The same workflow applies to an editor export and an edited DSF: Operations › Test in X-Plane → Preview changes… → Apply changes → start X-Plane → Log.txt → End test…. For before and after comparison use the X-Plane screenshots.
Test in X-Plane
Prepares a test pack in Custom Scenery so that it can always be fully undone.
The state is shown at the top: X-Plane installation (folder, number of packs), whether X-Plane is running, Backups. The Edit the order in X-Plane scenery… link opens the scenery_packs.ini editor. When scenery_packs.ini is read-only, the state says so and a test cannot be applied or ended – the Studio finds out before it copies or moves anything. The same holds for the first 60 s after X-Plane starts (X-Plane rewrites the ini at start): the preview says so and applying or ending waits until the block ends. If X-Plane starts only while the pack is being copied, the Studio does not write the ini and moves the copied pack to the test bin – create the test again when the block ends.
New test › Source – an editor export, an edited DSF, an orthophoto package from the editor (variant A overlay YY_orto_…, variant B mesh ZZ_orto_…_sit) or an Ortho4XP test package from DSF › Overview; all from the cache, newest on top. An edited DSF also shows its kind (overlay / mesh) and its verification state: a source that failed verification or was accepted without verification is red, not verified (no verification record) grey. Such a source can be installed only with an explicit confirmation – in the change preview tick I understand the source is not verified and I still want to try it in X-Plane., otherwise nothing is written. Outputs put aside as unverified (_neovereno) are not offered at all.
Pack name – the pack is created as ZZZ_RFS_<name>.
Insert above – the pack in scenery_packs.ini above which the test is inserted (the test gets a higher priority). The preselection follows the source and what provides the tile today (below the field are the reason and the packs that cover the tile):
- edited mesh (base DSF, orthophoto B, Ortho4XP package) – right above the pack that provides the tile mesh today, i.e. below overlays and airports so their exclusions apply; when only Global Scenery provides the mesh, the test goes to the end of the list,
- edited overlay – in place of its original pack (right below it), and the original pack is prefilled to be disabled for the test (otherwise the contents add up); nothing is disabled for Global Airports (that would disable all default airports),
- new overlay (editor export) – at the top (above the first enabled pack) so its exclusions apply to the packs below; orthophoto A right above the mesh; when the overlay has exclusions and lies above Global Airports, the preview says in red how many Global Airports elements X-Plane removes in their areas (if you do not want that, insert the test below Global Airports),
- when the source kind or its tile cannot be determined, the first pack in the ini is preselected.
The preview warns when a higher-priority mesh overrides the test, when overlays of the tile stay below the test (their exclusions would not apply to the mesh) and when exclusions of overlays above the test hide parts of it. Your own choice stays until you change the source; Use the recommendation restores it.
4. Test state: enable, or keep DISABLED (SCENERY_PACK_DISABLED).
5. Optionally Disable other packs – a filter (e.g. YZ_ for orthophotos), Select enabled from filter. The test enables the disabled packs again when it ends. Global Airports is not disabled for a test, not even via Select enabled from filter (it would disable all default airports).
6. Preview changes… shows the exact scenery_packs.ini diff and what will be copied. Only Apply changes writes: the pack is copied into Custom Scenery and its line is inserted into scenery_packs.ini. Before every change the ini is backed up into the _zalohy_scenerii folder of the X-Plane installation; the other ini lines stay unchanged. When the source (an edited DSF or an editor export) refers to local parts – files of the base scenery package or project custom parts the test package itself will not have –, the preview lists them in the Local parts part and Apply changes works only after choosing Bundle (the parts are copied into the test package with all files they refer to – textures as hard links when the disk allows) or Keep the reference (X-Plane will not find them in the test unless a library provides them). For an output of Write into the base copy the choice made at the write is preselected (see Local parts).
7. Start (or restart) X-Plane and fly to the place. The Studio does not quit X-Plane – the ini change applies when X-Plane starts.
