AI Aircraft Editor - planned update

[maverick69]

I thought that in order to work properly (I use almost exclusively FS9), when I started the program, should be checked "FS9". But I was wrong

[Joecoastie]

Martin;

I'm still slowly replacing all my AI aircraft and flight plans.
This program is a super help setting things right . . . . .
I've fixed who knows how many small errors that had gone undetected.

Thanks many times over;

Joe

[Victory103]

+1 from me Martin, between the original AI Editor version and AIFP2, I check all my FSX AI additions prior to firing up the sim to see the eye candy.

[gsnde]

You guys are saying nice thing, thank you

Please check version 1.6.8 here.

Changes:
added: status bar showing colored indicator for FS9/FSX installation found, FS9/FSX airlines.cfg read (for upcoming ATC check), is-aircraft-folder indicator and a progress bar for the upcoming "analyze all aircraft below" feature
added: a very small text editor (code not by me) so that Steve can see the results with a monospaced font You can test it by clicking on a green ATC flag
fixed: FSX quick aircraft folder access.

[gsnde]

Please check version 1.6.9 here.

Changes:
added: in menu 'Settings' --> 'Analyze Options' - you can define for every reporting detail if you want to see it
added: atc_airline= analysis in 'Validate Aircraft'
changed: 'delete keys...' dialog is now dynamical

Steve, are you happy with the configuration options for the reporting?

[gsnde]

Don't look too hard at the ATC analysis - I just realized that I have forgotten to code a small but important piece...

[gsnde]

Please check version 1.6.10 here.

Changes:
added: logic what to do with ATC analysis: if neither FS9/FSX found --> no airlines.cfg --> ATC disabled ¦ if either FS9 or FSX found and ATC enabled --> use respective version ¦ if both found and enabled --> ask
fixed: wrong counting of totals in ATC analysis
fixed: FS9 detection in 64-bit OS
fixed: Freeze (actually a never ending loop) when clicking on ATC in status line

Todo:
turn of option for tooltips
"Check All" feature (analyze all folders below this folder) functionality

[Firebird]

Haven't had a chance to check yet, Martin. On night's at the moment. Will check it tomorrow.

I seem to have fallen behind on stuff due to finally catching up with installing Mike P's Mirages, so plenty of use there with all my manual changes.

[gsnde]

User feedback shifts nicely between here and AIG.

You did a wise thing, Steve - you missed the bugs

[gsnde]

Please check version 1.6.11 here.

Changes:
added: Tooltips can be enabled or disabled in settings --> needs restart of program
added: usage of internal or external text editor controlled via settings
added: double-clicking on the FS9/FSX ATC panel in the status bar opens the respective airline.cfg in the editor. You can analyze, edit the airlines.cfg and re-analyze all in the program.
changed: logic when menus / menu items are disabled and enabled depending on current folder = aircraft folder
fixed: ATC bug reported by AIG

Todo:
"Check All" feature (analyze all folders below this folder) functionality
Analyze texture folder, if all textures called for in a mdl are available

[gsnde]

Please check version 1.6.13 here.

Changes:
fixed: ATC bug reported by AIG finally killed
changed: report layout prepared for mass detection and to change layout according to disabled reporting options (seperator lines etc.)

[Firebird]

Jeez, just as I get to test the latest version I find that I am 2 behind.

[gsnde]

There is another one about to be released soon, Steve. The code was bad regarding if a value was empty (like atc_airline=) or not there at all. But I have that covered soon.

[Firebird]

OK using 1.6.13
The program works very well. What I haven't checked yet is whether nested sub folders are fine, as I don't have any on this substitute PC.

The builtin editor worked well. Kudos to you. It is a nice to have and does what it says.
There are a couple of issues that I have found :-
1. Progress bar.
When you resize the actual bar doesn't resize in the same proportions, and therefore overlays onto other areas in the status bar. I think that the progress bar should be a container within the status bar and not simply overlaying the status bar.
Also the progres bar should only actual be full for a brief moment that some operation has completed and not as standard when nothing is running. Kind of confusing.
2.Status Bar.
I noticed when investigating the progress bar that the text in the status bar resizes, height wise, that the font size changes. This causes problems with some fonts at smaller pixels. It would be prudent, and simplest, to fix this by making the height of the status bar fixed.
You can make the status bar really narrow and in my case it collapses to only the FS9: label and green 'found' button. I think that most others should be fixed or limited in their resize-ability. For example my second FSX n/a button goes from disappearing completely, when narrowing the window to as wide as it wants when stretching to full screen width.
3. Aircraft type window.
When allowing the size to be altered you can easily corrupt the readability of this window in two ways. One the radio button text gets squished onto multiple lines making it unreadable and two the font used for displaying the air file name becomes small and unreadable.
4. Text
When resizing the window to full screen a lot of the text automatically becomes larger, due to the width, which may not be what you want. I like to see more of the two listings, aircraft folders and contents of an aircraft folder but expanding the individual entry data window does not really have any benefit currently.
If you could alter it so that instead of the 3 tabs, you could go down to two or one then that would be a benefit.

