Can Updater be pointed to another location

[Crabby 28]

I have all my non-Marketplace addons in a separate file structure and linked to the community folder with Addon Linker.  All of them except the CRJ.  I have not moved the CRJ because I don't think the updater will see it in another folder.  

So the question is, will the updater work if my CRJ installation is moved to my personal folder structure and if not is there an xml file for the updater that can be modified to point to another folder?

[Aerosoft Team [Inactive Account] 51558]

I believe it will.

[Tom A320 4915]

If you have the CRJ in your personal folder structure, you need to use a symbolic link folder to anchor it within the MSFS Community folder so that the simulator sees the CRJ.

The same way will the updater see the CRJ and everything is fine.

No need to modify any AS Updater xml files.

 

[Crabby 28]

Sweet.  I was wondering if that symbolic link would work....Thanks!

[RF pilot 35]

I am unable to move my crj folder out of the official community folder as Windows has locked it. I have tried all suggestions and tips to unlock and grant access with no luck. Surely there must be a way to tell the installer where to place the files? Justflight allow this with their installer.  Please advise how this can be achieved with the crj

[Tom A320 4915]

If you are using the AS shop version and not the MSFS Marketplace version there is nothing that prevents you from moving the CRJ folder out from your Community folder. Like any other add-on you have installed in there.

 

Unless you somehow managed to get the "Community" folder installed below the "C:\Program Files" folder during the MSFS installation.

 

For me it looks like you are having some sort of protection software running on your system, most likely some stupid anti virus software. Make sure that you have proper exceptions configured in that software.

 

[RF pilot 35]

Thanks Tom. It goes into my C drive which windows locks. So I simply cannot copy or cut and paste. I have tried everything to get the required windows 'permission' but nothing works. Please there must be a way to tweak the installer to tell it specifically where to place the crj folder. Justflight have done it so that if the installer is run from the command prompt it lets you specify the path.

[RF pilot 35]

I have the AS version, not marketplace

[Tom A320 4915]

Windows does not lock your entire C drive, just the "Program Files" and some system folders.

 

The MSFS "Community" folder is far outside of any of those protected folders (C:\Users\[Your User Name]\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Packages\), so it is not protected by Windows.

 

If you have any such problem, you have either managed to get the "Community" folder getting installed below any protected folder, or you have any security software running wild.

 

However, this has nothing to do with the CRJ installer. It just installs the CRJ into the MSFS "Community" folder, where ever that might be on your system. If the "Community" folder is protected, then this is something very special on your machine. 

 

If you want to keep your add-ons out from the "Community" folder you are always free to do so and use symbolic links within the "Community" folder instead. The Windows File Explorer and tools like the "MSFS AddOns Linker" will help you doing that. But this is something you have to do by yourself. The CRJ installer just installs the CRJ where it belongs. 

 

[RF pilot 35]

Tom, it is not a security issue, when msfs was installed it automatically prevents users for accessing some files. This is widespread, not only my system. All I am asking is for a way to tell the crj installer the path to use. I have addon linker so if I can give the installer a path of my choice I can then use the linker. There must be a way to choose an installation path rather than relying entirely on the installer to decide

[RF pilot 35]

In actual fact the bulk of my msfs files are on my D drive including the community folder. However msfs still has the base files installed on my C drive including a community folder. The crj installer only installs to the C drive and not the D drive.

[RF pilot 35]

So the crj installer is pointing to the wrong file anyway. It should be pointed to my community folder on the D drive instead of the C drive. So how to correct that?

[RF pilot 35]

Please help as it should be easy to do the installer in a way to allow us to set the installation path

[Tom A320 4915]

So it took you just 5 posts to tell us, that your problem is, that the CRJ installer doesn't recognize your moved "Community" folder. That could have gone much faster, don't you think?

 

If the CRJ installer doesn't recognize your moved "Community" folder, you simply haven't moved it the correct way!

