Hello all,

I read somewhere that before updating MSFS (one due today) we should be copying or moving the community folder and then replacing after the update.

I happily started this process just now but nearly every subfolder is telling me that "your organisation does not allow you to place this file here" 

What can I do to negate this advice and allow me to copy the folder across to another Drive.

I note however that it is not all the subfolders but a very large majority of them offer this advice.

I further note that I did not pursue this action for the last update and the only problem I had post update was with the G1000 and that was only because I did not update the mod for it.  

I guess that my questions are, is this copy or move the community folder a really necessary process and if so, how do I do it?

I was just thinking that maybe renaming the folder to  "AAAX Community" so that it is not recognized by the update.  If that is a factor, would I have to create a blank (empty) Community folder to replace it? 

This would appear to the the easy way out if, in fact, it is feasible.

Any advice appreciated.

Tony 

I think you can change the location of the community folder in game somewhere, possibly some option in general like "data location" ??   not sure as I am not currently on a PC with game installed to check.

 

If not, one other possible way around this issue that MIGHT work is create a folder somewhere else to store the mods and just put shortcuts in the real community folder pointing to each mod. i have not tried this so do it at your own risk 😄

Simplest way that I know of -  zip up the entire community folder to a zip file OUTSIDE of community folder. Verify, then delete the contents of Community folder. When done, extract to Community and you are good to go.

Or you could use one of the mod management utilities around to do the same. I happen to like MSFS Addon Linker.

Glenn,

Thanks for your response mate.  I have to say though that I am loathe to fool around with what I regard as an almost perfect installation ... ie ... no real problems so far. 

I also have to admit that I am not a great computer manipulator and without a positive process or path to follow, I would hesitate to change anything significant if I cannot understand it. 

Another thing is, I am wondering if the mod folder would have to include the addon sceneries (freeware or payware) ie have a community folder for the default version and create a new folder for each and every addon be it aircraft, scenery or utility.

Tony

vgbaron,

Thanks too, for your reply. 

I am totally unaware of this addon mate (MSFS Addon Linker)  I wonder if you could possibly tell me a little more about it, whether it is payware or freeware and possibly give me a link to the download please.

Thanks again

Tony 

Hi,

here you go:

It's also on Flightsim.to

https://flightsim.to/file/1572/msfs-addons-linker

KInd regards, Michael

23 minutes ago, pmb said:

Hi,

here you go:

Michael,

Thanks for that, I will look into it with avid alacrity and reckless abandon.

Cheers mate.

Tony 

Michael and vgbaron,

Hey guys I downloaded that app and then read the instructions.  It all appears to be great in principal .... but ...

I am guessing that creating a subfolder for aircraft, airports, sceneries and utilities is great for quick access to all that I would need.  My BIG problem is how to get the addons from the community folder into their various categories.  The only way I can think of doing it is to create the subfolders on another drive, then reinstall all the addons into their respective subfolders and then delete the addons from the original community folder.  

Is this the only way to do it?  I think it is a great idea but I am still left with the problem of moving those addons from the community folder in to the subfolders and that, basically, was the initial problem.

Tony

PS I may just be being a little thick here 

Tony -  use the zip method I mentioned to move the folders.  Without a whole lot of messing around you just cannot move them. As to arranging your mods, you only have to do that once. I like my stuff organized so I created a master addon folder and added subfoldsers for aircraft, mods, scenery, etc.  The only stuff I do not have in that folder is ORBX - they maintain their own library.

Your only other option is to just zip up the whole thing and then put it back.

But the addon program is great for helping you organize once you get it set up.

 

Vic

ok  must be  missing  some thing  here,  all i  did  was  to copy  the  folder  and  paste  it  to a another  folder  on my  desktop  with no issues

He's running into permission issues Pete and there's no easy way around them. Also, IMHO messing with the permissions and folder names in  MSFS is asking for trouble. They have the file structure set up specifically, I wouldn't change it.

Some , like you, don't have the issue - go figure.

1 hour ago, pete_auau said:

ok  must be  missing  some thing  here,  all i  did  was  to copy  the  folder  and  paste  it  to a another  folder  on my  desktop  with no issues

Depends how you install the game. Also whether it is a steam or windows install.

I set my local cache to my \game folder I created on my 2nd drive and have no issues - but if you ended up with community in \programfiles or \wpsystem or even \user\xxx\appdata\roaming  Windows is going to lock you out to some extent.

Edited October 13, 20205 yr by Glenn Fitzpatrick

3 hours ago, himmelhorse said:

What can I do to negate this advice and allow me to copy the folder across to another Drive.

One recommendation is before copying mods, liveries, and scenery to the Community folder, you first build a mirroring set of folders at another location, making sure you keep that folder set current and exact to your Community folder.  Then you have 100% flexibility.  I do that, and I also back up that reserve folder set to a thumb drive.  I update both each time I make a change.  For instance tonight I found a conflict between one or two aircraft mods and a livery set.  I needed to remove that livery set, then remove and reinstall those two mods to overcome the issue.  So I immediately made those exact changes to my reserve folder, which is on another drive, and mirrored the changes to the thumb drive.

Edited October 13, 20205 yr by fppilot

1 hour ago, vgbaron said:

He's running into permission issues Pete and there's no easy way around them. Also, IMHO messing with the permissions and folder names in  MSFS is asking for trouble. They have the file structure set up specifically, I wouldn't change it.

Some , like you, don't have the issue - go figure.

Spot on! I have the exact issue.  I began attempts to overcome permissions with my previous system back in late July after replacing my system SSD with a clone. I can only guess Windows did not mate the clone with my separate data SSD.  The harder I tried to overcome the permissions issues, the worse they got.  Over about 10 days they led to a total system loss as Windows started refusing to boot.  Would not even boot from a Todo Backup boot thumb drive.

I do not fight city hall any more.  The issue in this topic is the only permissions issue I have with my new system, and it appears to be common with other users who purchased and installed from the Microsoft Store.  I am not about to fight it.  I posted my resolution in a previous response here.

Note that it does not really matter where the mod folders really live so long as the game thinks they are all sitting in the community folder.

BTW there is another (potentially dangerous) work around which is to delete the community folder entirely and replace it with a symbolic link to a folder elsewhere. WARNING:  be careful as the MS implementation of symbolic links is counter intuitive and doing del on the symbolic link or deleting it in the GUI will actually delete the target folder and all contents.

Edited October 13, 20205 yr by Glenn Fitzpatrick