| The first thing you'll probably do when trying this tool for the first time is move your currently installed addons outside of your 'real community folder' to put them in your new 'custom addon folder'. To avoid problems, please try first with a single addon only to make sure everything works fine for you.It would be sad if you move 200GB and then you notice it does not work for you. Files placed directly in the new folder should always work but, for some users (not the majority) the files moved might get encrypted if you have the MS-Store version so it's worth checking before. Thank you.
note : for the detailed changelog, please check the 'changelog' tab at the top of the page, below are just general informations
Addons linker / Addon linker
** added 2021.06.06 **
new version, finally a little map for all those who requested it, hopefully some of you will find useful.
Please check the what's new (changelogs) for info on how to use the map (it's simple but still 2-3 things to know). I also added a little head up towards another addon manager that you might find interesting.
** added 2021.03.13 **
a new very well done video by badGamr has been posted on Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O68u05JZXL8
It's based on the latest version (as of today) and covers most of the features, a must see if you need some help or are starting with the tool or have some questions about it
Many thanks badGamr !
** added 2020.10.24 **
another updated video by LostPilot, with some UI tips, many many thanks
https://youtu.be/MDFLcM02De8
https://youtu.be/g7YvGgIhLl0
**
** added 2020.10.20 **
updated video by lostboii/lostpilot, big thanks again
https://youtu.be/mqLpvpCDRws
**
** added 2020.10.13 **
little video to get you started with the tool made by lostboii, many thanks to him
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99ewxWhg-mk
**
Hello
Another little addon manager. Made to match my own needs and just sharing with the community.
I tried to keep the UI very simple but it should hopefully do the job 'feature-wise'.
- lets you organize your addon freely in folder and subfolders in your folder of choice
- will create links in the community folder. There is no need to move files in and out of the folder.
- very easy to activate/deactivate groups of addons (single click)
- lets you save presets of addons
- lets you rename addons (link will be automatically updated)
- lets you add / update / remove addons
Installation :
- just extract all the files and drop them in a folder of your choice and run the EXE file
usage :
- create a folder where you will put your addons, add your addons in there instead of putting them in the community folder, you can create as many subfolder as you want to organize your files efficiently
- launch the application, in the options screen set your 'addon folder' and your 'community folder'
- just click on the checkbox to activate/deactivate addons
- rest should be fairly easy to understand (little quickstart guide should be coming soon if needed)
notes :
- if it doesn't work please try to set the application to run as admin, if it works but you still get the message at the start, just disable the message in the options screen
-i was made aware that other tools seem to do pretty much the same things but probably with some differences (have not tested them though because i learned about them after mine was released last week), anyway each has probably its own advantage and it's just free and just for fun, so you can freely decide to use mine if you find it useful.
big thanks to the guys in the AVSIM forum that helped me testing the very first versions with feedback and ideas. I will now post it here exclusively making it easier to maintain for eventual updates.
Thank you
tomcatboy48237
Amazing tool, extremely helpful for organizing my hundreds of add-ons! Really appreciate you making this available
If I have any request, it would be nice to be able to filter the right side list to see only the invalid links so that I can address them quickly. But that's just a suggestion.
bad2000 5 day(s) ago
Thank you very much for the feedback, appreciated ! You can already quickly see all invalid links, just do a filter on the 'target link' column -> https://imgur.com/P12GYSj Maybe you knew that already but, if not, to remove all invalid links in a single click there is also an option in the 'right click' menu called 'delete all invalid links' so you shouldn't need to go over each of them manually.
tomcatboy48237 1 day(s) ago
Thanks so much for taking the time to point that out, I looked at the buttons all over the interface but missed the horizontal scroll bar and never saw the extra columns. I give you 10 out of 5 stars!
