In my FSX and P3d V2.5 installs (and my seldom used FSX:SE), I have an empty 'Addon Scenery' folder in each of the sims directories.
I have 2 HD partitions, one for Addon Scenery files and one for OrbX files. Those files are in the ROOT of the
partitions and are the only files in those partitions. Those partitions (drives) can be thought of as the Addon Scenery folder and the OrbX folder.
I then MOUNT those two partitions (drives) in the empty Addon Scenery and OrbX folders in my main FSX, FSX:SE and P3D V2.5 folders.
Thus 'sharing' those files between the three sims. As my OrbX files have grown beyond 100 GB there is no way I want that large
folder in my main sim folder or duplicated between the sims! I also have two logins. One for FSX and one for P3d V2.5/FSX:SE to keep the
'Documnts' folders unique and the A2A DAT files as well.
In the case of a single P3D install, one could use this method to place the Addon Scenery and OrbX files anywhere on your system as long
as you have them in the ROOT of the partitions.
That said, if you simply add all your addon scenery via the user interface, those individual folders, each containing a 'scenery' and 'texture' folder,
can be placed anywhere on your system, avoiding the hassle of needing to create overly verbose 'addon.xml' file. Having the addon folders (scenery, simobjects, etc located outside your main sim folder makes the use of the addonn.xml files moot as you can update the main
sim without destroying the addon folders and all you need to do is restore the appropriate CFG files entries after a sim update.
These methods do require some extra 'care' in implementation so are not recommended for the novice. But then creating 'error free' xml files falls under that same 'warning', IMO.
Paul
