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Pfd sizing issue


stinger2k2

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Hi,

 

I hope one of you gauge designers will be able to answer my question.

 

For my home cockpit i open a separate pfd window. When i stretch it to fit my screen everything is fine to a point, but beyond a certain size the background blue/brown colours go haywire.

 

I am guessing that this is a texture size problem that is limiting how far i can stretch it. Is there anything i can do to get over this issue ?

 

Cheers

Stinger

 

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that's tricky to do.

 

A gauge is stricktly size defined.

For example: 90 pixel wide, 90 high.

It has a texture file of that exact size.

Eache gauge element (for example on a pfd: speed tape position, altitude tape, "ball",

purple ils indicators, etc, etc) is ecatly position defined inside the 90x90 square.

 

 

It is then placed on the popup panel. With a new size definition in the panel.cfg.

That "stretches it out".

 

And if you pop it up and make it even larger, it may become too much.

The texture indeed can start looking very different when stretched, also happens when sretched smaller.

 

-------

To make the gauge itself bigger would mean rewriting every coordinate and size insid the gauge.

That's possible. But a lot of trial and error.

 

If you make the background texture bigger only. Nothing changes.

The gauge is still defined as 90x90. That means only the top right cormner of the bigger background shows.

The reest dos not.

It won't look much different, because all elements will still be placed in their original positions. They overlay the background anyway in this kind of gauge, so you don't see much difference.

 

 

To really make the gauge bigger yo need to make a bigger background texture,

Let's say you go to 180x180.

all other textures, like speed tape, Alt tape, ball, etc, must be made twice as big as well.

The locations of the elements will change. You need to calculate all the new positions.

 

Numbers and letters are not always textures. Sometimes it is Data.

If the gauge shows data as well, there's another issue. Data is defined with a colour, a font.... and a fontsize!

You will have to adjust all the fontsizes.

(While making sure the now wider text and numbers don't run off the screen at high values.)

 

 

Making new textures will be the most problematic.

I don't think you can do that by just resizing the files with a picture editor. That would do the same as stretching in fsx.

 

So you need to make the new textures yourself. From scratch.

For a backround that may be doable.

But making a speed tape is something of a headscratcher for me.

Those are made in reverse, mirrored in a very weird way.

 

There's probably more details. But that's the gist of it.

Doable, but tricky. A lot of work.

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My pleasure.:D

 

I think you understood what I said.:) It clearly seems daunting to you. I get that.

Changing the coordinates is not that difficult though. It's basic maths.

I thought it would a good idea to add an image. Followed by more explanation below it. (Plus, had an idea why resizing may not be needed!!)

 

 

grey--background image. (and gauge size).

green and brown--elements placed on it.

blue: data.

 

Top left:

original small version. 90x90

 

Bottom: Large version. 180x180.

 

Coordinates are always all measured from top left corner of the gauge.

 

Image:

gauge layout.png

 

 

----

Original coordinates of brown element: 10,10

(10 to the left, and ten down, from the top left corner of the gauge.)

Element size: 08,70

(element is 8 pixels wide, 70 pixels high.)

 

 

New size gauge position of brown element.

20,20

new width and heiht:

16, 140

 

(in both cases, double of the original values.)

In this case a simple x2. because the gauge becomes exactly twice as big.

Same x2 for every element.

 

 

(Of course, not a simple x2 if you make the gauge 1.5 times as high and wide. Then it would be a simple x1.5) And gets a little more difficult if you make it 2 times as wide, and 1.5 times as high.;)

 

----------

Data in blue needs a larger font. (And different coordinates of course.)

 

------

 

 

You may not need any of that.

Sometimes it is possible to improve the quality of a gauge textures.

Good photo editors. For example Photoshop, or the freeware GIMP. They have options to improve colour intensity, sharpness, colour saturation etc.

You can improve images a lot with that.

 

Leaving the gauge the same size, and just improving the image quality of it's textures could therefore help.

 

Regards,

il.

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Wow, brilliant info and explanation!

 

A little more detail from my end may help.

I am using the Carenado Phenom 300. The pfd is placed onto a 1024x768 screen and is fine if i fit the pfd to screen size. However, what i really need is to NOT see the buttons etc on the left and right of the pfd because i have physically modelled them in my cockpit.

 

So, the problem occurs when i pull out the width of the pfd so that i dont see the two edge strips with the buttons.

 

The problem only seems to manifest itself by messing up the blue/brown background image so maybe just upping the resolution of the background image may work?

 

Make sense?

 

Cheers Stinger

 

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Thanks!:o

 

Yes. Makes very much sense. Was thinking of adding that bit to last post actually But did not do that, to keep main info clear and concise.

I thought: "he may have just made it slightly larger then the creen by accident.":)

Now I know it is on purpose;):D

 

Back when I used fsx muti screen I saw that if you make any panel larger then the screen, you get big problems.

For example, the whole gauge can start blinking like made. Showing, then not showing, etc.

That does not happen with "regular programs" that all run in a (usually single) window in Windows.

They are either in a Window, and that can be moved outside the screen.

Or they are simply running "full screen".

 

But fsx is strange, in that it opens running on one screen. And then turns the other screens black.

Having a gauge halso on one screen and half on the other causes issues.

 

It's as if FSX takes control of how monitors are running. Takes over from Windows in a way.

I have no idea how that works behind the scenes btw. This is just how I obcerved what goes wrong what goes wrong and deduced with basic logic.

 

 

A suggestion I wanted to post also had been:

Maybe try running the PFD in a Window. (right click gauge and then click: "undock gauge").

It would give a blue border. But it would prevent the colour change perhaps.

I realised that a border isn't what you wanted though.

 

Now that I know you want to loose the edge, maybe use undock Window.

Then drag it so the gauge buttons, and also the blue Dock border are outside the screen.

 

Other idea. Maybe you can make the Dock border less annoying.

I'm not sure if it is possible. But if the coulout of it were changed to grey or dark brown. It would be much less distracting.

 

 

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

Completely different approach to edit the gauge. With a very simple edit achieve exactly what you want. Simply by only changing the "Displayed Size" of the gauge.

 

Leaving everything in the gauge.

But make the "size" become for example instead of:

90x90

90x70

(same width, less high. Height is measured from top-left. So row of butons that was at the bottom does not show any more.)

 

Sizes of images would NOT need changing. The edge of them (where buttons are) would simply not appear.

And not that they "appear but are invisible", no. The gauge would simply become 90x70. with no buttons. and then you can resize that to "full screen."

 

The size of the gauge would actually be: 90x70 then.

All functioning code would stil work the same.

Images work fine too. (those that are displayed, are as they always are. Button images won't show of course. Simple.

 

One other change needed only.

The popup would need changing in ratio just like the gauge.

You now had a 90x90 gauge, on a 90x90 popup.

If you make it a 90x70 gauge, you need to edit the size of the popup in the aircraft.cfg to 90x70 as well. That is a simple change.

 

Conclusion. I think that should all be doable with two or three simple size changes.

But I may be overlooking something. I would have to look at a few gauges to see if it is really that easy.

I don't have time to do that now. Will let you know when I get round to it.

 

 

---

2 requiremnents though:

>>It has to be a .xml gauge. (In a Cab file, so you can extract that and then edit the .xml file inside)

>>>>It can't be against the eula of the plane you use. Usually in payware planes editing files is against their eula.

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