AI FLIGHT PLANNER (Version 2)

 

Flight Plan and Repaint Installer

 

 

Addendum to the AI Flight Planner User Manual

 

AI Flight Planner Version 2 ("AIFP2") adds a flight plan and repaint Installer ("installer") as a "front-end" to the existing AI Flight Planner Version 1.6 ("AIFP") flight planning editor ("FP Editor") and other tools.   

 

The installer was developed in cooperation with  AIG (Alpha-India Group) who devoted significant effort in assisting with its specification and conducted extensive testing.  While the installer has been developed to meet AIG's specific requirements, it remains a general purpose tool that may be used to install anyone's flight plans and repaints so long as:

 

Thanks to AIG for their advice and assistance in the development of AI Flight Planner Version 2.

 

The installer is controlled from a new dialog, sometimes referred to as "the Main Panel".

This manual documents the new Flight Plan and Repaint Installer only and the operation of the Main Panel.  Please refer to the main User Manual for information on other aspects of AI Flight Planner.

 

The first time you start AIFP2, you will see a dialog similar to the one on the following page (without the data, of course).  The menu items from the editor that are applicable to flight plan and repaint installation are duplicated on this installer dialog.  If your AI flight planning tasks do not involve editing of flight plans or airport data, they can probably be accomplished entirely from the Main Panel. 

 

AIFP2 defaults to the Main Panel at startup.  However, using an Options menu selection, you may start AIFP with either the Main Panel or the FP Editor (in the FP Editor, check Options / Show Main Panel at Startup or, on the Main Panel, check Options / Show FP Editor at Startup).  AIFP2 will always close when the Main Panel is closed.  You may direct that AI Flight Planner close also when the FP Editor is closed using the Options / Close AIFP from Editor menu item from either dialog.  Finally, switching between the new installer and the familiar editor requires but a single mouse click (Main Panel Flight Plans / Edit Flight Plan List and FP Editor Options / Show Main Panel ).

 

As noted above, the Main Panel has an extensive selection of menu-initiated functions.  Except where specified otherwise, these functions are the equivalent of their identically-named counterparts available from the FP Editor.  Please refer to the main AI Flight Planner User Manual for information on their operation.

 

The flight plans to be manipulated are selected using the Flight Plan Data Source textbox or the associated Select Button.  If you check the Renumber Aircraft From 1 checkbox, the aircraft in the aircraft list will be renumbered  sequentially and their flight plan references updated to reflect that new numbering.

 

 

Figure 1 - AI Flight Planner Version 2 Main Panel

 

As source data for your AI flight planning activities, you may use a:

If the flight plan data provider has included a fully-configured aifp.cfg file (see Appendix "A"), the installation of any required repaints can be completed with only a few mouse clicks. 

 

The following discussion pertaining to installation from archive files assumes the flight plan data provider has included all necessary data in the aifp.cfg file.  If that data is not complete, or even if the file is missing, you will still be able to install the flight plans and/or repaints, but you will be asked to enter certain information (such as repaint file names) that would otherwise be specified in the aifp.cfg file.  As well, if there is no aifp.cfg file, certain functions/displays that rely on aifg.cfg entries, such as alternate traffic file naming (see below) or display of the airline logo and name, will not be available.

 

Installing Flight Plans

As noted in Section 4 of the main User Manual, if an AI aircraft is scheduled to arrive more than about 37 minutes later than it would based on distance/cruising speed (that specified in the aircraft…txt file) , it will not materialize for landing.  To address this problem, some suppliers of complete AI add-on packages, specify a cruise speed of about 200 kts for all aircraft. 

 

AIFP2 uses a different approach - one that does not require use of artificial cruise speeds.  Unfortunately, the 200 kt cruise speed is problematic when used in conjunction with AIFP2. So, when using such prepared flight plan information, you should restore the aircraft cruise speed to the value in the relevant aircraft.cfg/sim.cfg file.  Several main menu functions allow this to be done selectively once the flight plans have been loaded.  Alternately, check Use AC Cruise Speed from Aircraft.cfg before loading the flight plan data and AIFP2 will automatically manage the task for you. 

 

Enter the path to the flight plan source data (.bgl/.txt/.zip) into the Flight Plan data source textbox, either directly or using the paired Select button.  Once that file is loaded, the number of included flight plans and the total number of legs is shown at the upper left, the titles of the involved aircraft are displayed in the listbox at the upper right (the "Aircraft List") and a suggested path for the compiled traffic file is displayed in the Traffic File textbox.  If loading an archive file that includes aifp.cfg, the Airline name, logo, call sign and parking code, and the time period to which the data applies will be displayed in the upper left hand corner of the dialog.  The flight plans are validated for the selected Flight Simulator version as they are loaded and any errors or unusual conditions are reported.  Warnings (as opposed to errors that will prevent compilation or operation of the AI) may be suppressed from the Options menu.