TianXuan
Hello, I can't open it. The icon will appear after double clicking, but no program will be displayed
bad2000 6 day(s) ago
Hello, please try this. Make sure the tool is closed (important) -> Open the INI file with notepad (C:\ProgramData\MSFS Addons Linker\MSFS_Addons_Linker.ini) -> Locate and delete the 3 lines at the bottom that start with 'Window_' -> save the ini file -> restart the tool. That should fix it, let me know if it doesn't.
hawaiianstyle78
this is not working anymore for me. i been using it for a year now. its my go to love it. i did not change or add anything. was working yesterday, now it wont start the sim
bad2000 8 day(s) ago
Hello, you need to tell me more, what happens, any messages ? anything weird ? Steam or Store version ? Just by reading your message i can't unfortunately understand what is happening. Do you mean the sim doesn't start when you click on the little arrow in AL ? or it doesn't start at all even if you launch through the standard desktop shortcut ?. If all was working yesterday obviously it can not be AL the cause of this, maybe some update or something if you have the store version. Let me know precisely what is happening when you do what, maybe it will give some me some hints, thank you.
hawaiianstyle78 8 day(s) ago
edit: nvm. its fixed. this has never happened before. for some reason overnight, msfs suddenly decided to just sign off from from my msstore account and my xbox app account. geez. spend 30min trying to figure out why addonlinker would not startup MSFS.
Jodydoc
Been using more or less since release - never left a review, but its time i did. I couldnt see me without this now if i am honest. I love having everything organised and sorted, and easy to enable/disable. I have folders such as Airports/USA,UK,South America etc - Something similar with scenery add ons and liveries. Excellent ability to sort and micro manage. Thank you, keep it up.
bad2000 8 day(s) ago
Thank you very much for your feedback, glad that you find it useful !
MrScuba1959
Excellent program and I'm still recommending it
bad2000 10 day(s) ago
Thank you very much for your feedback, appreciated !
DC6Pilot
Yesterday, after a few flights in the morning with this linker, which was working awesomely for a few years now, suddenly crashed and crashed, CTD. I got your latest update, is there a fix for this?
bad2000 11 day(s) ago
sorry for the troubles, but i'm not sure what you mean by crashes, crashes of the sim ? In that case AL can not be the source (it has no interaction with the sim, it just create links and that has been the same in all versions, i can obviously send you an older version if you need that). If you have sim crashes it's probably due to some specific addons or conflicts, probably not easy to pinpoint but not much i can do unfortunately because you would probably get the same problem without AL (forums are full of people having crashes no matter if they use AL or not). Now if you have AL crashes then it's different and i can probably help, but please tell me exactly the error you get by sending me the full error message. Thank you.
DC6Pilot 11 day(s) ago
It just CTD after I pressed FLY on world map. As I used the sim without your app., it worked fine. I should erase any addon that's over a year old. I think that might be the problem.
Florida
I ste this up with a desktop folder for my addons, and then realized after moving a dozen of them that I didn't want that folder on my C drive. So now I have a dilemma - how do I move those files to the D drive? Can I reverse move the files back into my Community folder and start over? Or can I move the folder from my C drive to my D drive?
bad2000 12 day(s) ago
you can move directly from c: to d:, then in addon linker remove the reference to the c: drive and add the one the d: drive in the options screen. That should work. If you're new to the tool, as instructed, make sure you try first with only a few addons to make sure everything works fine for you before moving too much stuff. Let me know if you need more help.
Florida 12 day(s) ago
I think I might just go and uninstall the app and start over. If I remove the app and the directory, will all of the files I "Moved" be recovered to my Community directory? I just want to make sure the files I moved don't get lost when I remove the program.
bad2000 12 day(s) ago
the program is only what you get in the zip, so you probably just extracted it somewhere and you can remove it if you want. But you probably don't need to do that if you want to use the tool, there is folder that store your settings, it's here -> C:\ProgramData\MSFS Addons Linker ... if you remove that folder it will be like if you had never used the app. As for your files that you are moved, well AL will not remove them, just make sure you don't delete folders with your addons yourself.
Thissapunyo
Hi, Amazing tool, well done!!!
