Another tool to organize your MSFS addons easily

[Denwagg 191]

55 minutes ago, Bad_T said:

i think if you copy the 'dynamic link' it will just copy all the files (so you will have your files 'doubled') .. the link in itself can not be copied.

so check maybe, but i think when you copied the link from your community folder to your official folder, it just copied the real files back in the official folder. Check with Windows explorer, you will probably notice that your copy does not have that little arrow on the folder icon. Dynamic links are really special little things, you just can not copy them 'as link'.

so yeah the addon will work and the addon manager will see them because the real files are there (twice on your pc, once there and once in your 'addon folder' where they are not used at all anymore)

let me know of course if you think my info is not accurate, i can't exactly see what's happening on your PC 🙃 so maybe my understanding of what you did/saw is not correct.

 

The files are still in my addon linker folder

regards

Edited December 29, 2020 by Denwagg

[Bad_T 581]

oh maybe i just got it, it looks like if you 'copy' it will not work because, as i said, all files are copied and duplicated, but if you 'move' the link then it works. So you moved it, as you said in your previous post, and so the 'symbolic link' is still working. I thought moving or copying would have the same result and i didn't test the 'move'.

Obviously not a perfect solution (and in the tool it would show up as disabled) but at least that seems to work. Maybe i should add some kind of option to interact with the official folder for people needing to link stuff directly in there, i will certainly think about it if users think it can be useful.

Edited December 30, 2020 by Bad_T

[Phantoms 800]

I keep anything from marketplace in the official folders and don't mess with them.

Payware bought outside the marketplace that installs in the community folder I move out and use AddonLinker to manage it.

[Midin 10]

On 11/14/2020 at 9:44 PM, andy1252 said:

@cavaricooper - I just checked again. What I said above is true if they are NOT activated by the addon linker. If the ARE activated, the content manager shows "Download unavailable. A community copy already exists". Still doesn't really tell me/you whether it will recognise when an update is available.

Very interesting discussion. What I understand is, that probably it will not be possible to manage add-ons directly within the "Official" folder as we can do in the "Community" folder as some of the official contents are encrypted or the sim will give a message that it is missing on startup.

But what seems to be working is to copy a downloaded add-on from the store (that is automatically out into the "official" folder) manually into the community folder and then manage with Addons-Linker (I tested this with Aerosoft Paderborn). The only thing to figure out is how to keep those updated. As andy1252 said before the sim seems to note there is a community version available. Maybe we need to move the files back to "official" to update. Any thoughts?

[Alpine Scenery 1,609]

Has anyone tested "slow load-time effect" of marketplace items vs. community folder, as well as types of items in community vs other types of addons in community. We know things in the community folder cause the game to slow down a bit for loading, but I wonder if anyone has like really tested it.

So like will an addon airport in the US within the community folder make the game load slower even if you are starting at a Chinese airport?

lol, that would be weird if true.

 

[Denwagg 191]

41 minutes ago, Alpine Scenery said:

Has anyone tested "slow load-time effect" of marketplace items vs. community folder, as well as types of items in community vs other types of addons in community. We know things in the community folder cause the game to slow down a bit for loading, but I wonder if anyone has like really tested it.

So like will an addon airport in the US within the community folder make the game load slower even if you are starting at a Chinese airport?

lol, that would be weird if true.

 

I have not tested that but I know for a fact If I limit the number of addons to the ones I actually need for that specific flight It loads much faster. I addition just because a scenery was purchased on marketplace that does not guarantee it does not have memory leaks or CTD problems. If I want to fly into Dekalb-Peachtree I know for a fact that Imaginesim KATL willl drag down the GPU. I purchased that on Marketplace right now I have no way to disable it unless I delete or move the folder out of Official. Or If I want to fly into Chicago Midway and I want to disable KORD addon scenery and leave Chicago Enhancements in my community folder only, same issue.

For me being able to manage Marketplace addons just like I do Community Addons in Addons Linker would be a welcome addition to the Software.

The only downside I see is you will have to enable the Marketplace links when you upgrade MSFS. If you check Content Manger when they are not installed. its says they are available to download. With the Links installed Content Manager says all addons are up to date. Of you do not add the links back to Official and upgrade It will add those already purchased addons into the downloads and you will re-download them again unless you de-select them before you update content manager.

Or if you want to check to see if there are any updates to Marketplace addons you will need to install the links before you check content manager

Thanks again for your work and wonderful addon.

Regards

 

[Bad_T 581]

On 12/30/2020 at 10:36 AM, Denwagg said:

For me being able to manage Marketplace addons just like I do Community Addons in Addons Linker would be a welcome addition to the Software.

@Denwagg thanks for the feedback, i did a little check yesterday because i first thought i could add that easily but then came across a few difficulties because there's a bit too much code right now linked to the community folder, so making changes was not as straightforward as i thought it would be. I'll keep thinking about it and hopefully i'll find a solution. If i succeed, i will certainly send you a little version for testing to see if it matches your need.

All the rest you said seems correct to me. I also have some fear that less experienced users will start doing weird things with their official folder and then might break up their simulator (that's the main reason why i didn't want to touch that folder when i started working on the tool). There is also the way some files are installed with special permission/encryption that might prevent the files from working correctly if they are moved elsewhere for some users (maybe copying instead of moving would work), that's still unclear to me as i can't replicate on my PC with the Steam version. I have even bought an addon from the marketplace with the sole purpose to test this 😜 but still couldn't replicate that, i think they only apply to the ms-store version.

to sum up : aside from the technical difficulties that can probably be sorted, i'd like to add that but there are a few things about this modification that give me some itches when i think about them 😱😁

 

@Alpine Scenery unfortunately i don't know about that either, probably marketplace addons are less prone to add long loading time because they are more optimised. The huge impact seem to be caused by those 'google import' addon that contains '10'000 of files' for a single addon. From what i've read and personal experience, 20 optimised or smaller addons will have not much impact, whilst having 1 big photogrammetry addons with 60'000 texture files will hurt a lot.