 

In the Aircraft List, the titles of already-installed aircraft are shown in black.  Those that are not yet installed are shown in red.  The main Aircraft menu contains a number of functions that may be used to manipulate the aircraft in the aircraft list.

 

AIFP2 defaults to the Scenery\World\Scenery folder for FS9 or FSX, as applicable, for storage of traffic files.  But, you may direct it to save those file elsewhere by entering a new path directly into the Traffic File textbox or using the paired Select button (see Specifying the Traffic File Name and Characteristics below).

If you do save elsewhere, (e.g., in an AddOn Scenery\scenery folder) you may control the display of the traffic in the same manner as a scenery add-on using the Flight Simulator Scenery Library.  AIFP2 will create the Scenery Library entry for you.  Just check the Make Scenery Library Entry checkbox and specify a name for it.  AIFP2 will do the rest.  Once the Scenery Library entry has been created, or if AIFP2 finds an existing Scenery Library entry that "points" to the scenery folder in which the traffic file is to be saved, these two fields will be disabled.

 

When all the required aircraft are installed and you are otherwise happy with the data, you need only select the Flight Simulator version to which the traffic file is to apply and click the Compile and Save button. 

 

Multi-Session Operations

Should you be missing a number of repaints and wish to install then over several AIFP2 sessions, at the end of each session, save the flight plan file set (Files menu) and load it, rather than the original archive at the beginning of the next session.  (If you reload the original archive, you will loose any substitutions you have made.)  If you have checked Options /  Reload Last File on Startup, AIFP2 will do this automatically (provided you save your changes).

 

Should you wish to undo one or more substitutions, however, a quick way to do it would be to reload the original archive.

 

Specifying the Traffic File Name and Characteristics

When you load flight plan data, AIFP2 will suggest a name for the traffic file based on the named of the flight plan data file(s).  If you wish to change this name, you may do so by entering the desired name directly into the Traffic File textbox on the Main Panel.  Alternately, click on the Select button paired with the textbox, which will bring up the Compile Dialog.

 

The Compile Dialog allows you to specify both the name of the traffic file and the folder into which the it will be saved.  You may also specify a "_FS9" or "_FSX" suffix be added to the file name you specify (if it doesn't already include such a suffix).

 

 

Figure 2 - Compile Dialog

 

Two additional functions are available from the Compile Dialog:

 

      Traffic_Key_Provider_Airline_Season/Year

Once checked this box remains checked and the key-string persists until you change it/them.  If no aifp.cfg file exists for the loaded flight plans, this second option is disabled (greyed-out) and the default naming will be used.

 

Click the Continue button to return to the Main Panel or FP Editor as applicable.

 

The Aircraft List

The Aircraft List includes all the aircraft used by the currently-loaded set of flight plans - both those that are already installed (shown in black) and those that are missing (shown in red).  AIFP2 includes a several functions (described below) for obtaining the missing aircraft/repaints from Avsim or Flightsim and installing them on your system.

 

These functions, most of which are available either by right-clicking on the title of interest in the Aircraft List or by clicking the Download/Install/Substitute Individual Repaints button include::

 

The titles of missing aircraft to which one or more of these functions apply are suffixed as follows:

        *   The associated repaint archive may be downloaded

      **   The associated repaint archive is available and assignments to it may be made

     ***   The title is ready for installation

 

Functions that cannot be used on the selected aircraft title are disabled (greyed-out).

 

Missing Aircraft/Installation of Repaints

Aircraft that are required for the performance of a set of flight plans and that are not currently installed on the users system are highlighted in the Aircraft List using a red font.  If there are any missing aircraft, the Download/Install/Substitute Individual Repaints button is enabled. 

 

Whether or not a given aircraft is already installed is determined solely by matching the aircraft titles from the supplied aircraft_....txt file with the titles ("Title=" entries in the "[Fltsim.x]" sections of aircraft.cfg files) of the installed aircraft.  So, an aircraft may be shown as missing when, in fact, the only problem is that the author of the flight plan data uses a title different than that of the installed aircraft.  In that case, you don't need to re-install the aircraft.  Rather, simply substitute (see next section) the installed.

 

As an alternative to using the context menu of the Aircraft List, missing aircraft may be downloaded, assigned, installed and substituted using the Missing Aircraft dialog.  Click the Download/Install/Substitute Individual Repaints button and the dialog shown below appears.

 

 

Figure 3 - Missing Aircraft Dialog

 

Missing aircraft are color coded as follows:

 

Following each substitution or installation, the relevant title is removed from the Missing AC list.  When the final item is processed, the Missing Aircraft Dialog closes automatically.

