Hello guys, i need some help. With SU4, it has appeared that AL needs a little feature to manage both the Community and Community2024 folders (not really needed for me but well you know it's for the community 😉). Unfortunately, as it is now, AL can't do that and most of the logic is based on only 1 destination folder so some changes are needed.

Without even speaking about the complexity of the changes (it will probably require some work as all the features are based on the existence of only 1 destination folder), i need a good idea on how to do that in the UI. I thought a bit about it but i didn't really come up with any fantastic ideas. here are my first 2 ideas.

- Idea 1 : Adding an additional column in the left panel (community2024). If the users clicks on that column (it would work like the current 'persistant' column) then the link will be created in the community2024 for the addons that have that option selected.
     - CON : a new column to manage for the users
     - ADV : still a single vision of all the linked addons in the same right panel as of today (with a different color for those in the community2024 folder). UI still close that what people have been using until now

     
- Idea 2 : A new tab on the right panel of AL. There would be the 'Community' tab like today, and a new tab 'Community 2024'. When the Community2024 tab is selected, links will be created in the community2024 folder, when the 'community' folder is selected, the links will be created in the 'community' folder
     - ADV : probably easiest to understand for the user, the link gets created based on the currently selected tab
     - CON : probably harder to program
     - CON : no more clear visibility of all the linked addons, they would be split in 2 different grid (risk of duplicates, bit different to what you were used to until n

     

- other ideas ?

 

ADS : the professional grades mockup pictures included in this message were edited with Microsoft Paint !! 😁🤭😄

 

Wondering if some of you who would need this feature, or have maybe better ideas, could give me some hints of other possible ways or feedback about what is written above.

Thank you. 🍺

Edited January 19Jan 19 by Bad_T

Hi @Bad_T,

Others might like to correct me if I'm wrong but my understanding was that the community2024 folder (I'll call it C24 hereforth) is only used by MAsobo if there are both 2020 and 2024 addons known to the sim for that user. As far as I know, and certainly from my own experience, anything that gets dropped into the C24 folder initially will be quite happily recognised and used if moved into the old C(ommunity) folder anyway.

I've only had a couple of things, can't even remember what they were now but both were 2024 version aircraft, put specifically in the C24 folder by the product installer. Most of the product installers like SImMarket and such like still seem to just use the C folder.

Unless MAsobo gets squirelly about this and insists on enforcing the use of C24, it seems to me the best solution is to try and ignore it as far as possible. I move anything that gets installed out of whatever community folder it goes in and just store it in my own folder structure, and then use your excellent product to manage it. Which is what it was designed for, but also means that everything actually runs from a link in the standard C folder anyway.

Maybe your AL would do better (if it's easier to set up) just to have a first step to move anything from any C24 folder to the C folder. And then all the current functionality could be run unchanged from that point on. 

From the user's point of view it shouldn't make any difference which community folder is used, as presumably they're using AL to make sure they keep stuff out of the community folders anyway.

I know there are a few products that the vendors say should not be loaded symbolically (P42 for one), so maybe people should adopt the convention to store those products in the C24 folder, but let AL continue to use just the standard C folder for all the linked stuff.

Unlike MAsobo, I'm a big fan of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"

 

yeah @andy1252 .. i agree, i also thought it was not really needed and that's why i didn't do anything until now about that folder. But i get more and more requests from people asking me to implement that and saying that, in some cases, it does make a difference (like for example TFDI installing in the community2024 and if you don't link it there it will not work, haven't tested myself, i haven't bought it ... yet i should say because it looks quite tempting 😉).

So well yeah having in the last 2 weeks several people asking for it i guess i have to do something (but sure i would prefer to not add complexity to the program).

And that being said i just had some more thoughts about my 2 ideas above, idea2 probably won't work with presets, because presets would not know in which folder to create the link. So for now it would probably be idea1 having the edge, but well we'll see if there's some more feedback and ideas in the coming days, there is no rush to develop something fast, if i do something i need to do it correctly.

Thank you for your input 🍺

Edited January 19Jan 19 by Bad_T

Not needed- functions perfectly as is- INDESPENSIBLE- thank-you @Bad_T

C

I am overjoyed with how my 2024 Addon Linker works: perfect. And exactly like it also worked in 2020.

I created a folder named MSFS2024 on the C drive to hold all of my msfs2024 stuff. It does not hold any 2020 stuff.

Inside that folder are these folders:

2024 MSFS_Addons_Linker -which hold the Addon Linker program itself, all the .dll files etc.

2024 COMMUNITY ADDONS -which holds the folders of addons (planes, utilities, scenery, etc.)

COMMUNITY - AOL loads and unloads it with links to the above folder

COMMUNITY2024  - This is empty and has remained empty. It serves me no purpose.

OFFICIAL2024 - this is also remains empty and serves me no purpose at all.

StreamedPackages: - this holds all of my streamed assets (planes, scenery, utilities, etc).

-----

So AOL moves what I want loaded in and of Community, exactly like it did in 2020. 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Bad_T said:

and saying that, in some cases, it does make a difference (like for example TFDI installing in the community2024 and if you don't link it there it will not work, haven't tested myself, i haven't bought it ... yet i should say because it looks quite tempting 😉)

The MD-11 works perfectly fine from the standard community folder (just checked). There are many folders supplied as part of that package, so maybe that user just missed one - perhaps the EFB folder.

And yes - you should buy it, it's great!

First, thanks for probably the handiest utility in the MSFS ecosystem.  Bravo!

As to your question--I think any differentiation between native FS24 and cross-compatible FS20<->FS24 add-ons should be done in the *source* directory structure, placing all the links from separate segregated  source folders into one destination folder.  Seeing as how FS24 just aggregates whatever is in the two community folders together, I don't see any advantage in trying to send different add-ons to different destination folders that will all get loaded together anyway.  It's unnecessary complexity without a clear purpose.

I keep one folder called FS2020_Ext that has my FS2020 add-ons (also linked into MSFS by the FS20 version of AOL), and another FS24_Ext that contains FS24-specific add-ons.  When setting up an FS2024 flight, I first look in the FS24_Ext folder and tick any FS24 native add-ons applicable to the flight, and if any I need are not there, I find and tick the compatible one(s) in the FS2020_Ext folder.  That way I don't have to maintain duplicate installations of the FS2020 stuff, it just links right to them in their folder in FS2020.  You already highlight in red any that exist in both places to warn against selecting the same add-on from different source directories.  Works great.

I know of no add-on (including the TFDi Mighty Dog) that requires installation in the Community24 folder, and if some come to eventually exist, they are so few and far between they could just be left to permanently reside in the Community24 folder.

Like Bob Scott, I have done the same and created two separate files and paths.  Like Bob, I wanted to say this program is essential and I thank you for building it for the community....