Newbie has problem with FSX gauge tutorial

[Guest OleGreyGhost]

I have tried to use the tutorial w/o any success. After 4 days of trying, I am almost ready to crash. At first I couldn't get the fuel pressure gauge to display in the Aces tool. Figured that out finally. Seems the designers forgot to mention setting the size of the gauge in the description. I next created the stopwatch xml file. Placed artwork in approp-riate directories. Made the cab file & placed in gauges dir. Edited panel config. Loaded c172 and tried to display gauges. The only gauge visible was airspeed indicator. I tried re-entering the data, this time by cut & pasting the formulas. Still could only display airspeed indicator. Searched the site and found two messages ( #31027 & 31415) pertaining to this problem. Thanks to Timothius & Dark Charizma for their info. This will help prevent future problems for me.Finally I cabbed up each gauge separately. The fuel pressure gauge displays & works. Cabbing the stopwatch just brings up the DR. Watson debugger with *** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for D:DocumentsFS_GaugesCabdir.exe. *** I thought because FSX was on my D: drive that this could be the problem. As it turned out, it wasn't.Finally as a control I cabbed up the SDK demo files. The only gauge that displays is the airspeed indicator. So now I am at a total loss as to the reason for the problem. I am uploading the Watson log (169183.txt) and my tutorial cab (169182.zip) Any help in trying to solve this will be greatly appreciated.Thanks OleGreyGhost

[Gypsy Baron 10]

Just a note for the future...when initially building and testingXML gauges, there is NO need to "cab" them. Just keep the codeand the bitmaps in a FOLDER of the same name as the gauge.This makes it MUCH easier and faster to edit/test/re-edit/re-test, etc.Also, you can put the folder right into the panel folder ofthe aircraft you are using as a test bed. This will save you havingto dig around in the main "gauges" folder.Once everything is working to your liking, you can then "cab" the gauge and place that file in the main gauges folder.I tend to keep my XML "creations" in folder form. Thatway I caneasily use an existing xml gauge as "boiler plate" for creatinga derivation of that gauge. Paul

[Guest OleGreyGhost]

>>Just a note for the future...when initially building and>testing>XML gauges, there is NO need to "cab" them. Just keep the>code>and the bitmaps in a FOLDER of the same name as the gauge.>>This makes it MUCH easier and faster to>edit/test/re-edit/re-test, etc.>>Also, you can put the folder right into the panel folder of>the aircraft you are using as a test bed. This will save you>having>to dig around in the main "gauges" folder.>Once everything is working to your liking, you can then "cab">>the gauge and place that file in the main gauges folder.>>I tend to keep my XML "creations" in folder form. Thatway I>can>easily use an existing xml gauge as "boiler plate" for>creating>a derivation of that gauge.>> Paul>Thanks for the tip Paul. This sure will be a time saver. I'll see if the stopwatch works this way. It might give me a hint as to why it won't display. OleGreyGhost

[Guest Vorlin]

Since many newer people may be reading this thread, it's probably a good place to put 2 tips that save dev's time and aggrevation.There is the folder trick, as Paul mentioned. Just so that everyone understands how to use it, I'll mention the gauge addressing scheme here.In the panel.cfg you call a gauge with CabFile!GaugeName but what they don't tell you is that there are at least two different search routines that happen when you use that addresssing system. If CabFile!GaugeName does not return a gauge then it goes and looks for FolderName!FileName. Just remember to NOT use the .xml extension in FileName.To use the file MyFile.xml, in the folder MyFolder.... MyFolder needs to be either in the panel folder of the aircraft being flown or in the main gauges folder. You then assign the gauge to the panel with MyFolder!MyFile (NO ".xml").Tip #2Don't you wish that you could look at a gauge, edit the file and then see your changes without having to reload the flight or reload the sim?You can.There is a little known key called RELOAD_PANELS that will update the gauges and panel to reflect any changes. It's the fastest way to make minor adjustments when you have 5-10 little things to change and are going nuts because of the time that it takes to reload the flight and check your changes.Use a mouse are click with the following ( rotten smiley is ruining &-g-t and I'm not going to blue text this for one symbol!): (>K:RELOAD_PANELS)Instead of reloading the flight, just click on that to see your last saved changes displayed.Last tip: No matter how frustrated you get, know that you are not alone in your aggrevation and, above all, never punch the flat panel!Scott / Vorlin

[n4gix 4,947]

>Use a mouse are click with the following ( rotten smiley is>ruining &-g-t and I'm not going to blue text this for one>symbol!):>> (>K:RELOAD_PANELS)Here's a "tip" for you, Scott. There's a little known checkbox at the bottom of the forum's message editor that will suppress the "smilies...""Check if you DO NOT wish to use emotion icons in your message":)

[Guest OleGreyGhost]

Gentlemen, thank you very much for your input. The problem is solved.>In the panel.cfg you call a gauge with CabFile!GaugeName but what >they don't tell you is that there are at least two different search >routines that happen when you use that addresssing system. If >CabFile!GaugeName does not return a gauge then it goes and looks >for FolderName!FileName. Just remember to NOT use the .xml >extension in FileName.Scotts' explanation got me to spot the error I was overlooking. The cabfile name was misspelled "testguage". I got so distracted looking for errors in the xml file, I forgot the basics. Thanks for all the extra tips & shortcuts, this really expedited finding the error. Thank you all for responding. OleGreyGhost

[Bob Familton 14]

Did you ever get the stopwatch to work? I have the gauge showing in the Test Panel OK but there is no mouse hand showing and the stopwatch does not work. I have checked all of the entries with no errors found. If you got it working can you post your xml file please? Your attachments will not work. I get an error in it when trying to unzip it. Thanks, regards, Bob.

