Installation of Aircraft Outside P3D v4 Root Directory

[mikewmac]

Do the aircraft installers for the most popular and complex aircraft addons such as from Milviz, SimWorks Studios, Sim Skunk Works, AeroSoft, etc. now include the option to install their aircraft and accessories outside the LM P3D v4 root directory and if not, is it possible to accomplish this by one of the techniques provided by LM P3D v4?

If I have to do this myself, which technique(s) is/are recommended for installing these outside the root directory?

Thanks,

 

[Dimus]

From the developers mentioned, only Aerosoft offers the capability to install outside the P3D folder. All of them are complex planes and some of them require stuff installed in the P3D folder. I have tried with all of them installing outside with partial success, as there was always something not working, usually in the panel or sound. I have had success with JF planes however.

My suggestion would be to not try installing complex planes, i.e. those using custom code manually outside P3D folder, if the developer does not support this in the installer. Unfortunately this leads to a mixture of planes locations, some installed inside and some outside, and I personally do not like that.

 

[mikewmac]

From the developers mentioned, only Aerosoft offers the capability to install outside the P3D folder. All of them are complex planes and some of them require stuff installed in the P3D folder. I have tried with all of them installing outside with partial success, as there was always something not working, usually in the panel or sound. I have had success with JF planes however.

My suggestion would be to not try installing complex planes, i.e. those using custom code manually outside P3D folder, if the developer does not support this in the installer. Unfortunately this leads to a mixture of planes locations, some installed inside and some outside, and I personally do not like that.

Thanks Dimus,

My experience matches yours and so far I have all my less complex addon AI and flyable aircraft along with their effects, gauges, sounds, etc. and my addon scenery installed outside my P3D v4 root folder. I was pleasantly surprised that the installer for the Aerosoft F-14A/B Extended allowed its installation outside the root folder also. The latter also afforded me a better insight into how the XML file technique can be used to achieve installation outside the root folder. Up until now I had been using the various .cfg files to achieve the same result.

Am I correct in assuming that you think that the VRS TP and SB also require installation in the P3D v4 root folder and it probably isn't worth trying to install them outside?

It really disappoints me that LM and some of the suppliers of complex aircraft addons are apparently at odds on where these addons should be installed. It wouldn't be an issue for me except for LM's constant upgrades which require reinstalling these complex aircraft addons. So far I have stayed with v4.1 in order to avoid this, but at some point I'll have to give in and upgrade.

 

[Dimus]

I have not tried installing Tacpack outside to be honest. Don't know if that would work.

As for planes installed in the P3D folder, I never had to reinstall them when updating P3D, unless they required an update to run like e.g. the MV F-4E or the Superbug. This would however be needed even if they were installed outside the P3D folder. I update both content and client and everything stays OK and functional.

 

[mikewmac]

I have not tried installing Tacpack outside to be honest. Don't know if that would work.

As for planes installed in the P3D folder, I never had to reinstall them when updating P3D, unless they required an update to run like e.g. the MV F-4E or the Superbug. This would however be needed even if they were installed outside the P3D folder. I update both content and client and everything stays OK and functional.

Thanks again Dimus,

That's great to hear and satisfies my P3D v4 update concerns quite favorably.

When you update the client and content, do you just install right over what's there or uninstall the previous client and content first?

How about ORBX, is that also unaffected by P3D updates?

How about the P3D v4 scenery or is that not updated very often?

BTW...Please excuse all my questions, but in the past I've always stayed with my current version of P3D until the new version was replaced with an even newer version to eliminate being a beta tester and performing all the hotfixing and updating, but v4 was such a significant improvement over v3.4 that I converted over to it almost immediately.

 

[Dimus]

You have to first uninstall them through the Windows add-remove programs. After installing the new client you need to reactivate P3D online using your codes. Always worked.

ORBX is generally unaffected, they immediately release an updated objectflow dll that you get automatically through ORBX Central.

I have never updated scenery as I have ORBX Global and Vector everywhere.

 

[mikewmac]

You have to first uninstall them through the Windows add-remove programs. After installing the new client you need to reactivate P3D online using your codes. Always worked.

ORBX is generally unaffected, they immediately release an updated objectflow dll that you get automatically through ORBX Central.

I have never updated scenery as I have ORBX Global and Vector everywhere.

Dimus,

I also now have ORBX Global and Vector installed and at a few locations special to me MegasceneryEarth v3.

Thanks again for all your help.

 

[wombat666]

A2A and Aerosoft now give you the option of installations under Documents/'Prepar3D v4 Add-ons', as do Restauravia with their Mirage IIIB and C.
At first I had a torrid time looking all over for the AN2............until I ****!