 

You may sequence the listed aircraft either by title or reference number.  The registration numbers assigned to each aircraft by the current set of flight plans may be seen by checking Show Registrations.  Use of the FS9 and FSX radio buttons changes not only the displayed list of aircraft, but also changes the Target Version back on the Main Panel and on the FP Editor.

 

Installation of a repaint involves adding appropriate "[fltsim.x]" data to aircraft.cfg in an existing aircraft folder and copying a texture folder (named Texture.xxxxx where "xxxxx" matches the "texture=" entry in the "[fltsim.x]" data) to that same aircraft folder.  The aircraft to which a repaint applies must already be installed, and you should confirm that it operates satisfactorily as an AI aircraft.  During installation, AIFP2 will confirm that the .air file and model designated in the "[fltsim.x]" data for the repaint already exist in the target aircraft folder.  If they do not, you may specify that (one of) the existing .air files or models be used instead.  

 

AIFP also checks that the designated texture folder is available in the repaint archive.  If it isn't, you may assign one of the textures already available for the model.  (This would usually be a temporary solution that allows you to install the other parts of the repaint and use the title while you locate the proper textures.) If there is more than one texture folder in the archive for the selected repaint, the Copy All Textures checkbox is enabled.  Check it to install all available textures to the target aircraft folder.  Otherwise, only the texture assigned to the selected repaint will be installed - with one exception.

 

AIFP2 regards any folder in the repaint archive whose name ends with the character string "32bit" or "32?bit" (where "?" may be any character) - whether or not contained in parenthesis -  as alternate 32-bit textures.  If the folder name starts with "texture", the folder is considered to be a qualified texture folder that may be used directly; otherwise, it is considered simply as a collection of 32-bit textures that must be manually configured.  When both DXT3 and 32-bit texture folders for the model being installed exist, AIFP2 will so advise you and ask if you want to install both.  If both folder names starts with "texture.", you will also have the option of specifying which set of textures to activate. 

 

Typically, a repaint archive includes a text file that contains the necessary AI parameters for inclusion in the target aircraft.cfg file.  Often, this file is named "[Fltsim.x].txt" or something similar.  However, sometimes the information is contained in the "readme" for the archive or another file.  If a file named "[Fltsim.x].txt" (or one of the alternate name specified in aifp.cfg) is not found in the repaint archive, you will be asked to identify the file that contains the information.  If no such file exists, you may still install the repaint; AIFP2 will use default parameters that you may later replace if necessary. Thus, it is possible to install a repaint archive the contains only the texture files - either in .zip file format or unzipped directly to the AIFP2 Repaints folder in a sub-folder named for the aircraft title to which it is to apply.

 

When you select an aircraft in the Missing Aircraft list, only the buttons for the functions available for that aircraft are enabled.  For some functions (as noted below), you may select more than one aircraft, in which case that function is performed for each aircraft in sequence.  Double-clicking on any item initiates the most likely function for that aircraft.  (For example, if the repaint for an aircraft is available - colored green - the Install function will be initiated by a double click on that item.)  You may view the repaint-related information in aifp.cfg by right-clicking on any listed aircraft. 

 

The buttons across the bottom of the dialog perform the following functions:

 

The temporary aircraft folders AIFP2 creates in its Repaints folder when unpacking repaint archives are automatically deleted following installation of the repaint.  However, the archive files themselves are not deleted, since it is not possible for AIFP2 to "know" when you are finished with a repaint archive.  Consequently, the AIFP2 Repaints folder may eventually contain a number .zip files that are no longer required.  This should not cause any difficulty; but you may wish to delete these obsolete files periodically.

 

Substituting for Missing Aircraft

When you click the Substitute button, a list of installed aircraft meeting the "Seek" criteria set out in aifp.cfg (see Appendix "A") is shown.  If the desired substitute (installed) aircraft is in the list, select it and click the Substitute button/menu item or double-click on the aircraft in the Missing Aircraft list.  The missing aircraft to which the substitution applies will disappear from the Missing Aircraft list and, when you return to the Main Panel, the substituted aircraft will appear in the Aircraft List in its place, colored black.

 

The contents of the initially-displayed list of substitution candidates depends on what the author of the flight plan "package" wanted you to see.   There may be other aircraft installed on your system that would be acceptable (or even preferable) substitutes but that are not shown in that first list.  Indeed, there may be no aircraft installed on your system that meets that author's criteria.  So,  AIFP2 allows you to enter alternate criteria for substitution candidates which, for the purposes of this section are called "seek strings", or "*" for all installed aircraft.

