Prepar3D Addon Organizer 1.08 released

[Lorby_SI 2,038]

Hello @ll,

The P4AO version 1.08 has been released today.

This version will now rearrange the addon components and addon packages in the relevant cfg files to better reflect the intended ordering in the scenery library.

There were a few discussions going on about the (normal) duplicate layer numbers and the inability to layer add-on xml configurations inbetween the scenery.cfg in all kinds of arrangements. Some of this is still impossible, but what you can do now with the P4AO is to give several add-on xml configurations that have to have the same layer number a specific order nevertheless. The P4AO will change the sequence in which these configurations are read by the simulator, so the result should be pretty much exactly what you see on the first page.

There is one exception though:
Let's assume that you have two add-on xml configurations, that are both layered inside of the scenery.cfg. One of them has two sceneries (sc1 and sc2) and the second one has only one scenery (sc3). To get them in the same spot in the scenery.cfg assume that they all have the layer 120.

What you can do are the sequences sc3-sc1-sc2 / sc1-sc2-sc3 / sc3 - sc2 - sc1 / sc2 - sc1 - sc3

What you can not do is <sc1 - sc3 - sc2>. To solve this, you would have to move all three sceneries into the same XML file (which is also possible with the P4AO tool), then you can force them into this sequence.

Best regards

[grandfred29 180]

hello Oliver

Just installed the last version, , nice to see my problem to adjust the position of each scenery is resolve.

Now i want to know how to add that

FSDG team provide a folder configuration who have a dedicate scenery folder, with scenery/world/scenery and 3 files who correct altitude airport.

i added like a normal scene in the library via your software but the result on the sim is not good, that mean i do something wrong but??? what

just another and last question, in the manual, about check encoding error, when i use this item, have a message because there are some errors but there are no list appear, is it normal?

thanks

[krazyk 157]

Thank you so much, Oliver! I only started using this when I moved to v4 but what an amazingly powerful tool it is.

[tremor595 20]

13 hours ago, grandfred29 said:

FSDG team provide a folder configuration who have a dedicate scenery folder, with scenery/world/scenery and 3 files who correct altitude airport.

i added like a normal scene in the library via your software but the result on the sim is not good, that mean i do something wrong but??? what

 

 

Hi,

i hope i can add my question here as i hope it goes in a similar direction...

Most of the time now i first install an addon into a dummy P3D folder with just a dummy prepar3d.exe in it. Then i paste the generated content to my desired own custom addons folders (by country, region or whatever) and create my xml.

So i want to ask, when an addon installation generates files for the p3d\effects or p3d\sound or p3d\texture or p3d\scenery\world(or global)\scenery folders , and i mean many addons "do" this, so could i just make one single custom folder for all these (of course with the specific subfolders) and create one xml for all these together? So i would have a single folder outside my main p3d with all these fx, sound, world scenery ... files? 

I think i was reading about something like this but it seemed to cause problems if not done in a very specific order or with specific names, descriptions or whatever in the xml. I also was reading something about a limitation when creating too many xmls with fx entries in them? Is it right?? So that's why i would like to create one general folder plus xml for all the files i was talking about...

I hope you understand what i try to describe...

Or how are you dealing with these files?

 

(It also seems it's nearly impossible to keep really everything addon related outside the main p3d folder. But the more the better. For example i also have problems with my FSDG sceneries to split them manually to different custom folders (by country for example). One, no problem. But with more than one i got problems to get the FSDG configurator recognize all sceneries from their new custom locations. But that's another topic maybe...)

 

Thanks

 

[Lorby_SI 2,038]

9 hours ago, tremor595 said:

So i want to ask, when an addon installation generates files for the p3d\effects or p3d\sound or p3d\texture or p3d\scenery\world(or global)\scenery folders , and i mean many addons "do" this, so could i just make one single custom folder for all these (of course with the specific subfolders) and create one xml for all these together? So i would have a single folder outside my main p3d with all these fx, sound, world scenery ... files? 

Sure, why not? I am trying to use a few XML files as possible too. Not because of any technological reasons, but because there no longer is the necessity to turn parts of the simulator on or off all the time.

9 hours ago, tremor595 said:

I think i was reading about something like this but it seemed to cause problems if not done in a very specific order or with specific names, descriptions or whatever in the xml.

AFAIK, the "whatever" is, that when you have BGL files that need to go in on Layer 2 (=right above Scenery\World) you have to target the base layer folders directly in the xml "F:\MyBaseScenery\Content\World\scenery", "F:\MyBaseScenery\Content\World\texture". If you add it as a scenery area "F:\MyBaseScenery\Content\World" people say that it doesn't work.

Best regards

[Lorby_SI 2,038]

23 hours ago, grandfred29 said:

i added like a normal scene in the library via your software but the result on the sim is not good, that mean i do something wrong but??? what

Sorry, no idea. People have written that when you add it as I wrote in the post above, targeting the "scenery" subfolder directly at Layer 2, then it works.

