Advanced Checklist v1.1

[Guest]

Hi all,I've uploaded version 1.1 of Advanced Checklist. I have provided support for multiple checklist files, as well as fault tolerance to XML errors (although bad files will be unusable, they won't cause Fly! II to fall over either). I do have a request. I am presently typing in the checklists for the PMDG 757 and PMDG 777, since I have them. If there are any pilots out there who have the checklists for the Pilatus, Hawker, Malibu, B200, etc., I would be monumentally greatful if you could find a way to get a copy of them to me (via FAX, or e-mail, or whatever). I would like to get checklists for all of the default planes constructed and made available to the Fly! community. Thanks and enjoy!:-beerchugCheers, Tony

[rodger 0]

Toni,I just installed it and it works great. Thank you!I think I still have some of the checklists. But I

[Guest]

Thanks Rodger! As a side note, here is the format for a Checklist XML file:

<?xml version="1.0"?><aircraft name="aircraft name, e.g., Piper PA-28 Warrior II">	<checklist name="procedure, e.g., Prestart">		<checkitem>the text describing one action</checkitem>		<checkitem>the text describing another action</checkitem>			...		<checkitem>and so on</checkitem>	</checklist>	<checklist name="another procedure">		<checkitem></checkitem>		<checkitem></checkitem>			...		<checkitem></checkitem>	</checklist>		...	<checklist name="and so on">		<checkitem></checkitem>		<checkitem></checkitem>			...		<checkitem></checkitem>	</checklist></aircraft>

If you examine the FlyHawk.xml file, the format should be pretty apparent. The only gotchas that will leap out and bite you are in the way XML handles non-alphanumeric characters. For instance, if you want the "&" character to display in Fly! II, you will have to use the XML escape sequence "&" (without the quotes). You can see examples of this in the FlyHawk.xml file. Anyway, if you are brave enough to try creating a checklist file and run into trouble, please send me e-mail and I'll have a go at it. And as always, comments and suggestions are welcome.Cheers, Tony

[Guest Mgarmy]

Tony,I realy like your checklist add-on. I was looking at the XML code and while it may be a feasable task to play with it in order to create new checklists you may also consider to provide the user with a little interface where he can create his own checklist. You can take this even one step further and provide the ability to also add images so that we can have for example approach plates made available to us while we are flying.Anyway, I use Advanced Checklist and I like it a lot and look forward to any new future enhancements.Cheers,Mannie

[Guest]

Hi Mannie,The checklist editor is on the drawing board. And even though the checklist window can be dismissed and recalled, I want to add the ability to "collapse" and "expand" the visible page. In the collapsed view, only the action to be taken will be displayed (along with, of course, the check button). I'll be out of town this coming weekend, so it maybe sometime next week before I can get all this going. And just to make life more entertaining, I'll start looking into the approach plate idea--sounds like an interesting challenge...Cheers, Tony

[RandallR 444]

Tony,Does this program do more than the checklist already built into Fly!II?

[Guest marcao]

>Anyway, if you are brave enough to try creating a checklist >fileHey Tony, I opened the file with notepad and saved it with another name, with the modifications I wanted. It is really easy to create or modify checklists this way. The structure is simple and eficient. And works very well. Great tool. Thank you very much.Regards, :-beerchugMarco Antonio SilvaBrazil

[Guest]

To all that follows, please keep in mind that I've owned Fly! II for (oh say) 2 months and that I've got a lot to learn about the simulator's capabilities and shortcomings...Hmm. Yes and no. At first, I was simply trying to get a feel for how the SDK components worked. So, I modelled something that was (more or less) already in the simulator. This gave me the opportunity to analyze the behavior of the interface in a comparative way. I then realized that I didn't like the checklist feature already in the simulator. What I wanted was a proper challenge/response sequence. The built-in checklist doesn't appear to provide that capability (but I, of course, could be wrong). What my version of the checklist does is give you the next thing to do in a properly highlighted way. Once you have answered the challenge with a response (i.e., by clicking on the "check" button), that item goes away and the next challenge is addressed. In this way, my checklist differs from the one that is already there. Furthermore, I wasn't able to figure out anyway to modify a checklist for a given aircraft. While the built-in checklist provided with the FlyHawk is fairly robust, I felt there were some bits and pieces left out that would make things "more interesting". In this way, my checklist differs from the one that is already there.Moreover, I intend to enhance the feature so that I can interactively add comments to a given checklist item so that I could record any issues that I need to attend to while achieving a successful response to a given challenge. Also, I intend to have "subchecklists", i.e., a checklist within a checklist. Many instances of a challenge (particularly for the larger aircraft) consist of a number of "baby" steps, each of which need to be satisfied to complete the challenge. I mean just look at the little FlyHawk's "Electrical Equipment Off" check item. There are lots of switches, buttons, and knobs that need to be switched off and each should be verified (well, ok...maybe not "lots", but you get the idea). Finally, it is my intent to add sound to the checklist mechanism. When a checklist item is brought up to the challenge line, I will have the challenge "read off".These things take time and I am still learning about the Fly! II programming environment.I'm just having fun mucking about with the SDK and thought that you guys might enjoy my bit of hacking. From the brevity and tone of your question, I guess I've offended you in some way and apologize if I've done so. I'll refrain from posting anymore updates to my little invention and this forum.Cheers, Tony

