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Author Topic: aka pointers for skin files? - Looks like it is solved!  (Read 6551 times)

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Spinnetti

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aka pointers for skin files? - Looks like it is solved!
« on: January 11, 2011, 06:34:25 PM »

Hi all,

Thanks for all your wonderful work. Like many of you, I'm a paint scheme junkie, and with all the plane variants, I have many, many GB of skins. Any chance one of the code wizards could implement symboics/pointers/aliases for the skin files? In otherwords, be able to have one copy of any given file, and just put shortcuts in the folders of the other variants that can use that same skin? I tried it of course, and the program doesn't resolve shortcuts, but maybe a fairly simple code change? This would save a lotta gigs of hard drive and make backups a lot faster!

What do you think? Doable?

Thanks!
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Spinnetti

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Re: Save the hard drives! - aka - pointers for skin files?
« Reply #1 on: January 12, 2011, 02:03:07 PM »

I wish it was doable to share some skin folders...

On the other hand, since a given paintscheme is based on particular aircrafts, maybe it is not that necessary. You repeat only some generics skins; all others get divided by the type to which the paticular aircraft (whose profile was taken as base) belongs.

Sure it is.. for instance there are a TON of Bf-109 variants that have the same basic shape that a skin can be shared across - for instance e4, e4b, e4bob. e4n etc.. I have the same skin in all of those folders, and this repeats for almost every variant, and every plane. A particualr paint job may not have been on one plane, but if there aren't a lot of skins for that one, I may use them from another variant...  I have hundreds of duplicates, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
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Dudok22

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Re: Save the hard drives! - aka - pointers for skin files?
« Reply #2 on: January 12, 2011, 02:41:10 PM »

this is doable with this program: http://www.rekenwonder.com/linkmagic.htm

it works like this
example:
BF-109E4 folder - this is where you have skins
you make empty folder named BF-109E4b
then you create junction where you select empty folder as junction and  folder with skins as destination.
now folders will have same skins inside. you will use space for only 1 folder.
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Dudok22

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Re: Save the hard drives! - aka - pointers for skin files?
« Reply #3 on: January 12, 2011, 03:07:37 PM »

yes it works I use it for new slot UP planes with upgraded FM
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Spinnetti

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Re: Save the hard drives! - aka - pointers for skin files?
« Reply #4 on: January 12, 2011, 03:23:16 PM »

this is doable with this program: http://www.rekenwonder.com/linkmagic.htm

it works like this
example:
BF-109E4 folder - this is where you have skins
you make empty folder named BF-109E4b
then you create junction where you select empty folder as junction and  folder with skins as destination.
now folders will have same skins inside. you will use space for only 1 folder.

Awesome! I will check it out right away... this will save me at least 5 gig of space! - will take forever to re-sort all my skins though!
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Jarink

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One problem with using junction points is that they are not portable. In other words, while you can easily copy the IL2 folder to make a backup/mod install/etc. junction points will not be copied with it if you put it on a different drive, PC, DVD, etc.

I would still much rather have combined skins folders instead of separate ones for each entry in air.ini.
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SAS~Malone

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this is incredible if it works as you say! i will have to try it out later today, but this could save me tons and tons of Gigabytes of drive space!!
awesome, indeed!!  8) 8) 8)
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SAS~Malone

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it starting so sound a bit confusing, but i think i know what you're trying to do - good luck, and let me know how it goes, Gerhard!  ;D
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franju

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IT WORKSSSS!!!!
Thanks to Dudok22 for the link and Gerax for post his testings. Now I have a master skin folder for all Il2 installations
and +20GB in my HD   ;D. Very easy to use and it opens a lot of chances to save HD memory. Many thanks again  ;)
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Catahoulak9

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Another classic case of "It's not how big it is... it's how you use it."

This is great news.
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Whiskey_Sierra_972

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Hi!

Download unavailable!

I have searched from many location but without any success!!!

Can someone have a working link?

All the best!

walter
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madcop

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Re: aka pointers for skin files? - Looks like it is solved!
« Reply #11 on: July 25, 2011, 07:30:39 AM »

I just tried the "Hard Link Shell Extension" SW (link above). Seems to be easier to use than Magic link... with this you can make with your explorer Junction Points and Hardlinks and some more. A feature is that you have a "smart move" feature: when moving or renaming your Junction "master" folders .. the target folders will be updated if Smart-Move is set to ON.  :)

Hello Gerax.

Please could you help me creating these "junctions points" with Linkmagic for Windows X.P.

With my new rig ,I'll be using a 120Gb SSD for my O.S and Sims.(WARTHOG-FSX-CoD-Il2)
I have currently 4 different versions of Il2 ( UP.2-UP3-Histomod and DBW) running on XP
I have 31Gb of skins ( for the 4 installs).
I would like to take all the "Skins" folders out of my 4 Installs so as to spare space, in the future, on my SSD ( 120Gb is not that much !).
I plan to have a 1Tb.HDD installed in the new rig just for datas.That's where I would like to put my "Skins" Master folder.
I understand that with link magic it would be possible to use this "Master" Skins Folder for my 4 different installs.
If I got it right my 4 different Skins folders will be replaced by 4 "dummy" Skins folders with each containing only a "link" inside pointing to the "Master" Skin Folder on my 1Tb HDD.

Have I got it right ?

I already have downloaded linkmagic_exe, but I must confess I am a little bit shy at trying to "use" it.
Could you please give me a hand?.
I would like to practice on my current install before switching to my new rig and Windows 7.

Thank-you very much

Madcop ;D

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