I did a search on makerwys and read all 4 pages of the posts that got listed here. Didn't find this answer. In another post here (or somewhere else I read?) it said something like, "Makerwys will create a list of all runways of active scenery in your scenery library..." Was this just "bad wording" by the poster? Or do I need to have ALL the scenery "check box" entries "checked" in my FSX Scenery Library list? Or are all the entries in the Scenery Library list considered "Active" when Makerwys compiles the runway list, regardless of if their check boxes are "checked" or not? Reason I ask is I check/uncheck various Scenery Library entries depending on where I'm flying in FSX to save loading time and computer resources. Thanks for clarification.

.... it said something like, "Makerwys will create a list of all runways of active scenery in your scenery library..." Was this just "bad wording" by the poster? Or do I need to have ALL the scenery "check box" entries "checked" in my FSX Scenery Library list? Or are all the entries in the Scenery Library list considered "Active" when Makerwys compiles the runway list, regardless of if their check boxes are "checked" or not? Reason I ask is I check/uncheck various Scenery Library entries depending on where I'm flying in FSX to save loading time and computer resources.

It only deals with ACTIVE sceneries because there's no point indexing non-active ones -- the data it provides those programs that use it, like Radar Contact, needs to reflect the world you are flying in, not one you've disabled. Provided you haven't got multiple versions of the same airport installed (only enabling your current favourite version), then if you want to avoid having to regenerate the databases for RC each time you change what's active and what's not, you need to enable all areas before making the data base. Pete

Pete, Thanks, that clarified it. I thought if I ran makerwys ONCE with everything in the library active (checked), it would compile a complete database for future use, regardless if I had a particular scenery "checked" for an individual flight later. Just wanted to make sure. So, say I installed a new scenery and added it to the Scenery Library. If I had any scenery in the library UNCHECKED (from a previous flight) and ran makerwys WITHOUT rechecking EVERYTHING first, I would get a NEW makerwys database that wasn't complete. I wonder how many people have been hosed doing that? All of a sudden Radar Contact can't find a runway for something they had unchecked from a previous FSX session. ;-)

I wonder how many people have been hosed doing that?

I doubt very much that many folks do what you do with the library. It seems that a lot more time would be spent on that than just letting FS load normally with everything enabled. it only tends to be slow when you've changed the library as it has to rebuild its own indices too. The only saving I've ever made in loading time (which is only a once a day delay in any case) is when, because I only fly in Europe, I disabled everything outside -- default scenery and terrain included. I stopped doing that because (a) it didn't save all much time really, and (b ) it stopped a lot of the AI traffic arriving at airports I was using from airports disabled or more limited by fewer gates. Also note that other programs I know which need data about scenery and airports installed in your system will only gather it for active sceneries. For example Aivlasoft's EFP and FlightKeeper. RegardsPete

Probably right, not many people would do it. But I do have a ton of addons in the Scenery Library...lots of them are photo-realistic packages with their own airports included like NL2000. I usually don't have those "checked" when I'm not flying in that area. But say I downloaded a new version of makerwys and ran it without going into my Scenery Library and checking those addons first. The new makerwys data files would not have those airport runways particular to that addon in it then, correct? All I was wondering was if I did have a reason to run makerwys, like when updating the RC database, should I ensure I activate the entire Scenery Library to get a "full" database of runway info. Sounds like the answer is yes. Thanks for the replies.

But say I downloaded a new version of makerwys and ran it without going into my Scenery Library and checking those addons first. The new makerwys data files would not have those airport runways particular to that addon in it then, correct?

Correct. The data must reflect what is active in FS, else it is not correct.

All I was wondering was if I did have a reason to run makerwys, like when updating the RC database, should I ensure I activate the entire Scenery Library to get a "full" database of runway info. Sounds like the answer is yes.

Yes, as I explained already. And not only MakeRunways, but pretty much any other program you use which uses airport data relevant to your FS installation. Pete

I disable stuff occasionally (usually, like FalconAF, photoscenery I don't intend to visit for a while). Mostly though I add a whole country's airports and scenery, then remove it entirely in favour of the default stuff, and rebuild runway db., AI traffic, external flight planner et c., once I'm ready to head somewhere else. I don't think I've been caught out (would I have noticed?) but probably only by chance. It's surely worth considering adding a clarification to any up-issue of relevant manuals. Cheers,D