Panel design on the cheap....

[John_Cillis 2,406]

Using just MSPaint and a panel bitmap, I've created a pretty easy process for panel design which I'm using on my Eclipse project. Thought I'd share, although I suspect the veterans here won't find this news....Basically, to plot out a gauge with my method you need to know two things--~Where will the upper left corner of the gauge be?~How much space do you wish the gauge to occupy in pixels?Armed with that info, in Paint I open up a copy of the panel bitmap. I move the cursor to where the upper left corner of the gauge will be, and note the coordinates. These will be the first two numbers following the gauge name. Then I move the cursor to the lower right corner of the gauge and note the coordinates. Subtracting the difference on the X and Y axis between the first set of coordinates and the second gives me the size of the gauge--these are the second set of numbers following the gauge name. I then create a box in the same location, and the same size, so I can save my COPY of the bitmap with the "real estate" I've taken up with the gauge.I then edit the panel.cfg with my gauge coordinates and size, and the gauge is ready to view after an aircraft reload.I added a half dozen gauges in pretty short order using this method. It likely is a method many use here, but since I see many questions regarding tools for panel layout, I thought I'd share this rather simple (and free) method. I know I am extremely pleased with the result...Regards,John