The controls to connect ADE to FS are near the top right hand side of the display

1. If this is checked then ADE will automatically connect to a running copy of FS.  If it is not checked then ADE will be in manual connection mode and you will need to connect and disconnect yourself.  You can change your connection mode at any time just by checking or un-checking this box.  So for example you are auto connected but then decide you wanted to disconnect.  Just un-check this and the Disconnect button will become available to let you manually break the connection.
2. The connection buttons.  These change depending on whether you are in automatic or manual connection mode.
3. The connection indicator.  This is green if ADE is connected to FS and red if not
4. The Lock button.  Locking ADE to the sim means that the user aircraft is displayed at the center of the ADE display at all times and the display will move around it.  If not locked then the display remain stationery and the user aircraft symbol will move about it

To connect manually make sure that  Auto Connect is not checked.  ADE will display two buttons:  Connect and Disconnect.  Click the Connect button to make a connection to running sim.  If the sim is not running you will receive an error message (see below in the Automatic Connection section.  On successful connection the indicator will turn green, the Connect button will be inactive and the Disconnect button will be active.   To end the connection at any time click the Disconnect button.

Note that if the Sim is closed or the connection is lost ADE will disconnect itself without you needing to do so.

1. Check Auto Connect and ADE will try to connect to the sim.   In this mode you do not need to connect or disconnect  yourself.  ADE will connect when it finds a running copy of the sim and disconnect when it is closed.

1. If you close your sim or it is not running then the indicator will be red.  Generally when you close the sim it will take ADE a few moments to disconnect
2. If you have your sim running and ADE is not connecting then there may be a problem with the connection.  Click the Test button to try a manual connect

ADE uses FSUIPC to connect to any of the sims.  If you do not have this installed and the sim is running then you will likely get a message like this

If you see this message then you have ADE open for a different version of the Sim.  (e.g. ADE9 and FSX).  See the section on Settings below.

First check that if you have it installed.  Run the sim and check the Add-ons menu.  This is P3D V2 so your sim may look different but it should have FSUIPC listed under Add-ons.  If it is not there then you need to get the version matched to your sim.  It can be obtained from here   Please be sure to get the correct version and follow the installation instructions.  Also FSUIPC is free in the basic form you need for ADE.

When ADe is connected then this symbol represents the location of the user aircraft

Locking is described above and is often used to keep the user aircraft in sight at the center of the display while the display moves around it.

1. Click the Lock Button and the control will change to UnLock.
2. A padlock indicator will also appear as a visual reminder that you are locked

Tu unlock just click the Unlock button.  

Please be aware that locking is separate from connecting.  You need to be connected to lock the display, however unlocking the display will not disconnect you.

First get some idea where it is!

1. The number at the end of the red display is the distance in nautical miles of the user aircraft from the opened project reference point.  If it is a small number then chances are the aircraft is around the airport somewhere and using Center on Aircraft (See below) is probably the answer to find it.  However if this is a big number - in this case nearly 4,000Nm then the user aircraft is probably at a different airport and Move Aircraft Here is the way to go.

There could be several reasons why you can't find the aircraft symbol.  If it is a large airport then it might be hard to spot; or perhaps you have a different airport loaded in ADE to the one you have open in sim.  You can find the aircraft by

1. Right click to open the menu
2. Select Center on Aircraft.  This will center the ADE display on the aircraft location.  Note this if you are at a different airport in sim this might take you a long way from the open airport in ADE.
3. Place your cursor at a convenient place in the currently displayed airport in ADE and use Move Aircraft Here.  Note in this case that ADE will tell the sim to move the aircraft.  If it is at a far location then this can take a few moments depending on the performance of your computer.
4. If you do find that you center on the aircraft a long way from the airport then you  should use Center on ARP and then Move Aircraft here.

It is possible to have ADE connect to any open sim.  This is always the case with P3D versions at this time.  However if you check this option with FS9 or FSX then ADE should only connect to the matching sim.  If it is unchecked then ADE will connect to any sim.  This probably not a good idea in most cases since the landscape for different sims may vary.