FSUIPC6 LUA Macro Function Not Working

[Scotfleiger]

With FSUIPC6 installed in P3D v5 Addons for P3Dv4 and P3Dv5, a previously working .MCRO installed in /FSUIPC6 is not longer responding the LUA ipc.macro instruction (eg. ipc.macro("FSLTEST2: BAT1)) for aircraft running in P3Dv4.5 (ie. FSLabs A320). I re-recorded some key mouse macros and they proved identical to those I am using.

I then ran P3Dv5 and set up a new mouse macro and referenced it using the LUA ipc.macro instruction. This failed to work. FSUIPC6.log contains no data relevant to this problem.

I am using FSUIPC 6.0.8 with LINDA 3.2.x. The problem did not exist in FSUIPC5 or FSUIPC4.

[John Dowson]

Hi Andrew,

I've tested ipc.macro to call a mouse macro and its working ok.

1 hour ago, Scotfleiger said:

a previously working .MCRO installed in /FSUIPC6 is not longer responding the LUA ipc.macro instruction (eg. ipc.macro("FSLTEST2: BAT1))

Is the macro in the correct place, i.e. in your installation folder (P3D v5 Addons) not in /FSUIPC6?

1 hour ago, Scotfleiger said:

I then ran P3Dv5 and set up a new mouse macro and referenced it using the LUA ipc.macro instruction. This failed to work. FSUIPC6.log contains no data relevant to this problem.

Did the same and it works. Did you try lua logging?

1 hour ago, Scotfleiger said:

eg. ipc.macro("FSLTEST2: BAT1)

You are missing the ending quotes....could that be your problem, or just a typo?

John

[Scotfleiger]

Hi John

Thank you again. Moving the .MCRO to the add-ons directory alongside /FSUIPC6 works as before.

With the new P3Dv5 file structure would it not be useful to place all .MCRO files within the /FSUIPC6 folder? This would keep them separate from the many other add-ons that will be installed. 

EDIT: In the past in the /modules structure the .MCRO were located inside the /modules. This seems to have changed with FSUIPC6.

[John Dowson]

Hi Andrew,

I am slightly confused by your posts. Nothing has changed in the location of files between FSUIPC5 and FSUIPC6 - .MCRO files need to be in the FSUIPC5/6 installation directory. Thats it. In FSUIPC5 it always defaulted to the Modules folder (but you could manually change this if desired), and in FSUIPC6 it is the installation folder, the folder you select during the install process. This defaults to the P3D add-ons/FSUIPC6 folder, but should be changed. The add-on.xml file is always created in the add-ons/FSUIPC6 folder, as it needs to be there to be recognised by P3D.

John

 

[Scotfleiger]

Sorry if it is confusing you but it has confused me and my users.

I don't understand why the relative install location for .MCRO files has changed between FSUIPC5 (and earlier), namely the enclosing /Modules folder, and FSUIPC6. With the FSUIPC6 add-ons installation, the /FSUIPC6 folder equates directly to the old /Modules and should contain everything related to FSUIPC6 (.dll, .ini, ipcready.lua, etc, .MCRO files and LINDA).

Moving the macro files reference to the "installation" directory is wrong. It has broken things.

[John Dowson]

10 minutes ago, Scotfleiger said:

With the FSUIPC6 add-ons installation, the /FSUIPC6 folder equates directly to the old /Modules and should contain everything related to FSUIPC6 (.dll, .ini, ipcready.lua, etc, .MCRO files and LINDA).

No, this is not correct. You are confusing the FSUIPC6 installation location (the folder you select during the installation process, regardless of whether the add-on.xml method of installation is selected or not) and the location of the add-ons.xml file, which is pre-determined by P3D to the add-on folder location (and MUST be in a subdirectory of this folder, which I naturally call FSUIPC6).

The add-ons folder subdirectory 'FSUIPC6' is NOT the installation location, although it can be.

As I keep stating, NOTHING has changed. FSUIPC looks for files in its "installation" directory. The only thing that has changed is that this is now user-selectable, and not necessarily the 'Modules' folder, although you can still install there if you wish.

John

P.S. If you want everything to be installed in the FSUIPC6 add-ons folder, you can just select that during installation, and then you will have everything related to FSUIPC6 in the same place as the add-on.xml file.

Edited May 26, 2020 by John Dowson

[Scotfleiger]

OK. FSUIPC is looking for files in the installation location and nothing has changed. What was the FSUIPC5 installation location? 

Regardless, the effect is that FSUIPC6 is looking is a different relative location for these files and this risks causing confusion and adding unnecessary FSUIPC6 files to the add-ons directory. Can I respectfully suggest that the reference to the installation directory be changed to place all files inside with the /FSUIPC6 or /Modules folders?

Andrew

[John Dowson]

41 minutes ago, Scotfleiger said:

FSUIPC is looking for files in the installation location and nothing has changed

Correct.

