Found two scenery_packs.ini files in X-Plane 12? Identify the active copy, fix missing or ignored edits, and handle simHeaven or Orbx entries.
X-Plane 12 reads only the scenery_packs.ini inside the Custom Scenery folder of the installation you launched. A second copy usually belongs to another installation, a backup, a synchronised folder or a wrongly nested add-on. It has no effect unless its parent X-Plane copy is the one running.
Which scenery_packs.ini file is active?
The active file is Custom Scenery/scenery_packs.ini under the X-Plane 12 root folder used for that session.
- Launch X-Plane 12 from the shortcut or executable you normally use, let it reach the main screen, then close it normally.
- Find the newly updated
Log.txt. It sits in the active X-Plane root folder alongside the simulator executable or application. - Check the installation path near the beginning of the log, where X-Plane identifies its X-System folder.
- Open the matching INI at
X-Plane 12/Custom Scenery/scenery_packs.ini.
Use the log rather than trusting an operating-system search or an old desktop shortcut. A search can return files from a demo, an older X-Plane installation, a backup drive or an archived download.
Two identically named files cannot occupy the same directory. If two results appear, compare their full paths. When Custom Scenery is linked to another drive, the two displayed paths may even lead to the same underlying file; our guidance on moving or linking X-Plane 12 Custom Scenery explains how the active installation path still governs the INI.
Why does a second scenery_packs.ini appear?
Two files normally indicate separate installations, a saved copy or an add-on extracted at the wrong folder depth.
| What you found | What it usually means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Another X-Plane root folder | A demo, test copy, old version or store-managed installation has its own valid Custom Scenery folder. | Keep both files if both installations are used; edit the one confirmed by the latest Log.txt. |
scenery_packs.ini.bak, .backup or .txt | This is a backup or a text editor has added another extension. Some operating systems hide that final extension. | Reveal full filenames. Only the file named exactly scenery_packs.ini is read. |
A second Custom Scenery folder inside an add-on | The archive was copied with an extra wrapper directory. | Correct the whole package structure rather than deleting only its INI. |
| A cloud, archive or previous-drive copy | The file is stored outside the running installation and is not part of its load order. | Retain it as a backup or archive it after confirming the active path. |
| A linked folder and its physical destination | Both paths may represent one file rather than independent copies. | Check the link target before editing or deleting either result. |
A mistake we see constantly is copying the download’s outer folder directly into Custom Scenery. The result can be a path such as Custom Scenery/Downloaded Package/Custom Scenery/Actual Scenery. Use these checks for the correct X-Plane 12 scenery folder depth before moving or removing anything.
What if scenery_packs.ini is not there?
If scenery_packs.ini is not present in the confirmed active folder, X-Plane normally creates it when it scans Custom Scenery.
- Confirm the root folder from a freshly generated
Log.txt. The file is not stored inOutput, preferences or an individual scenery package. - Show complete file extensions in the operating system and check that the apparent INI is not really
scenery_packs.ini.txt. - Start X-Plane and close it normally after it has finished reading scenery files. Check the active
Custom Sceneryfolder again. - Check write access if no file is created. The installation folder must allow X-Plane to create and update files; security or synchronisation software can also restore an older copy.
- Read
Log.txtfor scenery and file-access errors. Do not download a random replacement INI because its package names and priority order will belong to somebody else’s installation.
If X-Plane never gets past Reading new scenery files, diagnose the package scan using our steps for a stalled scenery-loading screen rather than repeatedly deleting the INI.
Do simHeaven or an Orbx Library need another scenery_packs.ini?
No add-on, including simHeaven packages or an Orbx Library, gets a separate active load-order file in X-Plane 12.
simHeaven — sometimes typed as “SimHaven” — scenery can contain several numbered layers whose relative order matters. If its download includes a sample scenery_packs.ini or example entries, treat those as ordering instructions. Do not replace your complete active file blindly; place the required entries in the main installation’s INI while preserving the supplied layer order.
An Orbx library or scenery package may be physically installed elsewhere and linked into Custom Scenery. It must still be discovered by the X-Plane installation you actually launch. If an expected Orbx entry is missing, confirm that the installer or library manager was pointed at the same X-Plane 12 root shown in Log.txt, then let X-Plane scan the folder again.
Package names can differ between products and revisions, so compare the actual folder names with the entries in the active INI. A second file from another installation does not supply missing libraries or combine with the live load order.
Can you delete the duplicate file?
You can archive or delete an unused copy once you have proved which X-Plane installation owns it.
Keep the file if it belongs to another X-Plane copy that you still run. For an uncertain file, move a copy to a backup location outside the live Custom Scenery folder before removing it.
If you delete the active scenery_packs.ini, X-Plane can rebuild it by scanning the installed scenery packages. That rebuild can lose manual priorities and SCENERY_PACK_DISABLED choices, potentially placing mesh, overlays and airports in the wrong relationship. Save a backup and use our practical scenery_packs.ini priority structure when arranging the regenerated entries.
Do not concatenate both files. That commonly creates stale paths, duplicate entries and an order copied from packages that do not exist in the active installation.
I edited scenery_packs.ini and it did not work — why?
An edit that did not work usually means the wrong installation was edited, the filename changed, X-Plane was already running or the package itself is misplaced.
- Close X-Plane completely before editing; the simulator reads the load order during startup, so an open session will not adopt the change.
- Verify the active path again with the newest
Log.txt, not an older log from another installation. - Save as plain text under the exact name
scenery_packs.ini. Avoid rich-text formatting and hidden.txtextensions. - Inspect the entry.
SCENERY_PACKenables a package, whileSCENERY_PACK_DISABLEDdeliberately prevents it from loading. - Match the folder name and letter case. This is especially significant on case-sensitive file systems.
- Check folder depth and dependencies. An INI entry cannot repair a package whose real scenery contents are one directory too deep or whose required library is absent.
- Launch once and inspect the new log. Search for the package name and any loading error. If it is listed but the expected scenery is still not visible, the next issue is usually priority, coverage or compatibility—not a second INI file.
Only the INI reached through the running X-Plane 12 installation controls that session. Other copies are independent, inactive or alternate paths to the same linked file.