MSFS 2024 toolbar panel: install and use

What you need

Install FlightFabric on the Windows PC that runs Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. The panel is installed into the MSFS 2024 Community folder by the desktop app, so the app must run on the simulator PC; the browser view on a phone or tablet cannot install it. FlightFabric looks for the Microsoft Store and Steam editions of MSFS 2024. MSFS 2020 is not supported.

The panel is optional and marked Experimental in the app. Everything it shows is also available in the desktop app and on a connected phone or tablet, so you lose nothing by skipping it.

Install the panel in four steps

1. Close MSFS 2024

   The simulator reads Community packages when it starts, so close it before you install, update or remove the panel. FlightFabric reminds you of this in the settings section.

2. Open Settings → MSFS 2024 toolbar panel

   In FlightFabric, choose Settings in the sidebar under Manage, then scroll to the In the simulator section. FlightFabric lists each MSFS 2024 installation it found on this PC with the Community folder it will use and the current status, Not installed the first time.

   

3. Choose Install

   Select Install next to your MSFS 2024 installation. FlightFabric copies the flightfabric-toolbar package into that Community folder and configures it with the app’s network ports. The row changes to Installed with the package version, and a message asks you to restart the simulator.

   

4. Start MSFS 2024 and open the panel

   Start the simulator with FlightFabric still running and load a flight. Move the pointer to the top of the screen to show the in-flight toolbar, then select the FlightFabric button. The panel opens as a window you can drag and resize like any other toolbar panel.

   

Using the panel in the cockpit

The panel has three tabs. It updates live while FlightFabric runs and remembers your layout choices between flights.

• Plan shows the SimBrief plan loaded on FlightFabric’s SimBrief tab: departure and arrival, route, key figures, and collapsible weather, fuel and weights, times, performance, navlog and ICAO plan sections.
• Voice shows the live push-to-talk status, three “try saying” examples and a searchable list of the voice commands available for the loaded aircraft, grouped by system. It is a reference; you still hold your push-to-talk shortcut and speak as usual. See the voice-control guide.
• Flight shows the aircraft, flight phase, recording status, flight time, simulator clock, your last landing and recent cautions.

The settings sheet inside the panel sets the theme, text size, density, UTC or local times, the weight unit and which tab opens first. These choices are stored by the panel itself and do not change the desktop app.

Updates, reinstalls and removal

The installed package follows the FlightFabric version. Return to Settings → MSFS 2024 toolbar panel after an app update and act on the status shown. Close MSFS first in every case, then start it again afterwards.

• Update available — a newer FlightFabric ships a newer package. Choose Update.
• Ports changed — FlightFabric’s network ports were changed in Settings after the package was installed. Choose Update ports.
• Needs repair — the installed package is incomplete or was altered. Choose Repair.
• Installed — nothing to do. Reinstall is only needed for same-version fixes, such as a new toolbar icon; the page content inside the panel updates with the app on its own.
• Remove deletes the flightfabric-toolbar package folders that FlightFabric created, including anything added inside them, and leaves every other Community package untouched. FlightFabric never removes a folder it did not create.

Use Check again to refresh the status after changing the Community folder outside the app.

If the panel is not working

No MSFS 2024 installation was found

FlightFabric checks the Microsoft Store and Steam locations for MSFS 2024 on this PC. Make sure you are using the desktop app on the simulator PC, not the browser view on another device, and that MSFS 2024 has been started at least once so its user folders exist.

The FlightFabric button is missing from the toolbar

Confirm the row shows Installed, and that you restarted MSFS 2024 after installing. Load into a flight; the toolbar is not available on the main menu. If the status shows Needs repair or Update available, close MSFS, act on it and restart.

The panel says “Connecting to FlightFabric”

Start FlightFabric on the same PC. The panel reconnects by itself, usually within a few seconds; after a long outage it can take up to 30 seconds. If you recently changed FlightFabric’s ports, the settings row reports Ports changed; choose Update ports with MSFS closed.

The panel asks for a reinstall

The installed package no longer matches the running app. Close MSFS, open Settings → MSFS 2024 toolbar panel and choose Reinstall or Update, whichever is shown.

“Folder in use by another add-on”

A package with the same folder name exists in your Community folder but was not created by FlightFabric. FlightFabric will not touch it. Move or rename that folder with MSFS closed, then choose Check again.

The simulator became unstable

The panel is experimental. If you see problems in the simulator while it is installed, close MSFS, choose Remove in the settings section and report what happened so it can be investigated.

What the panel can access

The panel is a read-only view. It connects to FlightFabric on the same PC over the local loopback address only, and it receives just the information it displays: simulator state, flight plan, voice status, the aircraft profile, landings and cautions. It cannot change settings, send aircraft commands, or read recordings or your logbook.

Nothing in the panel talks to the internet on its own. The SimBrief plan it shows is the one FlightFabric already fetched on your request.