Step by step:

• go to %localAppData%\packages\Microsoft.Limitless_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache (just paste the address to the file explorer address bar at the top of the window)
• edit the file Content.xml (I use Notepad++ but default Windows notepad should work)
• search for the content that you want to disable e.g. A330
• change active="Activated" to active="UserDisabled"
• save the file

Background: 

 

I had a weird CTD today when entering the aircraft selection menu. In the previous sim session, I had selected one of the A330 aircraft types. After restarting the sim, it would CTD whenever I tried to change to another aircraft. I tried to disable the A330 in the My library section of the sim menu,  - apparently this is not yet possible for default aircraft. After a google search, I realized that it's still possible to disable all streamed content via the Content.xml file. I disabled the A330 which solved the CTD issue. 

Apologies if this has already been mentioned here on Avsim - I did a search and could not find a relevant thread. 

Thank you for an outstanding, useful post!  I will hold this for later use.

Thanks, good tip. 

Its been mentioned, but should probably have a sticky!

This works to disable handcrafted airports if we also have 3rd party we want to use?

Instead of renaming the 3rd party airport in community to asobo- Microsoft- etc.

6 hours ago, abennett said:

This works to disable handcrafted airports if we also have 3rd party we want to use?

Instead of renaming the 3rd party airport in community to asobo- Microsoft- etc.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think it does. An easier method is to use the airport overrride checker, so that I don't have to manually disable the default handcrafted airports where I have payware/freeware addons. 

Edited January 17, 20251 yr by Cpt_Piett

I seem to have spent half my sim time messing around in content.xml. In 2020 I had a system that, once set up, let me very easily enable/disable default aircraft via the addons linker, so that I would only see a selection of aircraft I wanted to (built-in or addon) in a sim session. Can't seem to be able to do that yet with 2024. If and when they ever get it sorted out to be able to download, rather than stream, the built in stuff I might be able to go back to that process.

Messing around in content.xml is fairly straightforward though, and does the job. BUT .  .  . there does seem to be a bug (surprise surprise) in how 2024 maintains it. It seems to scan the community folder on each start up and add a fresh line in content.xml for everything it finds there. Even if it's already in there. So you end up with dozens, even hundreds if you don't clean it up, of copies of the same entries in there. Now, I don't know if this causes any extra delay in the startup time for 2024 - I assume probably not as it's pretty obviously not checking the file contents before just adding the new community entries, but it does make it a pain to edit as per the original post here. Another example of the appalling quality control that went in to the development of this sim. They got a lot of the big stuff right, but almost all the little bits and pieces are creaky beyond belief. (edited to add: it seems to me that when writing the code, once they'd got a function to perform it's basic job ok, they never bothered to go on and check for other implications. Tick it off the list and move on)

For my own purposes, I've now gotten my list of aircraft down to around eight or ten. Which given I bought the super duper version, plus had all the extras for the aviator version from 2020 anyway, is a pretty poor showing. There were always planes I was never going to use, but I am slightly aggrieved that I can't use most of my 2020 built-in planes (even if they actually work, they don't show a pilot in external view), and I'm simply not prepared to spend the time going through checking every one of the probably 200-300 aircraft I had accumulated for 2020.

Very happy with 2024 and the planes I have now settled on, but I do feel this has all been a bit of a c*ck-up. Definitely not what was promised or shown in the previews. But then, I never did think it would be (I've been a Microsoft user for 40 years - they have form!)

(Oh, and most of the addon airports I have tried work ok. Maybe some occasional hiccoughs, but generally ok)

Edited January 17, 20251 yr by andy1252
text

Just for info, for those using Addons Linker, since version 0.24.x, a content.xml editor is included, it should also remove duplicated entries. Maybe a bit easier than searching through and editing the file manually. You can also save and restore 'preset' of selections.

 

obviously it's just a fun non professional tool, so no obligation to use that, do it at your discretion if you think it can be useful for you and know what you are doing and accept the risks that some bugs might ruin your weekend 😜😱😉 (it shouldn't though).

