FSX Steam Edition: Banking Camera v1.0 says "FSX must be open" even when it is

Banking Camera v1.0 “FSX must be open” (FSX:SE)

That message usually means the tool can’t “see” the sim process (or can’t hook into SimConnect), not necessarily that FSX isn’t running.

Here’s what I’d try, in order:

1) Confirm you’re running the correct FSX
If you have both boxed FSX and FSX: Steam Edition installed, some older utilities only look for the boxed FSX registry entries and will never detect FSX:SE.

• Make sure you start FSX:SE first and get to the actual flight (not just the main menu).
• Then start Banking Camera.

2) Run both programs the same way (permissions)
If one is running “as Administrator” and the other isn’t, Windows can block the utility from reading/attaching to FSX properly.

• Close both.
• Right-click FSX:SE and run it normally (or as admin, but be consistent).
• Right-click Banking Camera and run it the same way.

3) Start order matters
Some of these older camera/banking helpers only detect FSX at launch.

• Start FSX:SE
• Load into a flight (on the runway, cockpit view is fine)
• Alt-Tab out and then launch Banking Camera

4) SimConnect (common stumbling block with older FSX utilities)
A lot of add-ons built in the FSX era expect the “legacy” SimConnect version(s). If that legacy SimConnect isn’t present/working, the add-on may just throw a generic “FSX must be open” type message.

I don’t want to send you down the wrong path without knowing what the Banking Camera installer actually included (some include SimConnect, some don’t), but this is very often the root cause with FSX:SE + older utilities.

5) Install location / antivirus
If FSX:SE is installed under Program Files and the tool is trying to write config/state files, it can get blocked.

• Temporarily disable any AV “controlled folder access” type protection just to test.
• Make sure Banking Camera is installed outside protected folders if it offers a choice (or at least try running it as admin as above).

A couple quick questions so I can narrow it down

• Do you have boxed FSX installed as well, or only FSX: Steam Edition?
• When you run FSX:SE, does it show in Task Manager as fsx.exe?
• Are you launching Banking Camera from its own EXE after installing, or is it supposed to be an in-sim module/gauge?
• Any other SimConnect-based add-ons working for you in FSX:SE (weather engines, moving maps, etc.), or do those also fail to connect?

Answer those and I’ll point you at the most likely fix for your setup.