Faking installation of the simulator

Is MSFS installed on a different computer which you want to keep clear of any additional apps? This might be the case in a home-cockpit scenario. This is one of many reasons why you would want to fake installation of MSFS on your primary computer, so the Contrail App detects it and allows you to install your products to a dedicated folder.

You could then manually move your products from this folder to your other computer(s).

Please note this procedure works for many products, which install to the Community folder of your simulator. However it can not be guaranteed that it works for all products. If you are having problems with moving a product to a different computer, feel free to contact us!

Here are the steps you can follow to fake the installation of MSFS. MSFS can either installed via the Microsoft Store or Steam. The game folders then differ depending on where you have purchased the simulator. For faking the installation, it does not really matter which folder you choose, but we will list both options below.

1

Steam Installation

For faking a Steam Installation of MSFS, follow these steps:

1. Create the folder C:\Users\NAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft Flight Simulator
2. Create a file in the folder and name it UserCfg.opt
3. Open the file with a text editor (such as Notepad)
4. Paste this line into the file InstalledPackagesPath "C:\MSFS"
5. Adjust the path (C:\MSFS) however you like. This path represents the Community directory on your system. Products will be installed into this directory.
6. In this directory create the folders Community and Official. Example: C:\MSFS\Community, C:\MSFS\Official

2

Microsoft Store Installation

For faking a Microsoft Store Installation of MSFS, follow these steps:

1. Create the folder C:\Users\NAME\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache
2. Follow the steps described above from 1.2 onward