Apart from loading times, is there any real benefit to keeping a lean Community folder, i.e., unloading what you don't need/adding what you do before you fly?   I have been doing this for the past month and have since not had any CTD's.   Not sure if it's placebo or not, but its a PITA.  Wondering whether anyone else does this.

 

 

I do this as well (using addons linker). I only keep my personal must-have addons active and only link the airports I need for the flight, mainly because of the loading times. Not sure if it helps avoid CTDs.

I also delete the content file and scenery index files when I install or remove something because I had quite some performance and tearing issues in SU10 and that seems to have solved the problem. Not sure if it‘s actually the case though. It might be more superstition than fact, but since I‘ve been doing this I haven’t had any issues, so I‘m gonna stick to this rather annoying routine for a while.

Edited November 16, 20223 yr by Shack95

I keep my Community folder as lean and mean as possible 

Has a noticeable effect on performance ie improvement 

Have a MSFS Addons folder on a hard disk with space (not the MSFS  hard disk)

A short cut on Desktop 

A shortcut on Desktop alongside for Community folder also

I like trying new bush flying strips from  Flightsim.to -simply delete from Community folder at end of flight

Always keep a copy of the downloaded  airstrip in MSFS Addons folder so can reinstall anytime 

Works for planes, scenery etc

One or two favourites left in MSFS Community folder but that’s all

Regular pruning  a good idea  plus uninstalling within Contents list within MSFS game a good idea also

xxd09 

 

Using Addons Linker, my community folder is always empty except for links, of which I have currently 856 active. No problems with performance whatsoever. This is beating a dead horse, but it is a mystery to me why everyone doesn't use AL.

The most annoying thing is that the protection within msfs does not allow you to move files out of the msfs folder making it impossible to move the ones you rarely use onto another drive.

I certainly get less CTDs with an empty community folder, but have so many addons that it is hard to identify the culprits as the CTDs can be quite random.

Addon Linker helps some, but even that does not allow you to move addons to another drive, it simply creates symbolic links when you have done so.

I generally keep all of my UK addons in the community folder and have different folders for other countries I like to fly in.  I also have a large number of object libraries that are required by some of my sceneries.

25 minutes ago, cianpars said:

Addon Linker helps some, but even that does not allow you to move addons to another drive, it simply creates symbolic links when you have done so.

If you keep all your addon files in a separate drive from MSFS, and use AL, there is never any need to move anything in or out of Community other than links. This is the great virtue of AL, along with the ability to organize all your addons in whatever way you find most convenient.

Edited November 16, 20223 yr by cobalt

Seems to me it makes no difference to start up speed if your Community folder is tiny or huge. No issues with performance here.  I don't use addon linker. 

3 hours ago, ErichB said:

Wondering whether anyone else does this.

 

I do the same, using Addons Linker..  Lean and Mean avoids potential conflicts with various addons.

2 hours ago, cobalt said:

Using Addons Linker, my community folder is always empty except for links, of which I have currently 856 active. No problems with performance whatsoever. This is beating a dead horse, but it is a mystery to me why everyone doesn't use AL.

Coz you don't really need it. I keep very few permanent addons in my community folder. The rest I move in and out as needed, say airports at both end of my flights. 

This so-called addon linker is a solution in search of a problem. 

2 hours ago, Shack95 said:

I also delete the content file

You don't need to do this anymore. SU10 changed the format of Content.xml, it is now used only for setting priority levels. Navigraph is one example of using the new format in order for it to override the base sim's nav data.

It can also be used instead of naming folders so that a specific folder is loaded before or after another folder.

You can find the official package priority tool in the Experimental section of Options. More info here: https://mtasobo.cloud.answerhub.com/articles/9407/changes-on-contentxml-behavior.html

...jim

 

2 hours ago, St Mawgan said:

Seems to me it makes no difference to start up speed if your Community folder is tiny or huge. No issues with performance here.  I don't use addon linker. 

Almost the same but i use AL to move scenerys to another Drive. Fenix/PMDG etc stays in the original and so far havent disabled anything.

Another story with P3d here btw.  

Michael Moe

5 minutes ago, Ricardo41 said:

Coz you don't really need it. I keep very few permanent addons in my community folder. The rest I move in and out as needed, say airports at both end of my flights. 

This so-called addon linker is a solution in search of a problem. 

OK, YOU don't need it, but for those who have zillions of addons, it is an amazing tool. Even for those like yourself who have few addons, AL still makes it easier to activate and deactivate them in MSFS. It also eliminates potential problems with conflicts, since nothing but linkers ever goes into Community and they cannot be affected by, for example, MSFS updates.   

 

 

 

 

 

When making a symbolic link to an add-on outside the community folder. Windows is actually fooling MSFS which thinks the add-on is in fact in the community folder. So the effect of loading times is exactly the same.

What surprises me is that the linker is based on such an obvious concept that it should have been included by default in MSFS. I'm at a loss as to why they didn't do that.

19 hours ago, cianpars said:

The most annoying thing is that the protection within msfs does not allow you to move files out of the msfs folder making it impossible to move the ones you rarely use onto another drive.

If I have not misunderstood, there appear to be no restrictions on what can be done with any of the MSFS content, whether in the Community folder or in the Official folder, if the content installation was first directed away from its default location inside the appdata folder.

19 hours ago, cobalt said:

If you keep all your addon files in a separate drive from MSFS

It is not necessary to use a separate drive from MSFS at all.
They can indeed be on the same drive and anywhere you want except inside a folder named "Community" within the MSFS root folder.

16 hours ago, Ricardo41 said:

Coz you don't really need it. I keep very few permanent addons in my community folder. The rest I move in and out as needed, say airports at both end of my flights. This so-called addon linker is a solution in search of a problem. 

This is very clever and is exactly what the addons linker does, except with links.
It really does not matter which method is used or whether anyone thinks that one method is better or worse than the one that they prefer.
Given that the addon linker links addons, it is hard to see how it could have a more apt name.

Edited November 17, 20223 yr by Reader