Hello. I'm wondering if anyone has made an icon button to display on the panel of aircraft that you have installed Lee Hetherington's TCAS II 7.0 gauge.I am trying this out but would like to have a button to click on the panel to bring it up instead of doing the Shift+(Number) method. I can create my own button but I do not know how to get it into the .gau or .cab format to actually be used.If anyone can help me out with maybe one that you have already created that would be great.Thanks very much!

Hello Carob,The icons(simicon, button, whatever) you see on a panel are not usually in a .gau file. You could make your own set of buttons and put them in .cab file. I think you'd have to know some XML. Or you could use a button that is already available in one of many .cab's, such as cpt.icons.cab or SimIcons.cab.But that has nothing to do with where it actually gets placed on a Panel. Where an icon gets placed on a panel is specified in the particular aircraft's panel.cfg file. Example:gauge50=SimIcons!Clock Icon, 16, 111gauge51=SimIcons!Kneeboard Icon, 30, 111gauge52=SimIcons!ATC Icon, 44, 111gauge53=SimIcons!Overhead Icon, 114, 111gauge54=SimIcons!ECU Icon, 100, 111gauge55=SimIcons!Map Icon, 58, 111gauge56=SimIcons!Avionics Icon, 72, 111gauge57=SimIcons!GPS Icon, 86, 111The two numbers at the end of each of those lines defines where the icon gets displayed on the panel. The first number is horizontal, it tells where to display the icon starting from the left of your screen. So the first one gets displayed 16 pixels from the lest. The second number is vertical, how far from the top of the screen. So the first one up there is to be displayed 111 pixels from the top. So... 16 pixels over from the left and 111 pixels down from the top for the clock icon. Also you'll notice that they are all defined as being displayed at 111 pixels from the top. So, this means all these simicons are lined up horizontally like ducks in a row. Each icon is just a further from the left as you go down the list there but they are all 111 pixels down from the top.Where an icon should be displayed is unique to every aircraft's panel layout. That clock icon in my example might be fine for the default Boeing 747-400 panel, but if you try it in the Mooney Bravo then the icon might be right in the middle of some instrument... like the VSI or ADI or who knows what. There is no 'one size fits all panels' when it comes to placing a simicon on a panel. Where to place an icon is unique to the particular layout of the panel itself.Hope that helps,JimP.S. If you really want to start customizing quite a few panels then you might want look into purchasing FS Panel Studio.

I know how to add the button. That isn't my problem. The problem is that I don't have a button (icon) to use that is already in a .cab or .xml file.The ones that are already included in the cpt.icons.cab and simicons.cab are already being used for certain tasks. I would like to use a button that basically doesn't already have a meaning for it. Hince creating my own. The problem is I don't know how to create the .xml or .cab file.

Ahhh, I see. Ok, well, there are quite a few icon.cab's out there. I have a number of them in my gauges folder. But I couldn't tell you just what aircraft I installed that installed them. If you open one of this up with WinZip it will give you an idea of what you need to do to make your own. I believe the .xml files can be opened up as if they are a text file. But to edit them or make your own xml icon code you might want to download and install an xml editor. And obviously you would need to create the bitmap image of the icon in a graphics program/editor. Anyway, here's a list of some of the simicon .cab files I have...b33simicons.cab - I know this one. It was installed by the Beech Bonanza B33 - b33.zip (followed the fs9 update if you want to fly it in FS9 b33fs9.zip).cpt.toggles.black.cabcpt.toggles.king.cabcpt.toggles.knob.cabcpt.toggles.light.green.cabcpt.toggles.light.red.cabcpt.toggles.light.square.cabcpt.toggles.meljet777.cab - Obviously from a MelJet 777 packagecpt.toggles.metal.cabcpt.toggles.plastic.cabcpt.toggles.rocker.cabcpt.toggles.rocker.r.cabcpt.toggles.steel.cabcpt.toggles.trans.cabDA20-C1_SW.cab - Diamond Katana C1 Evolutiondhc6_sw.cablp757simicons.cab - Lonny Payne's 757 PanelST_Switches.cabToggles.CABI know that might not help too awful much since I can't remember which aircraft package each one of those came from. But I think it should give you an idea that they are a number of ones already available and you could just use one of them. Or, as I said open one up with WinZip to get an idea on how to make your own. To make a .cab file go to http://www.microsoft.com/games/flightsimul...wnloads_sdk.asp and download the Cabdir SDK... (cabdir_sdk_setup.exe / 559KB).I hope that helps you out a little at least. x:)~If you're lucky someone will come along and give you a full blown tutorial on creating an XML simicon. I know that's probably what you are really looking for. ;)Cheers,Jim

>If you're lucky someone will come along and give you a full>blown tutorial on creating an XML simicon. I know that's>probably what you are really looking for. ;)If anyone want's to know how, just drop in the Aircraft & Panel Design Forum right here on AVSIM! At the top of the page is an 'anchored thread' which is essentially an XML gauge FAQ... :)

This gauge will do two things:- The hotspot sub gauge will pop up a window with ident=859;- the TCASControl sub gauge will make the TCAS react to FS electrical and avionics state providing that the ILH IVSI gauge has the options pic:noJos

Jose,Probably very stupid, but what is the synthax in the panel.cfg?I installed it, but don't see the icon.gauge33=TCASchange, 100, 100, 50, 50Jan"Beatus Ille Procul Negotiis"