I see the option to open other apps in High priority, can the same be done with the Sim itself?
bad2000 13 day(s) ago
Hello, thank you for your feedback, appreciated and glad you find it useful. I'm not sure i need to check, the problem is that MSFS is not really launched via it's own direct EXE, it either goes through steam or via the 'ms-store application process' which i'm not very familiar with and that i can't really test (i have the steam version). I need to do some research on this. Which version do you have ?
bad2000 13 day(s) ago
i have tried a little change -> https://imgur.com/oL6ll6F
Due to windows security features, for that to work, you need AL and the sim to be running under the same user account, so if it doesn't work for you you can maybe try to force AL to run as admin or check the user account running the sim.
here is the link to the test version if you want (some Dll were changed since the last official version so make sure you use all new files included in the zip) --> https://www.filemail.com/d/ghcmlbpmiefloya
Thissapunyo 12 day(s) ago
Thanks for looking,
I do have a workaround but it means a command prompt shortcut
bad2000 12 day(s) ago
have you tried the test version, did it work for you ? (it should 😊 )
White_Wolf 8 day(s) ago
Hi,
I've just tested this with the Windows Store version, and it has indeed launched with 'high' priority.
Great work!
bad2000 8 day(s) ago
Thank you for the feedback !
johe2312
Absolutely great!!! Since MSFS is growing and does consume more and more of the system drive C: It your addon-linker is an absolutely must-have tool for me to manage community contents and transfer it to secondary drives. Thank you, great work!!! For testing purposes on problems with new addons it is great too.
bad2000 15 day(s) ago
Thank you very much for your very nice comment, appreciated !
Socorrista22198
Hi Bad2000,
I have a lot of mods that replace the Official files (the majority for change officials aircraft.cfg, model.cfg, or .xml files). I active them using your awesome program through Community folder like all other addons.
But when the sim updates, i need to compare manually the filesize of each Official file to see if they change something new. If they have different size than the size I saved before update, they have changed and the mods are missing some new code.
Could be possible to add a Tool called for example "SU compatibility..."? The interface could be for example the same as the current "Preset Editor". It could easily compare the files and tell you what mods could not be compatible with the update.
It could work selecting all the mods we want to use with this tool and pressing a button "Save mods version". The tool automatically reads what files are invoved and stores the filesize of the Official files with the same name. It also stores the actual sim version. The official filesizes and sim version could be stored at the current "/Addons linker/Data/". And the next time the sim updates, we can easily press one button "Check compatibily" to see what mods could not be compatible. So we could avoid crash our sim, or miss some updated features.
I think it would be an awesome feature usefull for all the community. Thanks for all, cheers 😊
bad2000 19 day(s) ago
Hello. I never thought about something like that, i need to think a bit about it, maybe yeah something would be possible. My brain will start thinking about it and i'll certainly recontact you about when i have a clearer of how i could maybe present this. Not sure if the size would be good enough though, if some values are changed in those files it would be possible that the file still has the same size even if different. There's also the date of the file (not sure if we can trust that) or the real way would be a CRC check of the file, but that takes time if there are tons of files. Oh well i need to think a bit about it. Thank you.
kabouter_plons
Hello,
In your last update, a pulldown menu has been added to the right side. By default it says "- Keep current selection -" but how can I see WHICH selection is currently being kept? I understand that if you open that pull-down menu you can choose a different preset, but when reloading Addons Linker I don't actually see the preset I selected before listed anywhere and I always start to doubt the right preset.
Maybe I'm overlooking something?
Of course nothing but good about this great addon which I have been using since the beginning. I am grateful to you for your tireless efforts to bring it to what it is today.
