Where to Put Planes

[planenut 19]

When downloading planes, do they have to go into the Sim Objects folder or is it better to put them somewhere else?  After P3dv5 came out I put them all (Carenado planes) in the Sim Objects folder but then lost them all when I did the latest upgrade.  Would hate to have to go through that again if there is a better option.  Thanks.

Jim

[Branimir 58]

If you don't want to put them into Sim Objects, you can put them into Prepar3D v5 Add-ons folder in Documents but you will have to make an add-on.xml file for every addon. When the addon has an add-on.xml file and if you place it into Documents\Prepar3D V5 (or V4) Add-ons folder, P3D will automatically find it and activate it.

Uninstall or upgrade of P3D usually keeps all the added files (addons). I did many P3D reinstalls in the past and I did't have to reinstall my addons and sceneries.

 

More about add-on.xml file:

https://www.prepar3d.com/SDKv4/sdk/add-ons/add-on_packages.html

Edited May 2, 2020 by Branimir

[planenut 19]

Hi Branimir,

Thanks for the info.  This may be somewhat above my skill level but I may give it a try.  Sure would beat having to reinstall all my planes which is really time consuming.

Jim

[Reader 2,021]

How did you manage to lose them?

[planenut 19]

By uninstalling P3d v5 as recommended prior to downloading and installing the new HF.

Jim

[hs118 707]

The DRM that Carenado uses makes it difficult to convert them to addon.xml method. I have successfully done by first installing them using their installer into the P3D folder as default. Then moving the simobjects/gauges/etc  out to addon.xml folders. Leaving the DRM files in the P3D folder. The installers also put entries in the dll.xml file so these have to be "respected" as well.

It's not for the faint of heart/experience but it can be done. The good news is that for all the modern Carenado installers, the DRM files are all the same so after one plane is successfully moved, all the others should be much easier. 

I confess I'm not in the mood or have the patience to do any further explanation or any kind of tutorial. I will just say it can be done with some grunting and groaning. 

All the developers need to get on board with addon.xml for heavens sake.

 

[Lorby_SI 2,038]

37 minutes ago, yurei said:

The DRM that Carenado uses makes it difficult to convert them to addon.xml method. I have successfully done by first installing them using their installer into the P3D folder as default. Then moving the simobjects/gauges/etc  out to addon.xml folders. Leaving the DRM files in the P3D folder. The installers also put entries in the dll.xml file so these have to be "respected" as well.

It's not for the faint of heart/experience but it can be done. The good news is that for all the modern Carenado installers, the DRM files are all the same so after one plane is successfully moved, all the others should be much easier. 

I confess I'm not in the mood or have the patience to do any further explanation or any kind of tutorial. I will just say it can be done with some grunting and groaning. 

All the developers need to get on board with addon.xml for heavens sake.

 

The easiest way to do this is to create a fake simulator folder, and one single add-on.xml pointing at it, that references all the necessary components (Simobjects, Gauges, Effects, Fonts, Sounds, etc.). Then use the regular installer of the addon, but instead of letting it install into P3D, direct it to install into the fake folder instead.

Example for Carenado: initially I created an empty folder here: "C:\Users\...\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\Carenado" and put the following add-on.xml into it:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<SimBase.Document Type="AddOnXml" version="4,0" id="add-on">
  <AddOn.Name>Carenado</AddOn.Name>
  <AddOn.Description>My Carenado Planes</AddOn.Description>
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Category>SimObjects</Category>
    <Path>SimObjects\Airplanes</Path>
  </AddOn.Component>
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Category>Effects</Category>
    <Path>Effects</Path>
  </AddOn.Component>
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Category>Fonts</Category>
    <Path>Fonts</Path>
  </AddOn.Component>
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Category>Texture</Category>
    <Path>Texture</Path>
  </AddOn.Component>
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Category>Gauges</Category>
    <Path>Gauges</Path>
  </AddOn.Component>
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Category>Scripts</Category>
    <Path>Scripts</Path>
  </AddOn.Component>
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Category>DLL</Category>
    <Path>Carenavigraph.dll</Path>
    <Name>Carenavigraph</Name>
  </AddOn.Component>
  <AddOn.Component>
    <Category>DLL</Category>
    <Path>CMeteoXml.dll</Path>
  </AddOn.Component>
</SimBase.Document>

When I install a new Carenado plane, I point the installer at "C:\Users\...\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\Carenado" instead of the simulator path. The installer creates all folders as required by itself - and the airplane shows up automatically in the sim - no further changes to the XML are necessary! 

The only issue with Carenado is their sound handling. For every aircraft you have to move the sound folders into the "Sound" folder of the sim.
Example: "C:\Users\...\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\Carenado\Sound\Carenado\CarSoundAT72" has to be copied to "C:\Program Files\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4\Sound\Carenado\CarSoundAT72" Or wherever your sim is.
(For convenience I am actually not doing this, instead I have created a "Sound\Carenado" Symlink in the simulator folder, that is pointing at the "\Sound\Carenado" folder in my fake.) 

Best regards

Edited May 2, 2020 by Lorby_SI

[Lorby_SI 2,038]

By the way...

You should never physically "move" addons that were installed by an installer. If you do this, you can no longer uninstall them. Or, if they have a management/update tool, that tool will stop working too.

It is way better and safer to simply install them somewhere else, and then create an add-on.xml referencing them. With aircraft this is really easy, as explained above. You don't have to create the xml file every time - just install the next aircraft in the same place. 

Best regards

[hs118 707]

Thanks for helping out again @Lorby_SI!!!

For the sound issues, I edited the appropriate panel.cfg and sound.ini entries with the corrected path.

Thanks for the xml solution for the dll config!!

 

[Reader 2,021]

2 hours ago, planenut said:

By uninstalling P3d v5 as recommended prior to downloading and installing the new HF.

Jim

Did you delete the P3D folder after the installation was complete, or did the P3D uninstaller do that?

[planenut 19]

I deleted the P3d folder before installing the HF

Jim

[Reader 2,021]

If you had not done that, you would not have lost any of them. Installers can only remove files that they installed themselves. Your aircraft files were intact and would have continued to work after you had completed the update. I am sure that there will be a next time and if you do not intervene in the process, you will save yourself a lot of trouble.

[planenut 19]

Thanks for the advice Reader.  I was just following the directions from LM when they said to uninstall the current P3dv5 before installing the HF update.  I'm a little confused now as what I should do in the future.

Jim

[Reader 2,021]

I would advise you to do exactly as they describe but do not take the additional step of deleting the P3D folder. There is no need to and as mentioned, it can cause a great deal of extra work.

[planenut 19]

Ok, Gotcha.  Thanks.

Jim