? The exclusions you create follow scenery area priority, i.e., exclusions exclude lower priority scenery. Exclusions don't exclude objects in the same file. For mulitple files in the same folder, IIRC priority is determined in alplha-numeric order.so for example:0_my exclude.bgla_some scenery object.bglg_another exclude.bglz_another object.bglthe 0_my exclude will not exclude any scenery object in that folder, including a_some and z_another. g_another exclude will exclude a_some scenery but not z_another. So check your file names.scott s..

Yes, I will - thanks Scott. Oh, meant to say that I have tried adding the exclude file to different, active scenery folders, higher up the scenery library list, but still no result: I'll try again though,M... and I did rename my exclude file z_OMDB_Exc.bgl .. shouldn't that work?.

Hi Martin:This is indeed an intriguing scenario ! :( Now that I know what other files we are dealing with here, I can try later today looking at the scenario with a ftdubaicityaptmods package in the mix.Scott makes some important points about the priority FS9 BGL files indur due to both layer positioning and naming of such files, and I appreciate this opportunity to refresh my memory on these caveats.When I first began trying to comprehend these concepts back in the days of Ground2K4 with its explicit naming of multiple individual output files, I was initially bewildered by the numerous files created.But in time I began to see the benefit of tracking just what files did what... due to that explicit naming and separation into individual files.It can be challenging to grasp initially, and one must remember these caveats when either creating / modding, or when installing airports for either FS9 or FSX.Although FS9 is a bit more tolerant of multiple file I/O activity than FSX, the option of combining diverse scenery components (ex: airport objects, generic buildings, excludes) via nested XML statements all compiled into (1) BGL intended to minimize I/O in either version of FS can sometimes lead to difficulty sorting out baffling scenery priority and exclusion scenarios such as this.Adding to that complexity is the fact that IIUC, excludes can take conflicting priorities with regard to one another as well depending on their layer positioning and naming as Scott is explaining here (IIUC some excludes can negate one other too ?) With some sceneries we can end up with not only files in a unique folder (ex: [FS2004 install path]\Addon Scenery\OMDB\Scenery), but sometimes also airport "stub files" for elevation adjustment etc. can end up in [FS2004 install path]\Scenery\World\Scenery.If airport files placed in that location also contain anything more than bare minimum "airport stub" code, or if "non"-airport stub files also get placed there, baffling results can ensue.We can also end up with files pertinent to an airport or other add-on scenery in [FS2004 install path]\Addon Scenery\Scenery, and depending on what those files are, they can complicate sorting out the priority scheme.Perhaps that is why more experienced scenery builders such as Scott have come to see the advantages to both the developer and the end user in keeping (as much as possible) all components for a given scenery package together in (1) paired \Scenery and \Texture folder configuration in an effort to minimize complexity and chaos; using the special naming scheme allows files with different priorities to co-exist in (1) \Scenery folder placed at a particular layer in the FS Scenery Library.Just be glad we aren't also dealing with terrain mesh files here; those files have a "reverse" priority in FS9 ! :(It would of course be a good idea to copy out of ADE9X the exclude coordinate XML and make a separate BGL file, then test the scenery without that extra ADE9X copy of the Dubai aiport loaded to avoid adding more complexity to the troubleshooting scenario. :( I'll try to take a look at these packages again later today if I can, and will see if I might gain some additional insights.If I successfully get an exclude to work for the Burj Tower(s), I'll post my file list and location configuration along with the XML code used to this thread in a form that can be pasted into NotePad for further processing on your part.NOTE: I won't attach files / images here at AVSIM as they seem determined to delete forum attachments within 7 days (I thought hard drives were cheap, and AVSIM ran its own servers, so mirroring storage exense wasn't an issue... only bandwidth; a mirroring firm would do backups and keep them safely BTW!).Besides, I'd like to think that our efforts here may be of some ongoing help in coming months / years to others who are also trying to learn about the many aspects involved in MSFS Scenery Design.With further cooperative effort, I'm sure we can get to the bottom of the "twin towers that can't be excluded from Arabia" ! :( GaryGB