Set as default vs Apply to all aircraft?

Do we know with any precision what happens when we set a General or Aircraft profile as “Set as default” or “Apply to all aircraft”? What happens (distinctively) when we set one or the other? How do we deselect “Set as default” or deselect “Apply to all aircraft”? Or switch from one to the other?

It would be useful to understand what we are doing… These options must have some design purpose and it would be helpful for us to understand the exact function of each option. At least I’m guessing that this is important … but may be entirely wrong on this matter.

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I’m repeating this request because it got buried in another useful thread. @jcomm has a useful guess from his experience:

“My guess (from experience so far...) "apply to all aircraft" actually replicates that named Profile across all aircraft of the same base type (Airplane, Glider, Heli,...), while "set as default" makes that Profile appear as the default profile whenever you select an aircraft that has it among the various profiles you can chose from.” (here)

I’m asking again because we need to understand this as an important piece of the aircraft-controller profile architecture. As we each develop more subtle and complicated ways to manage our control bindings across many devices and across many different of airplanes/helicopters/gliders/etc, our understanding how to use these settings might prove critical.

Does anyone know with confidence how these two settings (and their combinations) affect the way that our created profiles translate to how the simulator works in practice? Or, perhaps, does anyone have a good idea about how we might learn more about this?

Thanks much,
Michael

I'm not sure what the difference is.  But I just click set as default and apply to all.

Then for helicopters youll need a new profile name.  Once you make that you can just apply that to every new heli you fly.

1 hour ago, MM said:

Do we know with any precision

Precision? That's asking a bit much eh? In the same ball park would be a good start. 😀

EDIT: I know that wasn't helpful, but I couldn't help myself

Edited November 28, 20241 yr by Ron Attwood

Good on yer, Ron ... Avsim needs a tad more humour these days!!!

Well, further down the line of testing with Controls in FS 2024 I changed my interpretation of "Default"...

"Default" appears to apply **only** to the present aircraft (the one loaded in FS 2024 while you open the Control Settings GUI ), layer (General, Airplane controls, Specific), and the controller you're applying it to, and should be used to bring that Profile by default when you select that aircraft, among the list of profiles you have for that aircraft, layer and controller.

Edited November 28, 20241 yr by jcomm

All we have to do is read the manual. Erm, the manual. Um, where did I lay that MSFS2024 manual?

@Fielder For another attempt at humor, see my feeble “geezer commentary” RTFM and WTFM. J

@jcomm is making some excellent progress here. Great work. (Will do some further experiments to help out … if I can carve out some time during our US Thanksgiving holiday.)

So... after a few more tests I can now add that:

- Propagation of a Profile to "all airplanes" only propagates across the class of aircraft (airplane, glider, helicopter, lighter than air), although if controllers that are used to control the main flight control axis - elevator, aileron, rudder - are custom "calibrated" like when deadzone or response curves are defined, then these calibration propagates to all aircraft irrespective of being fixed wing prop, jet, or glider;

- "Default" is a property of each  profile(aircraft, controller, layer) = P, that makes that profile "P" the default when the aircraft is selected, for the given controller;

Although I have started structuring my controller profiles using a top-down strategy, and then for specific aircraft duplicating the inherited profile and creating a new one with a more specific set of assignments and a different name, I am starting to have 2nd thoughts about this strategy... 

In DCS World we have to create profiles for each aircraft, and there's no way to make a new aircraft inherit any profile, or profile layer, from another one, with the exception of aircraft that come with multiple variants like the Spitfire Mk IX and it's clipped wing variant. It takes time to set up the controllers for a new aircraft module, but in the end I can custom define pretty much everything regarding for instance specific controller curves and the like. In IL2 Great Battles, a solution that looks a bit like ASOBO's FS 2024 one was adopted, although following a different hierarchization method.

Since I don't use many aircraft, I should probably opt for a custom aircraft (bottom-up) approch, creating specific profiles for each pair (aircraft, controller), and not worrying about having to repeat the same assignments a few times ... (If that's the option then applying to all airplanes is not to be ticked).

Maybe this way I will also be able to create custom "curves" for each controller (aircraft, controller) axis (?)

Edited November 28, 20241 yr by jcomm

I think Jcomm is on the right track. Default seems to work only when defining a profile for a specific aircraft. Apply to All Aircraft, I think as Jcomm implies, is for generic application of a profile across that class of aircraft (or wider).

I've watched several useful YouTube pilots, including J Beckett and SimHangar, on Custom Views, but a 2024 manual seems to be an important tool for us these days.

Keep your chin(s) up guys. I'm still plodding on. I trust the community.

Barry

I think there's still a bug that causes them to change, no matter of you click either/both.  At least I cannot get my settings to stick.  One of the default profile buttons shuts the engine down too.