How to get Alt, KIAS and Heading Display in Exterior View?

[HoggyDog]

I like to fly in exterior view most of the time, but can't because I need to see critical flight info so often, especially on approaches. I dislike displaying the PFD panel (Shift+7 on many airplanes) because it takes up so much real estate... but if I reduce it to a less obtrusive size, it's difficult to read.

 

I ran across this in an old thread elsewhere on FlightSim:

 

Hong Kong's Kai Tak Airport is interesting because not only does the single runway stick out into the bay, but there's also this range of hills and buildings smack on the approach, it was closed in 1998 but is still in FSX, as "Hong Kong Intnl (old) VHHX"-

 

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/CMSF/KTak1.gif

 

I have bumbled around in FSX Settings but can't find any option to give me the flight info display at the top of the screen as ScatterbrainKid shows in his screenie. Can anyone help me figure out how to do this please?

[torkermax]

Shift/z/z gives alt,hdg,kias and lot and Lat.

[lnuss]

In your fsx.cfg (or p3d.cfg, depending on the sim), the section labeled TextIfo has several parameters relating to the on-screen text.

 

Mine follows:

[TextInfo.1] // Section Added by lfn

Altitude=1,3

Heading=1,4

AirSpeed=1,5

TextColor.1=50,205,50 //Lime Green

BackGroundColor.1=0,0,0,128 //50% black transparent

WindDirectionAndSpeed=2,2

FrameRate=2,3

TextColor.2=255,255,0 //yellow

BackGroundColor.2=0,0,0,128 //50% black transparent

AngleOfAttack=3,1

TrueAirspeed=3,2

GForce=3,3

TextColor.3=255,0,0 //red

BackGroundColor.3=0,0,0,128 //50% black transparent

FuelPercentage=3,4

 

On the Altitude, Airspeed, etc. lines above, the 1 is line one, and the 3 or 5 is the position (3rd or 5th) on that line where you want that item to appear. The SDK will give you all the possible choices. There's a similar section for text when in slew mode.

 

Note where the section heading says TextInfo.1 -- if there were a TextInfo.2, then it would appear the second time you press SHIFT-Z.

[HoggyDog]

Shift/z/z gives alt,hdg,kias and lot and Lat.

 

Yes, but it's all scrunched up in the upper left corner, not centered (and enlarged a bit) as in ScatterbrainKid's screenshot. Maybe his screenshot was from FS9 or something? I don't know.

[HoggyDog]

In your fsx.cfg (or p3d.cfg, depending on the sim), the section labeled TextIfo has several parameters relating to the on-screen text.

 

 

On the Altitude, Airspeed, etc. lines above, the 1 is line one, and the 3 or 5 is the position (3rd or 5th) on that line where you want that item to appear. The SDK will give you all the possible choices. There's a similar section for text when in slew mode.

 

Note where the section heading says TextInfo.1 -- if there were a TextInfo.2, then it would appear the second time you press SHIFT-Z.

 

OK thank you for this. I'll study it and try to figure out how to translate the data you provided into what ScatterbrainKid's screenshot shows- larger text, with the 3 primary data points top-center of the screen instead of scrunched up into the left corner.

[jandjfrench]

There's a software add on in use here. I don't recall the name but I'll try to find it. Someone's bound to recall some info about this.

 

Edit: It's called Infogauge. I located a PT-19 that I put it in but don't currently have it installed. I'll try to find more info.

 

infoga_dcbv1.zip

[HoggyDog]

There's a software add on in use here. I don't recall the name but I'll try to find it. Someone's bound to recall some info about this.

 

Edit: It's called Infogauge. I located a PT-19 that I put it in but don't currently have it installed. I'll try to find more info.

