New user here, and I am happy to say I like this AddOn Linker program.

Is there some option to also manage those apps that are listed in exe.xml?   For example, I ami using BetterBravoLights which is included in exe.xml so it automatically runs when MSFS starts.   I can untick this app in AddOn Linker and remove it from Community, but it stays in the exe.xml file and so it continues to run, even if removed from Community.

Maybe there is an option I am unaware of?

Don't need AOL (or America Online either 🙃) as I have a grand total of 23 entries in the Comm Folder, over half of which are low budget liveries, and I've been at this steadily for 2.2y now.  

20 minutes ago, Noel said:

Don't need AOL (or America Online either 🙃) as I have a grand total of 23 entries in the Comm Folder, over half of which are low budget liveries, and I've been at this steadily for 2.2y now.  

My example is 347 GB of addons.  Scenery, mostly USA, Canadian, and Caribbean airports; a number of addon scenery object libraries and scenery enhancements; (10) addon GA aircraft models; no more than (5) liveries for each off those 10 GA aircraft that I fly; a number of performance mods for default MSFS aircraft; and a handful of addon avionics and aircraft-specific avionics mods.

Addons Linker is an absolute must for me.  The first step in my pre-flight routine is to take about two minutes to refine selections to just those needed for my flight. I also have dependencies set for airports that are using addon library objects so those librariies are loaded when needed and not loaded when not needed.  

My MSFS is located on an SSD and the addons on a 2TB HDD. I only have about (4) World Updates installed as those cover where I fly or provide needed scenery objects.  I can load other WU's in short order from Content Manager if/when needed/desired. When I start MSFS I reach the fully loaded Main Menu in about 80 seconds! Priceless!

Edited January 2, 20233 yr by fppilot

Hello

15 hours ago, Tumbi said:

Is there some option to also manage those apps that are listed in exe.xml?   For example, I ami using BetterBravoLights which is included in exe.xml so it automatically runs when MSFS starts.   I can untick this app in AddOn Linker and remove it from Community, but it stays in the exe.xml file and so it continues to run, even if removed from Community.

Hello @Tumbi and welcome to the forum 🍻

I'm not a user of BetterBravoLights so i'm not 100% sure of how it works but i downloaded the package to have a look.

From what i see, that mod is based on 2 different things

• an application BetterBravoLights.exe , this is not a MSFS addon, it's just a program so this can't be enabled/disabled via links. The installer probably sets it to auto-run in the exe-xml file to make sure it always runs with the sim, if you don't want that you need to remove it manually from the exe.xml file
• there is a little addon package (folder better-bravo-lights-lvar-module), that's probably the one you see and that you can enable/disable using Addons Linker because it is considered as a MSFS addon.

If you enable or disable the addon package, it will make no difference to the EXE, the EXE will always launch if it's in exe.xml, there is no link between the EXE and the package.

So to sum up (about time 🙈as it's probably getting confusing 🙊 😁)

• if you don't want it to run everytime, you have to remove it from the exe.xml file (or just set <Disabled>True</Disabled> in the exe.xml). You would then have to run the EXE manually when you want it to run.
• in Addons Linker (in the options screen) there is an option to launch external applications, you could add a reference to the EXE there and it would run with the sim if you launch the sim via the little blue arrow at the top of AL screen. With the AL option, you would be able to specify that the EXE should run only if another addon is active, so you could say to autorun only if you have enabled the addon, that would probably give you the expected result -> if the addon is enabled the exe will run, if not it will not run

Oh well it's a bit complicated for me to explain cleary (but it should very simple if you do some experimenting and understand how it works)

Feel free to let me know if this blablabla makes no sense to you 🙃 🥂

Edited January 2, 20233 yr by Bad_T

33 minutes ago, fppilot said:

My example is 347 GB of addons.  Scenery, mostly USA, Canadian, and Caribbean airports; a number of addon scenery object libraries and scenery enhancements; (10) addon GA aircraft models; no more than (5) liveries for each off those 10 GA aircraft that I fly; a number of performance mods for default MSFS aircraft; and a handful of addon avionics and aircraft-specific avionics mods.

Addons Linker is an absolute must for me.  The first step in my pre-flight routine is to take about two minutes to refine selections to just those needed for my flight. I also have dependencies set for airports that are using addon library objects so those librariies are loaded when needed and not loaded when not needed.  

My MSFS is located on an SSD and the addons on a 2TB HDD. I only have about (4) World Updates installed as those cover where I fly or provide needed scenery objects.  I can load other WU's in short order from Content Manager if/when needed/desired. When I start MSFS I reach the fully loaded Main Menu in about 80 seconds! Priceless!

Agree 100%. Don't know where I would be without Addon Linker (I only have a 500GB SSD for WIN10 & MSFS). Big SHOUT OUT to "Bad_T" for sharing with the Avsim Community! So convenient, a lifesaver,  as I have all my Addons, 424GB on a 2TB SSD.

Edited January 2, 20233 yr by TomCYYZ

1 hour ago, fppilot said:

When I start MSFS I reach the fully loaded Main Menu in about 80 seconds!

Wow!  I wonder how you achieve that.  Even with MSFS on nVme and very few addons linked through AOL, I never get under 4-5 minutes.

7 hours ago, jetlag said:

Wow!  I wonder how you achieve that.  Even with MSFS on nVme and very few addons linked through AOL, I never get under 4-5 minutes.

How many world regions do you have installled? Do you fly in all of them?  That is all I can think of.  I would post a video but don't know how to create and post one with acceptable file size.

Edited January 3, 20233 yr by fppilot

It is worth pointing out that finding addon conflicts is a total PITA without addon linker as you need to copy stuff in and out of the community folder each time you want to try a different combo.

Addon linker lets you do things like "lets turn off all the airports to see if that helps" with just a few clicks.

Not sure how it is a 'total PITA' to move folders out of the community folder to see if their presence causes any conflicts any more than it would be a PITA to go into AOL to uncheck them. I bet that takes longer in fact. But like many who have never used AOL, I have never had any conflicts.   

I find AOL priceless. I load up 32GB of 100 addons including FSUIPC, LNM, Flight recorder, AAOs and others in a 2TB NVME drive. Total time from green arrow in AOL to the Map display in MSFS : 105 seconds. This is on a two year old 10th Gen system. Of course I do not load up ALL the World Updates as I only load where I fly. Addon Linker makes activating and deactivating addons as simple as clicking a box. Bad_T is THE man...

5 hours ago, St Mawgan said:

Not sure how it is a 'total PITA' to move folders out of the community folder to see if their presence causes any conflicts any more than it would be a PITA to go into AOL to uncheck them. I bet that takes longer in fact. But like many who have never used AOL, I have never had any conflicts.   

The difference is addon linker lets you save profiles.

On 2/15/2022 at 2:09 PM, DJJose said:

I want to add anther reason.

The user can fast launch MSFS as well as other programs.

I start FSUIPC, AIG TC, & littlenavmap, & fast launch MSFS with one click.

Thanks for pointing this out, this is what sold it for me. I was having issues with the latest FSUIPC not starting.