Tnx,
Fer
bad2000 22 day(s) ago
Hello, thank you very much for your feedback, much appreciated ! Yeah that text 'keep current selection' might be a bit confusing, it's important to understand that the pulldown is used only by the 'start sim' button and, when 'keep current selection' is selected, that actually means 'do nothing'. You can use that little pulldown to quickly select a preset before launching the sim and, if it's on 'keep current selection', it will not apply anything and launch the sim with the addons that are already currently activated. When it's set at 'keep current selection' it's exactly the same as before when the pulldown didn't exist. To sum up, that little pulldown is just a little quick shortctut to apply a specific preset when launching the sim. But yeah maybe it's a bit missleading for some users. Let me know if it's still not 100% clear.
kabouter_plons 22 day(s) ago
Thanks for your very quick response. That of the pulldown menu "- Keep current selection -" is now a bit clearer to me, but I still don't find it clear when I start the prog which preset is activated. Or do I always have to select a preset? The bar of the pull-down menu "Preset:" at the bottom of the main screen is then always empty. That gives me the impression that no preset has been selected.
Perhaps it would be useful to always start automatically in the last selected preset.
I read through the entire manual again but that didn't give me clarity either.
Tnx,
Fer
bad2000 21 day(s) ago
that's where i fall a bit short in my explanations, some people like you see the 'preset' as something that is mandatory or that is or should be restored automatically, but it's not really that, it's just a help to select a group of addons at a specific time, so you use a preset when you want to select some addons without clicking on them manually every time. Presets are not mandatory at all some people don't even use them. When you launch the sim the addons that are activated (link active in the community folder) will be used (and they have no connection with the preset and that why i wrote 'keep current selection'). You should not see the preset as something that is loaded and stays loaded, it's just something used at a specific time to facilitate the selection a group of addon, then you can add/substract things manually and when you launch the sim the addons currently activated will be used. So when you click on the launch sim button, either you want to launch it with a preset because you want to select something specific and it that case you can use the pulldown to select it quickly, or you just launch it with 'keep current selection' and what is currently activated will be used by the sim no matter if it's in a preset or not.
You're not the only that asks about this, it's simple but i really don't know how to explain clearly unfortunately and this msg will probably add even more to the confusion 😊
Celthyan
Great mod thanks! But pleaaaase, how do you uninstall it? I've some issues and I'd like to return to the default community folder configuration for some time and test things.
bad2000 22 day(s) ago
hello, to uninstall you just need to remove the folder containing the EXE that you have unzipped. Then, if you also want remove the settings you have saved (presets, options, ...) you can remove the C:\ProgramData\MSFS Addons Linker folder. There are no other files elsewhere.
Celthyan 20 day(s) ago
Thanks a lot! 😊)
acfi
Bonjour Monsieur bad2000.
Un GRAND MERCI pour cet utilitaire qui est SUPER UTILE.
J'aimerais faire un petit don pour vos efforts et l'attention que vous portez aux questions des utilisateurs.
Pour ma part, je n'ai pas encore eu besoin d'en poser car j'ai trouvé dans la FAQ et dans les réponses détaillées que vous faites.
Donc, ma seule question est: comment faire ce don pour vous remercier ?
Grand Merci encore.
Translated with DeepL.com
Hello Mr. bad2000.
A BIG THANK YOU for this utility which is SUPER USEFUL.
I would like to make a small donation for your efforts and attention to user questions.
I, for one, haven't had to ask any yet because I found in the FAQ and the detailed answers you do.
So, my only question is: how to make this donation to thank you?
Many thanks again.
bad2000 22 day(s) ago
Merci beaucoup pour ton super sympathique message et pour ton désir de me supporter en faisant une donation, mais pas de problème, je préfère garder ce programme sans aucun notion d'argent comme ça l'esprit reste plus libre, et ça te fera quelques économies pour acheter des beaux cadeaux de Noël pour ta famille 😊
--- Translated by me ---
Thanks you very much 😊 😊 😊
aurel42
Is there a way to exclude a folder from the "something about your add-ons has changed" detection? I use Little Navmap to write a copy of my flight plan to a subfolder of the PMS50 GTN750 add-on, to be able to import the file in-game. This makes MSFS Addons Linker think that something changed about my add-ons (while that's technically true, it's misleading), and I have to click the "Refresh folder" button, because OCD.