8. In Active tests › Log.txt check whether X-Plane loaded the pack (Loaded by X-Plane: yes) and whether it reports DSF or library errors. The test is compared with the real scenery_packs.ini: when someone disabled or removed its line by hand, it shows ⚠ disabled in the ini (line N) or ⚠ no line in the ini and the link opens the ini editor at the test line; a screenshot series refuses such a test. An ended test whose line stayed in the ini is listed below the table.
9. End test… removes the pack line from scenery_packs.ini, enables again the packs the test disabled (if they are still disabled) and moves the pack to the test bin _zalohy_scenerii\_kos_testu in the X-Plane installation (nothing is deleted).
Ortho4XP tiles For an edited DSF the test copies only the DSF file. A version derived from Ortho4XP refers to the .ter files and textures of its pack (the preview warns about it), so first build the Test package for X-Plane in DSF › Overview (see Ortho4XP) and pick that one as the source. Orthophoto and Ortho4XP packages are copied whole; textures as hard links when the cache and X-Plane are on the same disk (no extra space), otherwise as a copy – the preview shows the size and checks the free space.
Why insert "above" X-Plane takes a tile's mesh from the highest-priority pack. An edited DSF must therefore be higher in scenery_packs.ini than the scenery it replaces – otherwise nothing changes in the simulator.
What the Studio changes in the X-Plane installation and how it undoes it Only after your confirmation: the test pack Custom Scenery\ZZZ_RFS_<name>, its line in scenery_packs.ini (before every change the ini is backed up into _zalohy_scenerii), possibly other packs switched off and, for screenshots, the Studio plugin among the XPPython3 plugins. End test… undoes everything and moves the pack into _zalohy_scenerii\_kos_testu; Uninstall… moves the plugin into _zalohy_scenerii\_kos_pluginu. Nothing is deleted. The state of tests is kept in the data folder (workspace\ops); DSFs temporarily hidden by a screenshot series are restored by the Studio itself even after a crash – at the next start and before a test is ended.
X-Plane screenshots – before and after
Below the test is the X-Plane screenshots – before and after section. The Studio moves the X-Plane camera to a chosen place and shoots it twice: BEFORE (without the test pack) and AFTER (with it).
Prerequisites:
XPPython3 in X-Plane – the Studio does not download it; install it yourself following its instructions.
Studio plugin – Install plugin… copies, after confirmation, one file into the XPPython3 plugins. The plugin acts only on Studio commands (camera move, time and clear sky, scenery reload, screenshot). Uninstall… moves it to a bin.
A running X-Plane with an active test (Plugin link: responding; in brackets the plugin phase in the UI language, e.g. idle or waiting for the view to settle, and the frames per second). Start X-Plane… lets the Studio start it; the Studio may only quit an X-Plane it started itself (Close X-Plane (started by the Studio)…). Give the sim back (while the plugin responds) releases the camera and the aircraft and restores the time and weather.
Workflow: choose the Active test, enter Latitude / Longitude (or tile centre), View heading, Camera pitch, Height above ground, Time of day, Clear sky, Settle (60–120 s for big tiles), AFTER shot only › Preview steps… › Take screenshots. The series are in Screenshots taken: Side by side, Slider, Toggle, Open full size; Use this place puts the series parameters back into the form, To bin moves the series to the bin (xp_snimky\_kos in the cache).
How it works: with AFTER shot only (the default) the plugin sets the camera and takes one shot with the test pack loaded since the X-Plane start – nothing is renamed or reloaded. Without it, for the BEFORE shot the DSFs inside the test pack are temporarily renamed and the plugin makes X-Plane reload the scenery; for AFTER the names are restored. scenery_packs.ini is not changed in either mode.
