Organizing Aircraft?

[gizbug]

What method do you use with organizing Aircraft? I have just a huge amount of aircraft, yet some of the folders that they install to (default) are so bizare in thier name. I was curious if I could just have a folder (767) and throw all my 76's in there. Maybe this would solve the problem of having better organization and easier to find them from within FS2002.

[ekseks]

I am wondering the same thing. I downloaded the limited version of Hangar Manager V3.4 but never fully tried it out. There is a shareware fee ($20 I think) for the complete version. It looks like it will do what you are looking for but I don't know how well it works. Maybe someone else can give some feedback.

You really do not need to segregate your a/c into differnet folders. As long as your aircraft.cfg is done correctly for each aircraft, they will be "grouped" in the a/c selection window from within FS2K2. Look for the post regarding uimanufacturer etc. It gave a lot of good info. If I find it, I will re-post.

[gizbug]

Thanks

[ekseks]

I have not been able to find the previous post on altering the aircraft.cfg file to group aircraft and types together. But here's the short of it...

If you look at the default aircraft.cfg file, you will see I think 3 entries starting with "ui". For example for the default 737: One ui line will be for the manufacturer (Boeing), another for the type (737_400) and the other for the variation (Orbit or whatever). So just make the part after the = what you want for grouping and consistency. (This also keeps a/c from showing up as unspecified.)

Be aware some 3rd party aircraft do not have these ui lines in the aircraft.cfg file. But you can cut and paste them in from another aircraft.cfg file that has them (like from the default aircraft). I would save a backup copy of the orginal file in case something goes wrong.

[sgreenwood]

gizbug,

I use the entries in the aircraft.cfg file a bit differently. My approach gives me another level of organization in the Select Aircraft menu.

I use the ui_manufacturer to add a different top level, for the type of aircraft; CH-Commercial Helicopter, MH-Military Helicopter, GA Twin-General Aviation twin engine, M-miscellaneous, ... (You can use any codes/names you like.)

I move the manufacturer name down to the beginning of the ui_type, then add model, name, ... This preserves the sort order. If the ui_types match, they will all appear in the same list, and I can pick the particular version I want from the ui_variation entries.

So, for my Bell Helicopters, I have:

ui_manufacturer=CH
ui_type=Bell 206B JetRanger
ui_variation=Blue with white (MS version)

and:

ui_manufacturer=CH
ui_type=Bell 206B JetRanger
ui_variation=Yellow with white (another version)

(If there are multiple versions in the aircraft.cfg file, be sure to change all of them: fltsim.0, fltsim.1, ... Only the ui_variation should differ for each.)

I name my folders the same way (not required), and use aliases to avoid duplication as much as possible. These aliases work with my "fsfsconv" folder in the aircraft directory. I store commonly used sound and panel folders here.

So, fsfsconv\sounds.bell206b holds the sounds for the default Bell

the sound.cfg file for any helicopter that uses this set of sounds:

fltsim (in brackets)
alias=fsfsconv\sounds.bell206b

This way, I can move aircraft out of the aircraft folder without worrying about whether they are needed to supply sounds or panels for other aircraft.

For an extensive discussion of this topic, search the flightsim.com file libraries for author=fbass. His "Unconventional Guide to Managing Aircraft Containers" addresses many installation/management issues.

Hope this helps.

Steve
www.fs-traveler.com

[gizbug]

You have to edit each aircraft.cfg by hand?
That sounds like a lot of work


BoDEAN
gizbug@sammyhagar.net
http://www.sammyhagar.net

[sgreenwood]

Hello BoDEAN,

Yes, it was a bit tedious initially. Now, I have to edit only 1 or 2 lines when I install a new plane, and many do not include this information at all and so require editing anyway. And it is so nice to have control over where the aircraft appear in the menus.

Just spend a little time thinking about your approach, and try a few at a time until you are sure. If you start doing just a couple a day, I think you will soon find it is worth going ahead and doing them all.

If the aircraft folders were already named using an appropriate scheme, it is possible to run an "awk" program in a batch file that could automate updating the aircraft.cfg files, but it is probably faster to just do it manually than to write the program to run just once.

Steve

[fbass]

You want organization - download guide.zip and guide2.zip - you'll get all the organization you could ever use. This is the Unconventional Guide to Managing Aircraft Containers. Try it you'll like it.

PS You'll also get checklists for over 120 aircraft, tech information, airline histories, aircraft descriptions, military service histories, panel acronyms, and a partridge in a pear tree.

[junky354]

I got a simple fix. Keep the default airplanes and the airplanes that you fly then you will never need to woory about getting to mixed up. That is what I do!

http://www.flightsim.com/dcforum/Use...540e7210d4.jpg

[jonboy]

For the past couple of years I have been using a freeware aircraft management program called JAB2000. Unfortunately it's no longer available for download at the french flight-sim site of Simvol.

Even thought it was meant for FS98 and FS2000 it works fine with FS2002 if you set the path to your FS2002 aircraft folder correctly.

The program shows all your aircraft, panels and sound files even those in the FSFS converter folder. Its an easy matter to swap panels and or sounds between your aircraft collection. Also you can check your aircraft, panel and sounds cfg files. There is provision to display a small jpg picture of your aircraft and panel - handy when you have a big collection. The program will also indicate whether or not your aircraft will appear in FS. If not, you have a problem to fix before you waste time opening FS only to find that you new beaut aircraft isn't there.

So your whole aircraft collection doesn't load into FS each time, you can use the program to load just the few you want for your next FS session.

The program also allows you to sort your aircraft collection into different hangars of your choosing ie by manufacturer, type, country or whatever.

Unlike some of the other aircraft management programs available out there, JAB2000 doesn't condense your aircraft files which means they are still readily available through windows explorer to 'play with'.

All that and it was only a 1.038mb download - stores easily on a floppy which I've done so if you would like the program I'd be happy to email it to you. If it's not to your liking, ditch it.

So far as the individual aircraft folders are concerned, you can rename them to whatever you want eg 'American 727', Qantas 737 etc. How the aircraft appears in FS2002 (and JAB2000) is determined by the name typed at the 'title=' and 'ui=' lines in the aircraft cfg file. You could have 'American 727' on your aircraft folder and 'American 727-200' as the title in the aircraft cfg file.

If you have several identical aircraft say, four Freeware Flight Group DC10's, you could name your single aircraft folder 'FFG Dc10s-various'. How the four aircraft appear in FS2002 (and JAB20000) will be determined by how you enter the individual aircraft names/livery in the single aircraft cfg file.

Whatever course you adopt remember 'nil desperandum', it's only a game.

Regards from downunder :-wave