I'm wondering if there's a quicker way to see the results of my new scenery design than having to quit FSX and re-launch a (round-trip time of about 3 minutes)?To clarify I save my new scenery in the Addon scenery folder, launch FSX, load my saved flight to see what it looks like and take a mental picture of what needs fixing before I quit FSX. I then repeat. Is this what everyone does? Seems laborious.

It is laborious, our only solution for the moment is to complain to the developers. But, then, it must be laborious for them too!!! No, seriously, they already know, and they chose to do it this way for performance reasons.You could try loading everything in TMFViewer instead of in game - this is much quicker, although not as descriptive.Best regards.Luis

Hi there,actually, most changes to FSX add-ons can be reliably assessed by deactivating the entry in the scenery library, overwriting the existing bgl set with your new version (or adding new files) then re-activating the library entry.Or, if you want to be even faster, set up two add-on folders, and keep switching between them. One of them is deactivated (you can overwrite the existing scenery files in it) while the other is active. When you have compiled a new set of your files, copy them into the inactive folder, then, in the library menu, switch the active entry to inactive and the inactive to active. Ad infinitum... This approach requires only one rebuild of the FSX library index and reload of the scenery.However, I've noticed that some add-on files appear to be cached so changes to them require a re-start. That includes effect files (which, actually, can be developed with the handy new WYSIWYG SDK tool) and land class files and ground textures.Also, instead of mental pictures I suggest screenshots to evaluate your changes.Cheers, Holger

In the past I have created a special scenery.cfg file for my design in progress, and use it to temporarily replace the default scenery.cfg file**. For example, when working on Vancouver, I have eliminated all the default scenery files for Europe, Asia, South America, Oceania etc and and only leave North America. FS loads a lot faster as a consequence.**But beware, don't overwrite your default scenery.cfg file with your design scenery.cfg file!NigelVancouver

Good idea! It would be great if this could be controlled by external programs via SimConnect. But I guess thats just wishful thinking?

>>However, I've noticed that some add-on files appear to be>cached so changes to them require a re-start. That includes>effect files (which, actually, can be developed with the handy>new WYSIWYG SDK tool) and land class files and ground>textures.>Also I have noticed jetways often seem to be cached...restart needed to clear it up.RhettAMD 3700+ (@2310 mhz), eVGA 7800GT 256 (Guru3D 93.71), ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 2.5-3-3-8 (1T), WD 250 gig 7200 rpm SATA2, CoolerMaster Praetorian case

When I'm working on scenery in FSX I've found that the following works well for me:I've created a few shortcuts to open FSX in the area I'm working on. I've designated FSX to open on File Type .FLT. Then I created a few shortcuts that open FSX directly in the "Flight" I want to use for current scenery work. For example I have a shortcut with a target of "C:Documents and SettingsAllanMy DocumentsFlight Simulator X FilesP.FLT". This opens FSX and goes directly to flight "P" (for project).When I'm done editing or move to another area to work on I slew to an appropriate location for the next session and then save the FLT as P.FLT. With FSX open and after I create or modify a scenery BGL file and save it to FSX I go to World, Scenery Library. I don't check or uncheck anything but simply click on OK. This refreshs the scenery and returns me to where I left off so I can see what changes I've made without repositioning in slew. So far this procedure seems to work fine on my system with SBuilderX, EZ Landclass for FSX, Create Signs, and even revisions to AFCAD AFD files. I have a limited amount of RAM (1 gig) which is minimal for FSX. I suspect that very few of my scenery files end up cached which may be why it's not usually necessary for me to rerun FSX to see my changes and/or additions. I did attempt to use this procedure when editing some effects (.FX) files and wasn't surprised that FSX didn't like the idea and on very rare occasions FSX has not allowed edited BGL files to overwrite without rerunning. Some aspects of FSX seem to have inconsistent behavior so this procedure may or may not work for you.Al Wheeler

hi Al,I am using the same method.It works well for me too..!Happy flying and designing.RegardsBert