FSX SDK Install Guide

I'm a newbie to this forum.I hope this guide helps out other newbies.

How to install the SDK with FSX Gold Edition.

 I strongly recommend making backup files and system restore points along the way.
 Read the whole document first, so that you know which folders are created or affected
 by this process, and to further help you to decide which files to backup.

1. Install the Flight Simulator X Deluxe Edition.

2. Run FSX so the program can build it's databases.

3. Install the base SDK. (FSX RTM SDK)
 
 a. Use FSX Deluxe Edition Disk 1

 b. Open the SDK sub folder

 c. Run the setup.exe found in the SDK subfolder

 d. When prompted install to default location
  C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games

4. At this point you will have FSX RTM = 10.0.6095 and the SDK RTM = retail

 a. There are now three main directories associated with the SDK

  i)  C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\FSX

  ii) C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Microsoft\FSX
    ***where Username is the main user of the computer

  iii)C:\Documents and Settings\Username\My Documents\Flight Simulator X Files
    ***where Username is the main user of the computer

5. Run FSX. Not sure if this step is really necessary

6. Upgrade to the acceleration pack.

 a. This will make the FSX RTM version become 10.0.61637.0 FSX Xpack

7. Install the SDK SP1a

 a. Use FSX Acceleration Disk
 
 a. Find the fsx_sdk_sp1a.exe in the sub folder \SDK\SP1a

 b. Run the .exe. You will be notified that previous versions of the SDK
  will be removed.

8. Run FSX. Not sure if this step is really necessary

9. Install SDK SP2

 a. Use FSX Acceleration Disk

 b. Open the SDK sub folder

 c. Run the sdk.msi. Again you will be notified that previous versions will be removed.
 
 d. Finally, you get a fancy Microsoft Splash Panel to complete the install.

10. 5. Run FSX. Not sure if this step is really necessary.

11. The tools (3 of them) are a set of dll's located in the folders

 a. C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK\SDK\Mission Creation Kit\object_placement.dll

 b. C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK\SDK\Environment Kit\Traffic Toolbox SDK\traffictoolbox.dll

 c. C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK\SDK\Environment Kit\Special Effects SDK\visualfxtool.dll

12. Now we have to initialize those dll's. We will use the file dll.xml to do this. The file is located in
 
 C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Microsoft\FSX

 but first we have to make a few changes to the dll.xml file itself.

13. To edit the dll.xml use Notepad (Do not use Word or Wordpad) select the file with a right click and click edit.

 You should see the following lines;

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="Windows-1252"?>

<SimBase.Document Type="Launch" version="1,0">
  <Descr>Launch</Descr>
  <Filename>dll.xml</Filename>
  <Disabled>False</Disabled>
  <Launch.ManualLoad>False</Launch.ManualLoad>
  <Launch.Addon>
    <Name>Object Placement Tool</Name>
    <Disabled>True</Disabled>
    <ManualLoad>False</ManualLoad>
    <Path>..\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK\SDK\Mission Creation Kit\object_placement.dll</Path>
  </Launch.Addon>
  <Launch.Addon>
    <Name>Traffic Toolbox</Name>
    <Disabled>True</Disabled>
    <ManualLoad>False</ManualLoad>
    <Path>..\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK\SDK\Environment Kit\Traffic Toolbox SDK\traffictoolbox.dll</Path>
  </Launch.Addon>
  <Launch.Addon>
    <Name>Visual Effects Tool</Name>
    <Disabled>True</Disabled>
    <ManualLoad>False</ManualLoad>
    <Path>..\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK\SDK\Environment Kit\Special Effects SDK\visualfxtool.dll</Path>
  </Launch.Addon>
</SimBase.Document>

 a. Now change all the "True" to read "False"
 
 b. I also changed the paths to the dll's using an absolute (ie: c:\Program files..) rather than using relative
  addressing to the correct path (ie: ..\Program Files....). I don't think that was absolutely necessary.

