Settings › X-Plane installations › type the folder with X-Plane.exe › Add › if needed Make active (the list is saved at once) › Restart RF Studio. See X-Plane installations.
The DSF list is empty
In Settings › Other DSFs add the folder with packs (usually Custom Scenery). Open the Laminar default scenery in the Editor (new project) or in DSF › Edits via Path.
The 3D window is empty or black
The window is outside the mesh (check the coordinates and size), or the environment has no WebGL (then 3D does not work, everything else does). For a large DSF wait for loading. A small window with a very dense mesh (more than 600,000 triangles) is loaded in pieces like a large window. In the editor: the project terrain has no mesh (an overlay, an orthophoto) – the badge in the bottom left shows The terrain has no mesh in red; change the terrain in Properties › Base › Terrain (mesh) or with the Terrain as in X-Plane button in Underlays (see New project).
A tower, lamp or other object taken over from Global Airports stands deep below the terrain in the editor; an imported orthophoto shows the whole photo on every part (a mosaic of the texture corner)
A project imported or taken over before 14 Oct 2026 has the above-ground (AGL) objects stored as MSL and the orthophoto without its original UV. Import again; take the taken-over scenery over again. Properties now show the height above ground (AGL) and the UV original UV (from DSF / WED).
Objects far from the camera float or are buried
Outside the loaded terrain pieces entities stand on the distant view (a height grid, about 230 m for a whole tile). The distant view first comes from the height raster and with the terrain classes it is recomputed to the mesh heights – the surface X-Plane draws (after Insert detailed DEM the raster was up to 15 m off). Move the camera closer: the near terrain is always the mesh. The Terrain row in the object Properties shows the exact height and its source (coarse distant view = the core did not answer).
The distant view reports The base has no terrain mesh
The project terrain is an overlay or an orthophoto without a mesh (draped polygons, airport objects), so there is nothing to build the distant view from. Choose a tile mesh as the terrain (usually the one X-Plane draws); the overlay can stay the scenery to edit.
After opening a project the editor reports Terrain switched to the mesh X-Plane draws
The project terrain was an overlay, an orthophoto or a DSF without a mesh (the 3D view would have no terrain). The editor therefore took the mesh X-Plane draws for the tile once; the scenery to edit (take-over, OLS) stayed. The change is a history step: Ctrl+Z undoes it, Save keeps it. Pick another mesh in the project Properties › Base.
The editor shows another terrain than X-Plane draws
Underlays show the line Terrain: … and X-Plane draws: … with the reason (e.g. the package is disabled in scenery_packs.ini, line 63). Terrain as in X-Plane switches the terrain to the X-Plane mesh (undoable), Edit scenery_packs.ini (line N) opens the scenery_packs.ini editor at the line of the package (enable it there; X-Plane loads the change after a restart); hide an intentional difference with Intentional – hide for the project. See New project.
Existing scenery draws Laminar (or another mesh) instead of your terrain, buildings are doubled
Your mesh is disabled in scenery_packs.ini or below another mesh – the bar under the Source switch says so (e.g. X-Plane now draws Laminar … – ZZ_Mauricius is disabled (line 63)). The By project source (the default when the project terrain is a mesh) draws the project mesh in the editor only; enable it for real with the Edit in the ini editor link and an X-Plane restart. See Existing scenery.
The orthophoto in Underlays is not the one X-Plane draws
Packages are in the scenery_packs.ini order and the default is the highest enabled one. A package picked earlier wins even when it is disabled (the disabled in ini label) – pick another one in the Ortho list. Packages are looked up in Custom Scenery (links included) and in the orthophoto folders from Settings.
After removing a folder in Settings › Other DSFs the project lost its base
The DSF id is computed from the real path of the file: when the pack in Custom Scenery is only a link to the same folder, the project finds it with the same id. If the Studio does not see the file at all after removing the folder (not even through a link), add the folder back or choose another version of the tile.
A job is "waiting"
RenderFarm is running or free memory is low (the minimum is in Settings › Precomputes). The job starts by itself once the conditions are met.
