Auto Addons not working in v5

[reecemj]

There was no DAddon.idx". Other files sent. thanks.

[Steve Waite]

Got it, thanks!

[Steve Waite]

i have uploaded preview 20.

Hopefully, I have got the Auto-Scenery working properly now in P3D.

Thanks for all your help as usual.

[reecemj]

The AO A Config causes an error with Lorby addon Organizer and with simstarter. I just used these for looking at the disable files. Look at the addon config in the zip.
Activate addons still disable files other than airports.
Its no big deal if it cant be fixed. I'll use Lorby to disable groups of files. IF just makes it easier.

[Steve Waite]

Where you have entries showing as:

[Package.10Active=true]
Active=true

the part between [] is bad

these entries look like they have been altered by another program which is obviously bad and going to cause an error.

But if you only use IF are you finding that IF does that? I am unable to get something like that in the config since the IF function only changes the Active items to false it doesn't change the package name between {...} as in [Package.10Active=true] and it doesn't remove the path.

I will continue looking into it.

[Steve Waite]

...I found that the Discovery path items are left active, that's IF. The odd looking items in the add-ons.cfg mentioned above are not caused by IF it can only change Active to false it does not alter anything in the files.

I have to fix it so it can set the Discovery path items active=false but in the meantime, it should work OK to set the other items active to false but the add-ons.cfg files must at first be in good condition for it to work.

[Steve Waite]

...of course, I was forgetting that the [DiscoveryPath.n] types of entry will not be set Active=false because IF will rather set Active=false on each individual [Package.n] found in those discovery paths. Scenery added by a Discovery Path in add-ons.cfg will have a Package.n section added for each scenery folder with the XML file defined. So in fact that part of things seems to be working very well after all.

After studying your add-ons.cfg I have been looking for a way that IF could perhaps mistakenly add sections to the add-ons.cfg files but it simply can't do that unless Windows functions are broken. Ideal Flight uses a Windows function to set an Active item to false (or true) in a [Package.n] section and only if that Windows function finds that relevant [Package.n] section, else it does nothing. At the moment I can't find a way to confuse the system to produce add-ons.cfg files that look like the last one you sent me.

So I am now wondering if you can actually get the P3D files set up from scratch with no errors showing to start with, then use the IF Auto-Addons function it might work successfully?

[Steve Waite]

So far I can't find a fault in IF, it works only to disable scenery only [Package.n] items in the add-ons.cfg file with the "Active=false" setting and enables only those sections with the airports you are visiting in the flight with the "Active=true" setting.

So I thought to go through the theory here and then look at your add-ons.cfg files?

There are two add-ons.cfg files:

One add-ons.cfg file is found in the user profile \AppData folder ("C:\Users\you\AppData\Roaming\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v5\add-ons.cfg") for individual Users. That file is filled with [sections] that are made by P3D when it discovers add-ons folders in the user documents folder ("C:\Users\you\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons") with the add-on.xml file.

The other add-ons.cfg file is found in the \ProgramData folder ("C:\ProgramData\Lockheed Martin\Prepar3D v5\add-ons.cfg") for All Users that is filled with [sections] pertaining to add-ons that set up their discovery...

...either by the Discovery Path method enabled with the command line switches in P3D:

"Prepar3D.exe "-Configure: Category=Add-on Discovery Path, Operation=Add... etc."

...and ordinarily with the direct add-on additions command line:

"Prepar3D.exe "-Configure: Category=Add-on Package, Operation=Add... etc."

So add-ons will use these functions to get P3D to include their scenery, planes and other things in the ProgramData add-ons.cfg file.

After that the user runs P3D and it discovers the add-ons and the sections are updated in the add-ons.cfg files. There will only be items showing sections like this:

Code: Select all

[Package.2]
Path=H:\P3D Addons\Orbx\p3dv5\05S Vernonia Municipal Airport
Active=true
Required=FALSE

and:

Code: Select all

[DiscoveryPath.1]
Path=C:\Users\reece\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\Planes\Turbine Duke V2 P3D4
Title=TDuke
Active=TRUE

sections looking like this are not correct:

Code: Select all

[Package.10Active=true]
Active=true

So I wonder if you can get set up with some of your addons so that the add-ons.cfg files are looking good, perhaps zip them up and send me so I can check them first. Then run Ideal Flight to build a flight and then look at the files again to see what has changed, obviously keeping any other software that can change the files out of the way for the test?

[Steve Waite]

...in the meantime, I am thinking about adding some testing functions into Preview 21 that will check the contents of the add-ons.cfg files for bad sections and cross-contamination between cfg's such as correct paths, circular references and additions of the same add-on into both files...

[Steve Waite]

I am still researching this situation. After a lot of adding and deleting add-ons and generally messing around I found a bad entry in the user add-ons.cfg after installing orbx Scotland, but after going through it again I can't get it to include the bad entry. So I am continuing the investigation to see what might happen in there and hopefully I can recreate the issue again and find out the reason. So I recommend you wait for further input from me...