 

Have you updated the "InstalledPackagesPath" setting in the "UserCfg.opt" file of your MSFS when you moved the "Community" folder?

 

[Tom A320 4915]

3 hours ago, RF pilot said:

Tom, it is not a security issue, when msfs was installed it automatically prevents users for accessing some files. This is widespread, not only my system. 

 

Sorry, but that is wrong! MSFS does not protect any files within the "Community" folder. You mistake that with the MSFS Marketplace, which protects/encrypts add-ons you purchase from there on your hard drive. But those add-ons are not getting installed into the "Community" folder of your MSFS, but somewhere else.

 

It is NO problem to use the "MSFS Addons Linker" to place ANY add-on which is installed in your "Community" folder somewhere else and leave "symbolic links" in the "Community" folder instead.

 

I have moved my "Community" folder as well to my D drive, keep ALL my add-ons (including the ones being bought from the MSFS Marketplace) somewhere else and just use the "MSFS Addons Linker" to enable them when needed.

 

So, once you have fixed your "Community" folder problem this will also work for you.

 

[RF pilot 35]

I did not move my community folder! When I installed msfs right from the beginning I installed it on my D drive. But anyone will tell you msfs still installs the base files on the main C drive, and uses links between the D drive community folder and the C drive community folder. So I want my addon on the msfs D drive and not C drive. Tom, with all due respect I dont think this has been handled well and that is not my fault

[Tom A320 4915]

If there are proper "symbolic links" in place in your MSFS installation between the original MSFS folder structure and the one on your D drive, there is nothing you need to do. The CRJ installer detects the "Community" folder at its original location on drive C (the one I have posted above) and the symbolic links there will make sure that all files will end up on your D drive.

 

So what exactly is your problem? That the CRJ installer shows the "Community" folder on your C drive during installation? That is not a problem, as the files will end up on your D drive. That's what the "symbolic links" in the original "Community" folder do for you.

 

You can easily move the CRJ files out from the "Community" folder on your D drive and use the "MSFS Addons Linker" to create a "symbolic link" in there instead that points to the new/wanted location on your hard drive. 

 

So, if this is not the case for you, you need to provide much more detailed information about where exactly your problem is! What exactly doesn't work for you? And please don't repeat that you can't select another installation folder as there is no need for any such selection option.

 

[Crabby 28]

I can report that I moved my CRJ installation.  It works fine.  I did, as I always do, buy from the developer (AS in this case of course).  I now have NOTHING in my community folder (except symbolic links) and everything is in my own organized folder structure so I no what I have, especially with scenery.  

[Aplato 133]

13 minutes ago, Crabby said:

I can report that I moved my CRJ installation.  It works fine.  I did, as I always do, buy from the developer (AS in this case of course).  I now have NOTHING in my community folder (except symbolic links) and everything is in my own organized folder structure so I no what I have, especially with scenery.  

 

I can echo this comment -- I did the same. I installed the CRJ (Aerosoft version, not MSFS) and then moved the folder to another drive and used addon linker to create a symbolic link. I've had no issues at all with that.

[RF pilot 35]

Perhaps I can explain the issue I am having again. Because msfs installed the base files in my main C drive, the files are encrypted (msfs store version). The community file is also encrypted. So while I can place and delete addons in the community folder, I cannot move or copy. This is a very common issue. I do not want to uninstall msfs and have to go through the nightmare of installing again. So all I am asking is for the aerosoft installer program to allow us the ability to manually choose the installation path of the crj. This way I can tell it to install on my D drive or SSD drive and then use Addon Linker.  Surely this is a reasonable request? Other developers include this option. I hope Mathijs or Tom can allow this if not already built in. Please?

[Tom A320 4915]

The "Community" folder is not encrypted. In no MSFS version. Not in the Store version, not in the DVD version and also not in the Steam version.

 

The "Community" folder is always freely available/accessible for any add-ons. That's why it is called "Community" folder btw. 

