jfitler

- The registry setting LongFilePath is enabled (1) via regedit - I performed multiple restarts and re-verified the registry change - Error is still occurring

That is what I have been doing... dragging over the first level folder within the zip file. This is from the Liveries Megapack v10 download and about half of the C208 repaints cause this error for me. The others were fine.

Well, I had high hopes, but after trying (and double checking) the registry mod, no joy. Verified that the LongFileName attribute is set but it's still the same error. It's not a show-stopper by any means, but knowing it could possibly pop up with any future addon is frustrating! Thanks for your help anyway, loki! It was definitely worth a shot.

Just a little more background. This error is occurring on a couple of addons only (so far) - most seem to be installing normally. My main install drive is my M: drive - an external SSD. When I installed MSFS and selected this drive, the installer set up the path. The full path to the addon repaint in question is: M:\WpSystem\S-1-5-21-286362359-108708673-3351814632-1001\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\Packages\Community\Asobo_208B_GRAND_CARAVAN_EX_Myanmar\SimObjects\Airplanes\Cessna208_MYA\TEXTURE.MYA\CESSNA_208B_GRANDCARAVANEX_COCKPIT_SEAT_FRONT_ALBD.PNG.DDS.json I understand that under the Windows file naming system the total filename or path cannot exceed 259 characters, while the path above is 296 characters. This appears to be the problem. I don't understand why MSFS had to pad the path to my M: drive (a virtually empty 1Tb SSD) with so much gibberish (which I had no control over), which then eats into this pathname character limitation.

I tried extracting to a specific temp location and then copying the main (topmost) folder of this location to Community. It seems to get about halfway, and then again stops with this error: I have been installing addons on my non-C: drive Community location (my main MSFS install is on an external SSD), and so far has not been a problem. I am going to try installing to my C: drive Community folder however, and see what happens. Thanks for your feedback!

OK, as far as Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Flight Simulator goes, I did not "just fall off the cabbage truck". But I have been attempting to install various addons to MSFS, and have been encountering a weird error which seems to be mainly with aircraft/livery addons. Its basically saying that the "path is too long", even though the zip file structure did not look unusual at all. I diligently Googled on the issue which suggested that it is an issue with Windows Explorer, and to use a program like 7-zip instead. I had this utility, so I gave it a shot. I extracted the file with 7-zip and I indeed got much farther, until I got an error now indicating that "file name too long". Which is something I haven't seen since WINDOWS 3.0! I honestly don't think I'm doing anything stupid here, but has anyone else encountered this? By the way, the file in particular was the Liveries Mega Pack, v10. And, yes, these were all being pointed to the correct Community folder.

By "black screen" I meant the brief black screen that normally appears just before the "X Box Studios" screen comes up. This was dragging on for several minutes for me, but things would eventually come up normally. Anyway, I did delete those recent addons from the Community folder and things did indeed go back to normal. I'm putting them back one at a time to see which one is the culprit. Thanks for your feedback!

Has anyone noticed if there is a significant increase in MSFS startup time as addon items are added to the Community folder? I recently added 6 items (4 scenery, 2 a/c repaints), and the next time I started the sim, it initially displayed a black screen for about 4 minutes before getting to the Asobo screen, then sat on the copyrights screen for another 3 minutes or so, before finally completing the startup normally. I assumed this was normal the first time, figuring the sim had to "index" all the new files, but it has behaved this way ever since. I don't have that much in my Community folder, considering what is available. Is there anyone out there with a lot of addons installed? Does it affect your startup time? Thanks for any feedback!

By "workaround" I meant that these approaches are alternatives. Hitting escape to exit to the options screen (which pauses the sim) is an alternative to using Active Pause, which tends to cause autopilot instability when exited.

Has anyone else noticed the apparent erratic placement of the blue taxiway border lighting? This seems to be consistent across all airports I've seen so far. Runway and centerline lighting appears to be fine.

