Installing into the Packages\Community Folder

[SJT375]

Hi,

 

I noticed that the Orbx Central installer has the option for me to install my scenery into a separate folder, and then added in a short cut in the main folder that allowed it to work. This is something I am interested in doing for more products I end up downloading, due to the size of my SSD. When I try to do it myself, I can't seem to make it work. Any advice on how this was done?

 

The Orbx-Airport is what the installer did, and it links to my Hard Drive. However the liveries-xcub is a shortcut, and it doesn't work for making the game look at my hard drive for the liveries folder. 

 

 

Any help would be appreciated! I don't want to buy a new SSD if I don't have to. 

[SJT375]

Sorry for opening this topic needlessly, but I figured out how to do it! 

If anybody is curious...

 

Command prompt, run as administrator

 

mklink /J "C:\Users\***\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft Flight Simulator\Packages\Community\XXX1" "D:\Flight Simulator\Freeware\Community\XXX2"

 

Where XXX2 is the folder you are linking to (where the files are stored) and XXX1 is where windows is creating the "hardlink" shortcut. Explainer here: https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/16226/complete-guide-to-symbolic-links-symlinks-on-windows-or-linux/

[BURKEP12000]

Very useful thanks!

[itauscag2]

Because mklink /J "C:\Users\***\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft Flight Simulator\Packages\Community  instead "C:\Users\giorgio\AppData\local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Packages\Community\Link Esterno" "D:\$FS2020 Community\Community Altri"  

My MFS2020 is on Appdata\Local ...

Ciao 

Giorgio Bolzano ITALY

 

[Ams]

Adding to this. There is a niche tool at xplane.org called xToolBox that creates not only symbolic links but also junctions and shortcuts. Its a pay ware but the price is very reasonable. After using this tool I have stopped creating symbolic by going to command prompt manually. I use this tool to create all sorts of links for p3d, xplane, msfs anything basically as its not feasible to keep managing these symbolic links for multiple sceneries manually.

 

Thanks

Aman

[paj]

If you want a simple free utility for making symbolic links you could try:
Symbolic Link Creator: GUI for mklink (github.com)

Edited October 12, 2020 by paj

[Jon Clarke]

Or this which is what I have always used:

https://www.techspot.com/downloads/7107-hardlink-shell-extension.html

[simpilot2450]

I use this program to link my sceneries. Using the  program below I have placed all of my freeware sceneries on my D drive and linked them to my C drive MSFS community folder.

 

https://flightsim.to/file/1572/msfs-addons-linker

 

I have basically purchased  every MSFS Orbx scenery. Some I downloaded from Steam at first. Then the others from Orbx Central. Half of the Orbx Central downloads went into my MSFS community on my C drive. The other half I downloaded from Orbx central I choose the option to have them downloaded to a file outside of the MSFS folder on my C drive.

 

Question, can I move the Orbx sceneries that I downloaded from Orbx central from my C drive and move them to my D drive then link them respectively to their original folders on my C drive? If so, will Orbx central still be able to update my "linked" purchased sceneries?

 

Thanks

 

[Jon Clarke]

@simpilot2450

If you are asking if you can move some Orbx addons from C drive to D drive then the answer is Yes.

I use Addonlinker since day one of it's release and because it creates symbolic Links and not Shortcuts, Orbx Central will read and update accordingly. Of course you must have the addon enabled via AddonLinker in your Community folder in order for it to be updated.

For example if you have on your D drive, Orbx LOWI and an update became available, you would need to ensure that you added LOWI to the Community folder via AddonLinker symbolic Link first and then ran the Orbx Central update option.

Orbx Central will read the Community folder so any Orbx addons that have updates, need to be symbolicLnked by AddonLinker into your Community folder.

I do it all the time and no problems at all. I do use the Microsoft Store Premium de-luxe version of MSFS and not Steam but I would see no difference in this particular application of moving addons from one drive to another.

Try moving an addon from C to D drive and then enable it using AddonLinker. If the Steam version has issues with it then just move the addon back to the C drive. I don't anticipate any problems will be experienced.

 

[simpilot2450]

14 hours ago, Jon Clarke said:

@simpilot2450

If you are asking if you can move some Orbx addons from C drive to D drive then the answer is Yes.

I use Addonlinker since day one of it's release and because it creates symbolic Links and not Shortcuts, Orbx Central will read and update accordingly. Of course you must have the addon enabled via AddonLinker in your Community folder in order for it to be updated.

For example if you have on your D drive, Orbx LOWI and an update became available, you would need to ensure that you added LOWI to the Community folder via AddonLinker symbolic Link first and then ran the Orbx Central update option.

