Locking Views

[Jetblst 23]

I am new to AVSIM so I am sorry if this has been discussed somewhere else. I have tried to search views, view lock, on and on. With no luck.SO, here is my question. I set up a flight with all my views where I want them. I also fly with a Saitek X52 so I have many of the panel views set up on my t-switches. I am not understanding why I save the flight with all my views in place, and then, I come back some time later and a few panels are not where I saved them. For me it is a drag on the realism thing, when I get in and there on my dashboard glareshield sits my throttle quad, my IRS panel (Wilco PIC 737) is on the window.. :( How can I get these and all panels I workwith to stay put? :( Is there some sort of add on software for this too? I am new to add-ons and nhancers etc. Thanks again for reading and helping.Jet

[Chuck_B 2]

First off, are you saving your flights the exact way you want your panel saved, and then loading up the same exact plane and then loading up that flight? Or are you loading the plane after you load your saved flight, after starting FS9 in, say, the default cessna? How is your "Default Flight" configured? Also, is there a panel configuration setting or manager in the Wilco menu that is overriding your saved panel info every time? Past user configuration for many payware planes (Wilco?, PMDG, PSS, etc.) simply can't be saved in MSFS, the feature has to be built into their model. You can also check the support forums for whichever payware aircraft you're using.HTH

[january 19]

I am new to AVSIM so I am sorry if this has been discussed somewhere else. I have tried to search views, view lock, on and on. With no luck.SO, here is my question. I set up a flight with all my views where I want them. I also fly with a Saitek X52 so I have many of the panel views set up on my t-switches. I am not understanding why I save the flight with all my views in place, and then, I come back some time later and a few panels are not where I saved them. For me it is a drag on the realism thing, when I get in and there on my dashboard glareshield sits my throttle quad, my IRS panel (Wilco PIC 737) is on the window.. :( How can I get these and all panels I workwith to stay put? :( Is there some sort of add on software for this too? I am new to add-ons and nhancers etc. Thanks again for reading and helping.Jet

I believe you have to undock a popup sub panel, then reposition & resize, to make it stay that way in a saved flight. Otherwise it reverts to wherever the designer placed it. If you don't like the colour, letter colour or vertical height of undocked popups, you can change those elements in Windows/Display/Appearance.I set mine to dark green letters on black background with min. height. The title bar almost disappears!Alex Reid

[Jetblst 23]

First off, are you saving your flights the exact way you want your panel saved, and then loading up the same exact plane and then loading up that flight? Or are you loading the plane after you load your saved flight, after starting FS9 in, say, the default cessna? How is your "Default Flight" configured? Also, is there a panel configuration setting or manager in the Wilco menu that is overriding your saved panel info every time? Past user configuration for many payware planes (Wilco?, PMDG, PSS, etc.) simply can't be saved in MSFS, the feature has to be built into their model. You can also check the support forums for whichever payware aircraft you're using.HTH

Well yes and yes, if you can imagine. Thank you for helping out. What I do is create the flight with WX, W/B, Loading. Then I put all my view panels where I want. Radio, throttles, etc. If it happends to be an APU running flight I save it that way. If cold and dark that is how I save it. USUALLY, all my panel views will save. BUT for some uknown reason every once in a while one or two of the panels will migrate to another location other than where I saved it. In Wilco/Feelthere PIC 737 we use the IRS panel a fair amount because the 737 classics were based on this system. It is very cool and well done. However I like to put it on the top and right of the overhead panel. It will stay there for a couple of flights and then oops. It moves. Usually to like was said, where the designer put it. This is pretty much the same in straight up FS9 with no add ons too. Would you know if there is a way in the .cfg files or something to lock down the position of a panel view. I also like to run with my view out the windows at .75 zoom. It would be nice if all that was saved so when I jump in so to speak I am ready for a flight and not fritzing with panels all day. Kind ruins the street cred of "total imersion" ! :( Thanks again, any ideas are appreciated!!Jet