23 hours ago, grandfred29 said:

just another and last question, in the manual, about check encoding error, when i use this item, have a message because there are some errors but there are no list appear, is it normal?

There is only the one message window, and on it is the list with the file names.

Best regards

[tremor595 20]

13 hours ago, Lorby_SI said:

AFAIK, the "whatever" is, that when you have BGL files that need to go in on Layer 2 (=right above Scenery\World) you have to target the base layer folders directly in the xml "F:\MyBaseScenery\Content\World\scenery", "F:\MyBaseScenery\Content\World\texture". If you add it as a scenery area "F:\MyBaseScenery\Content\World" people say that it doesn't work.

Thanks Lorby!

And how do i handle E:\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4\Scenery\Global\texture files? Also directly target the ...Global\texture folder? For example my FSX3D Barcelonnette addon comes with some of these global texture files but also some world scenery files.

Do i have to place the ...Scenery\Global files on a different layer?

 

Sorry, still learning...

[Lorby_SI 2,038]

2 hours ago, tremor595 said:

Thanks Lorby!

And how do i handle E:\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4\Scenery\Global\texture files? Also directly target the ...Global\texture folder? For example my FSX3D Barcelonnette addon comes with some of these global texture files but also some world scenery files.

Do i have to place the ...Scenery\Global files on a different layer?

 

Sorry, still learning...

Hi,

for these standard scenera areas I always take a look into the scenery.cfg - all of them are present in there (World and Global too). Scenery\Global are the "Global, Generic & Vehicle Libraries" on Layer 113. So in the addon.xml you would give it 113 too. But you have to make sure that these files are really addons and not replacements of existing files.

Texture folders can be added as addon compontents just like everything else on the "Other addons" tab of P4AO. If you really split the definition up into scenery and texture, you always target the lowest possible folder. Only when you add a scenery area (that contains subfolders \scenery and \texture you target the main folder. Which one of the two strategies works you will have to find out by trial&error...

Best regards

[tremor595 20]

21 minutes ago, Lorby_SI said:

Hi,

for these standard scenera areas I always take a look into the scenery.cfg - all of them are present in there (World and Global too). Scenery\Global are the "Global, Generic & Vehicle Libraries" on Layer 113. So in the addon.xml you would give it 113 too.

Nice hint!

 

27 minutes ago, Lorby_SI said:

But you have to make sure that these files are really addons and not replacements of existing files

Okay. So if two files with the same name exist it may cause anomalies. Then the originals probably should be backed up or get an *.off extension.

 

31 minutes ago, Lorby_SI said:

find out by trial&error...

Yes, as we are working external nowadays and our tools create backups... we should be on the safe side...

 

 

Thanks, Lorby!

[Boeing or not going 578]

On 7/26/2017 at 6:46 AM, Lorby_SI said:

Hello @ll,

The P4AO version 1.08 has been released today.

This version will now rearrange the addon components and addon packages in the relevant cfg files to better reflect the intended ordering in the scenery library.

There were a few discussions going on about the (normal) duplicate layer numbers and the inability to layer add-on xml configurations inbetween the scenery.cfg in all kinds of arrangements. Some of this is still impossible, but what you can do now with the P4AO is to give several add-on xml configurations that have to have the same layer number a specific order nevertheless. The P4AO will change the sequence in which these configurations are read by the simulator, so the result should be pretty much exactly what you see on the first page.

There is one exception though:
Let's assume that you have two add-on xml configurations, that are both layered inside of the scenery.cfg. One of them has two sceneries (sc1 and sc2) and the second one has only one scenery (sc3). To get them in the same spot in the scenery.cfg assume that they all have the layer 120.

What you can do are the sequences sc3-sc1-sc2 / sc1-sc2-sc3 / sc3 - sc2 - sc1 / sc2 - sc1 - sc3

What you can not do is <sc1 - sc3 - sc2>. To solve this, you would have to move all three sceneries into the same XML file (which is also possible with the P4AO tool), then you can force them into this sequence.

Best regards

For a future version would it be possible to select multiple scenery entries in the list and move them up and down in priority as a group? Thanks for making this addon organizer it is very helpful.

[Lorby_SI 2,038]

18 hours ago, 777200lrf said:

For a future version would it be possible to select multiple scenery entries in the list and move them up and down in priority as a group? Thanks for making this addon organizer it is very helpful.

OK, done in 1.09. Up, down and activate/deactivate as a group

But this is a significant change, and I don't want to release it "just like that". Would you be willing to test this? Just send me a PM here in the forum and I will pass along a link to the download.

Best regards

[Jim Young 2,356]

I'm a bit confused, even after reading the above as I cannot move items up or down in the Organizer -

I am trying to keep all of the FSDT stuff together and the "other" sceneries below it.  It does not work.