This may be old news, but I have found two actions that (for me) always result in an unstable autopilot, as well as workarounds I've found for each of these: 1. > Unpausing "Active Pause". This feature pauses only a portion of the program, resulting in instability when un-pausing. I've found that hitting (back to the option screen) works much better as a pause function, since it pauses EVERYTHING and appears to be much less traumatic to the program. 2. > Engaging the autopilot after loading a previously "saved" flight. Every time I've done this the autopilot goes nuts when re-engaging. It's frustrating not to be able to just continue a previously configured flight that was saved. If I recreate the "saved" flight (aircraft, location, etc) from scratch, I've never had a problem.

I found a frame rate indicator in Developer Mode, but not sim rate (yet).

I got the update that was pushed this morning and noted that it was 1.9.5.0 Did 1.9.4.0 get skipped, or just incorporated into 1.9.5.0?

Has anyone found an indicator in MSFS (if any) that tells you what simulation rate you are currently running (2x, 4x, etc.)? I've mapped keys for this feature and was hoping to find something more accurate feedback-wise than just seeing if the outside world speeds up! :) Thanks

The latest version of FSTramp supports MSFS. Comes with a 20 session evaluation period with purchase option after that. What puts me off is that it now requires an annual renewal payment instead of being a one-time buy.

I just realized that part of my problem is that I am forgetting that there is now the ability to specify arrival runway. One more step in the learning curve...:) Thanks for the feedback!

You may have to go into the Controls section, select your joystick and see if any buttons have been assigned to the Brakes function. I had to do that on my joystick after I first installed the program.

This is more a "procedural sanity check" on my part, so... Has anyone successfully completed an entire IFR flightplan, including final approach vectoring, with MSFS? I have flown several pretty routine IFR flights so far, and after getting the initial "expect vectors" ATC approach instruction to the destination airport, those vector instructions are never provided. Nothing is communicated at all until I am practically right over the destination airport and then I finally get something like "Airport is at your 3 o'clock, 1 mile. Report runway in sight". Oh, and I am still at an assigned altitude that is far too great for an approach pattern. This seems to be independent of airport or aircraft type. I don't think I'm missing anything here. I have hundreds of IFR hours in FSX. (But I certainly could be wrong) Anyone?

Lowbeam, you da man, as they say! In my case I just selected "All assists" and the ATC icon was there as soon as I opened the on screen menu. Looking back I may have even considered trying that at one time but obviously never got around to it. I guess that's one more item to tick off of the big list! Thanks so much!

Thanks! I will certainly give it a try.

This was the Microsoft Community website where I submitted the original support requests. From the main Microsoft site. But yes, I opened a Zendesk ticket yesterday as well as a forum submission at flightsimulator.com four days ago.

Odd that it came from a Microsoft domain. Microsoft Community You would hope that they would be onto someone successfully jacking into their system.

Just a caution if you are submitting support requests to Microsoft Community... I received this response regarding the Missing ATC Window Icon... (Sort of ironic the footnote about "fake tech support phone numbers". Theirs certainly looked fake) Well, I received no help at all contacting the "Microsoft Executive" phone number above - just a series of handoffs to somewhat combative, barely understandable help desk associates who clearly had no knowledge of this product. They also had no access to the original support request and therefore wanted me to describe in detail, from the beginning, exactly what the problem was, over a crappy phone connection, to someone whose only familiarity with the product is that it owned by Microsoft. I normally try to be patient in this type of situation, but I finally lost it when, in the midst of this confusing conversation, the associate suddenly proclaimed, "Sir, it is obvious to me that your drivers are bad" (never saying WHAT drivers), "and I will now help you reload them. I wish for you to let me connect to your computer in order to do this". And at this point I lost it and hung up. What connection the support link above has with MSFS 2020, I do not know. The first person I spoke to assumed I was calling about Microsoft Office.

"TenableFlower16" is, at any rate. You are welcome to it! :)

A couple of other observations... - I verified that there is a key assigned on the keyboard to open ATC window - there is and it does nothing. - I can enable the AI copilot to handle ATC communications. It works fine but again, no visible ATC window.