I just installed 3 monitors and have set them up with the 2D cockpit, but the horizons are not aligned. I have them aligned in XP desktop, but need to align in FS9.I keep read how great Panel Config is to fix this, but what / where is Panel config??

Ok, after some successful searching I found panel.cfg is a config file for each plane, january has good posts about setting it up.Then I found a Trelane post from 8/29 where he suggested an easier way:1) modify fs9.cfg In the (CONTROLS) section add: pan_in_cockpit_mode=12) use the hat to adjust each view window, panning with hat then zooming as needed.Should all panels have the same zoom?No need to modify each panel.cfg, it seems to work pretty good, the 1st time I seen my horizons in decent sync I almost fell out of my chair, what a difference it makes to normal single screen flying.Still not perfect sync, but I get the effect well.I'm losing AA on my main monitor for some reason since installing the 2nd video card?Last Question: is it possible to use Track IR with a 2 video 3 monitor setup so all 3 monitors pan with head movements.

You can find Panel Config in CProgram FilesMicrosoft GamesFlight Simulator 9. Open Aircraft folder then specific airplane you wish to set up.Then open the folder labelled "panel". Inside this there is a pic labelled "PANEL"- open this and you are there!!I always print it out first- then make notes about what changes I've made. This works well because frequently you will be changing two items to get the desired result and sometimes want to backtrack on one that you've gone too far with. Easy to get confused!Each time you make changes-save it.Then go back and restart your saved flight to see the result. If it was an improvement, save the flight then go back again to Panel Config to adjust further. It's a trial and error process! Sounds complicated but you'll quickly get the hang of it.This procees is repeated for each airplane.With multi monitors you can have documents open on one mon and FS on another- very handy. Just drag stuff around as needed.A quick tip re Bezels and view start angle. You will see 45.000 as the angle for VIEW_FORWARD_RIGHT_DIR= (it's the third value).Try changing this to 48.000 for two narrow bezels,or 51.000 for bezels about 2 1/4" wide or 54.000 for a width of 3 1/2" . If you want precision, measure your bezel separation and distance of eye to bezel- then plot this on paper and measure the angle with a protractor. What you are doing is moving the view further right or left so that there is a slice of scenery missing. Your brain realizes that something is missing and assumes it must be hidden behind the bezels! Ergo- a continuous image!! The first value in the VIEW_FORWARD line is the height of the view. Adjust it to get the horizons to roughly line up. If the combined horizons seem to have a curvature, use the +-second value to rotate the left or right horizons to get everything straight-for your eye height!!I know-sounds complex- but if this 75 year/old timer can do it so can you. It'll soon be second nature! Alex Reid CYYJ

Using ZOOM works "sort of" in aligning horizons but leads to discrepancies in scenery element sizes. For real accuracy and bang-on horizon alignment, the R/L View start angle needs to be adjusted in Panel Config to correspond to the actual bezel(s)width. I used Zoom until I figured out how to set the angle- there's no contest between the two methods!!However, ZOOM IS used to correct for different monitor sizes- you want all scenery elements to be same size. Measure your mons width times height and compare areas. My left mon is an LCD with area 10% less than adjacent main CRT. So ZOOM left mon to 1.10 and all is in balance. This is also significant in keeping horizon/scenery alignment.Can't help you re AA nor Track IR. Why pan if everything/all panels/ popups are open all the time including 180

Thank you Alex, I'm going to spend some time tomorrow with your suggestions, to perfect this, its really something. Pan and zoom is great to get started but I might as well spend a couple hours to get it perfected then just save it for good.I'm currently using a 24" 1920x1200 wide main, with 2 older 17" 1280x1024 sides, so that explains the zoom differences I guess. I'd love to replace the 17" ones with matching 24" wides someday.I guess Track IR would only work on all 3 monitors if a Triplehead to go was used, as panning seems effective on one monitor only.Both Track IR and this Multi-mon setup are nice. Thanks again for your help.

It's worth the effort- after you've set up one plane successfully others are simple. With your wide monitor you can set up 2D panel plus some popups, with other PUps on 2 & 3 including Kneeboard Checklists. Search for "Kneeboard Brightness" thread in Hardware forum- on AUG 13 Jim Cooper posted a screen shot for me that illustrates my approach to using multi mons. (For some reason that even AVSIM can't figure out, my triple mon screenies won't post in forums!! -and they are JPEG well under the AVSIM limit. Weird. Yet they post just fine in Emails.) Finally, when it's all tickety boo, set up a flight at a major airport at night- espec if you have Ultimate Terrain.Turn down the room lights, then switch on landing and all panel lights and hang onto reality- the sensation is, well, spectacular!!Alex Reid CYYJPS I have a small red lamp above my keyboard-flying in the dark is something else!