bad2000 24 day(s) ago
it's not possible with the current version but i'll check for the next one. For the right panel (community) i think only 'folder changes' are monitored and if you add a file inside one of those folder there is no 'refresh needed' indicator appearing, for the left panel though, it also monitors file changes, can't remember why that was needed (if needed at all).
aurel42 23 day(s) ago
Thank you so much for considering my request! <3
bad2000 22 day(s) ago
please check your private messages, i sent you a little test version.
aurel42 19 day(s) ago
You're a legend! <3
PerpetualOmega
Hello Mr Bad,
Thanks for a great free product.
Recently i have gotten the invalid key message when on the map page. I have my own key and it still says invalid. i made three more keys all invalid. could you advise what im doing wrong please?
Also, is there a way to select to enable addons in bulk for a certain country?
thanks
Beanie
bad2000 25 day(s) ago
Hello thank you for the feedback. From what you said, it looks like the program can not connect to the internet to load the map data (in that case it will show key invalid). If you have maybe a firewall like tinywall, applications are blocked by default and you need to set the exception. A key is not even mandatory (it's better because you won't get into the public keys limitation by having your own) and if you tried 3 of them they should work so that's why it looks like a connection problem. Just try leaving the field empty for example to make sure it's not a problem with the key.
Different way to select only 1 country (bit technical hopefully it's not too confusing)
oops msg way too long 😊, hope it's not too confusing, let me know if something is not clear.
PerpetualOmega 25 day(s) ago
ok, thanks for your reply.
Turns out Bing maps doesn't like VPNs. Switch it off and all is good.
I followed your instructions and all works as you described. i can now select with right click, drag box.
and yes the polygon option is good if the country you are looking for is not square.
but what would make it easier when a list is made from a filter then that filter can just be enabled instead of drawing on the map.
thanks again for your work.
Beanie
bad2000 25 day(s) ago
oh oky, yeah maybe Bing blocks VPNs, that explains it. i fogot to mention that a country filter can also be done via the little 'foldable' panel on the right of the screen. And yes an option to enable all visible addons without the need to select them first is probably a good idea, wrote that down for a future version (and noticed it was already written down as probably someone else requested it before 😊 )
PerpetualOmega 25 day(s) ago
oh yes . . i never noticed that hidden panel, how nice! love the quick filters, again an option to enable those selected in the quick filters would be super duper.
bad2000 22 day(s) ago
please check your private messages, i sent you a little test version.
PerpetualOmega 19 day(s) ago
Many thanks, will try it out and get back to you. 😊
davenicoll
Just run into an issue...Now when I select a preset, USA for instance the interface does not show those add ons it continues to show the UK.
bad2000 1 month(s) ago
hello, sounds strange, if you select your USA preset in the combo box at the bottom and then click on the 'edit' button, does it show the correct elements selected ? Not that it was maybe overwritten with a different selection and so when you apply it that other selection is applied. Can you please check that ?
davenicoll 26 day(s) ago
Hello,
No, they do not...all remain with a red circle..
bad2000 26 day(s) ago
you probably have erased the US preset and you probably need to recreate it, maybe some of those options are a bit confusing sorry for that. If you want to make sure just go into this folder -> C:\ProgramData\MSFS Addons Linker\Presets and you can open the presets with notepad, you will quickly see if it contains the addons or not. Let me know, thank you
davenicoll 25 day(s) ago
Thank you...