Orbx Central will read the Community folder so any Orbx addons that have updates, need to be symbolicLnked by AddonLinker into your Community folder.

I do it all the time and no problems at all. I do use the Microsoft Store Premium de-luxe version of MSFS and not Steam but I would see no difference in this particular application of moving addons from one drive to another.

Try moving an addon from C to D drive and then enable it using AddonLinker. If the Steam version has issues with it then just move the addon back to the C drive. I don't anticipate any problems will be experienced.

 

Thank you Jon, I shall give it a try.

[wombat]

On 10/12/2020 at 2:48 PM, paj said:

If you want a simple free utility for making symbolic links you could try:
Symbolic Link Creator: GUI for mklink (github.com)

does this work with Windows 10?

read me indicates vista, 7, 8, 8.1

[paj]

It works fine for me on Windows 10

[wombat]

Thanks paj, i will give it a try

[CRC]

Like you Jon, I too have been using Addon Linker with great success.  It is a terrific program.  I use it exclusively since I have limited space on my C drive and install my addons to my large E drive where MSF2020 is installed.  Yesterday, I purchased Bryce Canyon airport, it is my first purchase thru Orbx Central.  The install went well but was installed on my limited C Drive.  I moved the airport from where Orbx placed it into my E drive into addon linker.  When it tried it out this morning, when my plane gets close to the airport, my sim immediately crashes to the desktop.  Would you happen to have any suggestions.  This is the first pay ware I have bought.  Addon Linker makes it possible to keep a clean Community folder.  I avoid using the C drive due to limited space. Thanks so much.

[fmorgenstern]

Hi. Orbx Central allows you to create an installation location on an alternative drive and install there instead. It also automatically creates a link to the Community drive. By doing that you wouldn’t need to move the installed folder. 

[wombat]

Have a look at this program, I have little room on my c drive, have two other drives and a community folder on one of them, I am sure this program will let you tell it where to put the community folder, I have not used this recently so please have a look and decide for yourself, from mamory all you need do is drag & drop your zipped file to this program.

https://www.rwy29.be/

[speedbird144]

On 12/14/2020 at 1:27 AM, Jon Clarke said:

@simpilot2450

If you are asking if you can move some Orbx addons from C drive to D drive then the answer is Yes.

I use Addonlinker since day one of it's release and because it creates symbolic Links and not Shortcuts, Orbx Central will read and update accordingly. Of course you must have the addon enabled via AddonLinker in your Community folder in order for it to be updated.

For example if you have on your D drive, Orbx LOWI and an update became available, you would need to ensure that you added LOWI to the Community folder via AddonLinker symbolic Link first and then ran the Orbx Central update option.

Orbx Central will read the Community folder so any Orbx addons that have updates, need to be symbolicLnked by AddonLinker into your Community folder.

I do it all the time and no problems at all. I do use the Microsoft Store Premium de-luxe version of MSFS and not Steam but I would see no difference in this particular application of moving addons from one drive to another.

Try moving an addon from C to D drive and then enable it using AddonLinker. If the Steam version has issues with it then just move the addon back to the C drive. I don't anticipate any problems will be experienced.

 

Hello.

Where can I find some information how to do that? I have just started using addon linker and I cannot figure out how to install Orbx sceneries into linker folder. Thanks 

[Jon Clarke]

There are a couple of ways to do that. An easy way is this:

On a suitably sized disk drive create a library folder called e.g. MSFS Addons.

Open Orbx Central and go to Settings/libraries.

Create a new folder called MSFS Addons.

Name the library and "Change" the Library Path to where that new MSFS Addons folder is (see pic)

Drag and drop the addons that you want in there into that new library folder.

Make sure you also direct the AddonLinker to your new MSFS Addon folder as the source for your addons you want the Linker to use.

When you next go to install an Orbx addon, the choice of where to install that addon will now also have the MSFS Addon library as an option.

 

[Sarwar]

i like this<a href="https://www.google.com/">post</a>
i like this[url=https://www.google.com/]post[/url]

lled MSFS Addons.

Name the library and "Change" the Library Path to where that new MSFS Addons folder is (see pic)

Drag and drop the addons that you want in there into that new library folder.

Make sure you also direct the AddonLinke

[SkylanePilot]

When I first installed MSFS, I installed Orbx scenery directly into the simulator. Then I began to use Orbx Central to install all my Orbx scenery into a library at "H:\Microsoft Orbx Scenery\msfs\"  However, I have noticed an issue which can be illustrated by the following example:

 

One of the entries in my Orbx library is: "EGLC London City Airport."

