Resize ATC window permanently?

[Noel 4,487]

On 1/8/2018 at 10:45 AM, newtie said:

Hi all-

Is there a way to resize the ATC window?

ATC chatter occupies about one third of the window with the rest white space.

Thanks, Mark

Yes, though it may in part depend on which plane you're in.   What you can do is resize the ATC window (and any 2D pop ups, etc) and save it to your DEFAULT FLIGHT.   I do this w/ the Majestic Q400 and it saves everything in the panel state inc window size and positions.

[Guest]

Glad to have been of help, everyone! It is odd how such a simple trick has remained unknown to some, including me: I only found out about this trick a few months ago while I am almost certain this option has been there at least since the release of FSX...!

9 minutes ago, Noel said:

Yes, though it may in part depend on which plane you're in.   What you can do is resize the ATC window (and any 2D pop ups, etc) and save it to your DEFAULT FLIGHT.   I do this w/ the Majestic Q400 and it saves everything in the panel state inc window size and positions.

Correct, but default flights with addon planes often are a recipy for trouble. And sometimes some settings won't stick when you select another plane. I did have a default flight with a default plane at my home base, specific situation, time, weather, etc. AND the ATC window in the top left corner but quite often, if not always, the ATC returned to its default location after loading a different plane. Editing the missionpanels.cfg always works and for every plane. It is the most secure way of getting this done once and for all.

BTW Tip for those who use addons like GSX, ProATC, Active Sky: you can also change the size and position of the Simconnect window which those addons uses for interaction! I myself made it a bit smaller and positioned in the lower left corner. To do this you have to edit the same missionpanels.cfg but then [Windows12]. By default this has its size in mm (size_mm = 375, 250) but I changed that to:

window_size = 0.16, 0.53

because I found that easier to figure out, and

position = 6

Of course you can use any numbers you like. Since that window is used a lot it is very convenient to have that window where you want it!

[Noel 4,487]

Very good, thanks Jeroen, though likely I'll never use the information as I've lost all patience and tolerance for fiddling w/ P3D.   I treasure making no changes and having it all work perfectly, which is normally the case, until I decide to change something, after which commences the troubleshooting!

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Noel said:

Very good, thanks Jeroen, though likely I'll never use the information as I've lost all patience and tolerance for fiddling w/ P3D.   I treasure making no changes and having it all work perfectly, which is normally the case, until I decide to change something, after which commences the troubleshooting!

Haha, yes, I understand the desire to keep everything unchanged. But this change won’t give you any problems that need troubleshooting, in fact, using a default flight may cause more problems quicker! 

[FlightSimDimm 16]

This is a great tip - I just did it and works perfect. With a 55" screen, the ATC window was always too large and misplaced.

Thanks again !!!

[newtie 533]

2 hours ago, J van E said:

Correct, but default flights with addon planes often are a recipy for trouble.

Which is why I've never done it. 

Cheers,

Mark

[Noel 4,487]

59 minutes ago, J van E said:

Haha, yes, I understand the desire to keep everything unchanged. But this change won’t give you any problems that need troubleshooting, in fact, using a default flight may cause more problems quicker! 

To add to your knowledge base Jeroen, some folks get away with it completely, like myself.  I use PMDG NGX and T7, Majestic Q400, RA Lancair Legacy and Turbine Duke.  All of these planes behave properly simply by my saving the default flight in the Dash 8.  Mine is not to question why, but to accept it when it happens even if by dumb luck!

But I get it, the other way is bullet-proof as it were, so thanks for that!

[Guest]

9 hours ago, Noel said:

To add to your knowledge base Jeroen, some folks get away with it completely, like myself.  I use PMDG NGX and T7, Majestic Q400, RA Lancair Legacy and Turbine Duke.  All of these planes behave properly simply by my saving the default flight in the Dash 8.  Mine is not to question why, but to accept it when it happens even if by dumb luck!

But I get it, the other way is bullet-proof as it were, so thanks for that!

Hm, well, that’s actually very interesting because for a few weeks already and probably for months to come I only fly the Majestic Q400... I’ve got an idea why saving a default flight with this plane might indeed work (I always like to question why  ) but anyway, I might give this a try: that would save me some time to select the plane everytime. I do know my A2A planes can’t handle this and I’ve been flying the Comanche for ages (which is why I stopped saving default flights with addon planes) but if the Q400 is clever enough to be saved as default that would be very convenient. So thanks for the heads up.  

Come to think of it, if it works on my PC too I might even go back to a very old habit of mine which was saving a flight as default every single time before quitting the sim so that if I returned to the sim the plane would be in the exact same state as I left it, which is nice and feels realistic. And from my experience it seems the Q400 restores quicker from a saved flight, almost instantly, than from its scripts, which can take some time, which would also be nice! Great, now I’ve got something interesting to test again!  Thanks!

