A little help Please!
Yesterday, I installed the MSFS Addons Linker ( version 0.13.8037.42021 ) and successfully converted all my original mods in the COMMUNITY folder to “links”.
In the past, before any new MSFS 2020 update, I would manually move all my mods out of the COMMUNITY folder to a “TEMP” folder and then re- install them into the community folder after the MSFS update.
Question: Now that these mods are all “LINKS”, What do I do when the nest MSFS update comes out?
best regards
Uncheck them in addon linker. I have a profile for each situation. One of them is no addons.
If the links are shown in the community folder, you should do the same as you did before.
The reason for the need to move is in case there is an issue with your upgrade, and you have problems, you can eliminate addons as the source of the issue.
With the links still in the folder, when you start the sim after an update, if there is a problem with compatibility with a 3rd party addon (quite common) you will probably experience a CTD, and will have to try and diagnose where that came from.
Having an empty community folder, and you experience a CTD after an update, will point to the update or your system as being the source.
I simply rename the Community before the update.
Addon Linker is great, no doubt about it.
But. The simplest way to update (as @Flavio14815 said):
Also:
I find that there are some items that I absolutely know I’m going to use always. So these stay in the actual community folder, (Not links).
For example, planes I have purchased, GTN750, Navigraph stuff. Etc.
@DabullAir, @TheSevenFlyer, @Flavio14815, @Funbhie
Thank you all for your thoughtful replieS !
beSt regardS
The simplest way to temporarily remove all your content (links) from the community folder, is to use the menu Item in Addon Linker, to remove all links.
Even more importantly, use this to remove all links from community folder when installing a new addon.
so, to install a new addon
- Use the linker program to Remove all links from Community.
- Close Linker
- Install the add-on
- Looks see what has been added to community by that install
- MOVE anything that has been installed to a suitable folder in your LINKER Files folder structure, where all you add-ons are.
- Restart linker, and call up whatever profile you want and load it
- Edit that profile if you want to add the newly installed add-ons, and save edit
- Got back & select your profile again.
You can take shortcuts in the above, but the above is the fool-proof way to add a new add-on to your MSFS Linker program.
You NEVER have to rename / copy / directly edit you community folder (apart from moving newly installed add-ons out that are not there by a link)
Seems complex .. it’s not, after you have done it a few times, its surprisingly easy & quick.
The MSFS Addon Linker is extremely powerful, and “With great power comes great responsibility” , and a slight learning curve 
We were not born with an innate knowledge of how to use this program – it does help sometime to read the manual !! (Even if REAL Men don’t read manuals !! )
Not if you don’t use it for all addons. Many items recommend not using symlinks. As mentioned above.
And not if you don’t use Addon Linker at all, no matter how good it is, there are thousands of folks who don’t use it. Even though the OP does.
Hence my correct instructions above which will work for all use cases.
im old school.. I saw this a couple months ago and wondered why anyone would install another program to control addons.
Both MS and Steam versions know where their community folders are. they are based on the location we pick to install to. I never install it in my appdata folder. So both me and the sim know exactly where the community folder is. Most of us will already have a shortcut on the desktop so we can manipulate our addons.
Why click on another program then pick what to do with my addons when i can just click on the folder and rename it. then after the install copy my addons back in to the new community folder. I end up with a permanent back up too. sorry for going off on this. pls dont ream me a new one.
I agree, about the installation procedure, as mentioned above. (And yup same as, I also have a very specific location on an SSD drive for all content.)
However, there are some big advantages to using the linker day to day.
Worth a look if you like to stay organised when your addons could get overwhelming.
The simplest way to update is just to update, if you experience problems after the update, then it’s time to follow your suggestions.
Erm yes I guess but isn’t it safer to just do the rename? It’s not like the update is a quick process.
Maybe if MSFS didn’t take 10 minutes to start and then 30 minutes (if you are lucky) to update (and then fail) it would be OK to just go for it. So if it fails becuase of the community folder (which trust ne does happen a lot), then that is a lot of time wasted.
Anyway, I guess someone else will always want the last word here (see below)… so that is it from me on this one. Good luck all.
Reading this thread, it is very obvious who uses the MSFS Linker, and also those who have never tried it, and really have no idea what a big positive difference it can make.
But each to their own …
I only have five items in my community folder so I have no need for it, but I installed it and found it to be impressive. I have plans to put a lot more in and the organisation system will make things easier maybe?
I have 519 currently if I turn them all on with the Linker !!!
So the Linker is a Must for me !!!
This is most often true with planes or add ons that use an installer to update them. Any add-on put int he community folder by extracting a zip file and moving to the community folder will be absolutely fine with an add-on linked. Planes like the DC-6, where there is an updater used to manage that plane’s installation (e.g. updates, addiional liveries etc) will probably not update correctly if a link is used. Slight caveat that I’ve not actually tried this to test that it breaks.
So I tend to leave the small number of plane’s that use an installer in the community folder, everything else goes in a separate folder with links.
This is how the method I outlined above, will work for those addons that have an Installer, to put their content in Community – and other files elsewhere –
- Use the linker program to Remove all links from Community.
- Close Linker
- Install the add-on
- Looks see what has been added to community by that install
- MOVE anything that has been installed to a suitable folder in your LINKER Files folder structure, where all you add-ons are.
- Restart linker, and call up whatever profile you want and load it
- Edit that profile if you want to add the newly installed add-ons, and save edit
- Got back & select your profile again.
Ok, this old man may stand corrected. I just setup my old P3D pc to run the MS standard version. that will be my test box for things like this. tnx for the input simmers, you are slowly opening my eyes. lol…
I know this thread is a couple of months old, but it seems on-point for my question. I’ve got a handful of add-ons (28 total), and I’m finally getting around to trying AddOns Linker.
I’ve started by moving the addons that I am sure were unzipped into Communty and I’m left with ~16 that used some kind of installer (A few JF planes and sceneries, Real Taxiways, PMDG 737, Milviz 310R.)
I have two questions:
Since I’m just starting this process now, should I just go ahead and move those “setup” addons into my new addon folder and then for any new addons follow the process you listed?
Have you run into any incompatible addons in your list of 519?
Thanks!
Roddie
Be sure to arrange those addons in folders and subfolder that make sense to you.. in the Launcher Folder
Maybe Aircraft m GPS, scenery, menu, utils, airports etc
and then sub folders to those if it make sense