Using "Aerosoft One" along with the "MSFS Addons Linker"

[Tom A320 4915]

If you are unsing the MSFS Addons Linker to organize all your MSFS add-ons in your own folder structure logic and only have those add-ons in your MSFS Community folder which are needed for a certain flight, you might find this article useful.

 

Aerosoft One introduces it's own Aerosoft One Library folder in which all downloaded and installed content is getting installed into. Just like the Orbx Library which is created by the Orbx Central tool (if you wish so).

 

So beside your own "library" folder you have created for the MSFS Addons Linker there is now another library folder. With this the question arrises, how to get your Aerosoft One add-ons comfortably managed also by the MSFS Addons Linker?

 

One solution which has been already discussed a few times here in the forum would be to simply copy or move the relevant folder from the Aerosoft One Library to your MSFS Addons Linker library. While this will of course technically work, you are cut off from updates which might get downloaded from Aerosoft One in the future. Unless of course, you copy/move a downloaded update manually again.

 

A more elegant solution is to use Symbolic Links to make your Aerosoft One add-ons visible within your MSFS Addons Linker library. Those symbolic links are what the MSFS Addons Linker as also Aerosoft One are using. The beauty of them is, that you can chain multiple of such symbolic links together.

 

Like this:

 

• Add-on in Aerosoft One Library --> Symbolic Link (manually created) in MSFS Addons Linker library --> Symbolic Link (created by MSFS Addons Linker) in MSFS Community folder

 

 

The following will show what you need to do step by step...

 

1) Install add-on via Aerosoft One

 

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Please note the "article number" of this add-on. We will need it later on.

 

 

2) Delete Symbolic Link which has been created by Aerosoft One

 

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Aerosfot One creates a Symbolic Link into the MSFS Community folder. Where ever you have this Community folder located on your machine, get into it and delete that Symbolic Link. It is not needed!

 

 

3) Locate installed add-on in Aerosoft One Library

 

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Open the "Aerosoft One Library\Add-ons" folder and locate the newly installed add-on. This is where the "article number" from step 1 comes in handy. Copy the entire path of the add-on folder into your Windows clipbard (Ctrl+C)

 

 

4) Build command to create our own Symbolic Link

 

Symbolic Links to folders can be created with the "mklink" command with the "/J" parameter. 

 

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The next parameter (target) tells where the symbolic links should be created into. This is a folder within your MSFS Addons Linker Library. It can have any name. For example, I use the ICAO code of an airport add-on in capital letters as prefix.

 

The last parameter (source) tells to where the symbolic link should point to. This is the add-on folder within the Aerosoft One Library.

 

Put all together (line 7) and copy it into the Windows clipbaord (Ctrl+C).

 

 

5) Run the MKLINK command in a DOS prompt

 

Press the "Windows Key"+R, enter "cmd" and hit "Enter". Now press "Ctrl+V" to paste the mklink command into the command line

 

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Press "Enter" to run the command

 

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6) Enjoy the new add-on within your MSFS Addons Linker

 

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Having done all this you can manage the newly installed add-on with the MSFS Addons Linker and if your Aerosoft One offers you to install an update, just let it do so. Nothing else needs to be done in that moment.

 

 

Update 20.09.2021: I need to change the previous statement. When installing an update, Aerosoft One will create a new Symbolic Link into the MSFS Community folder. So after installing an update you need to repeat Step 2.

 

 

[vic_baron 0]

Could you expand this to cover Simple Traffic? There are currently 86 entries in my Community folder. I assume I delete them all BUT should I mklink each individual entry in the  A1 Library or can I just link to the master folder? My concern is keeping current with updates.

 

Haven't been able to use ST yet, I'm one who is unable to get it running but I have hopes that the update will fix that.

 

Thanx!

 

Vic

 

 

[Tom A320 4915]

Hi Vic, 

 

you can use my instructions above to handle Simple Traffic with the Addons Linker as well. But you would have to repeat the steps 86 times, as you already assumed. 

 

However, it is also possible to simply add the Simple Traffic folder within the Aerosoft One Library as additional source folder in Addons Linker (Step 2 would still be required!).

 

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Of course this can also be done for all Aerosoft One add-ons instead of the instructions in my first post. But personally I prefer having the Aerosoft One add-ons between all my other add-ons, so I use the additional source folder only for Simple Traffic. 

 

EDIT 13.12.2021: With Simple Traffic version 1.1.0.0 things are getting more easy, as it only injects one folder into the "Community" folder. So just follow the suggestions from the first post in this topic.

 

 

[vic_baron 0]

Ah - Thanx Tom, I'll give it a go.

 

Vic

[Hans Krohn 1]

Hi Tom,

 

today I tried your suggestions to integrate the Aerosoft Library into my Addon-Linker setup. Unfortunately, I failed - until I found out that plenty of things have changed with the Win 10 commands. Here is an updated how-to which worked for me:

 

Run Command Prompt as Administrator:

Press ⊞ Win+S. This opens the Windows search bar.
Type cmd. A list of results will appear.
Right-click Command Prompt. It’s the option with a black terminal window icon.
Click Run as administrator. This opens a page called Administrator: Command Prompt. You can now run any command you wish.

 

New mklink syntax:

MKLINK [[/D] | [/H] | [/J]] “Link” “Target”

        /D      Creates a directory symbolic link.  Default is a file
                symbolic link.
        /H      Creates a hard link instead of a symbolic link.
        /J      Creates a Directory Junction.
        Link    Specifies the new symbolic link name (the Addon-Linker Directory or subdirectory)
        Target  Specifies the path (relative or absolute) that the new link refers to. (Even though it is called “target”, it is in reality the “source”, where the original is located.  

 

Example:
Link: D:\FS2020-AddOns\Airports\Spain\simwings-airport-lemh-menorca
Target: D:\Aerosoft One Library\Add-ons\msfs-43ed-AS15843\gameDirectory~Community\simwings-airport-lemh-menorca

mklink Command:
mklink /D "D:\FS2020-AddOns\Airports\Spain\simwings-airport-lemh-menorca" "D:\Aerosoft One Library\Add-ons\msfs-43ed-AS15843\gameDirectory~Community\simwings-airport-lemh-menorca"

 

The directory: "simwings-airport-lemh-menorca" in "D:\FS2020-AddOns\Airports\Spain\" will be created automatically.

 

Regards and good luck,

Hans Krohn

[mjchernis 2]

Aerosoft One makes a complete mess of the system it is installed on!   It unnecessarily throws files/directories in no fewer than 5 separate locations and gives the user/machine owner almost NO control over the mess it makes.  Please take a lesson from the folks at Orbx, IniBuilds, and FBW and clean this thing up.   Having to go through all this above to use the Addon linker is completely ridiculous.  Also, leave my USER DIRECTORY alone!  A user should have control over where programs put files and what the directory names are.

 

Crazy!  Just wasted 39.95 on the E-Jets package which I'm not going to use because I don't want this invasive application on my machine.   Guess I won't be buying the A330 when it comes out either.