A job is "interrupted"
It was running when RF Studio was closed or crashed (replay from History, applying a patch, editor export, airport check, obstacle search, batch). It did not finish and does not restart by itself – start it again (for a batch Finish remaining (n)). A running job is stopped by the Cancel button (state "cancelled") at its next step; the editor export can be cancelled only before the DSF is written.
Writing ended with "verification found a problem"
The Studio wrote the file, but the check (cracks, raster, water, counts) found something. Details are in the result and in the version record. Do not put such a version into X-Plane; try a smaller area or other parameters and possibly report a problem.
Writing was refused by verification (batch, patch, repairs)
Nothing was written; the reason is shown at the item. On a DSF that has already been edited, starting from the original scenery sometimes helps.
The change does not show in X-Plane
The edited DSF must be above the scenery it replaces in scenery_packs.ini; restart X-Plane after an ini change; check Log.txt in the test (Loaded by X-Plane: yes / no). Beaches load only after the island.
A copy of a taken-over building is missing in the overlay (Log.txt reports a missing file of the base package, e.g. objects/…/….obj), or WED shows it as missing
The copy has a base-package part (Validate: dil_podkladu) the overlay or the WED package does not have by itself. Export again and choose Bundle in the Local parts of the overlay / Local parts for WED window; for lasting use import the part into the project (Project custom parts). See Editing the base scenery.
Buildings or draped polygons of the base copy are missing in the X-Plane test (Log.txt reports missing .obj / .pol)
The output refers to local parts of the base package or project parts the DSF alone does not carry. Choose Bundle at the write or in the test preview (Test in X-Plane copies the parts with their textures); Keep the reference fits only when you put the copy back into the original package.
Validate shows grey findings Unchanged taken-over base items – for information only
These are errors and warnings of taken-over items you have not changed – X-Plane draws them like that already today. They do not block the export; they are checked normally once you edit the item.
A base road cannot be taken over for editing nor written into the base copy (take-over dialog: the row Roads – cannot be taken over yet, bubble: Take over for editing disabled, Validate: silnice_kopie_podkladu, Base copy panel or Terrain & water › Write: the roads are not written)
Roads of the DSF network cannot go into the base copy yet – Studio does not take them over nor write them, they stay in the copy as the original. Edit them with the overlay: an exclusion of the kind Roads (Exclusion here at an Existing scenery road) removes the original, draw the new road in the project and Export DSF… › Overlay DSF writes it. See Editing the base scenery.
Taken-over buildings in the editor are covered by a red outline, or turned grey in the Outliner
They lie in a project exclusion – X-Plane deletes them after the overlay export. The Underlays › What a project exclusion deletes switch chooses between show in red and hide like X-Plane; otherwise shrink the exclusion or remove a kind from it.
An Ortho4XP tile has no photos after the test
Use the Test package for X-Plane (DSF › Overview), not Test in X-Plane – the version needs the .ter files and textures of its pack.
A click in the editor selects something else than you want (the orthophoto or a forest instead of a building, an exclusion instead of the terrain), or nothing
There are often several entities under the cursor: the order of kinds decides (objects, lines and roads, facades, autogen, forest, draped polygons, exclusion). Alt+click without moving selects the next entity under the cursor, right-click › Select under cursor shows them all. An exclusion is selected only by clicking its outline (or in the Outliner). A building or tree of the Existing scenery is read-only – a click shows the Read-only bubble (Take over for editing / Exclusion here). An entity behind a hill cannot be selected – turn the camera. At middle distance click the outline, not the middle of the area. See Selecting by clicking.
An entity cannot be selected or moved in 3D, a click or right-click goes through to what is behind it
The entity or its kind is locked (a closed lock in the Outliner on the row or on the type). Unlock it with the lock, the Unlock button in Properties or Ctrl+L after selecting it in the Outliner, or everything with Ctrl+Shift+L. See Selecting by clicking.
An entity cannot be deleted, moved, rotated or changed, Properties are greyed out; a "Read-only" or "… locked … skipped" message
The entity (or its kind) is locked – locked items are read-only, even when selected in the Outliner. In a selection where only some are locked, an edit is applied to the unlocked ones only. Unlock: Unlock in Properties, Ctrl+L, the lock in the Outliner, everything Ctrl+Shift+L; Ctrl+Z also undoes the locking. Copying and duplicating a locked entity works (the copy is unlocked, a kind lock applies to it too, though). The building-in-a-road repair in the DSF view › Defects › Defect repairs › In editor does not delete or move a locked entity either (the entity shows "locked in the editor").