 

I found it in the Library, unless there's a later version: infoga_dcbv1.zip. Installation was a little fiddly, but I got it. This is EXACTLY what I was looking for, thanks! :D

 

Altitude, Airspeed and Heading don't get much better than this!! :pilot:

[HoggyDog]

I would like to fine-tune my InfoGauge installation a bit:

 

1. Make the InfoGauge window slightly taller so it doesn't cut off the tail of the "g" in "Deg";

2. Change the default position to the center of the screen because every time I start a new flight it starts off left-aligned and the window is not always draggable- takes many tries to grab it with the mouse sometimes;

3. Change "Kias" to "KIAS" because it's an acronym, not an abbreviation, and my OCD makes it bother me a little every time I see it. :rolleyes: (Yes, I freely admit this is MY problem, not a meaningful defect in the addon.)

 

The quote below is from another thread, a few years old, and shows several marked differences between the panel.cfg entry ScatterbrainKid was using/suggesting and the one in the readme file I downloaded earlier this week.

 

Thanks, I deleted the old InfoGauge to make a fresh start and d/loaded your infoga_dcbv1.zip. [...]

And how does this look, it's the new window05 section I added further down the Trike panel.cfg-

 

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/CMSF/FSX-t2.gif

 

Here's a cut-n-paste from the addon's current readme file with the differences colored red:

[WindowXX]
Background_color=0,0,0 
size_mm=[color="#FF0000"]377,45[/color]
window_size_ratio=1.000 
position=[color="#FF0000"]1[/color]
visible=1
ident=1500
window_size= [color="#FF0000"]0.295, 0.044[/color]
window_pos= [color="#FF0000"]0.000, 0.030[/color]
Type=Special
zorder=XX

gauge00=InfoGauge!InfoGauge, 0,0,[color="#FF0000"]377,45[/color]

 

Is anyone familiar enough with this addon to help me figure out how to make all 3, or some of, the changes I listed above?

[jandjfrench]

Hi again,

In the readme in the download there's info regarding making modifications to the default display. In fact I was tempted to recommend investigating the code in the extracted XML along with the Gauge creation tutorial in the SDK (in case you were interested). This is about as simple as an XML gauge can be but all XML gauges have a basis very similar to this one. If you are interested in Gauge creation I've corrected some minor errors in the SDK tutorial and will make it available to you. I think I have it uploaded to Box but I'd have to check to make sure and to get the link.

Jim F.

[StringBean]

window_size= 0.295, 0.044

window_pos= 0.000, 0.030

 

The values for these 2 entries are percentage of the display.

 

window_size= 0.295, 0.044 - the Window is 29.5% of the display width and 4.4% of the height.

 

window_pos= 0.000, 0.030 places the top, left corner of the Window 0% in from the left edge and 3% down from the top.

 

peace,

the Bean

[HoggyDog]

Hi again,

In the readme in the download there's info regarding making modifications to the default display. In fact I was tempted to recommend investigating the code in the extracted XML along with the Gauge creation tutorial in the SDK (in case you were interested). This is about as simple as an XML gauge can be but all XML gauges have a basis very similar to this one. If you are interested in Gauge creation I've corrected some minor errors in the SDK tutorial and will make it available to you. I think I have it uploaded to Box but I'd have to check to make sure and to get the link.

Jim F.

 

I read the entire readme before doing anything, and I saw that the first instruction in modifying the display was "extract the cab." :confused: That's when my eyeballs glazed over and I decided that I wouldn't bother trying to figure out how to do that but confine myself to "extracting" the cfg with Notepad and tweaking whatever I could tweak there.

 

Yes, I know all about the SDK- I know that it means "Software Development Kit," and that's all I know about it. :D

 

In other words, none of my minimally significant niggling mini-issues with this great little addon warrants a major overhaul whose first steps are things I totally do not understand. Maybe one day if I get really, really bored.... Thank you, though.

[HoggyDog]

window_size= 0.295, 0.044

window_pos= 0.000, 0.030

 

The values for these 2 entries are percentage of the display.

 

window_size= 0.295, 0.044 - the Window is 29.5% of the display width and 4.4% of the height.

