I am considering getting a couple of airports via orbx. I have never used them before and from what I understand I have to install their app, orbx central, and then download and 'install' any purchases through the app. 

So far the only addons I have outside of the marketplace have either come from flightsim.to or direct from GotFriends. These have been direct downloads and I manage them all with addons linker. I would like to do the same with the orbx packages but I am not sure if this is possible.

I have tried searching on the issue but haven't got a clear answer. From what I understand orbx central will download the packages and then install them directly into the community folder. I have seen suggestions that these can then be moved manually to another folder to work with addons linker but this sounded very inconvenient.

Can anyone here who uses orbx tell me whether it is possible to install via orbx central to a location other than the community folder?

thanks

1 hour ago, bailout said:

then install them directly into the community folder

Hi, Yes this is one option and during the process the installer asks you if you want it inside or outside the sim installed. You create locations / folders to your liking and set it accordingly in the Orbx app and point there during installation. As far as I remember, they want you to create this in a Orbx folder.

Good luck

 

1 hour ago, bailout said:

Can anyone here who uses orbx tell me whether it is possible to install via orbx central to a location other than the community folder?

If you create an Orbx Central Library, you can install the products wherever you want to.
Orbx Central does create links to the Community folder itself, but if you prefer to use the Addons Linker, you can delete the Orbx links, point Addons Linker at the Orbx Central Library folder and use Addons Linker to add and take away the links yourself.

Like this:

Edited September 21, 2025Sep 21 by Reader

13 minutes ago, Reader said:

Orbx Central does create links to the Community folder itself, but if you prefer to use the Addons Linker, you can delete the Orbx links, point Addons Linker at the Orbx Central Library folder and use Addons Linker to add and take away the links yourself.

Yep, definitely the way to do it. I have most of the Orbx stuff (an historical legacy from P3D days when they were the best around, sadly no longer quite the same) and the advantage of doing things this way is that when you run Orbx Central, it can update its products in place in the Orbx Library automatically. The updates will create new symlinks in your community folder but you can then just delete those and continue using the Addons Linker as before. And as a minor thing, I have my Addons Linker set to use Junctions rather than Symlinks so that I can see more easily when a community folder link has been updated by the likes of Orbx (Aerosoft and a couple of others do the same sort of thing)

I still think it's easier to have Orbx put it in my CF.  Then I drag & Drop into my Add-ons directory for Add-Ons Linker to deal with. Yes, one drag & drop to do, but sounds easier than deleting dynamic links, etc.

7 minutes ago, James Callan said:

I still think it's easier to have Orbx put it in my CF.

It's a matter of choice, of course.
I prefer links because whatever happens to the Community folder, the products are all safely out of harm's way.
For the same reason, I have nothing flight simulator connected installed into any of the Windows protected folders
because in some cases, Windows protecting itself also stops things from working.

33 minutes ago, andy1252 said:

(an historical legacy from P3D days when they were the best around, sadly no longer quite the same)

For someone new, like myself, do you think it is better to avoid orbx and buy via other routes?

It does sound like it will be a bit of a hassle to use with addons linker if I need to move/delete links manually every time it updates.

It all started when I saw a couple of freeware airports I fancied trying that were also available via orbx and I thought it might be easier to have one account with orbx than separate accounts with each of the airport developers as well as maybe future purchases through them. However, I like to keep things simple and I wonder whether orbx central will create problems instead of solving them.

41 minutes ago, bailout said:

I wonder whether orbx central will create problems instead of solving them.

If you want simplicity, you can just use Orbx Central once to install the files and then manage the links once yourself.
If a product is updated, only that product would be linked again, not all of them, so only one to delete if required.
If time management is crucial to you, all this maintenance could be a good use of the waiting time for any simulator to load.
Most of the mainstream retailers use installers now, so limiting yourself only to those who supply downloads
without an installer will severely limit your choice of addons.
Once again, it's all a matter of choice.

Edited September 21, 2025Sep 21 by Reader

I have it set up as mentioned above and "decline" when it asks me to link it. Addon linker does it for me. I have the libraries set up in a different ssd

6 hours ago, bailout said:

do you think it is better to avoid orbx and buy via other routes?

Like others have said, it's a personal choice. Most vendors have their own delivery systems now, and Orbx is no better or worse than anyone else. My comment about Orbx not being what they were is a reference to their products, not their systems. If you buy addons at all, you'll need to keep track of what you've got and where you got it from and how complicated that gets is down to how many you buy and how you feel about administration generally. As a man with around 1,200 addon packages in place so far (plus a few hundred freeware things) I keep a pretty comprehensive spreadsheet and make sure I update it whenever I grab anything new.

At least these days I don't have to keep all the "source" packages on my system, as most of these vendor apps handle the install themselves and I only have to maintain the "live" packages. If I need an update or want to uninstall/re-install for any reason I can be sure I'll be getting the current version, and with Gb internet these days it takes no time at all.

For myself, I'm beginning to find that I'm not grabbing scenery packages like major airports as much as I used to before MSFS2024. I don't do any serious tubeliner flying, never have done, and major airports don't have the same appeal for me these days. It used to be that such addons were often the most impressive scenery in the sim environment, but I find the general environment in 2024 so good that I don't feel the need to go exploring around airport terminals in the same way I once did. Small strips and oddities are much more appealing to my type of flying, which is very basic and non-procedural anyway as I probably spend more time outside the aircraft exploring with the drone cam as I do in the cockpit on most expeditions.

Lots of amazing stuff out there these days though, so get stuck in there! Happy exploring!

7 hours ago, bailout said:

It does sound like it will be a bit of a hassle to use with addons linker if I need to move/delete links manually every time it updates.

It's worth mentioning that manually deleting links is not strictly necessary, as the Addons Linker recognises the Orbx links, which are exactly the same thing as it creates, so they can be managed with the Addons Linker as well

Edited September 21, 2025Sep 21 by Reader

Not at all a problem if you organise straight from the beginning a file structure on a different drive (for example) or outside MSFS anyway such as:

D:/ MSFS Addon>Europe>Germany

D:/MSFS Addon>Asia>China

D:/MSFS Addon>Aircraft>General Aviation

Etc... as you wish, and then use that structure when you buy an ORBx product by creating the relevant library with that path. Your scenery (or aircraft) will be installed in the correct location and Addon Linker can be used the same way with the same structure.

I have addons from ORBx, Contrail, etc, they are all updated automatically even if they are not linked at the time of the update, and never had a problem with this system that keeps your library in good and tidy order making new purchase, or updates a breeze.