answered Orbx LIbrary and Symbolic Link

[Doc_Z]

I have my Orbx library moved from the P3d v. 4.5 folder to another disc using a symbolic link.  Will there be a v.5 folder on the disc I linked to or just on the root folder?  Where should I move compatible items from -- the root folder or the one linked to?  Not sure if this is clear, hope so.

[Mejjo]

Think you literally just asked what i did and posted at the same time ha!

I asked because i didn't want to copy and paste and take up double the storage on my drive while keeping v4 installed.

[Doc_Z]

I presume Nick, the symbolic link guru, will be along eventually.  Must be busy folks around Orbx today.

[Bert Pieke]

I would start by adding an equivalent symbolic link to the Orbx folder, in the new P3DV5 folder and see what works..

Either way, you need to reinstall Global and the Orbx Libraries.

 

The risk is that the new updated Libraries etc will not play nice with V4.5. anymore.. so a backup copy might make sense  

[Doc_Z]

The libraries are separate, right?  One for 4.5 and one for 5. I'm asking where I should move the compatible items from.  After that is done, I can do a new symbolic link from the 5 folder to another disc.

[Electrixz]

4 hours ago, Doc_Z said:

The libraries are separate, right?  One for 4.5 and one for 5. I'm asking where I should move the compatible items from.  After that is done, I can do a new symbolic link from the 5 folder to another disc.

 

4 hours ago, Bert Pieke said:

I would start by adding an equivalent symbolic link to the Orbx folder, in the new P3DV5 folder and see what works..

Either way, you need to reinstall Global and the Orbx Libraries.

 

The risk is that the new updated Libraries etc will not play nice with V4.5. anymore.. so a backup copy might make sense  

 Following the thread as I am installing P3Dv5, but I would think drag and dropping might be risky especially since it may have vector files (if you used it in 4.5). I would just simply install a new batch... I even noticed the size is smaller for V5 and would trust that more... Lets see any suggestions people have regarding this.

[Doc_Z]

I am not winging anything.  I am following, think, the process set forth in this thread that recommends copying or moving files.  My question is from which Orbx library I should copy from, the one in the root folder or the one linked by the symbolic link.

 

[KVSandleben]

That is what I'm interested in as well.

Since I'm not familiar with the procedure of symbolic links I simply renamed one of my two libraries v4 folder to v5.

That of course means that central thinks that I have the airports in there only installed in v5 and not in v4 anymore.

 

But as you said, I don't want to use the double amount of diskspace just to have two folders. After all that is what libraries are for.

So how do those symbolic links work?

[Ian St]

With the new Orbx Library system, you no longer need to use symbolic links. Previously, when Orbx had to be installed inside the root folder, you would use the symbolic link to 'trick' the program into thinking the Orbx file folder was in the root folder, when the actual files were stored in separate folder elsewhere. Now you just create the Orbx Library folder wherever you want to keep your files.

[KVSandleben]

Then why is Orbx talking about copying the entire directory from the p3dv4 folder over to the p3dv5 folder in the library in order for central to read them as installed in V5?

If I do that I will just double my scenery files.

[Doc_Z]

I understand all that.  My question is that now my v4.5 is moved to a folder on by G drive by symbolic link because of a shortage of space on the F drive, which is the P3d root drive. I want to copy those folders to v5.  I presume I can copy from my G drive folder to the new V5 library, which I want to put on the G drive.

[Nick Cooper]

Hello,

once you have a source folder, there is no limit to the number of links that you can make to it.

[Doc_Z]

Thanks.  I am still working on this.  Will let thread know what happens.

 

[KVSandleben]

I have been reading up on symbolic links a bit. 

Just to clarify: For this I need a hard link, yes?

[grandfred29]

you can try this programm if you want

 

https://download.cnet.com/Link-Shell-Extension-64-bit/3000-2248_4-75213087.html

[Nick Cooper]

Hello,

I am at present not sure whether an entirely separate Orbx Library is required.

I have applied updates seen in Orbx Central for P3d v5, only to see the same list of updates

if Orbx Central is opened for P3D v4.

As a stop gap, I am using the same Orbx folder inside each simulator, linked from an

external 877 GB Orbx folder into V4 and v5.

I cannot recommend this until it is seen to work. 

[yanif]

Hello Nick,

 

If I understand you correctly,  the purpose of using the same Orbx folder and then creating links for V4 and V5 is to avoid using double disc space, correct? But what happens if Orbx products for V5 will be slightly different from V4 in the future? e.g. a product such as PNW is consisted of a different set of files, can link method work in this case?

 

Disk space is cheap for non-SSD. Is it better to have two independent folders for V4 and V5 to avoid potential headache in the future?

[Nick Cooper]

Yes, of course it is.

That is why I wrote "I cannot recommend this until it is seen to work". 

[GregSwiss]

I guess one issue could be that you only have one add-on.xml for both simulators when you share the folder.
And as the sims are probably layering the scenery differently eg. due to a different number of scenery in each simulator, this could become a problem...

 

Otherwise I would love the idea to share folders.

 

Cheers,

Greg

[ozboater]

I have upgraded to P3Dv5 and have had the smoothest and fastest Orbx transition I've ever had. FANTASTIC effort, and huge kudos to the Orbx Central team.

 

I had alredy  set F:\Orbx as my designated library for Orbx with the Orbx Cental Settings menu. Orbx Central had previously placed all my v4 files in folder \Orbx\p3dv4.

On updating to P3Dv5, and the new v4.1.6 version of Central, I noticed that having designated \Orbx as my Library folder, it created a new folder \Orbx\p3dv5.

 

If you want to run both v4 and v5, you will duplicate your files in the new directory, unless you use some symbolic link magic.

Since I chose to no longer run P3Dv4 anymore, I just cut and pasted my 600 Gb  \p3dv4 files to the new \p3dv5 folder.

Automagically, all of the newly v5 compatible products instantly showed up as Installed, with a green tick in Central, My Products. Only a few needed a (small) update, which happened automatically.

 

As the Orbx Team have been updating more stuff to v5 compatibility, Central has been adding (and updating) them to My Products.

Eventually as everything that will become v5 compatible is completed, it will show up in my products, and without having to download the entire product again. Fast. Simple. Brilliant.

 

FWIW, though I had copied YSCH over, it didn't show in My Products, as this is yet to be updated, including with the new, and correct, YCFS designator. When trying out the new sim, and selecting YCFS as the airport, it showed up with all my familiar Orbx YSCH scenery. Nice to be flying in my home area with my lovely Orbx treatment. I know this will get its update in due course.

 

I think this shows that Orbx Central v4.1.6 works exactly as intended.

Cheers.

 

[Nick Cooper]

Hello,

following this post

 

it now appears that two separate installations of Orbx products will be required.