All of the scenery xml's are in Layer 127 and that's a lot of sceneries in one layer.  But it works.  P3D loads just fine and all of the scenery appears as it should.  The sceneries still in the scenery.cfg just above the top XML is layered at 128, 129, 130, etc.  Those below my XML's end with layer 126. 

It's frustrating I cannot move scenery up or down once everything has been saved.  I can move a new scenery I converted to XML down the list but once the Addon Organizer is saved and I quit, no more moving up or down.  Fortunately MyTraffic is all the way down below the other XML's.  I suppose I could delete the xml and create it again and then move it to where I want but that's a lot of work as some have many components.  Just wanted to let you know the up and down options will not work after you save an XML.  Not sure if that is by design or not.

Thanks Oliver for a great utility!

Best regards,

Jim

[Lorby_SI 2,038]

44 minutes ago, Jim Young said:

It's frustrating I cannot move scenery up or down once everything has been saved.  I can move a new scenery I converted to XML down the list but once the Addon Organizer is saved and I quit, no more moving up or down

Hi Jim,

The problem is the unified layer 127. You can only change the sequence of the XMLs within certain limits, and I suspect that something is preventing the change in your case. The P4AO tries to rearrange the sequence in which the addon.components are loaded, but for whatever reason that doesn't work here. I will take a look at it, maybe I can find out something.

May I ask why you are keeping the XMLs at that position? The UT2 exclusions should be right above the default scenery, and maybe MT6, but the rest of the XMLs could live happily at the top of the list too, where there are no issues with layering them. In fact, seeing that these are all airports, that is the recommended location for them anyway (above default, additional mesh and UT)

Best regards

[Jim Young 2,356]

1 hour ago, Lorby_SI said:

May I ask why you are keeping the XMLs at that position? The UT2 exclusions should be right above the default scenery, and maybe MT6, but the rest of the XMLs could live happily at the top of the list too, where there are no issues with layering them. In fact, seeing that these are all airports, that is the recommended location for them anyway (above default, additional mesh and UT)

I disagree with the layering recommendations you suggested as the recommendation in the UTX Guide and in their forums is to have the UTX entries at the top (or where they located the entries when they installed the product).  If I have another landclass product, then it will need to be "sandwiched".  I don't have another landclass product.  I remember once suggesting someone place an airport or scenery program above the UTX entries and was told by one of the developers I was wrong and no changes in layering were required.

In the current configuration, I have some of the best graphics I have ever seen in any flight simulator (but this is in P3Dv4).  My FSDT/FlightBeam airports look crisp and clear.  Mountains look almost real.  I have beaches.  Even if I enable a photoscenery, the manual states it works well with photoscenery regardless of layering but UTX 3D objects such as bridges and night lights will always be displayed on top of the photoscenery. 

If I ever see an anomaly with a scenery I will certainly suspect UTX2 but the way I understand the manual and many forum topics about layering, the current layering at the top is correct.

1 hour ago, Lorby_SI said:

The problem is the unified layer 127. You can only change the sequence of the XMLs

Right now everything in P3D is working great in the scenery configuration I have in the image above in my previous post.  I'm sure, one day, this will all get ironed out.

You are doing a lot of hard work by answering a lot of difficult questions and I really appreciate everything you are doing for the community.  For many, who were unaware of your products, you put Lorby-Si on the map.  I just hope you don't get overwhelmed!

Best regards,

Jim

[Lorby_SI 2,038]

5 minutes ago, Jim Young said:

I disagree with the layering recommendations you suggested as the recommendation in the UTX Guide and in their forums is to have the UTX entries at the top (or where they located the entries when they installed the product).  If I have another landclass product, then it will need to be "sandwiched".  I don't have another landclass product.  I remember once suggesting someone place an airport or scenery program above the UTX entries and was told by one of the developers I was wrong and no changes in layering were required.

Hi Jim,

The only recommendation from UT2 that I am aware of is about the layering of another landclass product, which I did myself back in the day with SceneryTech. I always had UT2 layered way down like I described - and it made sense to me, because the individual airport sceneries often have their own landclass and mesh features, that need to have a higher priority than UT to exclude it.

"Where they installed the entries": well, this was true in the old days, when we only had the scenery.cfg and a unique layering. With P34D V3 and V4 this is not a valid approach any longer. I can see from your screenshot that UT is actually put right into the scenery.cfg, which is not where it belongs any more. I am aware that major developers are in fact ignoring the current specification, I just can't understand why.

About the P4AO: version 1.08 was supposed to help with the sequencing of addon.compontent entries inside the same layer. I am wondering why that doesn't work for you. Basically, the only option that you have left is to make the Addon.Component entries trade places in the XMLs. The theory goes that what P3D reads first has a lower priority (= layer). 

Best regards