Addon Organizer permission issue

[threexgreen 3,135]

I tried adding T2G KSEA with Addon Organizer. When I clicked on 'Save' a message popped up saying there was a permission error and the tool didn't save the changes. When I tried to start P3D it said it couldn't run with a corrupt scenery.cfg and that I should re-install. The scenery.cfg was completely blank, just an empty text file.

I can't remember which path/folder it couldn't access, this was some weeks ago. I remember, however, I checked the permissions for that folder and it looked normal, no obvious reason why the tool wouldn't be allowed to modify it.

I don't really want to reproduce the error even with a back up of the scenery.cfg because I don't want to risk re-installing again.

Any ideas? Thanks

[Lorby_SI 2,036]

Hello Ryan,

were you running the P4AO "As Administrator"?

On most systems this is required, because the folders where the cfg files are, are really hidden system folders that should not be accessed by a mere user...

When in doubt, make a copy of your config files manually - the manual of P4AO lists all (three) cfg files that it tries to read and write.

Best regards

 

[threexgreen 3,135]

Sorry, my bad. Did a right-click and 'run as administrator' and everything went fine.

I have dumped my AI traffic into the main sim but I think I'll rework that. Will the Addon Organizer manage all the files like textures which belong in the sim's texture folder, etc. too?

What about aircraft like the NGX?

[Lorby_SI 2,036]

2 hours ago, Canuck said:

Sorry, my bad. Did a right-click and 'run as administrator' and everything went fine.

I have dumped my AI traffic into the main sim but I think I'll rework that. Will the Addon Organizer manage all the files like textures which belong in the sim's texture folder, etc. too?

What about aircraft like the NGX?

Hi Ryan,

you can add any type of content to addon-xml files on the second tab of the P4AO. The usual strategy is to make an external folder where things get installed as if it were the simulator. Then you can add the directories, that the installer creates, to an addon-xml file.

For example, I have a folder for freeware aircraft, and I point every installer at that folder. So over time there are \effects, \fonts, \gauges, \sound, \simobjects, \textures etc. in it. I have made one single add-on.xml that is linking all those subfolders as Addon.Components. Every aircraft that I drop in that folder will automatically be in the sim, without me having to touch the add-on.xml ever again.

If these aircraft work is another matter though. I don't know if for example the NGX can be externalized (PMDG installs it where it always has), because that would probably break their maintenance center app. One would have to use additional symlinks for all aircraft that have external config tools.

Best regards

[threexgreen 3,135]

24 minutes ago, Lorby_SI said:

Hi Ryan,

you can add any type of content to addon-xml files on the second tab of the P4AO. The usual strategy is to make an external folder where things get installed as if it were the simulator. Then you can add the directories, that the installer creates, to an addon-xml file.

For example, I have a folder for freeware aircraft, and I point every installer at that folder. So over time there are \effects, \fonts, \gauges, \sound, \simobjects, \textures etc. in it. I have made one single add-on.xml that is linking all those subfolders as Addon.Components. Every aircraft that I drop in that folder will automatically be in the sim, without me having to touch the add-on.xml ever again.

If these aircraft work is another matter though. I don't know if for example the NGX can be externalized (PMDG installs it where it always has), because that would probably break their maintenance center app. One would have to use additional symlinks for all aircraft that have external config tools.

Best regards

You're probably right about the NGX, I don't think that one will work. Thank you for creating the most handy tool ever for a sim :)

[Lorby_SI 2,036]

11 hours ago, Canuck said:

You're probably right about the NGX, I don't think that one will work. Thank you for creating the most handy tool ever for a sim :)

Uhoh. Thank you... :o)

NGX: I think it would work if you establish symlinks for the PMDG folders that you move outside of the sim. But if you do this, then you don't need an add-on.xml either. Still, if you create a batch file that creates all necessary symlinks (with the mklink command) then they could be recreated easily should you decide to reinstall the simulator.

I did this with my FSX installation, I had aircraft grouped by manufacturer and technological spec (=with special DLLs or not) in separate folders, and a few batch files that would establish the necessary symlinks. To start the sim, I first decided on which aircraft I wanted to fly, then called the appropriate batch file, which also started the sim (using the old version of SimStarter where I also configured that for every group of aircraft it would only load the DLLs that belong to those models and nothing else). As a consequence I had drastically reduced loading times and cross-compatibility issues, because only the group of aircraft was visible to the sim that contained the model that I wanted to fly. Combined with the "Scenery Sets" in SimStarter that makes for a fairly smooth sim experience.

Best regards

[threexgreen 3,135]

13 hours ago, Lorby_SI said:

Uhoh. Thank you... :o)

NGX: I think it would work if you establish symlinks for the PMDG folders that you move outside of the sim. But if you do this, then you don't need an add-on.xml either. Still, if you create a batch file that creates all necessary symlinks (with the mklink command) then they could be recreated easily should you decide to reinstall the simulator.

I did this with my FSX installation, I had aircraft grouped by manufacturer and technological spec (=with special DLLs or not) in separate folders, and a few batch files that would establish the necessary symlinks. To start the sim, I first decided on which aircraft I wanted to fly, then called the appropriate batch file, which also started the sim (using the old version of SimStarter where I also configured that for every group of aircraft it would only load the DLLs that belong to those models and nothing else). As a consequence I had drastically reduced loading times and cross-compatibility issues, because only the group of aircraft was visible to the sim that contained the model that I wanted to fly. Combined with the "Scenery Sets" in SimStarter that makes for a fairly smooth sim experience.

Best regards

I just didn't understand a word of what you wrote... :) I've installed the NGX into the main P3D folder. One addon is not going to hurt.

