Hi Oliver,

Strange problem with AO v1.55 b10. On the Backup\Restore tab I set a path to my Documents folder for the backup zip to write to. Press Create Backup and see message saying zip has been created.

Double-click the zip to open it but it's empty. Filesize is 458Kb. What am I doing wrong?

45 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

What am I doing wrong?

You cannot open these Backup ZIP files with a doubleclick. They contain the full path to all files, including the drive letter, and Windows "zip-doubleclick" can't handle that.

You need 7Zip or similar to open the Backup.

Edited July 5, 20214 yr by Lorby_SI

Thanks Oliver. 7Zip downloaded and installed. I have backed up and restored successfully.

Maybe a mention of how this works would help in the documentation? It's such a critical operation it was confusing why I couldn't open what appeared to be a standard zip file.

2 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Maybe a mention of how this works would help in the documentation? It's such a critical operation it was confusing why I couldn't open what appeared to be a standard zip file.

Generally speaking, you are not supposed to look into the ZIP file. It is just a technological construct for the backup mechanism. I probably should have named it ".p4aoback" or something, instead of ".zip", then nobody would even try to open it 😏

The fact that one can't open ZIP archives that contain absolute paths with a doubleclick is a global Windows "feature". P4AO is hardly the only program to create those (but granted that it is not very common).

Edited July 5, 20214 yr by Lorby_SI

Oliver, it's clearly a different type of zip file that doesn't allow the user to view the contents using the Windows feature. It's okay, now I understand how it works.

3 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Oliver, it's clearly a different type of zip file that doesn't allow the user to view the contents using the Windows feature

Depends on how you look at it. The ZIP specification has allowed absolute paths since the beginning. The Windows feature that opens a zip upon doubleclick has been invented much later, and Microsoft decided that they can only open ZIPs that only contain relative paths. This is quite logical too, because it extracts the ZIP in the background into your "AppData\Local\Temp\" folder, and that is simply not possible when there are absolute paths. 

I can add a note to the documentation, but to be really honest - the P3D addons and tools are dead. It doesn't make sense for me to invest any time into them. I've barely sold a handful of payware licenses of the legacy addons in five months now. So that change may take a while.

 

Edited July 5, 20214 yr by Lorby_SI

3 minutes ago, Lorby_SI said:

I can add a note to the documentation, but to be really honest - the P3D addons and tools are dead. It doesn't make sense for me to invest any time into them. I've barely sold a handful of payware licenses of the legacy addons in five months now. So that change may take a while.

That’s such a sad statement. I guess people are moving to MSFS. I may at some point buy it but P3D will always remain my primary simulator and many other people will do the same.

Addon Organizer is a brilliant utility that has made my life so much easier. You are to be congratulated on making this available to the flight sim community. Don’t worry about changing the docs because one person didn’t understand how the backup works.

33 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

I guess people are moving to MSFS.

When MSFS was announced in 2019, my legacy sales gradually dropped in the following months down to a fraction of what they once were. Meaning all five addons in both shops thrown together made between 200 and 300 Euro - in a good month. After MSFS had been released, they were practically zero, and never recovered. If it wasn't for AxisAndOhs, Lorby-SI would have been shut down in August 2020.

Edited July 5, 20214 yr by Lorby_SI

43 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Don’t worry about changing the docs because one person didn’t understand how the backup works.

I've added a note to the manual that can be downloaded separately. Next time I make a new build it will be in the installed one too. I have answered that same question about a dozen times over the years 😀

Edited July 5, 20214 yr by Lorby_SI

You never know Oliver. People may become disillusioned with MSFS and move back to P3D. LM need to up their game.

No external control over weather is a big turn off for me.