 

window_pos= 0.000, 0.030 places the top, left corner of the Window 0% in from the left edge and 3% down from the top.

 

peace,

the Bean

 

Thank you, Bean, this is perfect. Armed with this knowledge I'll jump right into Notepad and fix the position and size issues- based on the learning curve and effort required to fix it, I think I can live with "Kias" instead of "KIAS." :)

[StringBean]

Rather than look in the library I just made my own gauge, slightly off-centered in this pic due to a panel issue with this plane...

 

peace,

the Bean

[ScatterbrainKid]

Here's my FSX Storch landing on a NY park with the Infogauge datastrip (Altitude/Speed/Heading) at the top which I made with help from the forum aces a while back in 3 colours. It loses definition in this small screenshot but is fine on the monitor screen.

 

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub2/FSX-storchB_zps96e572a4.jpg~original

 

I think there are several ways to do it and for the record this is how I did it, it had to be done individually for each aircraft which was fiddly and time-consuming, unless somebody now knows a quicker way-

 

ORIGINALTHREAD-

https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?245576-Can-data-strip-text-be-made-bigger

 

Summary-First download 'infoga_dcbv1.zip' and put the 'InfoGauge.CAB' file in the FSX main Gauges folder.

Open your target a/c 'Panel' file and insert these two blocks of text-

1- (delete the existing one)

[Window Titles]

Window00=Main Panel

Window01=Radio Stack

Window02=GPS

Window03=Popup

Window04=Mini Panel

window05=Info

---------------------

2- Insert this after the final [window0x] block, (change 05 if necessary, different aircraft usually have more or less than 5 blocks)-

[window05]

Background_color=0,0,0

size_mm=600,40

window_size_ratio=1.000

position=0

visible=1

ident=1500

window_size= 0.469, 0.044

window_pos= 0.300, 0.010

Type=Special

zorder=5

gauge00=InfoGauge!InfoGauge, 0,0,600,40

--------------------

Hit SHIFT (and a number 1 to 9) to make Alt/Spd/Hdg appear at top of game screen during play.

 

Changing colour- open the Infogauge CAB with notepad and choose accordingly, eg Red, Lt green, yellow.

[HoggyDog]

Rather than look in the library I just made my own gauge, slightly off-centered in this pic due to a panel issue with this plane...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]178044[/ATTACH]

 

peace,

the Bean

 

Wow- yours has "ASL" instead of "Ft" and "Mag" instead of "Deg." I like the complete absence of ambiguity embodied there- no need to wonder if it's AGL or MSL, and no need to waste time pondering the difference between magnetic and true headings.

[HoggyDog]

ORIGINALTHREAD-

https://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?245576-Can-data-strip-text-be-made-bigger

 

Summary-First download 'infoga_dcbv1.zip' and put the 'InfoGauge.CAB' file in the FSX main Gauges folder.

Open your target a/c 'Panel' file and insert these two blocks of text-

1- (delete the existing one)

[Window Titles]

Window00=Main Panel

Window01=Radio Stack

Window02=GPS

Window03=Popup

Window04=Mini Panel

window05=Info

---------------------

2- Insert this after the final [window0x] block, (change 05 if necessary, different aircraft usually have more or less than 5 blocks)-

[window05]

Background_color=0,0,0

size_mm=600,40

window_size_ratio=1.000

position=0

visible=1

ident=1500

window_size= 0.469, 0.044

window_pos= 0.300, 0.010

Type=Special

zorder=5

gauge00=InfoGauge!InfoGauge, 0,0,600,40

--------------------

 

As info, reading the entire thread reveals that the entry I highlighted (highlit?) in red above should actually be "windowXX=Information" not "info."

 

Changing colour- open the Infogauge CAB with notepad and choose accordingly, eg Red, Lt green, yellow.

