digital pitch trim gauge

[johnboy007007 0]

can anyone let me have a simple digital pitch trim gauge to use with my epic dynasty. Just placing the mouse on the trim wheel on the panel does not help as the cursor box goes away after a few seconds, not helping with setting up the configerations for landing.

[fxsttcb 1]

This is just a simple one. Whole degrees and tenths. Only the digits show, the rest is transparent.Change "Orange" to whatever color you want, and "Quartz" to your font choice, noting that not all Windows fonts are available. Check the sims "Fonts" folder.Make a Black(0,0,0) bitmap 66x32, name it DTI_bkgnd.bmp.Copy all the code into notepad, save it with whatever name you want .xml as Encoding: UTF-8 in a named folder(my gauges) then put it in your panel.cfg ...Don

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><Gauge Name="Digital Trim Indicator" Version="1.0">  <Image Name="DTI_Bkgnd.bmp"	<Transparent>Yes</Transparent>  </Image>  <Element>	<Visible>(A:CIRCUIT GENERAL PANEL ON, bool)</Visible>	<Position X="0" Y="0" />	<Text X="66" Y="32" Bright="Yes" Length="4" Font="Quartz" Color="Orange" Adjust="Center" VerticalAdjust="Center" Multiline="No" Fixed="no">  	<String>%((A:Elevator Trim Position,degrees))%!2.1f!</String>	</Text>  </Element></Gauge>

[johnboy007007 0]

thanks for that fxsttcb, that looks promising. Im new to this making gauges and so dont know how to set up a black bitmap as you suggest, can you help me with that as well, that would be fantastic, regards Johnboy

[fxsttcb 1]

Launch MS paint, on the upper left drop down is "Properties" make it 66 pix wide by 32 high, use the bucket tool and make it black(top left color)...Don

[Bob Familton 14]

Launch MS paint, on the upper left drop down is "Properties" make it 66 pix wide by 32 high, use the bucket tool and make it black(top left color)...Don

Hi Don. I tried it with the bmp and it does not show up at all. I even tried removing the Visible line like was suggested by another member in johnboy's other thread here. Bob.

[fxsttcb 1]

Quite odd! I just stuck it in the plane I am flying and it works fine for me!I tried different sizes in the panel.cfg and it tracks different scaling OK too.I'll repost the code taken directly from it, just in case.Make sure the saved file's Encoding is set to UTF-8 or it won't work...Don

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><Gauge Name="Digital Trim Indicator" Version="1.0">  <Image Name="DTI_Bkgnd.bmp" Luminous="no">	<Transparent>Yes</Transparent>  </Image>  <Element>	<Visible>(A:CIRCUIT GENERAL PANEL ON, bool)</Visible>	<Position X="0" Y="0" />	<Text X="66" Y="32" Bright="Yes" Length="4" Font="Quartz" Color="Orange" Adjust="Center" VerticalAdjust="Center" Multiline="No" Fixed="no">  	<String>%((A:Elevator Trim Position,degrees))%!2.1f!</String>	</Text>  </Element></Gauge>

[edit]I copied my first post and ran it through my line by line comparison spreadsheet and there was indeed an error in the <Image description. It was truncated at the end of "DTI_Bkgnd.bmp" How that happened is beyond me!

[johnboy007007 0]

Hi John, I just wanted to make you aware you e-mailed forum@avsim.com with your response.  Our forum system does not support "reply by e-mail".  In order to respond to the message sender, please login to the AVSIM Forums, and access your private message box.  I hope this helps! Chase Kreznor | Library/Forum Administrator | AVSIM OnlineMy soul is in the sky. ~William Shakespeare From: John Kennard [mailto:johnboykennard007@yahoo.co.uk] Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2011 3:45 PMTo: The AVSIM ForumsSubject: Re: fxsttcb has replied to a personal conversation Hi Don, am loseing the will to live am as far as I know following your instructions to the letter, but nothing.  Only thing I can think of is I dont know where to put the line Gauge00=TrimGauges!DigElevTrim, 700,350,66,32(what im putting in ?) havent a clue, and all the [window=00], [window-01] etc, what do they mean, and do I need to add a similiar line.  Does the gauge00=TrimGauges!DigElevTrim, 700,350,66,32 line point fsx to the new folder "TrimGauges" you told me to add with DTI_Bkgnd.bmp file and DigElevTrim.xml file ?. When you say "add it" to panel.cfg I assume you mean the Gaugexx line. Reason fore me choosing 700,350 for position is the tail number on the main panel in the epic lt is at 788,350 and to the left of it there is just the black instrumental console which is black, I assume the bmp file black box 66,32 will show over this, or is this why im not seeing the gauge ?.  As you can see my understanding of all this is not too good, and dont really have a clue?. Hope you can shred some light ,  Johnboy 