41 minutes ago, Scotfleiger said:

What was the FSUIPC5 installation location? 

The Modules sub-folder. However, this is only the default location mandated by the FSUIPC5 installer. You can manually change this. For example, I have FSUIPC5 installed under D:\Prepare3D v4 Add-ons\FSUIPC5, and use the add-on.xml method with this and so also have an add-on.xml file under C:\Users\...\Documents\Prepar3D v4 Add-ons\FSUIPC5.

41 minutes ago, Scotfleiger said:

the effect is that FSUIPC6 is looking is a different relative location for these files

No. It is ALWAYS looking in the same location, the FSUIPC6 installation directory. End of story.

41 minutes ago, Scotfleiger said:

and this risks causing confusion and adding unnecessary FSUIPC6 files to the add-ons directory

Previously you seemed to be asking for files to be installed in the FSUIPC6 add-ons directory...

41 minutes ago, Scotfleiger said:

Can I respectfully suggest that the reference to the installation directory be changed to place all files inside with the /FSUIPC6 or /Modules folders?

You can certainly suggest this but it's not going to happen. Why would I enforce something that is not recommended, i.e. to install files under the FS folder (i.e. in the Modules folder) or in the documents/add-ons folder. Nothing prevents you selecting either of these locations during the installation process, if you so wish, but as I say, this is not recommended. Enforcing this would be a step backwards.

If the location and purpose of the P3D "add-ons" folder is confusing you, just use the old dll installation method (by unchecking the 'add-on.xml' checkbox during installation). Doing this, and selecting your old 'Modules' folder for installation, will result in the same install as done by FSUIPC5.

FSUIPC6 is more flexible.

John

 

[Scotfleiger]

Thank you for your careful consideration. We will have to disagree. 

[Pete Dowson]

19 minutes ago, Scotfleiger said:

We will have to disagree. 

This "discussion" seems very strange to me. The path for macros and the default for Lua files is the path in which you also find FSUIPC6.DLL, FSUIPC6.INI and FSUIPC6.LOG, as it has always been.

Why is this so alien and disagreeable?

@John: apologies for adding to this, but I had to express my perplexity at Andrew's confusion.

Pete

 

[John Dowson]

@Pete Dowson No apologies needed, I am also perplexed and do not see any issues. I think it's a misunderstanding between what the 'installation' folder is and what the 'add-on.xml' folder is.

 

[dwbarnett]

John, Pete. I believe this statement by John is what might have confused things. It certainly through me for a loop.

Is the macro in the correct place, i.e. in your installation folder (P3D v5 Addons) not in /FSUIPC6?...the P3D v5 Addons is what threw me off too. I then thought I needed to copy my LUA and macros to my P3D Addons folder. Especially since I am having macro issues, not showing up in FSUIPC for control selection in Buttons&Switches tab

Till Pete clarified, the location of the LUA and macro files. In my case M:\FSUIPC6. This is were I have copied all my macro files and LUA's.

Some macros do show up in FSUIPC, so I feel I do have them in the correct location.

Best,

David

[John Dowson]

Hi David,

3 hours ago, dwbarnett said:

s the macro in the correct place, i.e. in your installation folder (P3D v5 Addons) not in /FSUIPC6?

Macro files, as well as lua files, etc, all go in the FSUIPC6 installation folder. This is the folder you select during the installation process, regardless of whether you use the 'add-on.xml' or not. If you use the 'add-on.xm' install method, then this (i.e. the add-on.xml file itself) will necessarily be created under <your account>\Documents\Prepar3d v5 Add-ons\FSUIPC6 folder, but this is not necessarily the installation folder. This will be the default installation folder for new installations, but it is recommended to change this so the installation folder is distinct from the 'add-on.xml' folder. For existing installations (i.e. when re-installing) , the default installation folder will be the folder that in which you previously had installed FSUIPC6 (or FSUIPC5).

In ALL cases, if you don't know where your installation folder is, then you can use the 'Open Folder' button in FSUIPC's Logging tab, which will open Windows Explorer on your installation folder.

As I said, people seem to be confused as the installation folder and add-on.xml folder are not necessarily the same, but usually are as the defaults are accepted blindly - and no one bothers to read the Installation guide!

John

[dwbarnett]

John, I totaly understand installation folder. Mine is M:\FSUIPC6...works fine. Have a Folder in documents called FSUIPC6, works fine.

There is also a folder for P3Dv5 Addoons called FSUIPC6 and within is add-on.xml

My comment was when you said installation folder(P3D v5 Addons) it initialy led me to beleive, that even though my LUA scripts and macros were in my M:\FSUIPC6 folder, I needed to copy them to the addons folder, based on the above statement.  That is all. Mentioning why others may be confused.  I'm fine. I get it. Everything working Ok for me, except macro format...needs corrections