 

Wait, what? I can edit the CAB with Notepad? ::shockedface:: The instructions I read said to "EXTRACT" the CAB file, clearly implying that it is some sort of archive containing an agglomeration of individual files... on my way right now to try to edit the CAB file with Notepad. Thanks for the tip!

 

EDIT AFTER AN HOUR OR SO OF RESEARCHING AND MODDING XML AND CAB FILES:

 

After reading the xml file I realized that apparently, the input to the airspeed indicator could be KIAS or KTAS, depending on which was selected by the pilot, so I re-thought my initial desire to change the label from Kias to KIAS since it is conceivable that it could display KTAS at some point. So I just changed it from "Kias" to "Kts."

 

Then I changed "Ft" to "MSL" and "Deg" to "Mag." I created a new CAB file with the modified xml in it, installed it where it belongs and flew a brief test hop by loading a previous save from the Cruise segment of a recent flight. Here is the result of my test:

 

I'm waiting for ATC to scold me for being one foot below my assigned altitude. :D

 

Thanks to all for the clues and help.

[ScatterbrainKid]

For the record I just downloaded this DH Dragon and put the Infogauge readout in it (sorry the text looks a bit blurry in this small screenshot but it looks fine on the ingame monitor screen)-

 

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub2/FSX-dragon_zpslazgdavc.jpg~original

I did it by doing what I said in my earlier post #14. (Everything after the word 'Summary')

I'm a PC dummy, so if I can muddle through anybody can, although it usually takes me a few attempts to get it right because different aircraft have different amounts of window titles..:)-

[f16jockey_2]

... I created a new CAB file with the modified xml in it ...

 

There's no actual need to do that.

 

If you extracted all contents of InfoGauge.cab into a folder called InfoGauge at the same location (the names MUST be the same), FSX will read the folder first. This is more appropriate for testing and debugging.

 

Re-cabbing (with CABDIR.exe from the SDK, NOT with WinRAR) should only be done after testing, and for saving HDD space (or for distribution). I rarely do this.

 

Wim

[jandjfrench]

Hi,

This has all been covered in this thread but I'm addressing an issue which might cause confusion for someone.

The Readme contains this "You will have to extract the *.cab. It will create an InfoGauge folder with the gauge and background bitmap inside." At least with Win 7 this is not strictly true (although it may have been true with other OSs). Creation of a folder called InfoGauge was not done automatically when I extracted the files. I did it manually. This may be due to some setting on my computer that I'm not aware of but it's what I had to do. It seems to me that manually creating the folder was not needed with XP but I may be mistaken.

Also, there was an observation about the cut off descender of the "g". I fooled around trying to fix this and was unsuccessful. I created a somewhat larger BMP and yet the problem remained. Anyone know how to fix this? I ended up using "Quartz" as a workaround.

Jim F.

[StringBean]

As info, reading the entire thread reveals that the entry I highlighted (highlit?) in red above should actually be "windowXX=Information" not "info."

 

Does not really matter what you put there.

 

It could be WindowXX=Kitchen Sink and the gauge will still work.

 

The value in that entry only defines what you see in the in sim Menu.

 

peace,

the Bean

[f16jockey_2]

Also, there was an observation about the cut off descender of the "g". I fooled around trying to fix this and was unsuccessful.

 

In all text defs, change Multiline="No" to Multiline="Yes".

You may need to change the height from Y=24 to Y=30 as well.

 

Wim

[jandjfrench]

Hi Wim,

Is this a suggestion of something to try, or something you've verified as being true? I didn't try this but I did try various things. I don't want to waste any more time on this. And it's purely academic for me at this point as I prefer Quartz. So my concerns are not really for me, but for anyone else who might be following this thread.

Thanks,

Jim F.

[HoggyDog]

There's no actual need to [re-CAB the 2 InfoGauge files]. If you extracted all contents of InfoGauge.cab into a folder called InfoGauge at the same location (the names MUST be the same), FSX will read the folder first. This is more appropriate for testing and debugging.