[n99wb 10]

On 1/8/2018 at 2:54 PM, J van E said:

Go to your P3D folder, open the Gauges folder and open missionpanels.cfg with Notepad.

Search for [Window11] which is the ATC window.

Edit the window_size entry or: the numbers are percentages of the screen, so 0.2, 0.53 means the width is a 5th (20%) of your screen and the height is just over half (53%) of your screen.

Edit the position: 0 (zero) is top left corner, 1 is top middle, 2 is top right corner, 3 is left middle, 4 is middle, 5 is right middle, 6 is bottom left corner, 7 is bottom middle, 8 is bottom right corner

Save the file and your done forever. Well, until the next reinstall. Just try some numbers to see what works best for you.

If you delete or comment out position,

and replace it with  window_pos   = 0.0, 0.1

you get left side with enough top room for Alt (menu) and shift z info.

 

N99WB

[YoYo 374]

On 8.01.2018 at 9:54 PM, J van E said:

Go to your P3D folder, open the Gauges folder and open missionpanels.cfg with Notepad.

Search for [Window11] which is the ATC window.

Edit the window_size entry or: the numbers are percentages of the screen, so 0.2, 0.53 means the width is a 5th (20%) of your screen and the height is just over half (53%) of your screen.

Edit the position: 0 (zero) is top left corner, 1 is top middle, 2 is top right corner, 3 is left middle, 4 is middle, 5 is right middle, 6 is bottom left corner, 7 is bottom middle, 8 is bottom right corner

Save the file and your done forever. Well, until the next reinstall. Just try some numbers to see what works best for you.

Thank You! Works perfect!

Example:

For 2560x1440pxt:

[Window11]
window_size             = 0.15, 0.43
position                = 2  

[YoYo 374]

btw. are You sure about Active Sky window (weather report)?

Please see this:

(changed position from 0 to 4 and this window is in the middle still)

[Window12]
size_mm                 = 375,250
position                = 0                     ; Middle Of Screen
visible                 = 0
ident                   = SIMCONNECT_WINDOW
scaleform_file          = MenuWindow            ; Use the generic menu window scaleform content
scaleform_instance_name = SimConnectWindow      ; Provide a unique instance name 

[Guest]

It works perfectly fine on my PC. Odd. What if you change size_mm into window_size = 0.16, 0.53? I will check the entry on my PC this evening but AS, GSX and PROATC all show up in lower left corner where I want it. 

[Noel 4,487]

9 hours ago, J van E said:

Great, now I’ve got something interesting to test again!  Thanks!

Now see I used to think this same way.   But now I just like to fly and not test anything ever again!

[Guest]

5 hours ago, YoYo said:

btw. are You sure about Active Sky window (weather report)?

Here is what's in my missionpanels.cfg:

[Window12]
window_size             = 0.2, 0.40
position                = 6                     
visible                 = 0
ident                   = SIMCONNECT_WINDOW
scaleform_file          = MenuWindow            
scaleform_instance_name = SimConnectWindow

And here is what I see in my sim:

 

 

[joepoway 241]

On 1/10/2018 at 11:14 AM, J van E said:

Glad to have been of help, everyone! It is odd how such a simple trick has remained unknown to some, including me: I only found out about this trick a few months ago while I am almost certain this option has been there at least since the release of FSX...!

Correct, but default flights with addon planes often are a recipy for trouble. And sometimes some settings won't stick when you select another plane. I did have a default flight with a default plane at my home base, specific situation, time, weather, etc. AND the ATC window in the top left corner but quite often, if not always, the ATC returned to its default location after loading a different plane. Editing the missionpanels.cfg always works and for every plane. It is the most secure way of getting this done once and for all.

BTW Tip for those who use addons like GSX, ProATC, Active Sky: you can also change the size and position of the Simconnect window which those addons uses for interaction! I myself made it a bit smaller and positioned in the lower left corner. To do this you have to edit the same missionpanels.cfg but then [Windows12]. By default this has its size in mm (size_mm = 375, 250) but I changed that to:

window_size = 0.16, 0.53

because I found that easier to figure out, and

position = 6

Of course you can use any numbers you like. Since that window is used a lot it is very convenient to have that window where you want it!

Thanks for the great insight.

I was wondering if you might know where to find,and how to adjust the size,of things like the PMDG CDU pop up window or the Flight 1 GTN 750 pop up window I use in A2A C172 aircraft.

The reason I ask is I mainly fly VR now and use FlyInside. When virtual pop up windows open when using FlyInside they are disproportionately narrow I believe because FI forces a reduced window screen size on the monitor when using FI. I can adjust them after I open them in FlyInside but would like to make a permanent adjustment as I did to the P3D ATC window based on your recommendation. I have searched everywhere and cannot find the file location where these particular PMDG and Flight 1 GTN 750 window sizes are kept.

 

Thanks in advance

Joe