I realise that all of these issues are related to the resizing option. if you wanted to discuss further in depth or would like some ideas then we should communicate directly rather than fill up this forum.

5. Validate all aircraft below
I ran this twice and could see it checking each folder but no output window opened at the end nor did any report get saved, the logical place I checked was the root of the Aircraft folder.

Suggestions.
It occurs to me that if you are making wholesale changes then if there was an option to reduce the number of columns in the aircraft individual entry data window it would be nice. As it currently stands most of the data is out of view and having columns that I never use include just clutter the otherwise nicely constructed view up.
Columns such ui_createdby, ui_typerole, atc_heavy etc., for example, I would remove. I am not saying that the tab containing all the possible fields be altered just the aircraft listing above.

I think that is about all for now.

[gsnde]

Please check version 1.6.14 here.

Changes:
fixed: The analysis failed to count correctly with tags that were present but empty (like atc_airline=) and when this tag was missing completely. there is a new reporting item for title, model, texture, airfile and atc if it has been defined in a [fltsim.x] section or not.
added: the new analysis items are added to the analysis settings dialog

[gsnde]

Steve,

thanks for the feedback. This is VB6, so everything that is a bit extraordinary (like colored panels and progress bars in the status bar) are api hacks and hooks, since VB6 naturally only allows text there. Another consequence of VB6 is that if you resize the window, the form resizes, but not the content. Again that it works here is a dirty trick, and for that reason also the text size increases, not the programs real estate.

I only brought the resizing option in because I was asked for it a long time ago. I never use it when I work with the program. And I have noticed the issue with the statusbar as well. The green or red items are actually a picturebox that is moved over the respective panel to allow some color. The progress bar is also moved over the panel, not a part of it.

Your points 1, 2, 3 & 4: Because it can not be made right since VB6 does not support these things I think I don't want to invest any time to improve that resizing functionality. Do you think I should better remove it then? Or is it better than nothing on some strange monitor resolutions?

Your points 5: Validate all aircraft below is prepared at some places, but not officially implemented and coded yet

I love your suggestion and will add this to the todo list, which consist of

Adding "Validate all aircraft"
Adding "Analysis of model for needed textures and check if they are available" (what a title )
Adding "Grid column configurable"

[Firebird]

Martin,
You came to the same conclusion that I did. The variable window size is going to be more trouble than it is worth. I would 'postpone' that feature until v2.

[gsnde]

Martin,
You came to the same conclusion that I did. The variable window size is going to be more trouble than it is worth. I would 'postpone' that feature until v2.

I have added it to the V4 road map

[Joecoastie]

Martin:
Using Ver 1.6.13, I ran into a strange one yesterday. I had added a texture to a FAIB 738 folder and had not added a [fltsim.x] entry in the config. When I validated the aircraft, the report said it found "X" number of textures - one less than actual - and all were used. It did not list the one I had added as unused even though it was showing as being in the folder on the left side of the screen. I added the [fltsim.x] section to the cfg and the validate report indicated all okay with the correct count of textures. I removed the [fltsim.x] and tried it once more and the validate report again did not report the unused texture. (AIAE does report unused in other folders) I have checked that the texture file is okay as it does show in FS and using FSRepaint. I have noticed also the validation report only reports that the Texture format lists only "*.dds". In this folder there are a mixture of .dds and .bmp, the majority being .bmp. I don't know if this is a "no-no".

One more thing the validation reports 90 airlines, whereas there are in reality only five individual airlines. Is this correct operation ?

Joe

FSX, Win7 64

[gsnde]

Joe,

Please try 1.6.14, posted two or three posts above. It took me until this version to get rid of all reporting bugs

Steve, expect a Firebird release in half an hour