 c. It should now look like this;

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="Windows-1252"?>

<SimBase.Document Type="Launch" version="1,0">
  <Descr>Launch</Descr>
  <Filename>dll.xml</Filename>
  <Disabled>False</Disabled>
  <Launch.ManualLoad>False</Launch.ManualLoad>
  <Launch.Addon>
    <Name>Object Placement Tool</Name>
    <Disabled>False</Disabled>
    <ManualLoad>False</ManualLoad>
    <Path>C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK\SDK\Mission Creation Kit\object_placement.dll</Path>
  </Launch.Addon>
  <Launch.Addon>
    <Name>Traffic Toolbox</Name>
    <Disabled>False</Disabled>
    <ManualLoad>False</ManualLoad>
    <Path>C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK\SDK\Environment Kit\Traffic Toolbox SDK\traffictoolbox.dll</Path>
  </Launch.Addon>
  <Launch.Addon>
    <Name>Visual Effects Tool</Name>
    <Disabled>False</Disabled>
    <ManualLoad>False</ManualLoad>
    <Path>C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK\SDK\Environment Kit\Special Effects SDK\visualfxtool.dll</Path>
  </Launch.Addon>
</SimBase.Document>

14. After this point I ran FSX expecting to have an SDK available. It may have been there, but I was expecting to see
 "Tools" in the start menu for Microsoft Games. It doesn't show up there, it shows up inside the game when for
 example your are in a free flight. So it may have been there but I sort of doubt it, I was pretty sure Simconnect
 had to run before it was complete.

15. Now get Simconnect to do it's thang.

 a) Copy the SimConnect.xml file from
  C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK\SDK\Core Utilities Kit\SimConnect   SDK\config

   into

  C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Microsoft\FSX

 b) Copy the SimConnect.ini file from
  C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Simulator X SDK\SDK\Core Utilities Kit\SimConnect     SDK\config

  into
 
 My Documents\Flight Simulator X Files\

16. Run FSX. Now you should see the Simconnect panel. If it was successfull you should see something like the following;

0.00000 SimConnect version 10.0.61259.0

0.05320 Server: Scope=local, Protocol=Pipe, Name=\\.\pipe\Microsoft Flight Simul
ator\SimConnect, MaxClients=64
0.07930 Server: Scope=local, Protocol=IPv4, Address=127.0.0.1, Port=1748, MaxCli
ents=64

0.57213 DLL Loaded:  Path="C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Sim
ulator X SDK\SDK\Mission Creation Kit\object_placement.dll"  Version="10.0.61637
.0"
0.58387 DLL Loaded:  Path="C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Sim
ulator X SDK\SDK\Environment Kit\Traffic Toolbox SDK\traffictoolbox.dll"  Versio
n="10.0.61637.0"
0.59475 DLL Loaded:  Path="C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Microsoft Flight Sim
ulator X SDK\SDK\Environment Kit\Special Effects SDK\visualfxtool.dll"  Version=
"10.0.61637.0"

 a. This (DOS) panel will stay open and not close. Don't worry about it. Now go into free flight mode and
  hit the Alt key and shebang there is the Tools menu on the left of the menu bar.

17. Now go back and remove the
 SimConnect.ini
 from
 My Documents\Flight Simulator X Files\
   
    so that Simconnect won't initialize everytime you run FSX.
 (you should still have the original as long as you did a Copy operation and not a Move operation  
 in step 15. 

18. Whew, done! Have fun and remember, share the best ones!

 
References:

Choosing Your FSX SDK Version  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/esp/cc743171.aspx

SDK Installation (FSX)   http://www.fsdeveloper.com/wiki/index.php?title=SDK_Installation_(FSX)

My Thanks to the authors of those articles and a special thanks to Guest at http://flyawaysimulation.com/postt23009.html
for tying the last pieces together. Without the Simconnect information this would not have worked.
Thanks everyone.