Use the MSFS 2020 Scenery Editor: enable Developer Mode, set up a BGL project, place objects, build the package and fix common failures.
To use the Scenery Editor in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, enable Developer Mode on a Windows PC, create or open a scenery project, select its BGL asset group, then place and configure objects in the editor. Save the source, build the package, and test the compiled result from the Community folder.
What do I need before opening the Scenery Editor?
You need the Windows PC version of MSFS 2020, Developer Mode enabled and a writable folder for the project source. Scenery authoring is not available through the Xbox version.
Under General Options, open the Developers section and turn Developer Mode on. This adds the developer menu across the top of the simulator. The editor runs inside MSFS, while the accompanying SDK supplies documentation, samples and package-building tools; our guide to the MSFS SDK and Developer Mode tools explains how those parts fit together.
Keep the working project outside the Community folder. Use a short, writable path and a unique package name without spaces or unusual punctuation; this avoids several common build and path errors.
How do I create and edit a scenery project?
The reliable workflow is to load the required location first, create a scenery package, edit its source and only then build the installable package.
- Load the location: Start a flight close to the area being edited. The Scenery Editor works in the simulator's loaded world, so opening it hundreds of miles from the project wastes time and can leave local terrain or objects unavailable.
- Open the Project Editor: From the Developer Mode menu, choose
Tools > Project Editor. Create a new project or open its project XML file. If your installed SDK offers a scenery template, use it rather than assembling the package definition by hand. - Select the scenery asset group: A working scenery package needs a BGL scenery asset group. Select that group in the Project Editor before opening the Scenery Editor. A ModelLib group is for custom models; it does not replace the BGL group that stores placed scenery.
- Open the Scenery Editor: Choose
Tools > Scenery Editor, then create or open the scenery source associated with the selected BGL group. If the editor is empty or its controls are unavailable, confirm that the correct project, package and asset group are active. - Add an object: Select the required object type from the Objects panel and add it at the camera or cursor position. Use the on-screen gizmo for movement and rotation, then use the Inspector for exact coordinates, heading, scale and altitude behaviour.
- Set elevation deliberately: Use an on-ground or AGL setting where appropriate. An arbitrary absolute altitude can leave an object buried or floating when terrain data changes or finishes loading.
- Save the editable source: Save from the Scenery Editor before building. Building a package does not reliably preserve edits that remain only in the live editor session.
- Build the package: In the Project Editor, build the selected package or use the available build-all command. Read the first meaningful error in the developer console; later messages are often consequences of that initial failure.
For the broader process of structuring folders, creating packages and preparing scenery for distribution, use our complete custom-scenery project workflow.
Which Scenery Editor tool should I use?
Choose the object type according to what must change; ordinary library objects, exclusions, airport elements and terrain polygons perform different jobs.
| Task | Tool or object type | Main gotcha |
|---|---|---|
| Place a building, vehicle or prop | Scenery or library object | Objects borrowed from optional content may be missing for users who do not own that dependency. |
| Remove a default object | Exclusion rectangle or polygon | The object's reference point normally needs to fall inside the exclusion, not merely part of its visible model. |
| Add aprons, surfaces or markings | Airport, apron, polygon or painted-element tools | Layer order and airport hierarchy can affect which element remains visible. |
| Raise, lower or flatten terrain | Polygon with terraforming properties | Keep the polygon tight; large terrain edits can produce cliffs and affect neighbouring scenery. |
| Modify an existing airport | Airport hierarchy and airport-specific deletion properties | A second, unrelated airport definition can create duplicate runways, starts or navigation data. |
Use numerical Inspector values for final alignment rather than relying entirely on the gizmo. Small heading or altitude errors become obvious around jetways, taxiway signs and objects placed against sloping ground.
Can the editor change default MSFS 2020 scenery?
The Scenery Editor does not alter Microsoft's base files; it creates a higher-priority package that adds, replaces or excludes scenery.
An exclusion only removes the categories selected in its properties. It may not remove streamed aerial imagery, photogrammetry or every airport component, and a broad exclusion can erase objects you intended to keep. For stock airports, use the airport-specific hierarchy and deletion controls rather than treating the whole site as generic scenery.
Never edit the compiled BGL or generated package files as the master copy. A later build will overwrite them, and compiled scenery is not a practical substitute for the original project source.
Why does my scenery appear in the editor but not in MSFS?
Most missing-scenery problems come from an unsaved source file, the wrong BGL asset group, a failed build or an incorrectly installed package.
- Nothing appears after building: Check the object's coordinates, confirm that the intended BGL group was included, and inspect the build console for errors.
- The object disappears after reopening the project: The live edit was probably not saved to the scenery source, or it was added under a different active group.
- The package is ignored: Place the complete built package folder—the one containing
manifest.jsonandlayout.json—inside Community. Do not install an extra outer folder or the uncompiled project source. - Scenery appears twice: Remove duplicate copies from Community and any development output mounted by the active project.
- A default object remains: Enlarge or reposition the exclusion so it contains the object's reference point, then verify that the correct exclusion category is enabled.
- An object floats or sinks: Recheck its altitude mode after the local terrain has fully loaded; avoid using a fixed elevation when the object should follow the ground.
- A custom model is missing or textured incorrectly: Check that its model and texture assets are part of the package and that the build completed without dependency or path errors.
For a dependable test, save, build, install one copy of the package, restart the simulator and inspect the area with Developer Mode disabled. If another airport or regional add-on overlaps the same location, package priority may decide what appears; our scenery-library and package-order guidance covers that next stage of troubleshooting.