Alt+click on a selected road or outline deleted a vertex, Alt+drag moved just a vertex
On a square vertex handle Alt+click without moving deletes the vertex and Alt+drag moves it without snapping. The next entity under the cursor is selected by Alt+click at the spot where you have just selected by clicking (within a few pixels and 6 s), or away from the square handles (the round edge handles are skipped with Alt, on the cross Alt+click cycles through the entities); move the whole entity with Alt+drag away from the vertices or by the cross. Ctrl+Z brings a deleted vertex back.
Dragging an entity orbits the camera instead of moving it
The body of an entity is dragged only with Alt (since 13 Oct 2026) – Alt+drag, or by the cross in the middle of the selected entity. A locked entity is not dragged at all (lock Ctrl+L; the L key is the Polyline tool).
The box, the lasso or Ctrl+A does not select everything
Bulk selection takes only visible, unlocked entities in the drawn area around the camera and the kinds from the Kinds button (top left of the 3D view in the box / lasso tools, e.g. Kinds: all ▾); the box and the lasso also leave out entities behind a hill. The message after the selection says what limited it. Select distant entities after moving the camera closer, or in the Outliner (Select all on a type header).
A forest or grass is sparser in the editor than in X-Plane, or trees are missing on water
The editor thins large forests – the trees 1 : N label next to the 3D trees toggle shows how many X-Plane trees one drawn tree stands for. True density draws every tree within a circle around the camera (300 m, smaller for dense forest and grass – at most about 40 thousand trees per forest). There are no trees on water in X-Plane either (SKIP_SURFACE water in the .for).
A fence has a closing side in the editor, or a building lacks its last wall
Facade closure comes from the RING value in the .fac, not from the tool (Polygon / Line) – the editor draws it as X-Plane does, Validate and the export follow it too and Properties warn at the Closed row when the drawing differs. Draw a fence (RING 0) as a line and a building (RING 1) as a polygon.
A new exclusion does not exclude everything (e.g. only forests) or does not remove buildings
The kinds of a new exclusion come from the What to exclude button at the top left of the 3D view in the Exclusion tool (X), and the choice is remembered – a limited choice has a highlighted border (e.g. What to exclude: Forests ▾); All kinds resets it. Add the kind to a finished exclusion in Properties › What to exclude; autogen buildings are excluded by Objects incl. autogen (see Entities and tools).
The Vertices tool does not let you change or remove a vertex, or Preview changes refuses a step with a message
Water and the tile boundary do not change: a water or shore vertex (blue), a vertex on the tile boundary (grey) and a point in water are refused; a T-junction can be raised but not removed. A vertex on a texture boundary, a pool cell boundary or a road edge can be removed only when the boundary runs through it straight (at most 0.1 m from the line joining its neighbours) – otherwise Preview changes refuses it and the message says by how many metres and m² the boundary would move. Ctrl+Z undoes the step. See Mesh vertices.
A terrain flatten flattened nothing in X-Plane, Properties show Mesh vertices inside: 0 and the outline is red
X-Plane moves only the existing mesh vertices inside the polygon, it adds none. Make the polygon bigger, or add vertices with the Vertices tool (Terrain & water) or with a terrain edit using Insert edges and write them into the mesh copy. The surface in 3D shows which triangles X-Plane changes.
The terrain flatten Properties say “There are … mesh triangles under the flatten (cap 400 000)”
The polygon (or a group of overlapping flattens) is too big for the terrain mesh – a flatten is meant for small corrections. Make the polygon smaller or split it; the other flattens in the project are still computed.
Validate reports vyrovnani_prekryv – two terrain flattens with different heights share mesh vertices (or overlap)
Laminar does not say which one wins in X-Plane, and the WED export does not keep the order (it sorts flattens by point pool and height). Not verified in X-Plane – do not overlap flattens with different heights: give them the same height, or split them so that no mesh vertex lies in both. Where the flatten preview over the project terrain mesh does not cover the pair (a project without a terrain mesh, a mesh changed since the preview, a hidden or changed flatten), Validate judges by the polygon overlap and the message says why; an overlap without a shared vertex is only information.
