How to fix FSUIPC so that it stops saving files in the wrong folder

[Fudd]

The situation: I'm not a native English speaker, so I have a Windows install that isn't English. As a result, the path to my Documents-folder isn't \Users\[username]\Documents, but \Users\[username]\Dokumenter. This means that FSUIPC creates a completely unnecessary folder under my home-folder, and stores most of it's files there (except the add-on.xml file).

The solution: If FSUIPC would stop using hard-coded paths, and use the .net function for obtaining the path to special folders (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/microsoft.visualbasic.fileio.specialdirectories.mydocuments?view=net-5.0), this would always work as it was intended to.

I'll be looking forward to an updated version.

[John Dowson]

1 hour ago, Fudd said:

The solution: If FSUIPC would stop using hard-coded paths

It doesn't use hard-coded paths, it uses your registry to determine the location. Could your registry entries be incorrect? Could you show me your installation log file please.

1 hour ago, Fudd said:

and use the .net function for obtaining the path to special folders (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/microsoft.visualbasic.fileio.specialdirectories.mydocuments?view=net-5.0), this would always work as it was intended to.

Sorry, that will never happen! I do not use .Net, and neither VisualBasic...

Please show me your install log, and also check your registry for the HKCU entry for "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders" Personal.

 

[Fudd]

Here's the result. The path is correct (\Users\[username]\OneDrive\Dokumenter - I forgot to account for the OneDrive folder-level). There's also a key at the top that should be informative: "!Do not use this registry key - REG_SZ - Use the SHGetFolderPath or SHGetKnownFolderPath function instead"

 

[John Dowson]

4 minutes ago, Fudd said:

Here's the result. The path is correct (\Users\[username]\OneDrive\Dokumenter - I forgot to account for the OneDrive folder-level).

Ok, but I also need to see your install log. Would be better if it was one from a clean install, so could you uninstall your current version by running the provided uninstaller (or using the windows apps control panel), then re-install FSUIPC (in the same folder). Then show me your new install log file. Doing it this way will perform a clean install (rather than taking the locations from the previous install).

[Fudd]

Here's the log from when I clean installed for the first time on this machine on March 16th:

FSUIPC6 Installer v1.2.6 for v6.0.13
Running in folder '\\10.0.42.2\stored\P3D'
Determining installation details...
FSUIPC5 SetupPath: 
HKCU entry: 
HKLM entry: 
Returning Modules location: 
Documents folder location for add-on: C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter
P3Dv5: P3Dv5Installed=1, InstallType=None, OriginalInstallDir=, FSUIPCInstalledv5=, 
       DLLFile=, XmlAddonFile=, InstallDocumentsLocation=C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6
Default installation directory is now 'C:\Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6'
Installing via add-on xml method
Documents folder location for P3Dv5 add-on: C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter
Creating add-on directory C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6...
Create folder: C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6
Creating add-on xml file C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6\add-on.xml...
Saving add-on xml...
Add-on xml created for P3Dv5.
Output folder: C:\Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6
Extract: FSUIPC6.dll... 100%
Installing DLL with InstallType=AddOn
FSUIPC6 dll file installed in C:\Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6.
XML-add-on installation was selected - no DLL.xml update needed.
FSUIPC6.dll installation completed.
Installing User Manuals...
Create folder: C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6
Documents directory created: C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6
Output folder: C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6
Extract: Installing and Registering FSUIPC.pdf... 100%
Extract: FSUIPC for Advanced Users.pdf... 100%
Extract: FSUIPC History.pdf... 100%
Extract: FSUIPC Offsets Status.pdf... 100%
Extract: FSUIPC User Guide.pdf... 100%
Extract: Profiles in Separate Files.pdf... 100%
Output folder: \\10.0.42.2\stored\P3D
FSUIPC6 User Manuals installed in C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6.
Installing Lua Documentation...
Output folder: C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6
Extract: FSUIPC Lua Library.pdf... 100%
Extract: FSUIPC Lua Plug-Ins.pdf... 100%
Extract: Lua License.pdf... 100%
Extract: Lua Plugins for VRInsight Devices.pdf... 100%
Extract: LuaFileSystem.pdf... 100%
Extract: Example LUA plugins.zip... 100%
Output folder: \\10.0.42.2\stored\P3D
FSUIPC6 Lua Documents installed in C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6.
Installing PMDG Offset Mappings documentation...
Output folder: C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6
Extract: Offset Mapping for PMDG 737NGX and 737NGXu.pdf... 100%
Extract: Offset Mapping for PMDG 747QOTSII.pdf... 100%
Extract: Offset Mapping for PMDG 777X.pdf... 100%
Output folder: \\10.0.42.2\stored\P3D
PMDG Offset Mapping documents installed in C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6.
Installing ASN WX Radar Facilities documentation...
Output folder: C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6
Extract: ASN WX Radar facilities in FSUIPC.pdf... 100%
Output folder: \\10.0.42.2\stored\P3D
ASN WX Radar facilities documentation installed in C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6.
Installation completed. Generating uninstaller...
Created uninstaller: C:\Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6\uninstallFSUIPC6.exe
Updating registry for v5 installation...

