3. Installation

Little Navmap for Windows is available as a 64-bit or 32-bit application and was tested with Windows 10 and Windows 11.

macOS is supported up from macOS High Sierra 10.13 inclusive. You need Rosetta to run Little Navmap on Apple Silicon / M1 computers.

Linux versions built on recent Ubuntu releases are available and should work on other distributions as well.

The macOS and Linux versions are both 64-bit.

Each version of Little Navmap and the other programs come with a plain text file CHANGELOG.txt which has important notes and describes the changes between versions.

Warning

Do not install Little Navmap in the MSFS folder Community or in the X-Plane plugins folder.

Important

Apple macOS users: Keep in mind that you have to clear the quarantine flag for Little Xpconnect on update. See Clearing the Quarantine Flag on macOS.

3.1. Updating

Delete all installed files of a previous Little Navmap version before installing a new version or install into a new folder. All files from the previous ZIP archive can be deleted since settings are stored in separate directories (except Map Themes).

Warning

In any case do not merge the installation directories since old files can cause problems.

There is no need to delete the old settings directory. The program is written in a way that it can work with old setting files and adapts these if needed. In some cases settings are reset to default if an updated version is installed.

See Files for more information about settings, database and cache files.

3.2. Windows Builds

There are two builds of Little Navmap and Little Navconnect for Windows available now:

• Windows 64-bit: For MSFS and all X-Plane versions. Download file is LittleNavmap-win64-2.8.2.zip for example.

• Windows 32-bit: For FSX and Prepar3D. Download file is LittleNavmap-win32-2.8.2.zip for example.

You can see the Windows build type in About Little Navmap and in the Window Title (64-bit or 32-bit).

Note that Little Navmap and all related programs are interoperable across the network (Little Navmap and Little Navconnect) as well as the X-Plane plugin (Little Navmap, Little Navconnect and Little Xpconnect).

Also both versions share the same settings and databases. You can switch from one version to another without problems.

3.3. Windows

The installation of Little Navmap does not change or create any registry entries in Windows and involves a simple copy of files therefore an installer or setup program is not required.

Warning

Do not extract the archive into the directory c:\Program Files\ or c:\Program Files (x86)\ since this requires administrative privileges. Windows keeps control of these directories, therefore other problems might occur like replaced or deleted files.

There is no need to run Little Navmap as administrator. Adapt folder permissions if you have to export flight plans to protected places.

Extract the Zip archive into a directory like c:\Users\YOURNAME\Documents\Little Navmap or c:\Users\YOURNAME\Programs\Little Navmap. Then start the program by double-clicking littlenavmap.exe. The extension .exe might be hidden in Windows Explorer depending on settings. In that case look for a file littlenavmap having a light blue globe icon .

3.3.1. SimConnect

Little Navmap comes with a SimConnect library and does not require a separate installation of SimConnect.

3.3.2. Unblock Application

Depending on system and anti-virus settings it might be needed to unblock the executable files. This applies to Little Navmap (littlenavmap.exe), Little Navconnect (littleconnect.exe) and the Little Xpconnect plugin (win.xpl).

You can do this in the Windows explorer by selecting properties and checking Unblock file. Detailed instruction can be found here, for example: How to Unblock a File in Windows 10.

3.3.3. Improve Start-up Time

Anti-virus programs can significantly slow down the startup and execution of the program on Windows.

Therefore, it is recommended to exclude the following directories from scanning:

• Disk cache for map tiles: C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Local\.marble\data

• Scenery library and userpoint databasesC:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Roaming\ABarthel\little_navmap_db

These directories do not contain executable files and are accessed frequently by Little Navmap.

3.4. macOS

Extract the ZIP file and copy the Little Navmap application to the directory Applications or any other directory.

Note

The menu entry which is referenced as Tools -> Options in this manual for Windows and Linux can be found in the application menu at Little Navmap -> Preferences on macOS.

3.4.1. First Start on macOS

Note on first start on macOS: When starting the application you will get a message Little Navmap is from an unidentified developer. Are you sure you want to open it?.

The procedure may be slightly different depending on whether you’re using Big Sur or Catalina.

1. Right or Ctrl-Click in the Finder on Little Navmap and select Open.

2. You will see a dialog Little Navmap cannot be opened because it is from an unidentified developer. Click Ok.

3. Go to System Preferences -> Security and Privacy. You will see a message mentioning Little Navmap. Click Open Anyway.

4. Next a dialog Are you sure you want to open it? pops up. Click Open.

3.5. Linux

Extract the archive to any place and run the executable file littlenavmap to start the program from a terminal:

./littlenavmap

Most file managers will start the program if double-clicked.

A desktop file Little Navmap.desktop is included. You have to adjust the paths to use it. You must use absolute paths in the desktop file.

See the Little Navmap - Frequently asked Questions for help if the program does not start.

3.6. Additional Programs

The Little Navmap Zip archive contains two additional folders:

Little Navconnect: A complete copy of the program allowing remote flight simulator connections for FSX, P3D, MSFS and X-Plane.

Little Xpconnect: This is the 64-bit plugin that is needed for Little Navmap or Little Navconnect to connect to X-Plane. See Little Xpconnect for installation and usage.

3.7. X-Plane Plugin

Little Navmap can only connect to X-Plane using the Little Xpconnect X-Plane plugin which has to be installed as well.

The Little Xpconnect plugin is included in the Little Navmap archive. You can always find the correct and matching version in your Little Navmap installation directory.

See Little Xpconnect for installation and usage.

3.8. Portable Execution

Running Little Navmap in portable mode instructs the program to place all settings, databases and cached files into the installation directory (i.e. the directory containing the executable file). No folders or files are created on the computer running the program from a memory stick, for example.

You can also use the portable mode to test new Little Navmap releases without affecting your current settings.

Scripts allow to run Little Navmap in portable mode by passing certain command line options to the program:

• Windows: Little Navmap Portable.cmd

• macOS: Little Navmap Portable.command

• Linux: Little Navmap Portable.sh

Three folders are created when running these scripts: Little Navmap Cache for the online map image tiles, Little Navmap Logs for log files and Little Navmap Settings used to store settings and databases.

See Command Line Options for more information.

3.9. Multiple Installations

Do not run more than one Little Navmap instances using the same settings folder in parallel. This can result in crashes when accessing the databases. Running several instances is prevented by the program on Windows but not on Linux and macOS.

You can instruct Little Navmap to create and use a different settings folder by passing the parameter --settings-directory to the executable when starting up. This is supported for all operating systems.

This parameter instructs the program to use the given directory instead of ABarthel and allows to have two instances of Little Navmap running with their own settings and databases.

Note that this does not override the full path and spaces are replaced with underscores.

Example:

How to use C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Roaming\ABarthel-XP as a settings folder on Windows:

1. Right click on the littlenavmap.exe file (extension might be hidden in Windows explorer) and select Create Shortcut.

2. Right click on the newly created shortcut and edit the shortcut properties.

3. Append --settings-directory ABarthel-XP to the path in the settings field separated by a space before --settings-directory.

4. Click Ok.

Contents of the link properties dialog for the example above. Extended target folder input field to have the whole path visible.