 

Re-cabbing (with CABDIR.exe from the SDK, NOT with WinRAR) should only be done after testing, and for saving HDD space (or for distribution).

After modifying the xml file, I tried to get the datastrip/gauge to work with just the 2 files floating free in my Gauges folder, and it didn't work, so I re-CABbed them using the built-in Windows 7 Makecab utility. After reading your tip, I created a folder instead after editing the xml and it worked perfectly. This cut several minutes off of my total xml-edit times, because the Windows Makecab command-line utility is very clunky to use. Thanks for the tip.

 

The Readme contains this "You will have to extract the *.cab. It will create an InfoGauge folder with the gauge and background bitmap inside." At least with Win 7 this is not strictly true (although it may have been true with other OSs). Creation of a folder called InfoGauge was not done automatically when I extracted the files.

I used Notepad to extract the two files, and it definitely did not create a new folder for me either. I'm using Windows 7 Home Premium x64.

 

Does not really matter what you put there. It could be WindowXX=Kitchen Sink and the gauge will still work. The value in that entry only defines what you see in the in sim Menu.

OK, well, thanks. I thought I had read somewhere in the 3 days/nights I've been messing with this addon that "Information" was some kind of keyword that enabled some desired behavior in the "gauge." I stand corrected. Well, I sit corrected. I get a crick in my neck when I try to use the keyboard while standing. :p

 

[in order to correct the cut-off descender of the "g"], In all text defs, change Multiline="No" to Multiline="Yes". You may need to change the height from Y=24 to Y=30 as well.

Wow. I applied the first suggestion, Multiline="Yes", and voilà! No more truncated descender! Thank you!

 

Hi Wim,

Is this a suggestion of something to try, or something you've verified as being true? I didn't try this but I did try various things. I don't want to waste any more time on this. And it's purely academic for me at this point as I prefer Quartz. So my concerns are not really for me, but for anyone else who might be following this thread.

At the risk of further revealing the abyssal depth of my ignorance of the inner workings of FSX, what is "Quartz?" I just Googled it but the first 10,311 hits were all about rocks and crystals... :p

[StringBean]

...what is "Quartz?"

A font.

 

You can use any font in C:\Windows\Fonts.

 

I prefer Bookman Old myself.

 

peace,

the Bean

[HoggyDog]

window_size= 0.295, 0.044

window_pos= 0.000, 0.030

 

The values for these 2 entries are percentage of the display.

 

window_size= 0.295, 0.044 - the Window is 29.5% of the display width and 4.4% of the height.

 

window_pos= 0.000, 0.030 places the top, left corner of the Window 0% in from the left edge and 3% down from the top.

 

peace,

the Bean

OK, I changed my window_pos= entry, but I still get the datastrip left-aligned when I open it with Shift-8.

 

Here are my panel.cfg (for the default B747) entries pertaining to this gauge:

[Window Titles]
Window00=Main Panel
window01=Radio Stack
Window02=GPS
window03=Throttle Quadrant
window04=Overhead Panel
window05=Clock
window06=Mini Panel
window07=Information

{[Window00]-[Window06] omitted}

[Window07]
Background_color=0,0,0
size_mm=377,45
window_size_ratio=1.000
position=1
visible=1
ident=1500
window_size= 0.295, 0.045
window_pos= 0.400, 0.030
type=Special
zorder=07
gauge00=InfoGauge!InfoGauge, 0,0,377,45

 

My expectation, based on your tips and my entry window_pos= 0.400, 0.030, is that the datastrip would open with the top left corner 40% of the way from left to right and 3% of the way from top to bottom. But it isn't doing that.

 

Any idea what I've done wrong? Thanks.

 

[What is "Quartz?"] A font.

 

You can use any font in C:\Windows\Fonts.

D'OH!

*walks quietly away, wincing as his red face brings traffic to a halt on the nearby road*