I installed MS Flight Simulator 2020 on my D:/ drive using the default install routines...I can't find it! The simulator runs fine but how do I locate the "Community" folder that I need to install some additional scenery? There seems not to be a Folder anywhere as I have been used to in past MS sims... (Makes me feel my age!) Thanks a lot...

Steve

The "Community" Folder

By Dominic Smith

There seems to be some confusion as to where Microsoft Flight Simulator's “Community” folder is located, and a lot of this confusion is due to where the simulator has been installed (default or custom). Not only this, but there are also differences between the Microsoft Store install and the one purchased from Steam.

If you happened to use the default location for your installation, then you can find it here:

For the Windows Store install:

C:\Users\[Your User Name]\AppData\Local\Packages\ Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Packages\

For the Steam install:

C:\Users\[Your User Name]\AppData\Local\Packages\

Microsoft.FlightDashboard_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Packages\

Important: Windows 10 by default hides the “AppData” folder, so you will have to go to “View” in the menu of File Explorer, and select “Hidden items” so as to see it.

Best to install to your own easily remembered folder like d:\fs2020.

Cheers

bs

Once you find the folder, just make an alias folder on your desktop. Then it’s super easy to find. 

22 minutes ago, Bdub22 said:

Once you find the folder, just make an alias folder on your desktop. Then it’s super easy to find. 

But for the default Windows Store installation the pathname is so long that it later creates issues with some addons that include their own deep path of folders and files.  The alias does not solve that, but the methods of the Addon Linker do solve that issue.

And before it is mentioned here, the Windows Registry patch to eliminate the 260 character maximum path length did not solve all the issues I formerly had with regard to this.

And then,,,,  It is also good to keep in mind that even with a custom MSFS install location, the MSFS files stored in Appdata can still be nested deep into that folder structure.

9 hours ago, LTCSZ said:

I installed MS Flight Simulator 2020 on my D:/ drive using the default install routines...I can't find it! The simulator runs fine but how do I locate the "Community" folder that I need to install some additional scenery? There seems not to be a Folder anywhere as I have been used to in past MS sims... (Makes me feel my age!) Thanks a lot...

Steve

If you used the "default routines" your copy of the Microsoft Store MSFS will be at 
C:\Users\[Your User Name]\AppData\Local\Packages\ Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Packages\

If you simply changed the drive letter at the custom installation stage, it will be at
D:\Users\[Your User Name]\AppData\Local\Packages\ Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Packages\

By default, the appdata folder is hidden, this may be why you cannot see it.
You would need to go to your Windows File Explorer and tick "Show hidden files, folders and drives".

As mentioned, the best way is to first create a folder on the drive where you want to install the content, such as D:\MSFS,
then it will install into that and your Community folder path will be D:\MSFS\Community and your Marketplace purchased
items will be at D:\Official\OneStore.

You can in fact move all of the files onto the same drive using the Windows\Apps\Microsoft Flight Simulator\Move function.
If you do then the configuration files will be at D:\WpSystem, though still with the tortuous path to the configuration files within that folder.
 

 

No matter which version of MSFS you have (Steam or MSStore), the path to your packages folder is stored as the last line in UserCfg.opt file.

1. Open file explorer.
2. In the Nav bar, type in %appdata% and press enter.
3. Navigate to the "Microsoft Flight Simulator" folder.
4. Open UserCfg.opt file with a text editor (Notepad will do).
5. Go to the bottom of the file. The last line will show the path to the packages folder.
6. Highlight and copy the path (without the quotes) and paste that in the Nav bar of file explorer and press enter.
7. Within that folder will be the Community folder.

...jim

 

1 hour ago, JimBrown said:

No matter which version of MSFS you have (Steam or MSStore), the path to your packages folder is stored as the last line in UserCfg.opt file.

1. Open file explorer.
2. In the Nav bar, type in %appdata% and press enter.
3. Navigate to the "Microsoft Flight Simulator" folder.
4. Open UserCfg.opt file with a text editor (Notepad will do).
5. Go to the bottom of the file. The last line will show the path to the packages folder.
6. Highlight and copy the path (without the quotes) and paste that in the Nav bar of file explorer and press enter.
7. Within that folder will be the Community folder.

...jim

 

Jim,
That will not work the same on all systems.  For example on my system that path takes me to appdata/roaming.  I have no Microsoft Flight Simulator folder in roaming.  I also have no FlightSimulator folder in roaming.  My folder is "Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe", not Microsoft Flight Simulator, and it is in appdata/local/packages.

C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\

And the UserCfg.opt on my system is in the LocalCache folder there.  "C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\"

 

This is what is listed in my UserCfg.opt file:

InstalledPackagesPath "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Packages"

10 hours ago, fppilot said:

Jim,
That will not work the same on all systems.  For example on my system that path takes me to appdata/roaming.  I have no Microsoft Flight Simulator folder in roaming.  I also have no FlightSimulator folder in roaming.  My folder is "Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe", not Microsoft Flight Simulator, and it is in appdata/local/packages.

C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\

And the UserCfg.opt on my system is in the LocalCache folder there.  "C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\"

 

My bad. I thought the MSStore version would be similar to the Steam version. It's too late to edit my post above to indicate those steps are for the Steam version only.

However, the main point remains, the last line in UserCfg.opt is the location of main data for the sim, within which can be found the Community folder.

...jim

 

3 hours ago, Bert Pieke said:

This is what is listed in my UserCfg.opt file:

InstalledPackagesPath "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Packages"

Looks like a default MSStore installation to me. If you ever have to do a complete reinstallation of MSFS, at the screen that does the humongous download, you do have the option to change the installation path.

My Steam version is installed to G:\Flightsim. My Community folder is G:\Flightsim\Community. Makes it easy to get to. Not that I need to get to it since I use the Addon Linker. 😉

(I also did some Windows trickery when I last did a nuke and pave Windows install, and my user folder (what is usually in C:\Users) is in G:\Users. Figured I'd put all that stuff on my fastest drive, which is an NvME drive. The rest of the OS is on the C:\ drive as usual).

...jim

 

Edited September 6, 20214 yr by JimBrown

46 minutes ago, JimBrown said:

Looks like a default MSStore installation to me. If you ever have to do a complete reinstallation of MSFS, at the screen that does the humongous download, you do have the option to change the installation path.

I did a fresh installation like that recently and highly recommend it!  The appdata related files are still buried deep (see my prior message above), but Community is much more accessible and any issues with pathname filename path length are resolved.  Note that even the Addons Linker still positioned windows shortcuts in my previous default Community folder location, and those shortcuts in turn referenced the pathname filenames to the locations where they were linked from.  Have no knowledge of how those added up, but my custom location of d:/MSFS2020 with a Community folder location of d:/MSFS2020/Community appears to have mitigated any related issues.

I did take the steps to remove all traces of MSFS from my system before completing the fresh install.

Edited September 6, 20214 yr by fppilot