[RandallR 444]

Tony,You totally misread me - now that you've described it, it sounds very interesting and like a worthwhile addition to the Fly! environment. Don't stop now - looks like you're on a roll. :-)I wasn't sure you were aware of Fly!II's built-in checklist and check-offs and wanted to get a feel for what you were adding. As nice as the built-ins are, they do take some shortcuts and you can't easily edit them.It's great that you're getting into the SDK - it's what separates this sim from the pack. Another thing you might want to play around with is Flyscripts! I'm guessing that this scripting program, now well-known for the C4TO script, could also be used to create checklist read-offs and responses for all aircraft.

[Guest Mgarmy]

Tony,Please don't stop your posts updating us about how you progress with your Fly development. This small community needs it and can provide you a lot of good input and ideas.I like the direction you are taking with Advanced Checklist. You may have also a look at a similar product available for MSFS called Fightdeck Companion. It has many advanced features which are very easy to add to Fly due to its architecture.Advanced Checklist is now a part of my setup and I am looking forward to your next release.Best,Mannie

[Guest]

Hi TonyThank you very much for your efforts, it is a great addition to FlyII.I am sure you misunderstood Randalls post as he himself is one of the contributers in the continous effort in improving Fly II even further.I for one am hoping to see many more of yoyr post and like what you are doing.....All the best and God blessAlfred

[Guest]

Sorry, I posted earlier on to a wrong place ....Hello everybody;this is my first post, so first of all let me say "well done" do Ken for his idea of banning "FS religion wars"; I guess nobody will complain and probably many of us use more than one FS, squeezing the best out of each one!Now the real "problem" : I d/l Tony Crider's Adv. Checklist (I'd like to join the community in thanking him) but I'm left with envy for people who appreciated this utility : In fact, I get a window saying that no airplane was selected, and when trying to open the .xml, nothing happens.I supposed to have to rename checklist.xml to FlyHawk.xml (in fact, this last file was not in the .zip), but, beside seeing the proper name in the popup window, nothing changes.My Fly!2 runs under WME and is patched to build 230.Thanks in advance to everybody who can help me (I don't dare to bother Tony ...)

[Guest]

Hi,Oh, it's alright. I was just having a really bad day yesterday. ...too much work, too much coffee, not enough sleep...My apologies for "flying off the handle". Before coping with your problem, let me first offer an explanation with apologies to those who have already figured this bit out. The name of the XML file is not really all that important (except, of course, for identifying the aircraft to which the checklist belongs). It was a slight gaff that I put Checklist.xml instead of FlyHawk.xml into the zip file (Checklist.xml and FlyHawk.xml are actually the same--at least at the moment--I use Checklist.xml in my test environment when validating my XML parser). I'll make sure I've got the filename right for the next revision.So, on to your problem...I think that perhaps you might not have Microsoft's XML Parser installed. This file would be found in your WindowsSystem32 folder and is called MSXML3.DLL. If you do not have this file, you will need to download it from Microsoft.Microsoft XML Download PageIf you already have the Microsoft XML Parser, then please contact me via e-mail and I'll see if we can't sort out your problem.Cheers, Tony

[Guest]

Oops...You need to select the MSXML Parser 3.0 SP2 Release in the left hand pane when using the link I provided...Cheers, Tony

[Guest]

Hi Randall,I apologize. I'd had a day yesterday and the remotest hint of condescension (not that you are guilty off any such thing, mind you) set me off. Hanging my head sheepishly, Tony