Locating FSX bgl files

[lliaudais 2]

Greetings allI had downloaded some listings of changes to FSX airports from FS9, but was interested in knowing if there is a list already created by someone that identifies the FSX airports as to the folders and bgl's they're in. You can find the connections by viewing the decompiled xml files for each bgl but what a waste of time if someone has already done it! I was curious and extracted the airport codes from several bgl's, and used the folder/file/airport location association to plot the identified airports on a map (Excel chart). http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/163224.jpgDo enough of them and you begin to see the emerging pattern... western group is some airports from folder 0202; the eastern, from 0302. Hmmm. Want to guess where the 0402 airports will start?The revealed pattern: world sector folders in an array 8 tall and 12 wide; 4 charater folder name; first 2 characters (00-11) identifies the column, eastward from W180 {-180 to 180}; second 2 characters (00-07) id's the row number north to south {90 to -90}. Therefore 96 (potential) folders each covering 22.5 deg lat by 30 deg lon { named 0000 to 1107 }.Within each sector/folder an 8 x 8 array of potential bgl names - referenced from the same N90/W180 as the folders but covering 1/8 of the area. The bgl names could range from 00-95 for the first two characters {west to east}, and 00-63 north to south with an extra '0' tacked on (to allow this area to be subdivided I guess). Bgl names could range from 00000 to 95630. Windows file search shows 1525 actual "APXnnnnn" files ranging from 00130 to 95460The end result is 4 formulas that take the decimal Lat/Lon of any location and convert it to folder and bgl names. I guess I don't need a list after all...http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/163225.jpgI created a small xls spreadsheet to do the math for you ~ works with Excel & OpenOfficeHappy Holidays, all!Loydhttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/163226.zip

[LuisFelizTirado 33]

Great stuff, Lloyd. Good to see this kind of information here.If you take a look at the Terrain S.D.K., you will see that scenery is divided up according to the QMID grid. The scenery folders are quad 4 and the terrain and airport bgls are quad 7(the old LOD 5 Cells).It is pretty easy to determine the file name of any particular area. Just launch TMFViewer, load the image_globe bgls, point to the area of interest, and read the status bar for folder and bgl names.The FS X file names are pretty much the same as the FS 9 names, so they should be familiar.Best regards.Luis

[scott967 62]

You can extract the airports using the sdk traffic toolbox, then using the airport position compute the folder and filename indices.scott s..

[rhumbaflappy 113]

Or you can just go to the airport in FSX, and use TCalcX to read the directory and filename:http://webpages.charter.net/ludowr/TCalcX_002_source.ziphttp://forums.avsim.net/user_files/163272.jpgDick

[lliaudais 2]

Thanks for the comments all.It's not so much that I couldn't find the bgl names with the available tools, I was expecting that I would need to add two more columns to nearly 24000 rows of airport information in my airports spreadsheet. I was just gratified to discover that it was something I could calculate without FS or tools and avoid more bloat in the airport list.http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/163308.jpgI just might want to add or adjust objects at particular airports or nearby and can go to the bgl and 'nose around' without starting up FSX - it's an awful expensive "search service". While waiting for AFCAD-X, I'm going to get military parking into airbases, one way or another!Luis, I will have to get that FSX list to update my FS9 spreadsheet. Thanks.Loyd

[scott967 62]

You might have a look at Jim Keir's lwmviewer2. It's FS9, of course, but he uses a database approach to track the airports (and other sceenry too). That way he keeps a table for file data, and a separate airport table, linked by a "file id" index field that he generates. Actually, the ideal thing would be if Jim does an FSX version of lwmviewer. Just getting the database functions would be nice.scott s..