As you can see on line 19, it creates the incorrect folder, even though the rest of the process uses the correct location.

I'll uninstall it and run the installer one more time just to get a second result:

FSUIPC6 Installer v1.2.6 for v6.0.13
Running in folder '\\10.0.42.2\stored\P3D'
Determining installation details...
FSUIPC5 SetupPath: 
HKCU entry: 
HKLM entry: 
Returning Modules location: 
Documents folder location for add-on: C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter
P3Dv5: P3Dv5Installed=1, InstallType=None, OriginalInstallDir=, FSUIPCInstalledv5=, 
       DLLFile=, XmlAddonFile=, InstallDocumentsLocation=C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6
Default installation directory is now 'C:\Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6'
Installing via add-on xml method
Documents folder location for P3Dv5 add-on: C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter
Creating add-on directory C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6...
Create folder: C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6
Creating add-on xml file C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6\add-on.xml...
Saving add-on xml...
Add-on xml created for P3Dv5.
Output folder: C:\Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6
Extract: FSUIPC6.dll... 100%
Installing DLL with InstallType=AddOn
FSUIPC6 dll file installed in C:\Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6.
XML-add-on installation was selected - no DLL.xml update needed.
FSUIPC6.dll installation completed.
Installing User Manuals...
Create folder: C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6
Documents directory created: C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6
Output folder: C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6
Extract: Installing and Registering FSUIPC.pdf... 100%
Extract: FSUIPC for Advanced Users.pdf... 100%
Extract: FSUIPC History.pdf... 100%
Extract: FSUIPC Offsets Status.pdf... 100%
Extract: FSUIPC User Guide.pdf... 100%
Extract: Profiles in Separate Files.pdf... 100%
Output folder: \\10.0.42.2\stored\P3D
FSUIPC6 User Manuals installed in C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6.
Installing Lua Documentation...
Output folder: C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6
Extract: FSUIPC Lua Library.pdf... 100%
Extract: FSUIPC Lua Plug-Ins.pdf... 100%
Extract: Lua License.pdf... 100%
Extract: Lua Plugins for VRInsight Devices.pdf... 100%
Extract: LuaFileSystem.pdf... 100%
Extract: Example LUA plugins.zip... 100%
Output folder: \\10.0.42.2\stored\P3D
FSUIPC6 Lua Documents installed in C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6.
Installing PMDG Offset Mappings documentation...
Output folder: C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6
Extract: Offset Mapping for PMDG 737NGX and 737NGXu.pdf... 100%
Extract: Offset Mapping for PMDG 747QOTSII.pdf... 100%
Extract: Offset Mapping for PMDG 777X.pdf... 100%
Output folder: \\10.0.42.2\stored\P3D
PMDG Offset Mapping documents installed in C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6.
Installing ASN WX Radar Facilities documentation...
Output folder: C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6
Extract: ASN WX Radar facilities in FSUIPC.pdf... 100%
Output folder: \\10.0.42.2\stored\P3D
ASN WX Radar facilities documentation installed in C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6.
Installing SDK...
Create folder: C:\Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6\SDK
SDK folder created: C:\Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6\SDK
Output folder: C:\Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6\SDK
Extract: FSUIPC feedback control.txt... 100%
Extract: FSUIPC for Programmers.pdf... 100%
