How do I manage add-ons in the FSX Scenery Library?

To manage scenery add-ons in FSX or FSX: Steam Edition, register the package’s root folder in Settings > Scenery Library, keep its Enabled box ticked, and use Move Up or Move Down to control priority. Higher entries usually override lower entries where their content overlaps; deleting an entry does not delete its files.

What does the FSX Scenery Library manage?

The Scenery Library manages registered scenery areas, whether their content is an airport, city, landclass layer, photographic ground coverage, terrain mesh or shared object library. It records the folder’s location, whether the area is enabled and where it sits in the loading order.

It does not manage aircraft, repaints, gauges, missions or most effects. A scenery installer may place files in several FSX folders, so unticking its library entry does not necessarily disable every component installed with it. Adding an area also does not copy the scenery into FSX; the library simply points to its existing folder.

How do I add scenery to the FSX Scenery Library?

Add the folder directly above the package’s scenery subfolder, not the scenery subfolder itself.

1. Read the package instructions: some scenery has several layers that must be registered separately and kept in a stated order. If an installer has already created an enabled entry, do not add a duplicate.
2. Extract the download completely: FSX cannot load scenery from a ZIP archive. Confirm that the add-on was made for FSX or is explicitly described as FSX-compatible.
3. Find the scenery root: look for the folder containing scenery and, when supplied, texture. The BGL files normally sit inside the scenery subfolder.
4. Choose a permanent location: scenery may be stored inside or outside the FSX installation, including on another fixed drive. Do not register it from a temporary extraction folder, an intermittently connected drive or a location you intend to rename.
5. Open the library: from the start screen, choose Settings and then Scenery Library. During a flight, use World > Scenery Library.
6. Select Add Area: browse to the scenery root, enter a recognisable title and confirm it. On systems where the old folder picker opens the selected folder instead of accepting it, right-click once in the empty white area after its scenery and texture folders appear. This commonly returns the chosen folder to the library.
7. Enable and apply it: make sure the checkbox is ticked, position the entry if necessary, then choose OK. Allow FSX to rebuild its scenery indexes before loading the affected location.

For the file-placement stage that comes before registration, follow our complete manual FSX scenery installation procedure.

Which scenery folder should I select?

Select the lowest-level folder that directly contains the package’s scenery folder and optional texture folder.

A mistake we see constantly is registering the inner scenery folder. Another is selecting an outer wrapper that contains a second folder with the same package name. Either error leaves FSX pointing at the wrong level, even though the entry may appear enabled.

What do the Scenery Library controls do?

The library controls whether a registered area loads and which overlapping scenery receives priority.

How should FSX scenery priority be arranged?

Keep specific local scenery above broad regional coverage, and preserve any internal order required by the package author.

• Patches and exclusions belong above the airport or scenery they modify.
• Detailed airports and local city scenery normally sit above regional scenery, photographic coverage and landclass.
• Photographic and landclass scenery generally belongs below detailed airports but above the Microsoft default base layers.
• Terrain mesh is usually kept below local airport and city layers. FSX can favour the mesh with finer resolution regardless of list position, so moving a coarse mesh to the top does not guarantee that it will replace finer data.
• Shared object libraries must remain enabled when other packages reference them. Their position is rarely the cause of missing buildings; absent models, textures or dependencies are more likely.
• Microsoft’s default areas should remain enabled and in their original relative order near the bottom. Do not delete or rearrange them to troubleshoot one add-on.

Priority matters only when entries affect the same place or scenery type. If a package supplies several entries, move the group together without changing its internal sequence. Our worked guidance for ordering airports, landclass, photographic scenery and mesh covers the common combinations.

How do I disable or remove FSX scenery safely?

Untick the area and test the location before deleting its registration or files.

1. Disable the package: untick each package-specific entry, but leave shared object libraries active if other scenery depends on them.
2. Apply the change: choose OK, let FSX rebuild its indexes and restart the simulator if the old scenery remains visible.
3. Remove the registration: once you are sure the correct package is disabled, select its entry and choose Delete Area.
4. Remove the files: close FSX before deleting a manually installed scenery folder. If the package used an installer, run its uninstaller instead because it may have installed effects, shared objects or airport-elevation files elsewhere.

Do not delete Microsoft’s default scenery areas. Be especially careful with shared libraries: removing one can leave several unrelated airports without terminals, vehicles or other objects.

Where does FSX save Scenery Library entries?

FSX saves library registrations and priorities in its active scenery.cfg; the scenery files themselves remain in their original folders.

Boxed FSX and FSX: Steam Edition can use different configuration branches, particularly when both are installed on the same PC. Make routine changes through the library rather than editing the file directly. Before repairing or editing it, use our guide to finding and safely backing up the active scenery.cfg.

If you move or rename an enabled scenery folder, update its path with Edit Area or delete and recreate the registration. Otherwise, FSX retains an entry pointing to a location that no longer exists.

Why is enabled FSX scenery not showing?

Enabled scenery usually fails to appear because FSX has the wrong folder path, another package has higher priority, a dependency is missing or the library change was not saved.

Make one change at a time and retest the same airport; changing several priorities and checkboxes together hides the real cause. If the folder and entry look correct but FSX still uses the default scenery, follow our deeper checklist for scenery that FSX continues to ignore.