August 2, 200916 yr Hi guysI was wondering with the .xml programming and its related .bmp in a folder, how do I go about turning it into a gauge for FS2004? I understand I might have to create a .cab file? How or where do I do it?
August 2, 200916 yr Hi guysI was wondering with the .xml programming and its related .bmp in a folder, how do I go about turning it into a gauge for FS2004? I understand I might have to create a .cab file? How or where do I do it?You must download the Panel SDK.In this is the Cabdir.exe. From this you make a shortcut and the shortcut put in the Folder Send To ...Now you must make a Folder - the name is equal as the gauge name. In this Folder are the xml and bmp. Now you rightclick on the Folder and then Send To ... and than CabDir.Now you have cab with the name of the Gauge.
August 2, 200916 yr You must download the Panel SDK.In this is the Cabdir.exe. From this you make a shortcut and the shortcut put in the Folder Send To ...Now you must make a Folder - the name is equal as the gauge name. In this Folder are the xml and bmp. Now you rightclick on the Folder and then Send To ... and than CabDir.Now you have cab with the name of the Gauge.Why use CAB files in the first place?AFAIK, MSFS used CAB files in FS2002 to reduce the size of downloads, which was fair enough in those days of limited bandwidth and small hard drives. But.... and it's a big BUT... retrieving a gauge from a CAB file is definitely slower than retrieving the same gauge from a simple folder. The project will be a bit larger but that's a one time hit. Faster gauge retrieval pays off every time a panel is opened or a new window is called up.I gave up on CAB files a few years back. I use folders instead. The only problems have been the occasional downloader who decides to open the gauge folder(s) and manually move the loose files into the FS GAUGES folder. But so what? We'll never eliminate RFTI errors.Just one man's opinion....Glenn
August 3, 200916 yr Moderator AFAIK, MSFS used CAB files in FS2002 to reduce the size of downloads, which was fair enough in those days of limited bandwidth and small hard drives. But.... and it's a big BUT... retrieving a gauge from a CAB file is definitely slower than retrieving the same gauge from a simple folder. The project will be a bit larger but that's a one time hit. Faster gauge retrieval pays off every time a panel is opened or a new window is called up.Glenn, .CAB files are only extracted once on panel load. They remain that way until the a/c is unloaded, then the "uncompressed copies" are flushed...There is no adverse impact on framerates at all. Fr. Bill AOPA Member: 07141481 AARP Member: 3209010556 Avsim Board of Directors | Avsim Forums Moderator
August 4, 200916 yr Hi guysI was wondering with the .xml programming and its related .bmp in a folder, how do I go about turning it into a gauge for FS2004? I understand I might have to create a .cab file? How or where do I do it?Hiyou need to download a utility called 'cabpack', it extracts the files from a folder of your choice and creates a cab file in whatever directory you choose
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