Extract: FSUIPC_User_Lib_for_VC_2010.zip
Extract: FSUIPCDotNetClient2.4.zip... 100%
Extract: Library for FS Internal Users.zip... 100%
Extract: Module_User_lib_for_VC_2010.zip... 100%
Extract: ModuleUser64.zip... 100%
Extract: New Weather Interface for FS2004.zip... 100%
Extract: NewWeather.h... 100%
Extract: ReadMe.txt... 100%
Extract: UIPC_RealBasic_SDK.zip... 100%
Extract: UIPC_SDK_ASM.zip... 100%
Extract: UIPC_SDK_BCB5.zip... 100%
Extract: UIPC_SDK_C.zip... 100%
Extract: UIPC_SDK_.NET_(C#,VB.NET).txt... 100%
Extract: UIPC_SDK_Delphi.zip... 100%
Extract: UIPC_SDK_JAVA.zip... 100%
Extract: UIPC_SDK_JAVA_64bit.zip... 100%
Extract: UIPC_SDK_MFC.zip... 100%
Extract: UIPC_SDK_Python.zip... 100%
Extract: UIPC_SDK_VisualBasic.zip... 100%
Extract: UIPC64_SDK_C_version2.zip... 100%
Extract: UIPCAWI.zip... 100%
Extract: FSUIPC_Java_SDK_by_Mouseviator_v1.1_with_C_Libs.zip... 100%
Installation of SDK completed.
Installing HidScanner...
Create folder: C:\Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6\Utils
Utilities folder created: C:\Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6\Utils
Output folder: C:\Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6\Utils
Extract: HidScanner.exe... 100%
HidScanner installed in C:\Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6\Utils
Installing FS-Interrogate 2...
Output folder: C:\Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6\Utils
Extract: FSInterrogate2std.exe... 100%
Extract: FSUIPC.FSI... 100%
FS-Interrogate 2 installed in C:\Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6\Utils
Output folder: C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6
Extract: FSI2 Manual.pdf... 100%
FS-Interrogate 2 User'Manual installed in C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6
Installation of FS-Interrogate 2 completed.
Installation completed. Generating uninstaller...
Created uninstaller: C:\Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6\uninstallFSUIPC6.exe
Updating registry for v5 installation...

And again on line 19, incorrect folder location. I hope this gives you something to work from.

Edited April 1, 2021 by Fudd

[John Dowson]

14 minutes ago, Fudd said:

And again on line 19, incorrect folder location. I hope this gives you something to work from.

Yes, here:

14 minutes ago, Fudd said:

Output folder: C:\Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6

This is because you have accepted the default location for the install. Admittedly, it should not default to this location, but you should change this anyway as this is your installation folder. Better to choose something like C:\FSUIPC6 or C:\P3Dv5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6 (although you can always select C:\Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\FSUIPC6 of you wish, although not recommended).

So, please re-install again, and this time actually select an installation folder rather than accepting the default. As the installation manual says:

Quote

Installation Location
Once you have selected the components to install, you will be presented with a page that allows you to select
the installation location, regardless of the installation method selected. If you had a previous version of either
FSUIPC5 or FSUIPC6 installed, then this will default to the location previously used. If no previous version
of FSUIPC5 or FSUIPC6 was detected, then this will default to the add-on.xml location (regardless of the
installation method selected). If this is the case, it is recommended to change this to a different location.
 

As I said, I will look into changing the default installation location.

[John Dowson]

1 hour ago, John Dowson said:

As I said, I will look into changing the default installation location.