Well yes and yes, if you can imagine. Thank you for helping out. What I do is create the flight with WX, W/B, Loading. Then I put all my view panels where I want. Radio, throttles, etc. If it happends to be an APU running flight I save it that way. If cold and dark that is how I save it. USUALLY, all my panel views will save. BUT for some uknown reason every once in a while one or two of the panels will migrate to another location other than where I saved it. In Wilco/Feelthere PIC 737 we use the IRS panel a fair amount because the 737 classics were based on this system. It is very cool and well done. However I like to put it on the top and right of the overhead panel. It will stay there for a couple of flights and then oops. It moves. Usually to like was said, where the designer put it. This is pretty much the same in straight up FS9 with no add ons too. Would you know if there is a way in the .cfg files or something to lock down the position of a panel view. I also like to run with my view out the windows at .75 zoom. It would be nice if all that was saved so when I jump in so to speak I am ready for a flight and not fritzing with panels all day. Kind ruins the street cred of "total imersion" ! :( Thanks again, any ideas are appreciated!!JetOH on rereading your post HTH. I have been thinking of just saving a "Generic Flight" With all the panels saved etc. THEN going through the flight planner etc. Your thoughts?

I believe you have to undock a popup sub panel, then reposition & resize, to make it stay that way in a saved flight. Otherwise it reverts to wherever the designer placed it. If you don't like the colour, letter colour or vertical height of undocked popups, you can change those elements in Windows/Display/Appearance.I set mine to dark green letters on black background with min. height. The title bar almost disappears!Alex Reid

Thanks Alex. If you do that with the appearance does it not mess up your whole system though with funky colors?

[ronzie 21]

It is possible in the panel.cfg for each window to describe if the window is visible or not, an initial placement by screen section or by screen coordinates, initial size, etc. It is part of the FS9 Panel SDK and is copyrighted by MS so I can't paste the material.For ease of use for about $25 you can from flight1.com download FS Panel Studio that should let you in a panel/window preview let you size and position the windows and then dock them for your next use. I have been using that for years. It works for FS9 and FSX.A word of caution, however. I can't speak for Wilco but for PMDG's 737NGs you must use the icon or hot key to show the panel or a screen can freeze requiring a screen refresh. You can't use the default SHIFT-number to bring up a sub-panel window. The hot-keys are defined in PMDG's own utility and evidently do more than just show the window. In this case probably position docking might work but the window should start as invisible.Here is a proprietary aircraft (some files bitmaps are not displayable) sub-panel placement shot from FSP just to show you the properties available.

[january 19]

-------Thanks Alex. If you do that with the appearance does it not mess up your whole system though with funky colors?

Yes- All Title Bars in the system will be changed- but I can assure you, they are still very readable and look a lot better than the sickly, pale blue default bars in Windows!The colours are distinctly not "funky". I also set Windows Desktop background colour to black and Auto Hide Task and Menu bars for a look comparable to Full Screen. (Multiple monitors/views does not work in Full Screen.)Here are two pics to illustrateAlex Reid.A Page from WINDOWS-Display Settings on top of a page from My Pictures. Black rectangles are black Desktops in unused monitors #2 & 3 in this pic.Ready For Pushback 742 with all panels open & layered. Click on the corner of any, to bring it to the top for instant use. Find the title bars & patches of black Desktop! Note that all the popups are positioned where I placed them after undocking - and they remain there for each new flight!

[Jetblst 23]

