Check out my 2D panels on a touchscreen

[Guest Ben74]

hi gang. i just finished some modified FSX panels for use on an auxiliary touchscreen. i was inspired by the "touch buddy" (interesting name, i know) software that people have been using with other flight sims like lock on. basically, i created some 2D panels formatted to fit well on an 800 x 600 touchscreen. i also created a button bar that makes it easy to switch between panels by touching an on-screen button on the touchscreen. it's a lot easier to flip switches and drag levers on the touchscreen than with the mouse in the 3D virtual cockpit. this is especially true if you're using track IR, since it's hard to keep your head still enough to click buttons precisely. it's also nice to keep panels like the GPS, ATC window, kneeboard, or xgauge open without blocking your exterior view on the main screen. everything that's clickable via mouse is touchable on the touchscreen, including the ATC options.i'm using a 8.4" lilliput touchscreen i got off ebay for about $250 w/ shipping. this is a well known and liked brand, and the quality seems pretty good to me. it has a native res of 800 x 600, but it will go higher too. driver works fine in vista 32, but i had to download a newer one than the one that came on the included CD.so far i have done the panels for the learjet, and i'm working on panels for the cessna 172. it's kind of a lot of work to do these panels, so i'm hoping some other panel developers will want to pitch in and help get panels done for all the aircraft. i'm also planning on making a couple of generic panels for use in any aircraft. one panel will have buttons for non-aircraft sim functions like pause, sim rate, etc. the other will have the more obscure aircraft functions that are not present on any other 2D panels. these panels will have a similar look and feel to other aircraft panels. my goal is to be able to do everything from the touchscreen and never have to use the keyboard in game.i'm new to panel development, and i'm still working out some kinks. i can't figure out a way to make the panels open directly on the touchscreen, so right now you have to open each one on the main screen and drag them over to the touchscreen. once they've been dragged there, they will show/hide in the same place on the touchscreen for the rest of the flight. also, the kneeboard window does not always hide when you open another panel by pushing a button on the button bar. this might be solvable, but i'll save that for another thread.i'll post my panel files on my website as soon as i get a chance. from my searching on the forums, it seems that not many people are using touchscreens with FSX. i hope my efforts will kick off a trend, and we see more panels optimized for touchscreens. what do you say; have i inspired anyone to buy a touchscreen?

[JSkorna 137]

I like #9 the best!Jimhttp://www.hifisim.com/banners/hifi-community-sigbanner.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/

[sargeski 16]

Ben74,That looks very interesting. Any idea what happen to Touch-Buddy? The forums appear like they are no longer active.

[Guest Ben74]

>Ben74,>>That looks very interesting. Any idea what happen to>Touch-Buddy? The forums appear like they are no longer>active.thanks! dunno about TB. lock on is kind of old, so maybe interest is waning. i still fire it up once in a while. great sim.

[sargeski 16]

I'm still using Lock-On myself. Just curious as to what version of TouchBuddy you are using and and what version of the TouchBuddy Toolkit are using to program the your touchscreen and are you using them under Vista or in XP.

[Guest Ben74]

i'm not using TB for FSX, if that's what you're asking. the button bar at the bottom of the screenshots is a FSX panel itself.

[sargeski 16]

That's what I was asking. ;) now I understand. Thanks!

[bpollock 0]

Nice job...I'm a big fan of the Learjet and love the all in one type of panels. In case you are curious, i've attached my all-in-one version.If anyone is interested in the panel.cfg changes, simply PM me.

[Guest Ben74]

very nice. are you using a big touchscreen, or just keeping this on a 2nd monitor? i have been modifying the mouse areas on the gauges to make them easier to use on a touchscreen. this mainly means making them bigger, since a finger is a little less precise than a cursor.

[Alvega 2,119]

I can't see any of your attached pics. Why is that?

[bpollock 0]

I was thinking of using a touchscreen, but 19" touch screens are a bit pricey. I use 3 19" samsung monitors with a triplehead2go unit for the out side view. I removed all VC textures which gives me a nice view outside and the ability to use the hat switch to pan around. Then on my 19" monitor attached to the 2nd video out on my 7950GT card, i have my all-in-one 2D gauge which I undock. This gives me the best of the VC and 2D world.

[Guest Ben74]

weak. looks like the images were deleted by admins? i wonder why. here they are, hosted externally.http://benhirashima.com/hostedImages/FSX/p...jet/cockpit.jpg http://benhirashima.com/hostedImages/FSX/p...learjet/lcd.jpghttp://benhirashima.com/hostedImages/FSX/p...learjet/atc.jpg http://benhirashima.com/hostedImages/FSX/p...jet/kneebrd.jpg http://benhirashima.com/hostedImages/FSX/p...learjet/gps.jpghttp://benhirashima.com/hostedImages/FSX/p...et/throttle.jpghttp://benhirashima.com/hostedImages/FSX/p.../electrical.jpghttp://benhirashima.com/hostedImages/FSX/p...arjet/radio.jpghttp://benhirashima.com/hostedImages/FSX/p...rjet/xgauge.jpg

[scoochy 1]

This was a fantastic idea. I have been playing around with the Wilco 737 and moved the overhead panel to the touchscreen. So much more enjoyable flipping those switches with the touch of a finger rather than bring up the panel, clicking the mouse and all.I have spent the last two days moving panels and switches over to the touchscreen! Love it! Now i'm looking for some minature plunger buttons in order to attempt making an FMC front panel that makes contact with the touchscreen.

[Guest LtRob]

I have been wondering a long time if FS could use touchscreens. Are there any limitations that have been found? Do they work like a mouse, where all you need to do is touch any mouse-clickable spot, and it works? Can you click-and-drag a control, like a mixture control or throttle? Can you still use a mouse if you want? What about with Track IR? I can only imagine that a Triple-Head-2-Go setup along with Track IR using touchscreens would just about be the ultimate in realism that we could get in FS.Hmmnn...

[scoochy 1]

So far in my tinkering, I have found zero limitations. But I am doing this in FS9, not FSX. I am able to undock the panel, move it the touchscreen and continue to run in full screen. The panel on the touchscreen operates just as it would normally. All gauges move, all items are clickable and dragable, there is no difference. And the mouse still works so that option is there also.Since this is on a seperate monitor undocked, there is no issue with track IR.