Advanced User's Guide Question

[jetblst]

Hey Pete,

I am using FS Widgets EFB and I am finding this bit of software extremely valuable the more I use it. To open the EFB requires a sequence of ALT-D-W-S. Reading through the A.U.G. the sequencial button assignment looks like what I need.

I have this working using button number 7. Here is how I programmed the FSUIPC.INI file

[buttons]

..

21=P0,7,K68,24

22=P0,7,K87,0

23=P0,7,K83,0

The problem is that this sequence on my system is unreliable. Sometimes this works the first time I press button number 7 or the third time, or yet not until the tenth press, etc. I tested and re-tested to no avail.

So what I did was to try this using two different buttons. Buttons 0 and 14.

The reasoning for this is that the 0 and 14 are actually two buttons in one (trigger) on the X52.

How I coded this is...

[buttons]

..

21=P0,0,K68,24

22=P0,0,K87,0

23=P0,14,K83,0

This works well test after test and I am more or less happy with it.

I would like to be able to do this all on one button however. Is this possible?

What is not to understand mainly here is why this doesn't work with reliability on one button. I must have overlooked something.

Thanks Pete!

If I can get this to work on one button I would like to assign this to bring up FSUIPC in the same manner. :grin:

[Pete Dowson]

I am using FS Widgets EFB and I am finding this bit of software extremely valuable the more I use it. To open the EFB requires a sequence of ALT-D-W-S. Reading through the A.U.G. the sequencial button assignment looks like what I need.

I assume this is invoking a menu in FSX's Add-Ons entry?

There's a problem in that once the menu opens FS is "modal", meaning only that mode, menu mode, is operative. The main functions of FSUIPC, in the main thread, directing the keystrokes, are not able to run. Trying to program menu access from FSUIPC is therefore always problematic. It will sometimes work and sometimes not depending on how fast it is able to operate, obeying the parameters from your INI file, compared with FS's reactions to the keypresses it is receiving.

So what I did was to try this using two different buttons. Buttons 0 and 14.

This works well test after test and I am more or less happy with it.

I'm not sure what might be going on there. There shouldn't really be any difference. Maybe the timing is slightly better that way, but it would surely depend on all sorts of other things.

What is not to understand mainly here is why this doesn't work with reliability on one button. I must have overlooked something.

No, in matters of timing like this there are too many factors at work.

The only solution i can think of which has worked for other applications, even as far as, for instance, opening up the fuel or payload menus and entering values, is to make your button invoke a Lua plug-in which sends the required keystrokes. That gets around the "modal" nature of menus because all Lua plug-ins run in separate threads. Please look in the Lua stuff installed for you in the FSUIPC Documents subfolder in FSX Modules. The Lua introductory document lists those examples I mentioned: "Fuel737.lua" and "Payload737.lua". Those are much more ambitious that you needs but will show you how to do it.

Regards

Pete

[jetblst]

I assume this is invoking a menu in FSX's Add-Ons entry?

There's a problem in that once the menu opens FS is "modal", meaning only that mode, menu mode, is operative. The main functions of FSUIPC, in the main thread, directing the keystrokes, are not able to run. Trying to program menu access from FSUIPC is therefore always problematic. It will sometimes work and sometimes not depending on how fast it is able to operate, obeying the parameters from your INI file, compared with FS's reactions to the keypresses it is receiving.

I'm not sure what might be going on there. There shouldn't really be any difference. Maybe the timing is slightly better that way, but it would surely depend on all sorts of other things.

No, in matters of timing like this there are too many factors at work.

The only solution i can think of which has worked for other applications, even as far as, for instance, opening up the fuel or payload menus and entering values, is to make your button invoke a Lua plug-in which sends the required keystrokes. That gets around the "modal" nature of menus because all Lua plug-ins run in separate threads. Please look in the Lua stuff installed for you in the FSUIPC Documents subfolder in FSX Modules. The Lua introductory document lists those examples I mentioned: "Fuel737.lua" and "Payload737.lua". Those are much more ambitious that you needs but will show you how to do it.

Regards

Pete

Thanks again Pete for getting back to me on this. Yes this is for invoking a menu, (Add Ons). I will try the LUAs next.