🍻

 

Edited January 17, 20251 yr by Bad_T

55 minutes ago, Bad_T said:

Just for info, for those using Addons Linker, since version 0.24.x, a content.xml editor is included, it should also remove duplicated entries. Maybe a bit easier than searching through and editing the file manually. You can also save and restore 'preset' of selections.

 

obviously it's just a fun non professional tool, so no obligation to use that, do it at your discretion if you think it can be useful for you and know what you are doing and accept the risks that some bugs might ruin your weekend 😜😱😉 (it shouldn't though).

🍻

 

Bad_T, you are that kind of person, very rare, who restores confidence in humanity: talented, generous and modest.
If one day you visit the Holy Land, let me know, the beers will be for me!
🍻

1 hour ago, Bad_T said:

for those using Addons Linker, since version 0.24.x, a content.xml editor is included, it should also remove duplicated entries. Maybe a bit easier than searching through and editing the file manually

Cheers @Bad_T! Hadn't noticed this - like I've said before I use AL as my primary mechanism for controlling my sim environment, but having gotten it working the way I wanted some good way back I tend not to have noticed the new features. Very glad you added this though - magic!

Just to confirm I understand it ok. The duplicate entries are just removed automatically? Just open the feature and "save changes" seems to do it ok? And also, it facilitates switching an entry between "activated" and "userdisabled" (either way) but can't touch "systemdisabled" items? That last one is not an issue if the case - I'll just do a global change from "systemdisabled" to "userdisabled" via Notepad++ and then manage everything via AL from now on.

And yes, I'm with @David Roch on this one - you, sir, are a one-off as far as support and attitude goes. Thank you.

@andy1252 and @David Roch thank you for the kind words ❤️

yes the duplicated are removed as soon as you load the file and so they won't be saved when the file is saved. It will keep the first one it finds so, if you have duplicated entries and one is with 'disabled' and the other with 'enabled', only the one of the two will be kept. Then the sim will probably re-add the duplicated entries until they fix it (i think they get added when the sim starts) but at least it should stop the number of duplicated items getting bigger and bigger.

For the systemdisabled items, for now they are not editable because i don't really know what their meaning is (all this is fairly new). To start, i thought that if some items are disabled by microsoft/asobo (that's how i understood 'systemdisabled' ) it was probably better to not change them because probably they don't work well with msfs2024. I might be wrong though, so i might change that when/if i get more knowledge about all this.

Let me know if you need some changes in all that, my experience with msfs2024 has been a bit limited since i learned about the new content.xml file and the duplicated items.

Thank you 🍻

@Bad_T, thanks for that. I don't have any real idea of the difference (functionally) between "userdisabled" and "systemdisabled", but I have activated system-disabled stuff without any noticeable ill-effect. I've also noticed situations where I had some things "userdisabled" or "activated" but after a forced shutdown or crash these items might show up as "systemdisabled".

As usual, until MAsobo sees fit to publish some documentation (currently scheduled for 12th of Never, I believe) we're all just guessing or experimenting.

Your handling of the content.xml file is fine as is. It makes the whole process 1000% easier.

Is there a way to do this now in 2024? I'm pretty sure they removed the content.xml all together. There are a lot of default planes I wanna get rid of in the selection screen.

They moved it. It's now inside C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Limitless_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\<XBOX ACCOUNT USERNAME>\Content.xml

What i really wanted to know is how to remove variants and default repaints from planes such as the ATR. I don't want the 42 and wanted to remove all default liveries so i can focus on the ones i like instead of having to go through lots of useless stuff.

7 hours ago, Mets737 said:

I'm pretty sure they removed the content.xml all together.

No the Content.xml is there indeed as indicated by Nuno, I cannot overemphasize how easy such a "clean-up" is with Addon-Linker (see Bad-T posts above) instead of dangerously messing around with your Content.xml file, even if you don't want to use AL afterwards, it will be a welcome help for this task alone.