Just a warning to users of the "add-ons" LM method

[gaab 111]

As for the insurance contracts 😉 you better read the small notes on the Learning Center of Prepar3D !

I noticed in my ContentError.txt that some effects were not found when Explorer was saying the contrary. 😞

I am a fervent user of AOP, thanks Oliver 🙂 ,  so I was sure that my add-ons.xml were well formed !!!

Re-reading the documentation, I noted the advice of Oliver :

Quote

Please consult the P3D V4 Learning Center for details (“SDK->Add-ons->Add-on Packages”)

As last resort, I followed it and after lenghty research I found this "note"

Quote

Name
(Optional)

An optional name for the individual component. For certain add-on components such as scenery components, it is highly recommended to have a component name since it will show in the UI. For scenery components, their name will show in the Scenery Library.

Note: Since Prepar3D's configuration system does not support components of the same category with the same name, be wary of creating a name that is not unique or it will overwrite the identically named component. However, if the component is not given a name, a name collision cannot occur.

Bingo !

I have a bad habit : always give a name - but I used twice the SAME name.

I thought I should share my findings with the numerous users of this great Add-On

Gérard

[Lorby_SI 2,038]

Hello Gérard,

many thanks for that find.

What do you think, should P4AO check for a conflict between component names? 

Best regards

[edpatino 1,964]

3 hours ago, Lorby_SI said:

Hello Gérard,

many thanks for that find.

What do you think, should P4AO check for a conflict between component names? 

Best regards

Just my opinion, your utility saves a lot of work avoiding the user to do this process manually and prone to errors. The more you can improve your already excellent utility the best for us!.

Btw, do you plan to expand the Addon Manager to allow aircraft to be installed using the addon.xml method as well as the scenery?.

Cheers, Ed

 

[Lorby_SI 2,038]

6 hours ago, edpatino said:

Just my opinion, your utility saves a lot of work avoiding the user to do this process manually and prone to errors. The more you can improve your already excellent utility the best for us!.

Btw, do you plan to expand the Addon Manager to allow aircraft to be installed using the addon.xml method as well as the scenery?.

Cheers, Ed

 

Hello Ed,

you can install any type of content, including aircraft, using the "other addons" tab in P4AO. There is nothing special about SimObjects (or any of the other content), they don't have any loading sequence etc. So creating separate tabs, like the scenery part, for every single one of the many different content categories would only make the app clunky with little gain.

Just go to "other addons". click "Add Component", select or create the XML like you do with scenery, select the category "SimObjects" and point the Path control at the top folder above the aircraft folder itself. If your plane is installed like this: "D:\MyAircraft\Airplanes\MyC172\aircraft.cfg", then the path you add in P4AO is "D.\MyAircraft\Airplanes". The next plane that you install in "D:\MyAircraft\Airplanes" is discovered automatically by P3D, no need to go through P4AO again. Same thing with the gauges and effects. The only thing that can be tricky are custom sounds that are used by a custom DLL gauge. It may be necessary to install that the traditional way, because the DLL may not find the sound files.

All XML addon configurations do exactly the same as the native cfg files do, they just look different. For every content category there is a cfg file in ProgramData that could be used instead, not only for scenery.

Best regards

Edited May 19, 2018 by Lorby_SI

[gaab 111]

16 hours ago, Lorby_SI said:

Hello Gérard,

many thanks for that find.

What do you think, should P4AO check for a conflict between component names? 

Best regards

It would be a great plus - I think I am not the only "imaginationless" user 😉

Regards

Gérard

Edited May 19, 2018 by gaab

[lodestar 186]

6 hours ago, Lorby_SI said:

All XML addon configurations do exactly the same as the native cfg files do, they just look different.

The XML metod seems to give me the better performance on my system. I started moving all of my addons to XML. I "studied" P3D documentaion about this and did a lot of tests, and i do have a couple of observations and suggestions which may improve P4AO. P4AO is a essential tool for P3Dv4 in my opinion, and I'd like to exchange some thoughts about my findings with you. Let me know if you agree and if you prefer PM or a new topic(where maybe someone else can contribute).

