Getting started

Install X-Dispatch

WhereDownload page, then the installer for your operating system.

1. 01

   Download the installer for your operating system from the download page.

2. 02

   Windows: run the installer. If SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC", click More info, then Run anyway.

3. 03

   macOS: open the .dmg and drag X-Dispatch to Applications. The first time you open it, macOS blocks it. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway.

4. 04

   Linux: make the AppImage executable (chmod +x, or Properties > Allow executing file as program), then run it.

• X-Dispatch needs X-Plane 12.4 or newer. Older versions do not have the web API it uses to launch and relocate.
• The app does not need X-Plane to be running to browse airports, manage add-ons or plan flights.
• No X-Plane yet? The free X-Plane 12 demo works with X-Dispatch.

First launch

WhereThe folder picker that opens the first time you run the app.

1. 01

   X-Dispatch looks for X-Plane installs on its own, Steam included, and lists what it found. Pick one, or Browse manually to the folder that contains X-Plane.exe, X-Plane.app or X-Plane-x86_64.

2. 02

   Wait for the first scan. X-Dispatch reads every airport, scenery pack, aircraft and plugin in the install and builds a local cache. The loading screen shows progress.

3. 03

   When the map opens, press Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on macOS) and type an ICAO code to make sure airports are there.

• If macOS or Windows blocks access to the X-Plane folder, grant the permission in the operating system first, then rescan from Settings > X-Plane.
• You can keep more than one X-Plane install under Settings > X-Plane, name them (Beta, Clean, Modded) and switch between them. Switching reloads all data.

Updates and betas

WhereSettings > About > Updates.

X-Dispatch updates itself on Windows, macOS and Linux. Updates download in the background and install when you restart or quit. After the first one they only download what changed, so they are small.

The About tab shows what the updater is doing (checking, downloading, ready, failed) and has a Check for updates button. A downloaded update offers Restart now inside the app.

• On macOS you confirm Open Anyway once after a major update, as on first install.
• Beta updates: when a beta is out, switch on Beta updates under Settings > About to get each beta as it comes. When the full release catches up you move to it on its own and the switch turns off.
• If the updater fails, download the latest version from the website once. From then on it updates itself again.

The menu and keyboard shortcuts

WhereApplication menu on macOS; the menu button at the left of the title bar on Windows and Linux.

Every platform has a full application menu: File (open a flight plan, import from SimBrief, launch X-Plane, recent airports), Edit, View (zoom, sidebar, Flight Strip window and lock, full screen), Window and Help (shortcuts, website, Discord, logs folder, check for updates).

• Ctrl+W does not quit the app. It closes a dialog first, then the window.
• Zoom keys show the percentage while you press them. The same setting lives under Settings > Appearance > Interface zoom, from 70 to 130 percent.

Open from links and files

WhereAny browser, Discord message, Finder or Explorer.

X-Dispatch registers the xdispatch:// link scheme and the .fms file type, so a web page, a Discord message or a script can open it at the right place, even when it is closed. The links are plain text, so anyone can post one.

• xdispatch://airport/EHAM opens an airport. Add ?tab=start to land on the Start tab, or ?rwy=18C to select a runway.
• xdispatch://route?from=EHAM&to=LFPG opens the planner with both airports. Add &via= with a route string.
• xdispatch://simbrief opens the SimBrief import. xdispatch://simbrief?user=yourname sets the username first.
• xdispatch://launch?airport=EHAM&aircraft=Cessna opens flight setup with that airport and the first aircraft matching the name.
• xdispatch://import?url=https://... downloads a flight plan file and loads it. X-Dispatch asks before it downloads from a link, and only https works.
• xdispatch://addon opens the add-on manager; xdispatch://addon/installer the installer. xdispatch://settings/simbrief opens a Settings tab. xdispatch://logs and xdispatch://update do what they say.
• .fms files open from Finder and Explorer with Open With > X-Dispatch and load into the planner.
• Recent airports show in the Dock menu on macOS and the taskbar jump list on Windows. Turn this off under Settings > Appearance > Desktop window.

How the cache stays fresh

WhereAutomatic at startup; Settings > X-Plane or Rescan files in the add-on manager while the app is open.

X-Dispatch caches your X-Plane data so the map opens in seconds. Every startup begins with "Checking for changes": it compares the scenery files on disk with what it cached, and rebuilds the airport database only when a scenery pack was added, changed or removed. Aircraft and plugins are scanned fresh each time you open the add-on manager or flight setup. So scenery you install while X-Dispatch is closed shows up on its own the next time you start it.

• Installed something while X-Dispatch was running? Press Rescan files in the add-on manager, or rescan from Settings > X-Plane. It tells you how many items and airports it added or removed.
• Settings > Nav Data shows what was loaded, which provider the navigation data comes from and the AIRAC cycle. Clear Cache & Reload forces a full rebuild from the X-Plane files.
• From a terminal, X-Dispatch --reset-cache does the same at startup. See Troubleshooting for the other flags.
• The first scan of a large install with many custom airports takes a while. After that, only a scenery change triggers a rebuild.