How the plugin gets to the place – X-Plane loads the scenery (DSF, objects, autogen, forests) around the aircraft, not around the camera. Within 5 km of the aircraft the plugin uses the camera alone. Up to 150 km it flies the aircraft to the place in steps (to a point 800 m behind the camera, 600 m above ground, at 250 m/s; X-Plane loads the scenery on the way as in flight) and takes the camera once the probe finds terrain under the camera and under the aircraft; after crossing a 1×1° tile boundary it also waits for X-Plane's scenery-loaded message (at most 5 minutes). If the terrain under the camera does not load, the series ends with an error and saves no incomplete shot. The series progress shows the remaining distance and the loading state. A place more than 150 km away is refused – start a flight at an airport near the place (X-Plane › New Flight). Move by a jump (checkbox) moves the aircraft instantly, but for emergencies only: X-Plane 12.4.4 hung during the jump 3 times out of 3 in tests. After a flight the aircraft stays in the air above the place without speed; Give the sim back pauses it first. Stop also stops a running flight. If X-Plane runs an older plugin (version 3; the Studio shows a notice), the Studio shoots only places within 5 km of the aircraft – reinstall the plugin and restart X-Plane.
Reloading the scenery hangs X-Plane (verified in X-Plane 12.4.4) In a live test on 11 October 2026 X-Plane hung while reloading the scenery and Windows ended it after 12 minutes. Use the BEFORE/AFTER mode at your own risk. The AFTER shot only mode is reliable; take the BEFORE shot with the same parameters in another X-Plane start without the test, or compare with the Studio 3D view.
Based on the RF Studio manual (F1 › Manual, version 0.12.0-beta). Post your questions and experience in this thread.
Test in X-Plane
The same workflow applies to an editor export and an edited DSF: Operations › Test in X-Plane → Preview changes… → Apply changes → start X-Plane → Log.txt → End test…. For before and after comparison use the X-Plane screenshots.
Test in X-Plane
Prepares a test pack in Custom Scenery so that it can always be fully undone.
The state is shown at the top: X-Plane installation (folder, number of packs), whether X-Plane is running, Backups. The Edit the order in X-Plane scenery… link opens the scenery_packs.ini editor. When
scenery_packs.iniis read-only, the state says so and a test cannot be applied or ended – the Studio finds out before it copies or moves anything. The same holds for the first 60 s after X-Plane starts (X-Plane rewrites the ini at start): the preview says so and applying or ending waits until the block ends. If X-Plane starts only while the pack is being copied, the Studio does not write the ini and moves the copied pack to the test bin – create the test again when the block ends.YY_orto_…, variant B meshZZ_orto_…_sit) or an Ortho4XP test package from DSF › Overview; all from the cache, newest on top. An edited DSF also shows its kind (overlay / mesh) and its verification state: a source that failed verification or was accepted without verification is red, not verified (no verification record) grey. Such a source can be installed only with an explicit confirmation – in the change preview tick I understand the source is not verified and I still want to try it in X-Plane., otherwise nothing is written. Outputs put aside as unverified (_neovereno) are not offered at all.ZZZ_RFS_<name>.scenery_packs.iniabove which the test is inserted (the test gets a higher priority). The preselection follows the source and what provides the tile today (below the field are the reason and the packs that cover the tile): - edited mesh (base DSF, orthophoto B, Ortho4XP package) – right above the pack that provides the tile mesh today, i.e. below overlays and airports so their exclusions apply; when only Global Scenery provides the mesh, the test goes to the end of the list, - edited overlay – in place of its original pack (right below it), and the original pack is prefilled to be disabled for the test (otherwise the contents add up); nothing is disabled for Global Airports (that would disable all default airports), - new overlay (editor export) – at the top (above the first enabled pack) so its exclusions apply to the packs below; orthophoto A right above the mesh; when the overlay has exclusions and lies above Global Airports, the preview says in red how many Global Airports elements X-Plane removes in their areas (if you do not want that, insert the test below Global Airports), - when the source kind or its tile cannot be determined, the first pack in the ini is preselected.The preview warns when a higher-priority mesh overrides the test, when overlays of the tile stay below the test (their exclusions would not apply to the mesh) and when exclusions of overlays above the test hide parts of it. Your own choice stays until you change the source; Use the recommendation restores it. 4. Test state: enable, or keep DISABLED (
