Kneeboard Flight Briefing/AutoSave Module Issue Solved

[scott_295]

I read a month or two ago in a reeeally old thread about how to create a flight briefing that appears on the kneeboard. The caveat was that relevant files - *.pln, *.wx, and *.htm - all had to have the same name and be in the "Other" subfolder (Flight Simulator > Flights > Other). Someone also said that the briefing kept disappearing on him and it was determined that he was using the AutoSave module and that was creating the problem.

 

I don't know if anyone cares or not, and I apologize if someone's already posted this solution, but this is what I've found and I thought I'd share it:

a. the files do

not

have to be in the "Other" flights folder. I've got them all in the FS Files folder (in the Windows "Documents" library) and never have a problem - even after I've landed and create a new flight plan. As long as I'm flying the same flight, the briefing remains the same. This is useful to me because before I start a flight, I'll look up VOR frequencies, ILS freqs, etc, and put that all in the briefing, which I then have access to on the kneeboard and don't have to look up in the GPS or on the map.

 

b. also, you can edit the briefing on the fly because every time you open the kneeboard, FS looks in a couple of folders for the relevant files. In other words, in mid-flight, you can switch windows (Alt-Tab), edit the htm file, save it, switch back to FS, open the kneeboard, and the new info is in there. Gotta appreciate that! Of course, I also remember that in FS2000, you could edit "Notes" directly on the kneeboard without switching windows. I sure miss that ability.

 

c. regarding the AutoSave module, yes, if you leave the configuration file as is (like when you first downloaded it), the briefing will disappear as soon as it saves your flight. That's because AutoSave creates new plan files but with a different name. And if you've written a briefing, you probably already know the plan and htm file names must be the same.

But

, here's how to change the AutoSave.cfg file so that you can still use it

and

not lose your flight briefing. Change the following line:

Files=[set to 0 (zero)]

 

Add the following lines:

AlsoSave=[set to the same name as the name of your flight]

AlsoInterval=[set to however often you want to save, in seconds; for example, mine is set to 900, which equals 15 minutes]

 

Of course, that also means you don't get numerous plan files that you can restart a flight from; you'll only get one and that one is being written over every so often. So, while not a perfect solution, it is a solution.

 

I rely on AutoSave because, occasionally, I've had problems in mid-flight, from FS crashing or locking up, or my PC locking up because I started doing other things during a long flight and had other apps running as well as having 17 browser windows open (lol), to the power suddenly going off because a transformer blew (that happened to our neighborhood right in the middle of a football game back in September argh :mad:).

 

So, if you want to use AutoSave and still be able to have a flight briefing, here ya go.