 

Stuff you purchase from the MSFS marketplace goes into the "Official\OneStore" folder, and that stuff is getting encrypted. This is the DRM (digital rights management) system of Microsoft. But this only applies to the content of the "Official\OneStore" folder, but not to the content of the "Community" folder.

 

The above is true for every MSFS version and is also totally independent from the location (partition) you install your MSFS to.

 

MSFS expects add-ons in either the "Community" folder or the "Official\OneStore" folder. Installers which offer you to select the "Installation folder" just don't want to go through the trouble of identifying the location of the "Community" folder on your system but leave it to you to know it. The locations actually differ between the Store/DVD version and the Steam version, and can also get manually manipulated, which makes it tricky for an installer to figure the correct location. But in the end this is not rocket science. Some developers just play it easy and leave the responsibility on the customers shoulder (where it doesn't necessarily belong).

 

If you installed your MSFS to a location other than the default one, MSFS still expects all files at their default/original location. It only knows that location. When installing MSFS somewhere else (or moving it after initial installation via the Windows settings) you will get symbolic links at the original location pointing to the new one. So who ever wants to access MSFS files (either MSFS itself or an add-on installer) just access the file through the default/orignal path and the symbolic links will make sure the files will be found at the real physical location on your system.

 

This so far has nothing to do with the "MSFS Addons Linker" (that comes later) and is true for EVERY "Microsoft Store" application on your system.

 

The "MSFS Addons Linker" gives you the chance to move add-ons out from the "Community" folder (regardless if it is still at the default location or you moved it somewhere else) and leave symbolic links there instead so that MSFS will find it. 

 

Lets assume you have installed your MSFS on D. You still have the original MSFS folder structure on C. If MSFS wants to read some of your add-on files it accesses them at the original/default location. The symbolic links there (which have been created when you installed or moved your MSFS to D) will bring it to your D drive. Now lets assume you have all your add-ons moved out from the "Community" on drive D to your drive E and use the "MSFS Addons Linker". When MSFS ends up in the first step on your drive D when trying to access an add-on, the symbolic link there created by the "MSFS Addons Linker" will again redirect it to the final and real physical location on drive E.

 

This is how symbolic links work. 

 

But again, in no MSFS version the "Community" folder is encrypted and you are forced to install add-ons somewhere else to escape that kind of encryption. Nothing like that exists.

 

Add-ons must be installed into the original MSFS "Community" folder. This is by default on drive C (complete path is somewhere above in this topic) and MSFS will only access this very folder. Installing/moving it somewhere else is totally transparent to MSFS. 

 

There is however the possibility that you explicitly tell MSFS that your "Packages" folder (in which the "Community" and "Official\OneStore" folders are located) is not at the above stated default/original location but somewhere else. In this case you have to manually modify the "UserCfg.opt" file and that's why asked if you have modified it in one of my previous replies. 

 

The latter way through the "UserCfg.opt" file is an MSFS build-in way to specify the location of your "Community" folder on your system (regardless where it is). The other way of installing/moving MSFS is through Windows functionality which will create the above explained symbolic links for you.

 

A user can chose either way. Usually one choses the way via the Windows settings as it is more obvious and more easy to handle (as it doesn't expects any deeper knowledge of the file system from the user).

 

 

Coming back to the CRJ: it simply is not necessary for the CRJ setup to allow the user to specify an installation folder. The setup is clever enough to detect the one that needed to be used (regardless of which of the two above explained ways you have used to move the "Community" folder). 

 

And again, there is no such thing as an encrypted "Community" folder.

 

Who ever explained things differently to you and even told you that this is a "common" issue simply didn't knew what he/she was talking about. 

 

I am not saying that everything I explained above is easy to understand and easy to figure when having to deal with it for the first time. And nobody is to blame for having trouble understanding it. But that's the way "Microsoft Store" apps and the MSFS as such work on a file/folder level.