Parts of a tower or terminal from a point autogen .agp stand at different heights on a slope
Following the Laminar specification, OBJ_GRADED and OBJ_DELTA parts stand at the terrain height at the tile's GROUND_PT (without it at the tile centre), OBJ_DELTA higher by its offset; only OBJ_DRAPED stands on the terrain below it (in X-Plane too). Older Studio versions put each part on the terrain below it. Check the exact look with Try in X-Plane.
A bridge or overpass is at a different height in the editor than in X-Plane
The height of one road level is an estimate in the editor (5 m above the terrain per level, the deck straight between the ends). X-Plane decides – check the result with Try in X-Plane.
An orthophoto covers the beaches or another orthophoto covers it
The order is set by LAYER_GROUP beaches N in the .pol (0 = beaches, 1 = orthophoto from WorldEditor at airports, Studio default 2). For a new import set it in the Orthophoto tool (Layer), for a finished orthophoto in the project in the Properties of the draped polygon – the export then writes the layer into the bundled .pol.
The orthophoto is shifted
Check the Placement (for an image the corner order; the Studio warns when the placement mirrors) and the Preview on terrain before the import. For a DEM compare the vertical datum (DEM vertical offset).
The orthophoto in the Map or in the editor is blurred or blocky
While RenderFarm runs, the Studio draws the orthophoto from smaller mipmaps (saves memory) and does not store such tiles. After the run the Map and the editor (the Ortho layer) load them again sharp by themselves. Tiles stored by older Studio versions (including the blurred ones from a RenderFarm run) are recognised by the missing quality fingerprint and drawn again, the same as after the DSF of the package changes. If you replaced only the textures of the package (no new DSF), delete the ortho\<package> folder in the Studio working folder.
WED does not open the pack
WED opens only packs in the Custom Scenery folder – copy the export folder there.
Export DSF fails with The export path is n characters longer than Windows without long paths allows
Windows without long paths enabled (LongPathsEnabled) does not write a file with a path longer than 259 characters. The export path is the working folder + editor_export\<project id>\<time>\<package name>\Earth nav data\… (package name = project name, at most 80 characters). Shorten the project name, choose a shorter folder in Settings › Working folder (outputs and cache), or enable long paths in Windows. Studio measures the length before writing (including bundled parts and their .dds / .png textures) and writes nothing. The WED export checks the same (The WED export path is n characters longer…): the path is the WED export Folder (empty = the working folder + editor_export\<project id>\<time>_wed) + <package name>\earth.wed.xml and the project parts with their textures – enter a shorter Folder or shorten the project name.
Save as / download does nothing
In the app window a Save as window should open. If not, try again; the manual can also be printed to PDF.
The disk is filling up
The cache (new versions, exports, orthophotos) grows and the Studio itself deletes only map tiles (by the limit) and DSF terrain windows (dsf_okna folder, own limit of 5 GB) from it. To bin… in History does not free space: the bin is the dsf_upravy\_kos folder in the cache on the same disk and the Studio never empties it. Free space by hand in File Explorer – delete the bin and the exports (editor_export) and orthophotos (orto) you no longer use, then empty the Windows Recycle Bin. Settings › Working folder (outputs and cache) shows where the cache is and how much of it are map tiles (Open the outputs folder). Changing the cache folder does not move its content – the existing versions stay in the old folder and disappear from the Studio.
Task Manager shows several RF Studio processes
Helper processes compute terrain windows for the editor and the map (at most 4, 2 while RenderFarm runs). They start only when terrain is loading, end by themselves after 10 minutes of inactivity and disappear when the Studio is closed. Do not end them by hand – the Studio would then compute the windows more slowly, one at a time.
The app does not start, "port in use"
The Studio uses the local port 8765. Close another running copy of the Studio or the application that holds the port.
The window does not open at all
Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime is missing – install it from the Microsoft page.
The tile picker map, the OSM background in the editor or the OSM base map layer in the Map is empty
The tiles are downloaded from the internet. Without a connection, or where the internet is reachable only through a proxy (the Studio does not use one), they are not downloaded – only those in the cache are shown. Check Settings › Base map (provider URL, Offline – cache only mode).