I can't get my AI traffic to show up. I have effects, texture and simobject folders and created xmls. I'm just not sure where to put the flightplan files which would normally be in the scenery\world\scenery folder. I had this very path created in my addon folder by FT sceneries I installed and just put the flightplans in there too. No traffic showing up.

[Lorby_SI 2,036]

1 hour ago, Canuck said:

I can't get my AI traffic to show up. I have effects, texture and simobject folders and created xmls. I'm just not sure where to put the flightplan files which would normally be in the scenery\world\scenery folder. I had this very path created in my addon folder by FT sceneries I installed and just put the flightplans in there too. No traffic showing up.

Actually, you only need one single XML for all of this.

Flightplan BGLs are just scenery, add them in the same way that you would add an airport (\SomeFolder\Flightplans\Scenery\AnyFlightplan.bgl). The folder structure does not matter.

For example, this is my add-on.xml for MyTraffic, it has a \Scenery subfolder with the flightplans right in the main directory of the program, and \Aircraft directly contains all the folders with the aircraft models in them (there is no \SimObjects\Airplanes\ inbetween). I have made an extra "Content\Sound" folder next to my add-on.xml, because many of the MT6 models are missing specific sounds, and I collect them there once they show up in the P3D content error log.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<SimBase.Document Type="AddOnXml" version="4,0" id="add-on">
  <AddOn.Name>MyTraffic6</AddOn.Name>
  <AddOn.Description>MyTraffic6</AddOn.Description>
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Category>SimObjects</Category>
    <Path>C:\MyTraffic Professional\MyTraffic\Aircraft</Path>
  </AddOn.Component>
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Category>Sound</Category>
    <Path>Content\Sound</Path>
  </AddOn.Component>
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Category>Scenery</Category>
    <Path>C:\MyTraffic Professional\MyTraffic</Path>
    <Name>MyTraffic6</Name>
    <Layer>160</Layer>
  </AddOn.Component>
</SimBase.Document>

 

There is no advanced tech involved in any of this. You only have to tell the simulator where the files are that you designate with the "Category".

Best regards

 

[threexgreen 3,135]

Thank you, AI traffic is now working fine.

There's an issue with effects too. I had previously added FT KTPA by creating an xml with the scenery only, without effects because I had separate xmls for folders like effects, simobjects etc. that were created by the scenery's installer into the folder where I install my addons. The fountain at KTPA worked. Now I have deleted all the effects/simobjects xmls and added the effects to the all the sceneries's own xmls. Now the fountain is gone is this is probably the case for other sceneries's effects too.

[Lorby_SI 2,036]

Hello Ryan,

there is probably something wrong with the path to the effects - or the add-on.xml is not activated.

If I may suggest: try to use as few add-on.xmls as possible. If you install your sceneries into a specific external folder, one single add-on.xml for each "master" folder is enough. For example I just made one folder for South America, and I install everything in there, linked by a single add-on.xml.

Best regards

[threexgreen 3,135]

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<SimBase.Document id="add-on" version="4,0" Type="AddOnXml">
	<AddOn.Name>KTPA</AddOn.Name>
	<AddOn.Description>FlyTampa Tampa Rebooted</AddOn.Description>
	<AddOn.Component>
		<Category>Scenery</Category>
		<Path>D:\P3Dv4 Addons\FlyTampa\Tampa</Path>
		<Name>FlyTampa Tampa Rebooted</Name>
		<Layer>151</Layer>
	</AddOn.Component>
	<AddOn.Component>
		<Category>Effects</Category>
		<Path>D:\P3Dv4 Addons\effects</Path>
		<Name>effects</Name>
	</AddOn.Component>
	<AddOn.Component>
		<Category>SimObjects</Category>
		<Path>D:\P3Dv4 Addons\SimObjects\Boats</Path>
		<Name>Boats</Name>
	</AddOn.Component>
</SimBase.Document>

This is my xml for KTPA. The scenery shows up and works fine, just the effects don't seem to work.

[Lorby_SI 2,036]

8 minutes ago, Canuck said:

This is my xml for KTPA. The scenery shows up and works fine, just the effects don't seem to work.

Sorry, I can't check that on my end. I can only give generic advice since I don't have any time left to fly in my simulators, let alone install and test sceneries or other addons.

Are you sure that the missing fountain effect file is in the folder that you have linked in the XML?

Best regards

[threexgreen 3,135]

2 hours ago, Lorby_SI said:

Sorry, I can't check that on my end. I can only give generic advice since I don't have any time left to fly in my simulators, let alone install and test sceneries or other addons.

Are you sure that the missing fountain effect file is in the folder that you have linked in the XML?

Best regards

I'm not expecting you to try and reproduce errors. I just don't get why it won't work when the xml works for the scenery but not for another compartment which is added correctly right beneath the scenery entry

The file is in the folder.

[Lorby_SI 2,036]

31 minutes ago, Canuck said:

I'm not expecting you to try and reproduce errors. I just don't get why it won't work when the xml works for the scenery but not for another compartment which is added correctly right beneath the scenery entry

The file is in the folder.

Try to change the sequence of the components, put the effects above the scenery. It shouldn't make a difference, but you never know...

Best regards

[threexgreen 3,135]

Just now, Lorby_SI said:

Try to change the sequence of the components, put the effects above the scenery. It shouldn't make a difference, but you never know...

Best regards

I tried removing and re-adding the effects entry and the sequence changed as well but it still didn't work. I've gone back to managing the effects and other folders with separate xmls and my fountain is splashing again, which makes me very happy

Anyway, thanks for the help!