 

But, I also have a file in my Community folder named: "Orbx-airport-eglc-london-city". 

 

I have 52 such "duplicate" entries. Are the files in my Community folder reallly duplicates which can be safely removed?

 

SkylaneMarty

[John Dow]

19 minutes ago, SkylanePilot said:

When I first installed MSFS, I installed Orbx scenery directly into the simulator. Then I began to use Orbx Central to install all my Orbx scenery into a library at "H:\Microsoft Orbx Scenery\msfs\"  However, I have noticed an issue which can be illustrated by the following example:

 

One of the entries in my Orbx library is: "EGLC London City Airport."

 

But, I also have a file in my Community folder named: "Orbx-airport-eglc-london-city". 

 

I have 52 such "duplicate" entries. Are the files in my Community folder reallly duplicates which can be safely removed?

 

SkylaneMarty

 

 

The entries in the Packages/Community folder are links to the actual scenery folders in the Community folder you have specified for your library.  Is that what you mean?

[SkylanePilot]

They don't appear to be links, John.

Both the "EGLC London City Airport" folder in the Orbx library and the "Orbx-airport-eglc-london-city" folder in the Community folder are 3.4 GB in size.

[Nick Cooper]

Hello,

the purpose of a link it to enable the game to see the files as if they were actually there.

Try a click on the shortcut tab on the link's properties window.

[AT.Flight]

On 7/27/2021 at 6:01 PM, SkylanePilot said:

They don't appear to be links, John.

Both the "EGLC London City Airport" folder in the Orbx library and the "Orbx-airport-eglc-london-city" folder in the Community folder are 3.4 GB in size.

 

I was thinking along these lines originally too as when you right-click the shortcut folder inside "Community", yes you see a size and size on disk. But as Nick says, this shortcut link is just a way for the OS to believe the files live inside that folder when they don't.

 

If you went one folder up and checked the folder size of "Community" you'll realise that all the shortcut folders inside aren't actually counted in the size or size on disk. Case in point, my "Community" folder is 32.6GB, yet my installed Orbx Library is 106GB. All my Orbx Library can be accessed in Community via the shortcut folders 

Edited July 28, 2021 by AT.Flight

[SkylanePilot]

When I installed SU5, I moved everything in my previous Community folder to a temporary folder. After the update, I moved them all back to the new Community folder. However, now all the shortcut links no longer have the shortcut symbol on their icons and when I check the properties on them, there is no shortcut tab in the properties dialog box. Is there a way to restore/rebuild the shortcut links in my Community folder without having Orbx Central uninstall and reinstall each of them which would take a very long time as I have over 200 GB of Orbx software? 

[Nick Cooper]

Hello,

please go to OrbxCentral \Help and run Sync Simulator.

[SkylanePilot]

Nick, 

As always, you are a legend. Brilliant.

Thank you so much.

[Alexander Metzger]

Hello Nick, I'm using the steam and the download version simultaneously. I have only one MSFS listed in the sim selection drop-down menu. It seems to point to the STEAM version, which I would not like to use as it is reserved for my development work. How can I change that Orbx direct is using the STORE (download) version in Orbx Central.

[2Realist4U]

On 12/14/2020 at 2:27 AM, Jon Clarke said:

@simpilot2450

If you are asking if you can move some Orbx addons from C drive to D drive then the answer is Yes...

 

Thanks so much Jon; I'm in this exact situation and have been scratching my head trying to figure it out (C: & D: drives + MSFS + Orbx Central + MSFS Addons Linker). Yours is the most helpful response I've seen so far. So what I hear you saying is:

1) Point Orbx Central & Addons Linker to the same MOD addons folder (where I download and store all addons)

2) Point them both to the core MSFS community folder (where the symbolic links will point to)

3) Before doing updates on Orbx, make sure all Orbx products are ticked in Addons Linker

 

Am I thinking through this properly?

 

[2Realist4U]

I found this manual "Addons Linker Procedure 1.0.0.pdf" here: https://flightsim.to/file/14298/msfs-addons-linker-general-procedure

At the very end it says the following and it would be great if anyone can confirm this:

 

---------------------------------------------------

"Addendum
Payware scenery (eg. Orbx) can also be made Linker-compliant:
1. If you already have an Orbx library outside your Community folder, go to step 4.
2. Create a folder in your base external folder (eg. 'Orbx Scenery Library').
3. Re-download/re-install your scenery but place it in the newly created folder.
4. Point the Linker at that folder.
If given the option, new payware aircraft can be installed directly into the appropriate external folder. If not, you'll just have to live with them being in the Community folder with no way of managing them."