The Underlays › Base scenery panel shows Checking the take-over status… for a long time
The take-over status is computed from fingerprints stored in the project (a fraction of a second). The first time after a Studio update, after saving with an older Studio build or after saving a change of all entities, the fingerprints are recalculated once – tens of seconds for a whole taken-over tile (Mauritius, 477 thousand entities). After an update the recalculation starts right when the project is opened; just wait, nothing changes and the project can be saved meanwhile.
Underlays › Base scenery shows a red bar The take-over does not match the base, or Write opens the mismatch dialog
The scenery to edit is no longer the DSF the scenery was taken over from (a base change in Properties, Back to the original, a .rfproj with a substitute base), or the base file changed. A terrain-only write still works (Write terrain only in the dialog). Otherwise choose Restore the original base (an Undo step; the main choice after Back to the original), Take over again (without losing edits) or Cancel the take-over (an Undo step). The same DSF in another folder (another computer, a renamed package) does not block the write – Write checks the taken-over items exactly. See Take-over mismatch with the base.
Continue from it on an output with taken-over scenery fails
The base did not change and the project stayed as it was – the error is below the button (e.g. a base that cannot be read or a full disk). Remove the cause and click again.
Nothing can be edited or undone during the scenery take-over or Continue from it
The core works on the saved project and the result replaces it, so edits are locked until it finishes (a bar at the top of the editor). Wait for the message; the take-over dialog shows an estimate of the time.
The editor 3D view shows a yellow Large project bar
The project is large for the free memory: the core for check and export (they read the project whole, about 2.9 kB per entity) or the editor in the browser (about 576 B per entity) need more memory than is free, by estimate. The number of project entities has no limit and nothing is blocked, but work can slow down a lot or end with an out-of-memory error. Closing other programs (RenderFarm, X-Plane), a smaller project window or splitting into more projects (importing or taking over only part of the tile, fewer kinds) helps. Hide hides the bar until the project is opened again; it comes back earlier only when the project grows by at least a tenth.
Opening a project ends with A part of the project from the core did not arrive whole or is not valid JSON
A large project is loaded in parts and one of them did not arrive whole (a broken connection, the core crashed or ran out of memory meanwhile). The project on disk is fine – open it again. If it repeats, look into the core log (Where the logs are).
Saving a large change (e.g. Ctrl+A and a move) takes tens of seconds
A change of hundreds of thousands of entities is sent in parts (each below the 64 MB limit) and saved at once as one project version – nothing is saved halfway. Mauritius (477 thousand entities, 231 MB of changes) about 50–60 s. Wait for the saved label.
Where the logs are
Application log:<data folder>\logs\rfstudio.log (above 20 MB the old one is renamed to rfstudio.log.1). Open the data folder in Settings › RF Studio data › Open folder. When the data folder is not available, the log goes to %TEMP%\RF-Studio-logs.
X-Plane log:Log.txt in the X-Plane installation; Operations › Test in X-Plane › Log.txt shows and evaluates it for an active test.
The edit log of each version (.log.json next to the DSF in dsf_upravy) contains the operations, parameters and verification results; show it in History with Record.
Based on the RF Studio manual (F1 › Manual, version 0.11.2-beta). Post your questions and experience in this thread.