[Guest OleGreyGhost]

>Did you ever get the stopwatch to work? I have the gauge>showing in the Test Panel OK but there is no mouse hand>showing and the stopwatch does not work. I have checked all of>the entries with no errors found. If you got it working can>you post your xml file please? Your attachments will not work.>I get an error in it when trying to unzip it. Thanks, regards,>Bob.Bob, Yes I did get it to work. Hand and all. There are two things you have to do. Set a size for the bitmap in the gauge properties. Second delete the path in the art directory. This point was brought out by the above mentioned gurus. But most important of all, "spell everything the same."My error was the cab being called TestGauge and the reference in panel.cfg looking for TestGuage. Still trying to get my foot out of my mouth...Here is the xml listing when I finished the tute, with artwork. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?> - AceXML DocumentStopWatch.xml - 0.000,0.000103,114 - 50.000,60.000 - 50.000,50.00050black3steelblue- 40.000,14.000 - TrueArialgold12260CENTER2True20,20TrueCENTER- 40.000,96.000 - TrueArialgold12230CENTER220,20TrueCENTER- 4.000,55.000 - TrueArialgold12245CENTER220,20TrueCENTER- 84.000,55.000 - TrueArialgold12215220,20TrueCENTER- 44.000,1.000 - - - 0.000 - True- 0.000 - True- 50.000,60.000 - 50.000,60.000red1red - 48.000,62.000- 50.000,12.000- 52.000,62.000- NORTH - - - SYSTEM_ELECTRICAL_PANELSFreeze- 0.000,0.000103,114Normal - 41.000,1.00012,10Hand - LeftSingle+LeftRelease- 14.000,14.00010,10Hand - LeftSingle+LeftRelease- 17.000,17.000 - 5.000,5.00011010silver- - Hope this helps. Chas..olegeyghost

[Bob Familton 14]

Hi Chas. Thanks a lot. I'll compare it with mine to see where I erred. Best regards, Bob.

[Bob Familton 14]

Hi. Thanks for the info. I found out that my problem was that I did not have the SP1 SDK Update installed. I tried installing it and get an error that one of the Temp files is not on my HD. I have no idea why. I have the registered Deluxe Edition installed. Your files made me look at why It was different from mine and that's what I found. Regards, Bob.

[Bob Familton 14]

Hi Chas. I followed your xml and all works OK. I had to delete the dashes that appeared above. I have some questions though. I see some things that are not in my SDL SP1 tutorial. I see entries like Bold and Font weight, Length, etc. that are not in my SP1 version. Did you use the SP1 version or the unpatched one, or maybe you just added these yourself? Thanks for the help. Best regards, Bob.

[Guest OleGreyGhost]

>Hi Chas. I followed your xml and all works OK. I had to>delete the dashes that appeared above. I have some questions>though. I see some things that are not in my SDL SP1 tutorial.>I see entries like Bold and Font weight, Length, etc. that are>not in my SP1 version. Did you use the SP1 version or the>unpatched one, or maybe you just added these yourself? Thanks>for the help. Best regards, Bob.Hi Bob, I am not using the sp1 patch. If you check the sample xml folder, you will find that what you type in and what is in their sample are not the same.If you follow the tutorial when you check the tree against the graphic in the tutorial you will see they are not the same. All the info is there, just in different places in the tree structure. Same thing when you finish the tute adding the bmp graphics. I found out they left out a lot of info assuming we were familiar with the xml syntax. Have fun. Regards, Chas.. olegreyghost

[Bob Familton 14]

Hi Chas. That explains it all. Another one of their GREAT tutorials that doesn't work! Thanks Aces! It's frustrating when you think you will learn something and they can't even get it right! I guess nobody checks these before they ship the product.Regards, Bob.

[n4gix 4,947]

>Hi Chas. That explains it all. Another one of their GREAT>tutorials that doesn't work! Thanks Aces! It's frustrating>when you think you will learn something and they can't even>get it right! I guess nobody checks these before they ship the>product.Regards, Bob.The beta team never got to look at the SDK before the RTM of FSX, so at least "we beta team members" can't accept any blame for the omission(s) and/or errors in the SDKs... ;)OTOH, "we" won't have that excuse for SDK SP1a... :-halo

[Bob Familton 14]

Hi Bill. Thanks. I did not blame the Beta Team. I blamed Aces and MS. The purpose of the tutorial, I believe, was to instruct the neophyte XML user, like me and many others, in how to do it. If they are not going to make it right then they should have left it out. The XML experts sure don't need a tutorial. Regards, Bob.