Download search tool still a big annoyance!

[leuen]

I idownloaded here the "Fs2004 - Tinian 1945" scenery package. To complete AI traffic, following aircraft should be added according to the author:

 

You have also to download following aircraft (F4U Corsair) and repaints (a part are for CFS2, but work without problem in FS2004), from www.flightsim.com  : corsair6.zip (you can keep it to fly, it’s an excellent aircraft!)

 

But once again, it's still impossible to search this particular file. I'm not going to download every F4U and/or Corsair entries here, in order to get eventually a chance to found the correct file. After numerous months it's still impossible to handle correctly and userfriendly the FlightSim.com library. It's by the way an outrage to the contributors which did the reputation of this site for many years!

 

Bernard

[graemeb]

I have to agree the library is nowhere near as clear and easy to use as previously. why change things for the worse? I will definitely not be resuming my current subscription to this site.

 

[PhrogPhlyer]

25 minutes ago, graemeb said:

why change things for the worse?

I'm already kicking myself for responding, but...

The reasons for the change, and the efforts going on to improve the search capability have been explained ad infinitum.

There are myriad forum threads explaining and answering your question.

[jgf]

Fortunately most files can still be found elsewhere;  though many search results point back here, for an "Oops! We can't find that" window.

 

It's not that search isn't working decently, nor that we haven't read the reasons, it's that after six months of this being a major issue for many members it hasn't been addressed.

[defaid]

I've managed to get by on trial and error but I guess we're all still waiting for work on the new site to be completed:

 

[tiger1962]

24 minutes ago, leuen said:

 

Thanks for this extremely helpful and very community minded answer.

 

What's the point of an online community if no-one searches it for answers before asking another repeated question?

[Barkingside]

Here used to be my go to site, now it is my last resort. 

[PhrogPhlyer]

3 hours ago, leuen said:

I appreciate the irony of your emoji Benard, but I was responding to greameb's question.

I agree with you that there needs to be changes to improve searching, however his question has been answered again and again and again.

 

[ViperPilot2]

I just tried the Downloads bit yesterday, and honestly it wasn't too bad. I'd like to see the Contents of the File like the old site had, and it would be helpful to at least put Links to the Additional Files that may be needed to complete a particular File Package, like @leuen looking for his Corsair. 

[eriksleu]

The main problem remains: you cannot search for a file name. This has been 'being looked at' for I don't know how long now. This simple feature is dearly missed.

That said, the old search interface with its filter options was perfect. The current one mimics the whole make-over of FlightSim.com, something along the lines of "let's turn everything into a community and make things more 'organic'". I do not like it one bit, sorry.

 

Thanks for at least still keeping the site alive and the files available, one way or the other. And of course the incredibly improved download speed, that is really great.

Edited July 31, 2023 by eriksleu

[alanmerry]

I'm afraid I have to agree with most of what has been said on this topic.  It is not as easy as it was on the old site to find particular files.  Even in "Latest Files" it is not always clear which simulator a particular download is for.  The things that made flightsim.com stand out from other websites was the ease of finding your way about and its clarity, two things that the new site is yet to replicate.

[eriksleu]

Having given this some more thought, it appears to me the issue lies at a somewhat deeper level: you cannot search for a file - at all.

You can only search for a post that contains the (only) download link to a file. That is why the search options are what they are: forum-like, not file library-like. (Apologies if this has been mentioned before, in that case I overlooked.)

 

I did read the reasons given for the site update. Apart from the need to move to new software and account-related features and the likes, I understand the aim to give uploaders more control over their files. That is actually very uploader-friendly. BUT, the price that comes with it regarding finding what you're looking for, and so the success of sharing the file(s) itself, is in my opinion too high. There was an efficient and versatile file search engine for the huge and immensely popular freeware file archive and now it's gone.

 

I read a comment somewhere along the lines of "Uploaders will just have to come up with better file descriptions". While that sounds logical, I can see three problems with that:

1. Uploaders (creators in most cases!) "will have to" do that ONLY because it was decided to choose an indirect file access method to their work. Giving better control over one's creations online is great, but this mechanism is awkward. The downsides of it cannot be blamed on those that shared their creations for free, especially not if they did so (long) before this radical change was made.
2. Not all uploaders are still keeping track of their files, especially if they were made a long time ago. Part of them will even have left the flightsim world and heck, some of them even aren't alive anymore.
3. Even when the file description, and with it the title of the post that gives access to the file, is perfect, the search engine will not always find it. For instance, searching for "FS2004 Piper Tri-Pacer For AI" (with or without the quotes), in FS2004 or FS 2004 General Aviation or all files, does NOT find this post. (situation early August '23)

I think it would greatly help to include the file names (xxx.zip) to the posts in such a way that the search engine will find them.

This information is available in the system, as the download button with each post representing a file is pointing to the file in question. The url under the 'Download this file' button does not contain the file name, but the info is coupled in the system somewhere. I do not expect the whole new setup of this site to be reconsidered, but I hope this option will be considered.

 

Cheers,

Erik

 

 

[jgf]

Every file here, whether uploaded 25 minutes ago for MSFS or 25 years ago for FS5, is on a hard drive on the server or in the cloud, and there are lists of those files.  The most basic search on a computer is for a file name in a file list, yet eight months in this site is still incapable of that.