 

[GypsyBaron]

A2A and Aerosoft now give you the option of installations under Documents/'Prepar3D v4 Add-ons', as do Restauravia with their Mirage IIIB and C.
At first I had a torrid time looking all over for the AN2............until I ****!

Unfortunately "Documents/'Prepar3D v4 Add-ons'" is the directory put forth by Lockheed-Martin as the preferred 'default' add-ons directory.

I, for one, do not want add-ons cluttering up my System Drive, which is where the 'Documents' folder lives.
Most simmers have more than one drive and relegate things like add-on scenery, aircraft, etc to drives other then the System drive.

Many program installers use the C: drive temporary directory during program installation and then remove those temp files after the installation is complete. If there is not enough space left on the C: drive for those temp files, the installation will fail. That fact alone should be good reason NOT to be dumping add-ons into the 'Documents' folder. I would hardly consider add-ons for P3D to be 'documents' in any case.

A2A installers do or will offer the option to install in a location defined by you, the user. As should ALL providers of add-on material.

Paul

 

[blanston12]

It is true that "Documents/'Prepar3D v4 Add-ons'" but you are not restricted to that, but it takes a little more work, you just have to add where you put it into one of the two add-ons.cfg files, one is located in "C:\ProgramData\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4" the other is in "C:\Users\Joe\AppData\Roaming\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4" (Replace "Joe" with your user name). Within these files are a number of entries that look like this.

[Package.2]
PATH=D:\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\Ants T28A\
TITLE=Ants Trojan T28A
ACTIVE=true
REQUIRED=false

Make sure the number in Package.n is sequential and the title is unique. Add-ons dropped into "Documents/Prepar3D v4 Add-ons" are automatically added to the one in AppData\Roaming.

There is another way to install aircraft outside of the program folder. In the "C:\ProgramData\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4" folder are a number of .cfg files that specify the locate the location of the folders were resources will be read from, these include effects.cfg, fonts.cfg, gauges.cfg, simobjects.cfg, sounds.cfg etc which specify where effects, fonts, gauges, simobjects and sounds will be read from. By adding additional entries I set up on my system full parallel folders for payware, freeware and testing aircraft that I can install into. I did this before I discovered how to make my own add-on.xml file. So far 90% of the FSX and P3D aircraft work well outside the main folder, and if after installing outside it does not work its easy enough to re-install correctly.

 

[Emile]

Hello,
"There is another way to install aircraft outside of the program folder. In the "C:\ProgramData\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4" folder are a number of .cfg files that specify the locate the location of the folders were resources will be read from, these include effects.cfg, fonts.cfg, gauges.cfg, simobjects.cfg, sounds.cfg etc which specify where effects, fonts, gauges, simobjects and sounds will be read from. By adding additional entries I set up on my system full parallel folders for payware, freeware and testing aircraft that I can install into. I did this before I discovered how to make my own add-on.xml file. So far 90% of the FSX and P3D aircraft work well outside the main folder, and if after installing outside it does not work its easy enough to re-install correctly. "

I use this method as I did not know how to use the .xml and it is easy to handle when an upgrade of P3D is needed.
It works without issues.
All my addons are on an external SSD.

 

[Dimus]

Thanks Joe and Emile on this hint. I admit I did not know that. This will help me organize my addons and my SSD space much better.

 

[mikewmac]

Hello,
"There is another way to install aircraft outside of the program folder. In the "C:\ProgramData\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v4" folder are a number of .cfg files that specify the locate the location of the folders were resources will be read from, these include effects.cfg, fonts.cfg, gauges.cfg, simobjects.cfg, sounds.cfg etc which specify where effects, fonts, gauges, simobjects and sounds will be read from. By adding additional entries I set up on my system full parallel folders for payware, freeware and testing aircraft that I can install into. I did this before I discovered how to make my own add-on.xml file. So far 90% of the FSX and P3D aircraft work well outside the main folder, and if after installing outside it does not work its easy enough to re-install correctly. "

I use this method as I did not know how to use the .xml and it is easy to handle when an upgrade of P3D is needed.
It works without issues.
All my addons are on an external SSD.

Emile,

I had the same experience and I installed all of my addon scenery and most of my addon airplanes, AI aircraft, avatars, effects, gauges, sound and textures in my Prepar3D v4 Add-ons directory on my 1 Gb flight sim SSD using the appropriate .cfg files. One of the bonuses I found when installing the Aerosoft F-14A/B Extended was that it used the .XML technique and gave me a great demonstration of how to use it properly in the future.

My biggest concern was installing P3D v4 updates and what negative effects they might have on my addon installations, but with some great guidance from Dimus I installed the P3D 4.2 update yesterday with only the re-installation of one addon texture to the default F-35A required.