FSUIPC variables for map functions in FS2004

[Verlaine]

Dear Mr Dowson!

I am an extensive user of Billy Vereyennes Speechbuddy (SB) and lately Dominique Andlauer (the creator of the FS interface for SB) and I have been extending the capabilities of the interface to control FS2004 by speech commands.

The interface makes use of your FSUIPC module, so to begin with I must thank you for this fine piece of work!

Unfortunatelly we have encountered difficulties implementing commands to control functions in the map window.

The command lines for the zoom functions 65670/65673 for example don't seem to have any effect, and other map functions don't seem to be listed.

Could you kindly comment on this shortly to get us on track?

Thanks for your help!

Verlaine Andreas Glass-Kehrer

[Pete Dowson]

Unfortunatelly we have encountered difficulties implementing commands to control functions in the map window.

The command lines for the zoom functions 65670/65673 for example don't seem to have any effect, and other map functions don't seem to be listed.

Sorry, FSUIPC doesn't implement any of the FS controls 65536 onwards. It simply lists those that are tabulated in FS's "CONTROLS.DLL". These are also the same as the "KEY EVENTS" listed in the Gauge development SDK and assignable to buttons and keypresses in FS's CFG files as well as via FSUIPC.

Whether they actually work or do anything is often questionable -- the only way to see is to try them. Many were invented back in FS98 days and quietly forgotten in later versions, and I suspect some were never actually implemented.

If you know how to do it from keyboard or button in FS directly, then you can use FSUIPC's Logging to see what FS Control is being used, if any. Just enable Event logging and read the control name and number in the FSUIPC Log.

That said, which "map" are you talking about? If this is the one in the Dialogue, showing the aircraft route, VORs, ATC zones etc? Or do you mean the top-down type view? If it is in the Dialogue then I'm afraid none of the FS controls apply to menu modes -- nothing of the simulation side is really active then, it is paused.

You also really do need to state FS version as these things may change.

Regards

Pete

[Tagada]

Hello Peter and Verlaine,

I had told Verlaine how helpful and resourceful you are, and you provided him the proof first hand!

To complete Verlaine's question: it's FS9, and indeed the map in the Dialogue, showing the aircraft route, VORs, ATC zones, etc.

I am quite pessimistic... I suspected there are no FSUIPC/FS controls that would activate it (otherwise there should have been controls to toggle the VORs, ATC Zones too). I will however try out your suggestion to log, and report any success here.

SpeechBuddy could also control keypresses. I have frantically hit every key on my keyboard while the map dialogue was open, and got no effect but with the escape key... I'll try again, less frantically and more systematically.

Thank you again!

Sincerely,

Dominique Andlauer aka tagada

[Pete Dowson]

the map in the Dialogue, showing the aircraft route, VORs, ATC zones, etc.

... I suspected there are no FSUIPC/FS controls that would activate it

Correct. The main problem really is that the dialogues are "modal" -- that is, nothing else in the same process is being run when you are in a dialogue. The simulation is stopped, as is FSUIPC and everything else in FS. It really is a common thing to happen in most Windows programs. Those which do have activities continuing are using multi-threading and have taken special steps to get continued message processing.

For most dialogues that makes sense when you think about what they tend to be for -- changing FS's video settings whilst the video actions are still happening would be a nonsense, for instance.

SpeechBuddy could also control keypresses. I have frantically hit every key on my keyboard while the map dialogue was open, and got no effect but with the escape key

Unless there are dialogue shortcuts available (often with the ALT key), dialogue buttons are often only usable with TAB to move from one to another, then Enter or something to action them.

Regards

Pete

[Tagada]

Dear Pete and Verlaine,

I logged the event of the key press on the "+" button in the Map Window, and as you expected, Pete, FSUIPC did not recognize the command and passed it on to FS.

I dug your suggestion, and indeed, the quickest way to effect a click on the "+" button is a key press sequence of the kind: alt-s (to get the "airspeed" input box), tab (to activate the "+" button), space (to press it)... This is easily programmable, although not universal, as, according to the locale, the key combination to get to the airspeed input box might change. It is also very much less elegant than programming with FSUIPC!

Thank you Pete!

Sincerely,

tagada

[Verlaine]

Dear Pete and Dominique!

Thanks for the info!

Verlaine