Followed your advice and must have done something wrong as every preset I have created contains my UK present scenery...Have to re do them all lol..
bad2000 25 day(s) ago
it's unfortunate, sorry for that. Yeah maybe you use the little buttons at the bottom and if not used correctly you just overwrote some of the presets (i'm aware that some options regarding presets can be a bit confusing) Or maybe there was a bug somwhere but i can't really see what would cause this but if you find something let me know for sure. As a reminder, there is a backup option in the options that can save the AL data (presets + settings) at a regular interval to avoid loosing things. The backup is very small, only a few very small files are saved.
dvlcreations
Terrific app...been using it since day one. Sadly, just updated to check out the new map part of the program and now when I run the exe as admin, all I get is a small taskbar notice that is blank but labeled Bing Maps? The main program will not start? Any idea or suggestions?
bad2000 1 month(s) ago
yes just make sure everything is closed (important) -> then relaunch the tool -> go directly in the options screen 'ui options' tab -> click on the button 'reset windows position' -> then it should be ok .. let me know if that doesn't fix it. *edit .. oh if it's the main screen not appearing, please check the FAQ just above near the comments tab on this page, the 4th question explains how to edit the INI file if the screens are not appearing.
dvlcreations 1 month(s) ago
all good..thanks and again, congratulations on still a great program..one of the best!
maus
gorgeus app. Anyway, why for certain addons , I can add the link, but I cannot remove it?
bad2000 1 month(s) ago
hello, that's very strange, do you get some sort of message when that happens ? do you see that with all links or only certain links ? are you using internal drives or maybe a NAS or something less common ? are you running the tool 'as admin' ? can you maybe do a little video showing what is happening ? Sorry for the multiple questions but the more info i have the more chance i might get an idea, let me know, thank you.
maus 1 month(s) ago
Hi mate, first of all you don t have to ask sorry but we have to say you thanks😉. I just get the message like
bad2000 1 month(s) ago
looks like your msg is cut, but we'll check via PM ....
DestructZero
The app has a button to "Show All Selected" which works great, but from what I've seen, unless I missed it there's no way to save that option so when I exit and restart AL I'll see only selected items. I'd be fine if it was just an INI change to activate it. Thanks.
bad2000 1 month(s) ago
When you click on the 'show all selected' button, you will notice that a filter is automatically added ([enable = 'yes'] appears at the bottom). If you use the option 'save column order/size' available in the right click menu, the filter will also be saved so if you click on that option when the filter is active, it will be restored next time you launch the app and so you will see only the activated addons when the tool is started. Let me know if something is not clear.
DestructZero 1 month(s) ago
That was exactly what I needed! Thanks again.
MrHorta
Hi!
Absolutely love your addon linker! I'm running a very very old version of it and thought I would update it but was a bit nervous as to what I need to do for the update to work smoothly and not wreak havoc with the sim... 😊 Do I need to unlink everything in the current setup and uninstall the current version of the program before updating or do I just write over files in the new install?
Thx for any assistance! Currently running version 0.8.7722.27398
bad2000 1 month(s) ago
Hello, thank you for your feedback, there should be no prob in updating. The easiest way is probably to just extract all the files from the new zip and replace your existing files in the same folder. You don't need to unlink, everything should be compatible. Let me know if you have issues.
MrHorta 1 month(s) ago
Thanks! Worked like charm! Just wanted to check if I may, what would you say is the easiest way to rename planes so that they show up in the proper order in sim?
I understand that for liveries for some odd reasons MSFS has opted to sort the liveries by name of the folder in the simobjects folder which is a rather infuriating way of doing it as creators give these rather random names and renaming it messes with the layout.json file... Any way to sort them apart renaming manually and then using the msfslayougenerator.exe to update the layout file?
bad2000 1 month(s) ago
Great if the update went well, thanks for letting me know. As for your question, sorry but unfortunately i don't really feel qualified to give you hints about 'renaming' aircraft or liveries because i have never done that and i'm not quite sure how the sim handles all that. Maybe you should post that in the official MSFS forum where some more knowledgable people might be able to help. Feel free to recontact me if needed.
MrHorta 1 month(s) ago
Thanks again for the quick reply! was just wondering in case there was a nifty little feature in the addon linker to sort it out 😊
Thanks again for a wonderful tool!