Could you download and try this installer (please uninstall  your current installation before running) and let me know what folder the installation defaults to: Install_FSUIPC6a.exe

 

 

[Fudd]

I'll give it a spin tonight, right now I'm busy for the next several hours.

[John Dowson]

7 minutes ago, Fudd said:

I'll give it a spin tonight, right now I'm busy for the next several hours.

No problem. Before you try the new version, please first uninstall and try with the current release but this time actually choose an installation folder to see if that works. Then, uninstall again and try the updated installer. The default installation location (for a clean install) should now be different (& hopefully correct) in this new version. However, it is still recommended to change this to a folder outside of your documents/add-on.xml folder.

[Fudd]

OK, so I tested your installer now. I moved the "Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6" folder to "Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6" and installed there. Then I uninstalled as per your instructions, and installed again. And it still points to "Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6" by default. And mind you, the behavior you described above: 

Quote

If no previous version of FSUIPC5 or FSUIPC6 was detected, then this will default to the add-on.xml location (regardless of the installation method selected).

This does not match with what I'm seeing. I had a clean install of Windows around Christmas, and only two weeks ago did I start downloading and installing P3D again, so according to the above statement, it should have ended up where I expected it to be, not in the folder it keeps wanting to install to.

Finally, why is it bad to install FSUIPC into the same folder as add-ons.xml?

[John Dowson]

10 hours ago, Fudd said:

I moved the "Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6" folder to "Users\snorr\OneDrive\Dokumenter\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6" and installed there. Then I uninstalled as per your instructions

You shouldn't move before uninstalling as then the location of your files does not match the registry location. If you want to change location, you should uninstall first, then move any remaining files/folders before re-installing.

11 hours ago, Fudd said:

And it still points to "Users\snorr\Documents\Prepar3D v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6" by default. And mind you, the behavior you described above: 

Ok, but you can change this to your preferred location, no?

10 hours ago, Fudd said:

Quote

If no previous version of FSUIPC5 or FSUIPC6 was detected, then this will default to the add-on.xml location (regardless of the installation method selected).

This does not match with what I'm seeing.

So the default location is still wrong in the updated version I posted? Strange, I'll look into it when I get a chance, but its very minor.

11 hours ago, Fudd said:

Finally, why is it bad to install FSUIPC into the same folder as add-ons.xml?

Because thats under you Documents folder. Its not a document, its an application. 

[Fudd]

3 hours ago, John Dowson said:

You shouldn't move before uninstalling as then the location of your files does not match the registry location. If you want to change location, you should uninstall first, then move any remaining files/folders before re-installing.

Nor did I. I uninstalled FSUIPC, moved the folder with the remaining files (licence, profiles) to the preferred location, then installed again.

Quote

Ok, but you can change this to your preferred location, no?

Yeah, that worked fine.

Quote

So the default location is still wrong in the updated version I posted? Strange, I'll look into it when I get a chance, but its very minor.

Correct.

Quote

Because thats under you Documents folder. Its not a document, its an application. 

True, but it's also a P3D add-on, and I like to keep my add-ons mostly localized in that folder where possible (unless they take up a lot of space, which FSUIPC does not). But this discussion is besides the main point of this thread, so I'll just lay this one to rest.

[John Dowson]

6 minutes ago, Fudd said:

True, but it's also a P3D add-on, and I like to keep my add-ons mostly localized in that folder where possible (unless they take up a lot of space, which FSUIPC does not). But this discussion is besides the main point of this thread, so I'll just lay this one to rest.

Its ok if you want to do that and it works. However, issues have been reported when installing under the Documents folder when using OneDrive. If it works, fine, but if you start to get issues I would recommend re-installing in a different location.

[Fudd]

Just now, John Dowson said:

Its ok if you want to do that and it works. However, issues have been reported when installing under the Documents folder when using OneDrive. If it works, fine, but if you start to get issues I would recommend re-installing in a different location.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. 🙂