16 hours ago, Lorby_SI said:

What do you think, should P4AO check for a conflict between component names? 

Yes, absolutely.

[Lorby_SI 2,038]

23 hours ago, gaab said:

Bingo !

I have a bad habit : always give a name - but I used twice the SAME name.

I thought I should share my findings with the numerous users of this great Add-On

Gérard

Hello Gérard,

with what type of content did this happen? P4AO should be checking this already for sceneries, so I need to know if I have to look for a bug or if this is a new feature.

Best regards

[Lorby_SI 2,038]

1 hour ago, lodestar said:

P4AO is a essential tool for P3Dv4 in my opinion, and I'd like to exchange some thoughts about my findings with you. Let me know if you agree and if you prefer PM or a new topic(where maybe someone else can contribute).

Hello Zeljko,

an email is probably better. I have to evaluate feature requests first to estimate the effort involved. The address is on the last page of the manual.

Best regards

[edpatino 1,964]

9 hours ago, Lorby_SI said:

Hello Ed,

you can install any type of content, including aircraft, using the "other addons" tab in P4AO. There is nothing special about SimObjects (or any of the other content), they don't have any loading sequence etc. So creating separate tabs, like the scenery part, for every single one of the many different content categories would only make the app clunky with little gain.

Just go to "other addons". click "Add Component", select or create the XML like you do with scenery, select the category "SimObjects" and point the Path control at the top folder above the aircraft folder itself. If your plane is installed like this: "D:\MyAircraft\Airplanes\MyC172\aircraft.cfg", then the path you add in P4AO is "D.\MyAircraft\Airplanes". The next plane that you install in "D:\MyAircraft\Airplanes" is discovered automatically by P3D, no need to go through P4AO again. Same thing with the gauges and effects. The only thing that can be tricky are custom sounds that are used by a custom DLL gauge. It may be necessary to install that the traditional way, because the DLL may not find the sound files.

All XML addon configurations do exactly the same as the native cfg files do, they just look different. For every content category there is a cfg file in ProgramData that could be used instead, not only for scenery.

Best regards 

Ok, great!. I should have read the manual, sorry!.

Thanks for the advice, it'll surely helps.

Cheers, Ed

 

[gaab 111]

6 hours ago, Lorby_SI said:

Hello Gérard,

with what type of content did this happen? P4AO should be checking this already for sceneries, so I need to know if I have to look for a bug or if this is a new feature.

Best regards

I had this problem with Effects, Sound and Gauge.

Concerning Scenery, I have still not found how to have Add-ons.xml to cohabit nicely with FTX Central 😞 , which is my major scenery provider.

Regards

Gérard

[lodestar 186]

13 hours ago, Lorby_SI said:

Hello Zeljko,

an email is probably better. I have to evaluate feature requests first to estimate the effort involved. The address is on the last page of the manual.

Best regards

Ok, i have a few days off now, so i'm going to read all my notes about and i'll send you an email

[Lorby_SI 2,038]

Hello @ll,

to clarify the issue that Gérard found:

• The name conflicts only affect "Other Addons". P4AO already checks the very same issue when handling scenery.
• The "Name" tag is strictly optional for "Other Addons". According to the spec you should not give AddonComponents a name at all to aviod conflicts
• If you insist on giving your AddonComponents a name, make sure that it is unique.

A new version 1.34 of the P4AO has been uploaded to the Lorby-SI website. This version will check for name conflicts when you add or edit "Other Addons", and it has a button to run a complete scan of your existing addons, checking for name conflicts and possible duplicate references (the same AddonComponent being referenced in more than one XML, or in an XML and a CFG at the same time). Please note that this does not check your scenery configuration, that part of P4AO has always been handling conflicts like these - that is what the button "Remove duplicates" is for (on the first page).

Best regards

 

[gaab 111]

Hello Oliver,

A great thank, for your continuous "commitment" to the Prepar3D Community..

Regards,

Gérard