Common problems
X-Plane.exe› Add › if needed Make active (the list is saved at once) › Restart RF Studio. See X-Plane installations.Custom Scenery). Open the Laminar default scenery in the Editor (new project) or in DSF › Edits via Path.scenery_packs.ini, line 63). Terrain as in X-Plane switches the terrain to the X-Plane mesh (undoable), Edit scenery_packs.ini (line N) opens thescenery_packs.inieditor at the line of the package (enable it there; X-Plane loads the change after a restart); hide an intentional difference with Intentional – hide for the project. See New project.scenery_packs.inior below another mesh – the bar under the Source switch says so (e.g. X-Plane now draws Laminar … – ZZ_Mauricius is disabled (line 63)). The By project source (the default when the project terrain is a mesh) draws the project mesh in the editor only; enable it for real with the Edit in the ini editor link and an X-Plane restart. See Existing scenery.scenery_packs.iniorder and the default is the highest enabled one. A package picked earlier wins even when it is disabled (the disabled in ini label) – pick another one in the Ortho list. Packages are looked up in Custom Scenery (links included) and in the orthophoto folders from Settings.Custom Sceneryis only a link to the same folder, the project finds it with the same id. If the Studio does not see the file at all after removing the folder (not even through a link), add the folder back or choose another version of the tile.scenery_packs.ini; restart X-Plane after an ini change; check Log.txt in the test (Loaded by X-Plane: yes / no). Beaches load only after the island.objects/…/….obj), or WED shows it as missingdil_podkladu) the overlay or the WED package does not have by itself. Export again and choose Bundle in the Local parts of the overlay / Local parts for WED window; for lasting use import the part into the project (Project custom parts). See Editing the base scenery..obj/.pol)silnice_kopie_podkladu, Base copy panel or Terrain & water › Write: the roads are not written).terfiles and textures of its pack.SKIP_SURFACE waterin the.for).RINGvalue in the.fac, not from the tool (Polygon / Line) – the editor draws it as X-Plane does, Validate and the export follow it too and Properties warn at the Closed row when the drawing differs. Draw a fence (RING 0) as a line and a building (RING 1) as a polygon.vyrovnani_prekryv– two terrain flattens with different heights share mesh vertices (or overlap).agpstand at different heights on a slopeOBJ_GRADEDandOBJ_DELTAparts stand at the terrain height at the tile'sGROUND_PT(without it at the tile centre),OBJ_DELTAhigher by its offset; onlyOBJ_DRAPEDstands on the terrain below it (in X-Plane too). Older Studio versions put each part on the terrain below it. Check the exact look with Try in X-Plane.LAYER_GROUP beaches Nin the.pol(0 = beaches, 1 = orthophoto from WorldEditor at airports, Studio default 2). For a new import set it in the Orthophoto tool (Layer), for a finished orthophoto in the project in the Properties of the draped polygon – the export then writes the layer into the bundled.pol.ortho\<package>folder in the Studio working folder.LongPathsEnabled) does not write a file with a path longer than 259 characters. The export path is the working folder +editor_export\<project id>\<time>\<package name>\Earth nav data\…(package name = project name, at most 80 characters). Shorten the project name, choose a shorter folder in Settings › Working folder (outputs and cache), or enable long paths in Windows. Studio measures the length before writing (including bundled parts and their.dds/.pngtextures) and writes nothing. The WED export checks the same (The WED export path is n characters longer…): the path is the WED export Folder (empty = the working folder +editor_export\<project id>\<time>_wed) +<package name>\earth.wed.xmland the project parts with their textures – enter a shorter Folder or shorten the project name.dsf_oknafolder, own limit of 5 GB) from it. To bin… in History does not free space: the bin is thedsf_upravy\_kosfolder in the cache on the same disk and the Studio never empties it. Free space by hand in File Explorer – delete the bin and the exports (editor_export) and orthophotos (orto) you no longer use, then empty the Windows Recycle Bin. Settings › Working folder (outputs and cache) shows where the cache is and how much of it are map tiles (Open the outputs folder). Changing the cache folder does not move its content – the existing versions stay in the old folder and disappear from the Studio..rfprojwith a substitute base), or the base file changed. A terrain-only write still works (Write terrain only in the dialog). Otherwise choose Restore the original base (an Undo step; the main choice after Back to the original), Take over again (without losing edits) or Cancel the take-over (an Undo step). The same DSF in another folder (another computer, a renamed package) does not block the write – Write checks the taken-over items exactly. See Take-over mismatch with the base.Where the logs are
<data folder>\logs\rfstudio.log(above 20 MB the old one is renamed torfstudio.log.1). Open the data folder in Settings › RF Studio data › Open folder. When the data folder is not available, the log goes to%TEMP%\RF-Studio-logs.Log.txtin the X-Plane installation; Operations › Test in X-Plane › Log.txt shows and evaluates it for an active test..log.jsonnext to the DSF indsf_upravy) contains the operations, parameters and verification results; show it in History with Record.Based on the RF Studio manual (F1 › Manual, version 0.11.2-beta). Post your questions and experience in this thread.