SCENERY_PACK_DISABLED). 5. Optionally Disable other packs – a filter (e.g.YZ_for orthophotos), Select enabled from filter. The test enables the disabled packs again when it ends. Global Airports is not disabled for a test, not even via Select enabled from filter (it would disable all default airports). 6. Preview changes… shows the exactscenery_packs.inidiff and what will be copied. Only Apply changes writes: the pack is copied into Custom Scenery and its line is inserted intoscenery_packs.ini. Before every change the ini is backed up into the_zalohy_sceneriifolder of the X-Plane installation; the other ini lines stay unchanged. When the source (an edited DSF or an editor export) refers to local parts – files of the base scenery package or project custom parts the test package itself will not have –, the preview lists them in the Local parts part and Apply changes works only after choosing Bundle (the parts are copied into the test package with all files they refer to – textures as hard links when the disk allows) or Keep the reference (X-Plane will not find them in the test unless a library provides them). For an output of Write into the base copy the choice made at the write is preselected (see Local parts). 7. Start (or restart) X-Plane and fly to the place. The Studio does not quit X-Plane – the ini change applies when X-Plane starts. 8. In Active tests › Log.txt check whether X-Plane loaded the pack (Loaded by X-Plane: yes) and whether it reports DSF or library errors. The test is compared with the realscenery_packs.ini: when someone disabled or removed its line by hand, it shows ⚠ disabled in the ini (line N) or ⚠ no line in the ini and the link opens the ini editor at the test line; a screenshot series refuses such a test. An ended test whose line stayed in the ini is listed below the table. 9. End test… removes the pack line fromscenery_packs.ini, enables again the packs the test disabled (if they are still disabled) and moves the pack to the test bin_zalohy_scenerii\_kos_testuin the X-Plane installation (nothing is deleted).X-Plane screenshots – before and after
Below the test is the X-Plane screenshots – before and after section. The Studio moves the X-Plane camera to a chosen place and shoots it twice: BEFORE (without the test pack) and AFTER (with it).
Prerequisites:
Workflow: choose the Active test, enter Latitude / Longitude (or tile centre), View heading, Camera pitch, Height above ground, Time of day, Clear sky, Settle (60–120 s for big tiles), AFTER shot only › Preview steps… › Take screenshots. The series are in Screenshots taken: Side by side, Slider, Toggle, Open full size; Use this place puts the series parameters back into the form, To bin moves the series to the bin (
xp_snimky\_kosin the cache).How it works: with AFTER shot only (the default) the plugin sets the camera and takes one shot with the test pack loaded since the X-Plane start – nothing is renamed or reloaded. Without it, for the BEFORE shot the DSFs inside the test pack are temporarily renamed and the plugin makes X-Plane reload the scenery; for AFTER the names are restored.
scenery_packs.iniis not changed in either mode.How the plugin gets to the place – X-Plane loads the scenery (DSF, objects, autogen, forests) around the aircraft, not around the camera. Within 5 km of the aircraft the plugin uses the camera alone. Up to 150 km it flies the aircraft to the place in steps (to a point 800 m behind the camera, 600 m above ground, at 250 m/s; X-Plane loads the scenery on the way as in flight) and takes the camera once the probe finds terrain under the camera and under the aircraft; after crossing a 1×1° tile boundary it also waits for X-Plane's scenery-loaded message (at most 5 minutes). If the terrain under the camera does not load, the series ends with an error and saves no incomplete shot. The series progress shows the remaining distance and the loading state. A place more than 150 km away is refused – start a flight at an airport near the place (X-Plane › New Flight). Move by a jump (checkbox) moves the aircraft instantly, but for emergencies only: X-Plane 12.4.4 hung during the jump 3 times out of 3 in tests. After a flight the aircraft stays in the air above the place without speed; Give the sim back pauses it first. Stop also stops a running flight. If X-Plane runs an older plugin (version 3; the Studio shows a notice), the Studio shoots only places within 5 km of the aircraft – reinstall the plugin and restart X-Plane.
Based on the RF Studio manual (F1 › Manual, version 0.12.0-beta). Post your questions and experience in this thread.