Edited January 2, 2021 by Bad_T

[Denwagg 191]

2 hours ago, Bad_T said:

@Denwagg thanks for the feedback, i did a little check yesterday because i first thought i could add that easily but then came across a few difficulties because there's a bit too much code right now linked to the community folder, so making changes was not as straightforward as i thought it would be. I'll keep thinking about it and hopefully i'll find a solution. If i succeed, i will certainly send you a little version for testing to see if it matches your need.

All the rest you said seems correct to me. I also have some fear that less experienced users will start doing weird things with their official folder and then might break up their simulator (that's the main reason why i didn't want to touch that folder when i started working on the tool). There is also the way some files are installed with special permission/encryption that might prevent the files from working correctly if they are moved elsewhere for some users (maybe copying instead of moving would work), that's still unclear to me as i can't replicate on my PC with the Steam version. I have even bought an addon from the marketplace with the sole purpose to test this 😜 but still couldn't replicate that, i think they only apply to the ms-store version.

to sum up : aside from the technical difficulties that can probably be sorted, i'd like to add that but there are a few things about this modification that give me some itches when i think about them 😱😁

 

@Alpine Scenery unfortunately i don't know about that either, probably marketplace addons are less prone to add long loading time because they are more optimised. The huge impact seem to be caused by those 'google import' addon that contains '10'000 of files' for a single addon. From what i've read and personal experience, 20 optimised or smaller addons will have not much impact, whilst having 1 big photogrammetry addons with 60'000 texture files will hurt a lot.

I understand there are too many things that are not known. I wonder If I want to delete a marketplace purchase as far as I know there is no way to do that.

Regards

 

 

[Bad_T 581]

brave man @Denwagg (and maybe other courageous and kind souls willing to test 🙃😱) i tried something to manage your official addons that you wanted to use with the tool.

hopefully it will do the job and you'll find that useful 🤞, i think it's still a bit reserved to 'power users' that really understand how these links work. Like i said in my previous msgs i didnt really want to touch the official folder with this tool but i had a few requests for that so here it is (i'll probably use that for myself too).

Here is the test version (just the EXE to replace your existing one).

http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=40872850669877156285

How to use it :

1 : In the options screen there is a new option to enable the 'official' folder management. Enable the checkbox and set your folders

2 : when that option is enable, a new 'folder' will appear in your custom addons folders. It's called OFFICIAL. Every addons that you put in that folder will have its link created in the official folder and not in the community folder

3 : when the link is created it will appear in the right panel even if it's not in the community folder with a specific color (light yellow) indicating that it's in the official folder (there is also a new column 'is official' with the value at 'True'). I also added a new little colored indicator at the bottom to identify and count those elements.

Feedback and ideas are obviously welcome even if not positive because i really didn't know how to implement this so maybe, after a lot of head scratching, i didn't choose the best way to do it. Thank you. 😍

Edited January 2, 2021 by Bad_T

[cavaricooper 2,615]

@Bad_T I'm not sure I'm bright enough for this test, but would ask if there has been any thought given to the ability to apply multiple pre-sets, one after another? 

For example if I want to apply my ALASKA preset, and then decide I want to add my PNW preset, currently it's not possible.  I have to manually add PNW airports, or else ALASKA will disappear when I apply PNW.

Perhaps it's not possible, but I just wanted to re-check.

Thanks again for all you do for us all.

C

[Bad_T 581]

Unless there is a bug, It should be already possible with the current version @cavaricooper

you need to use the 'add (cumulative)' button, that will add all addons in the preset, but will keep the ones already selected. So it should be exactly what you are looking for.

• - apply PNW
• - apply Alaska (cumulative)

You can also achieve the same result with the 'manage presets' screen by selecting multiple preset at the same time and then click 'apply'.

let me know if you have probs with that.

Edited January 2, 2021 by Bad_T

[Denwagg 191]

Bad_T

You are the Man!!!  👍

I will let you know

Regards

[cavaricooper 2,615]

@Bad_T Brilliant- that's EXACTLY what I was looking for- Ta mate!

C

[Denwagg 191]

So Im getting some errors

Here is my setup pages

Here is my error when I add Katl into the folder and restart addon linker

and here is the error when i press continue

Must be because I cant read instructions.

regards

 

Edited January 2, 2021 by Denwagg

[Bad_T 581]

you probably have imaginesim_katl in 2 different places (that's also why it appears in red in the list). You probably had it in another folder before adding it in your new marketplace folder so now it's defined twice.

Please type katl and the search box and you will find it if the entry is defined several times and remove one of the 2. I wlll check why it crashes, red is normal if you have it twice, crash not so much 😜

** edit **

oh i think you have added your new folder 'market place' inside the other addon folder, guess that's what is causing the crash. The programs scans the first folder and find imaginesim_katl inside, and then it scans the 'official folder' and finds it again .. and you can see 'marketplace' is there twice in your structure. You have to add a completely different folder that is not a subfolder your main community 'addons folder' (headaches after reading this sentence is normal' 🙃). I will try to add a test in the tool to prevent people from setting the folders like you did. Thank you for the report !

** end of edit **

Edited January 2, 2021 by Bad_T