This is most likely for Alex ...Any chance to match horizon and do the bevel correction when using monitors of different sizes?I am starting my multi-monitor setup, and up to now I made an upgrade on my gfx card (to an X1950 Pro 512Mb) and got a second monitor, a 17in LCD, while my first monitor is a 19in LCD. Both are capable of running 1280x1024 natively.Lately I will go for a 3x19in for external views, plus 2x17in for panels, meanwhile I would like to start getting rid of tunnel view by using my 17in for external view temporarily.Thanks for your inputs!RegardsRicardo Bonon.

Hi Ricardo- Not a problem to mix monitors of different sizes - and also different types. Mine are: 17" LCD, & 2- 19 CRTs. To save space, the left LCD is turned at a 45

Alex, thanks for nice reply. I will try to implement it here, and give the feedback afterwards.About the zoom compensation for the different sizes, maybe one method could be having the same view (like forward for example) in both monitors, looking to an object (like a building for example). You would then zoom the smaller monitor till the size of the building (physically measured by a ruler) matches in both monitors. I will try that, and also your proposed bezel compensation via panel.cfg.Best regardsRicardo Bonon

Ricardo- sounds like a good way to determine the amount of Zoom needed to correct for different monitor sizes- espec if one is wide.Thanks for the suggestion. Let us know how your project works out.Alex Reid CYYJ

Alex, I did it the way I proposed (using the rulers), and came up to the same results as you mentioned using the area method, 1.10 to 1.00 zoom relation for 17in to 19in 4:3 LCD monitors.So, as you also mentioned somewhere, since the difference is not big between the monitors, the method used will not matter that much. Maybe you found a rule of thumb: when using 17 and 19 in monitor, zoom the 17in to 1.10.As for the bezel correction, I read somewhere about FS SmartView. I tried the trial version (10 min use restriction) and could not help buying it immediately. It is simply a very good time saver, no panel.cfg editing at all for correction of the angles. Everything is done with the mouse inside FS and saved to a profile file. Really worth the 13 Eur I paid.Now I have my two monitors synchronized, and I have to tell you, not even the best of the add-ons I have ever used can match the pleasure to expand the views with additional monitors. Now I am going to get my 3rd monitor to finish the job.I agree with you in your wondering: why do people even fly before getting three monitors in place?Regards & Thanks for all information you contribute in this forum about such a nice topic. Ricardo Bonon

Ricardo- You just made my day! Now help us spread the word- a 180

Alex, count on me to spread the word :DAbout FS Smartview, here is the link:http://www.wideview.it/fssmartview/It is a module that allows mouse-controlled movement of eyepoint inside FS, and so can be used to fine tune the views and makes it >MUCH< easier to perform bezel correction and matching the horizon line. I could not find a way to tilt views (the yy values in panel.cfg lines such as VIEW_FORWARD_LEFT_DIR), but I did not need to tilt my views since my monitors are straight vertical.There is a fully working trial version (10 min restriction) which allows you to check if it is worth.I STRONGLY recommend this tool for anyone dealing with fine tuning views.Enjoy!Ricardo Bonon

Roberto- thanks for the link. Sounds quite helpful.I think if you need to adjust view image HEIGHT to synch horizons, you still need panel config x.xxx value. I normally adjust to have full screen view on left mon with perhaps a popup or Kneeboard overlayed on demand. Right mon view is usually set to top of main mon panel/glareshield with most other popups open below- sort of simulating an extension of the instrument panel across #2. Also, if you angle mons 2,3 toward you slightly (like the arc of the "windows" in a real aircraft), the horizon will show an apparent modest curvature downward. It's not earth curvature ! You need to align horizontally by rotating/twisting #2,3 using the Y.YYY value. Incidentally, my desktop wallpaper is set to a plain dark gray so as to not conflict with any popups. ie- no background distraction. Title bars on popups are also changed from horrible MS blue to a similar dark gray with green lettering. (same as the Boeing 747 CDU)Cheers Alex Reid CYYJ