Restoring corrupt FSX scenery .xml file.

[flybytes 34]

The FSX Object Placement Tool is my favourite and fastest way of creating scenery placement files. Unfortunately it does suffer from a few bugs - the most serious one being that a saved scenery file can be easily overwritten with a mission file.

The tool appears to have been designed for creating missions, with the scenery placement tool embedded into it. If you mainly use this for creating scenery xml files, your project needs to be saved Using the 'Save Scenery' button.

A serious problem can arise when exiting the Object Placement Tool - a window opens: 'Mission file has changed. Do you want to Exit without saving? Yes/No.

If you click the 'Yes' button, your saved scenery xml will be available for compiling into a .bgl file. Unfortunately if you should accidently click the 'No' button, your scenery xml file will be overwritten by a mission xml file of the same name. The next time you try the load this xml file into your Object Placement Tool, clicking on the Objects tab will not now show a list of scenery objects.

After 'losing' a scenery file of 2-hours work, I Googled for a possible solution to this problem, without success. Eventually, after a bit of head scratching, I came up with the following method which I hope will be useful to anyone in the same boat (or should that be plane?)

To restore your scenery xml file back to its original format you will need to load it into the Object Placement Tool using the 'Load Mission' button. Next, click 'Save Scenery' button, then exit the Object Placement tool with the 'Yes' button.

Your scenery .xml file will now be restored to its correct format.

Regards,

flybytes.

[brett 2,285]

Great information that I have already saved to my hints and tips file. Thanks.

[mutley 4,487]

Yes thanks for sharing flybytes

[ddavid 149]

Thanks for that, FlyBytes - glad you pointed the glytch out.

I haven't ever got comfortable with OPT since installing Jim Keir's FSX Mission Editor. Normally, I place scenery items by adjusting their Lat/Lon?Elev - a bit tedious, but the objects generally end up where I want them!

Cheers - Dai.

[jetranger 0]

I'm still trying to figure out how to get all this Lumber and building materials I bought at the lumber yard for my new 7000 sq. ft hanger into the flight simulator itself, I've tried putting all the materials in a yellow folder and jamming it in my hard drive - but the stuff is just to big to fit in such a little space,,,,, tomorrow I got to the bull dozer dealer and try to force it in my simulator with real power !!!! Caterpillar power ~ !!! :)