[fxsttcb 1]

OK! well this is not hard, but, does require a little knowledge about bitmaps, the FSX folder structure, and panels. I'll attempt a little help. Inside the plane's main folder is a panel folder which contains the panel.cfg and bitmaps for the panel and extra windows. We will use the default A321 as an example.Open the Airbus_A321 panel.cfg in notepad. [Window Titles]Window00=Main Panel........Window12=Mini PanelHere is where you would add a new window title, numbered next. This is not necessary to add a gauge to an existing window, but useable for future reference. You would then add a same numbered [WindowXX] description following the last [Window??] in the descriptions. //--------------------------------------------------------[Window00]file_1024=airbus_a321_panel_background.bmpfile_1024_night=airbus_a321_panel_background_night.bmpsize_mm=1024position=7visible=1ident=MAIN_PANEL gauge00=Airbus_A321!altimeter_backup, 676,505// Notice only 2 numbers. This gauge uses it's default size.......gauge08=Airbus_A321!ecams, 788, 521, 215, 214// This is positioned and sized using all 4 available entries......gauge36=n_number_plaque!n_number_plaque, 258,429,67,19Place your new gauge here ie: gauge37=TrimGauges!DigElevTrim, X position,Y position, X size, Y size Gauge36 is the last gauge in [Window00] so the next "new" gauge obviously is 37. X position, Y positon, X size, and Y size, all refer to bitmap pixels.positions = bitmap coordinates, sizes = pixel count.open the airbus_a321_panel_background.bmp.Using the "select" tool you will be able to move the cursor to x=788 and y=521.That will be the upper left corner of where the "ecams" gauge is placed on the panel.If you drag the rectangle, from that point, until it is 215 pixels wide(X size) by 214 tall(Y size) you will see how the gauge is placed and sized. Most gauges can be sized according to need, but, you should maintain the aspect ratio so they aren't distorted.For instance the DigElevTrim background bitmap is 66pix wide by 32pix tall. Lets install it!Pick a spot where you want it using the select tool on the Backgound bitmap of the Panel Window you intend for it to show up. Note the pixel coordinates for the upper left corner, those will be the entries in the panel.cfg for X/Y position.gaugeXX=TrimGauges!DigElevTrim, X,Y,66,32 Now, with the rectangle positioned drag it to the width where it will fit the place on the bitmap, note the pixel width of the rectangle, say 28 pixels. That will be the X size. Replace 66 in the gauge= line with the new number.To maintain the proper ratio, Divide 28 by 66, and multiply 32.The result rounded to the nearest whole number will be the Y size. Replace 32 in the gauge= line with the new number. Now you can close any stuff that we opened while doing this. DO NOT Save Changes!Now that you have a little familiarity you can attack the intended target! For a complete explanation of gauges and panels refer to the SDK. For a full boogie WYSIWYG panel editor FS Panel Studio, can't be beat.At $25 it is by far the absolute best add-on in my repertoire. Sorry so windy! You asked for it! It could have been longer, but, that almost sums up my knowledge of gauge placement! Enjoy...Don

[johnboy007007 0]

Hey thanks Don, really appreciate you taking the time to help me. I am now begining to see what I was failing to see and do, so will spend a little time over weekend and hopefully will get to rock my world and be ever so happy. your a chum johnboy...

[banananav 0]

Have just spent 3 hrs trying to make this work with PMDG 737NG - you have to modify all 3 panel config files for each model you use !However, it shows 0 deg when the VC trim is showing 4 deg NU - obviously a PMDG-ism.Is there a quick way to add 4 to the displayed digits ?I only need this for the PMDG 737NG due to their obtuse refusal to provide a 2d throttle quadrant.Thanks Chris

[n4gix 4,947]

%!2.1f! The first number is the number of digits to the left of the decimal. The second number is the number of digits to the right of the decimal. Simply adjust them as desired!

[banananav 0]

Sorry, I should have explained the problem more clearly.The number of digits displayed either side of the decimal point are correctHowever, if one looks at the analogue trim reading in the VC (which in the PMDG 737NG is the only way you can see this setting) and it shows,for example, 5.3 (degrees of Nose Up trim) the digital reading from the gauge made as above shows 1.3My question is therefore, is there a simple way to re-datum the digital trim gauge - by adding 4 deg to the displayed figure - to bring the digital gauge into synch with the PMDG VC figure ?

[n4gix 4,947]

My question is therefore, is there a simple way to re-datum the digital trim gauge - by adding 4 deg to the displayed figure - to bring the digital gauge into synch with the PMDG VC figure ?

Yes, very simple:

<String>%((A:Elevator Trim Position,degrees) 4.0 +)%!2.1f!</String>

[banananav 0]

Perfect - ThanksChris