NICE! I still cannot seem to get a screen shot. Would someone please give me "The Idiots Guide to Capturing A Good Screen Shot? :( So here is a way that works that I have found to make sure your window views in FS2009, Wilco PIC 737. It is low tech, but it gets the job done. I can now keep my throttles, kneeboard, etc (SHIFT 1-9) views where I set them. It is a little complicated but to me it is faster than resizing the views and I found the undocking method, as workable yes, but I just could not deal with the MS Windowview around my equipment. I found that the problem lies in whenever you update, add liveries, add a new aircraft, what have you, it tends to change your SHIFT 1-* views and was very frustrating. Call me a perfectionist. Anyway here is my fix.What I found is that it is not enough to merely "save a flight" and expect your views to be there next time you update your sim for whatever reason as it kind of suggests in the wonderful video by John and Martha. Yes some of your flight material gets saved but not all. I am talking again, mainly about your FS 2004, Shift 1-* commands. However this help actually saves everything, so you can now update all you need to and truely have your settings all be there again when you are finished updateing. (Keep in mind though this only works on as many aircraft as you care to do the following procedure on. NOTE: If you mess up, and delete your aircraft.cfg file, you will have to re-install that model, so BE CAREFUL. As with all file manipulation, BACK UP YOUR FILES.1. Locate your "aircraft.cfg" files on your favorite, most flown aircraft file. For example (C:\program files\Flight Simulator 9\Aircraft\feelThere pic 737-300)2. Once you find your aircraft.cfg file, for that aircraft model...3. Right click on this file, and select "Copy".4. Simply "paste" (Right Click again) this file to this same directory/folder. NOTE: You'll now see "Copy of aircraft.cfg" in your directory with your aircraft.cfg. 5. Repeat the process for all of your favorite aircraft. 6. Go about your updating, installing, re-installing, or whatever admin task you need to do.7. After you have completed your admin tasks, go back to your files as suggested above and rename your "Copy of aircraft.cfg files to "aircraft.cfg" for all your favorite aircraft. (Do this because your current aircraft.cfg files have not been reset to defaults in most cases). All your throttles, FMCs, Radios, etc on and on will be saved as you left them per your last flight. If your like me, and have many saved or created flights, with many different models this is extremely helpful.Another little hint, would be to add shortcuts to your aircraft folders of FS2004 to your desktop! Saves a bunch of clicking. This is far faster than constantly re-stretching or shinking your views to fit your cockpit everytime you start up. At least it works for me. Hope it helps you.If you have a better procedure for this I would appreciate any pointers and helps!! Jet. (This post is designed to help the complete newb (Such as myself) on up in skill level.)

[vonmar 122]

"Would someone please give me "The Idiots Guide to Capturing A Good Screen Shot?" I use this solution ... works very well.http://screenshot-utility.com/index.html

[Jetblst 23]

"Would someone please give me "The Idiots Guide to Capturing A Good Screen Shot?"I use this solution ... works very well.http://screenshot-utility.com/index.html

[Jetblst 23]

Thank you much better.

[vonmar 122]

And, because I remember you mentioning FSX on the Navigraph forum:I have used this on a two monitor setup with excellent results:http://www.casawave.fr/upload/fsx/Panel_Position.zip

[Jetblst 23]

Here is how I have my FMC, Throttle quad, etc., set up on 2d. I have it this way because my machine is older and anything VC causes HUGE stutters, and IMO, VC, is just not my cup of tea.I have assigned these views to my toggle switches on my X52.These views are NOT how they show up in default. (For those of you new to the topic). Here is what the the SHIFT 1-9 views look like in default mode.So to keep these comming up in the same position everytime, and not having to resize them, I create, (what I call "A" flights). These so called "A" flights are like template flights. I call them A flights so that they come up first in my Select a Flight" Menu. From there I select whichever "A" flight I want. I then create my flights from within the cockpit. WX, Time of Day, Aircraft Loading, Flight planning etc. I carefully, save that flight as (737-300 MSP-ORD Delta) for example. Now when I do that flight everything is saved where it should be. If I have to say update the FMC, or add a livery, etc, and keep all of my flights from having these windows reset to default, I perform the above suggestion I posted on only the aircraft.cfg files. When the aircraft.cfg file is renamed to something else, MSFS is not allowed to go in there and reset everything to default. I simply then rename the copy of aircraft.cfg to aircraft.cfg for the three models Wilco PIC 737 gives. All I can say is that it's a heck of a lot shorter method than resizing those windows evertime I want to fly. Seems like a pain but once you do it, its really nice. If anyone knows a better way of locking views, and not having the MSWINDOW titles on there let me know. THANKS!Jet

[vonmar 122]

And, because I remember you mentioning FSX on the Navigraph forum:I have used this on a two monitor setup with excellent results:http://www.casawave.fr/upload/fsx/Panel_Position.zip

Mark,I do not remember if you mentioned your Operating System in the Navigraph forum posts.So, here, I forgot to mention that so far I have only tested this Panel Position with WinXp.

[Jetblst 23]

GREAT POINT oops.This was done using Windows XP Pro Edition.