How to Install Addons

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How to Install Addons

Post by YSFHQ »

Installing Addons
YSFlight Headquarters
Welcome to the addon section!
Here are some helpful tips to install addons and mods found at
YSFHQ
and abroad!

THE SIMPLE WAY
1. Download the Addon
Most addons are in .ZIP files, however some are .RAR. We recommend installing 7Zip or WinRAR for downloading both types of these files. It also serves as a great and efficient way to zip up folders for you to upload your own addons! You can learn how to find addons here!

2. Where to install Addons?
Addons need to be installed in the appropriate place for the operating system you use.
  • For Windows, this is the folder with the YSFlight executables used to launch the game. Typically it is located at C:/Users/[username]/Documents/YSFLIGHT.COM/YSFLIGHT or C:\Program Files\YSFLIGHT.COM\YSFLIGHT
  • For Mac OS, you can install it in the global YSFlight folder for all YSFlight builds on your machine, or locally for one specific YSFlight build. The global folder is found at /Users/[Username]/Documents/YSFLIGHT.COM/YSFLIGHT.
  • For Linux the main YSFlight Folder is typically located at home/Documents/YSFLIGHT.COM/YSFLIGHT.
Inside these locations you will see a variety of folders which contain all the data YSFlight needs. The key folders for installing addons are:
  • aircraft
  • ground
  • misc
  • scenery
  • user*
*With a fresh installation of YSFlight you will need to create the user folder yourself.

3. Drag and Drop
In recent years, the standard for YSFlight addon releases makes installing addons simple. Simply copy the contents of each folder in the addon download into the YSFlight root folder. For example an addon release with only an airplane may have an "aircraft" or "air" folder and a "user" folder. Copy the contents of the addon "aircraft" folder into your YSFlight installation's "aircraft" folder and do the same for the "user" folder.

If the addon creator didn't follow the current standard for releasing addons, you may have to do some basic file arrangement to properly install the addon. See the in-depth guide below.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Addon Installing In-Depth Guide

This guide was originally written by Iceman and has been updated.

Step 0: Understanding Relative Paths
All YSFlight Addons will be installed in the YSFlight root folder which is known to YSFlight. The only remaining piece of information that YSFlight needs to find the appropriate files is the relative path from the YSFlight root folder to the file(s) in question. For example with a root folder located at C:/Users/[username]/Documents/YSFLIGHT.COM/YSFLIGHT and the addon file located at C:/Users/[username]/Documents/YSFLIGHT.COM/YSFLIGHT/user/modder_name/airplane.dat, the addon creator only needs to define the user/modder_name/airplane.dat portion for YSFlight to find the file.


Step 1: Unpack Addon Download
Use your favorite unzipping program to open the addon download. YSFlight addons may be released in a number of different compressed formats including zip, cab, and rar. WinRAR or Keka are good options for unpacking these file formats.


Step 2: Identify And Copy List Files
Look for the .LST file(s) in the addon you downloaded. Each .LST needs to be installed in the correct folder in the YSFlight root folder. The .LST files tell YSFlight where to look for addon files using relative file paths. If the LST file starts with:

air(i.e. aircraft.lst, air_zz171st.lst, air0plane.lst, etc)
- Copy the LST file into the YSFLIGHT/aircraft directory.
gro(i.e. ground.lst, gro_ysfhq.lst, groabc123.lst, etc)
- Copy the LST file into the YSFLIGHT/ground directory.
sce(i.e. scenery.lst, sce_bnipack.lst, scemap.lst, etc)
- Copy the LST file into the YSFLIGHT/scenery directory.


Step 3: Copy Addon Files
Perform this step for each .LST file in the addon.

Open the .LST file. Each line (watch out for word-wrap) will completely define all the files needed for an individual addon. Some addon packages will have multiple addons and thus will have multiple lines in the .LST file(s).

For each line, identify the folder path and the file that should be at that location and move the addon file into that loccation in your YSFlight root folder.

For instance, if there is a folder in your addon download called "ysmodfolder", and the LST file reads:
user/ysmodfolder/xyz.dat user/ysmodolder/xyz.dnm etc etc..

You would copy the ysmodfolder into YSFLIGHT.COM\YSFLIGHT\user\


Step 4: Enjoy!
Your addons should now work in game. Still have questions? Ask in the YS Support forum!


Final Notes
  • Some very old addons will not have a .lst file, but rather a README.txt file which will have the contents that need to be copied into the default aircraft.lst, ground.lst or scenery.lst files.
  • Mac OSX and Linux need the LST file paths to have a / character instead of a \ character.
  • Windows and Mac OSX file paths in .LST files and the YSFlight root folder are not case-sensitive.
  • Linux file paths in the .LST file and YSFlight Root folder are case-sensitive.

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