 

Seek "strings" may test any aircraft.cfg [fltsim] parameter.  They take the following format:

aircraft.cfg [fltsim] parameter = value.

value may be any string.  For exact match, specify value as the string alone; for "string contained in", start and end the entered string with "*" (think DOS wildcard).  You may also specify "starts with" or "ends with" by placing the "*" at the end or beginning respectively.  So:

 

Multiple seek arguments are separated by "|".  You could be more specific using:

atc_airline=Thomson* | title=&*First Choice Livery*"

which would require a "starts-with" match on atc_airline and also the title to include "First Choice Livery".  Note the "&" sign immediately following "title=".  This means there must be a match on that parameter (i.e., an "and" function).  If the "&'s are omitted, then a match on either parameter suffices ("OR" function). Multiple field entries are evaluated from left to right (i.e., no parenthesis).  So, the sequence of the items is important if there's a "&" somewhere in the string.


Fields which must be empty are specified  as "atc_id=", with or without the "&", which in this example means registration number not specified.

 

In addition, there are three "pseudo" field names that may be use if you are satisfied with a "string contains" approach.  They are:

 

These searches are always performed case insensitive.  Quote marks should not be used unless the aircraft.cfg file item of interest requires them - in which case they will be considered as part of the "seek string".

 

Install Archive

This feature should only be used by those knowledgeable about "aircraft.cfg" files

Experienced AI users who do not need (or want) AIFP2's "hand-holding" may wish to install entire repaint archives and directly edit the affected aircraft.cfg files.  To do so:

 

As for normal installs, AIFP2 will confirm that the required .air file(s), model(s) and texture folder(s) are available.  As well, AIFP2 confirms that no existing AI titles will be duplicated.  If all is not well, you will be given an opportunity to abort the installation.

 

The installer creates a suitably-numbered, but - other than deletion of duplicate titles - otherwise unaffected, "[fltsim.x]" entry for each repaint in the archive and copies all available texture folders to the target aircraft folder.  There is no attempt to designate alternate .air files, models or textures.  So, some "touch-up" to the affected aircraft.cfg file may be necessary.

 

This feature should only be used by those knowledgeable about "aircraft.cfg" files

 

Special Liveries

Special Liveries is a feature that substitutes repaints on the basis of registration numbers.  Special liveries, generally, are distributed separately from the flight plans to which they apply.

 

Unfortunately, the content/configuration of the archive files in which they are distributed varies from author to author, making automation of the installation process very difficult.  So, except for the actual installation of a special livery, AIFP2 relies on you to tell it what to do.  (Should some semblance of standardization in this regard be instituted, perhaps AIFP2 can be upgraded to make this task easier.)

 

 

Figure 4 - Special Liveries Dialog

 

To begin, install the flight plans and associated aircraft to which the special livery applies.  Then, after unzipping the special livery archive to a folder of your choice and with the flight plans loaded in AIFP2, click the Special Liveries button on the Main Panel.  AIFP2 will ask you to select the special livery file.  This will be the file, perhaps named Special Livery.cfg in the special livery archive that defines how each special livery item is to be handled.  (The file name doesn't matter; it's the contents of that file that's important.)  Once that file is identified and verified to contain special livery information, a dialog similar to the above will be displayed, containing a list of all the special liveries in the file.

 

Select a title in the list.  The Select Texture button will be enabled.  Click it, and identify the folder containing the textures you wish to use with this title.  Once the texture has been selected, the list item will be colored black and the Install button will be enabled.

 

You need not install the special livery at this time.  AIFP will remember the texture selection and will automatically enable the install button when you later return to this item.

 

When you (eventually) click the Install button for an item, or double-click on a list item for which the texture has been assigned, AIFP2 will generate a list of all installed aircraft with the call-sign specified in Special Livery.cfg  for the selected aircraft and ask you to Select Base Aircraft for Special Livery (i.e., the aircraft/repaint which is to be replaced by the special livery)  If the base aircraft you want is not in the list, specify alternate "seek criteria" (as for Substitute).

 

Select the base aircraft in the list and click on the Make Special Livery button, or double-click on the base aircraft.  AIFP2 does the rest.  It:

 

Add Single Livery

The Add Single Livery functionality allows you to specify a different repaint for a single aircraft based on the registration number specified in the flight plan.  It is similar to Special Liveries described above, except that there is no need for a Special Livery.cfg file.

 

To change the "paint scheme" for a specific aircraft registration number, click on the Add Single Livery button.  You'll be asked to enter the registration number and to specify whether or not the repaint is installed.

 

If the repaint is already installed, select it from the list presented (or generate additional lists as when Substituting for Missing Aircraft above and select from one of those).  The selected repaint will be added to the Aircraft List and the aircraft reference number in all the flight plans that use the specified registration number will be updated to use the new aircraft.

 

If the desired repaint is not yet installed, you will be asked to select the "base" aircraft (as for Special Liveries) and a new aircraft whose title will be the title of the base aircraft suffixed with the registration number will be added to the Aircraft List (in red).  Then, the aircraft reference number in all the flight plans that use the specified registration number will be updated to use the new aircraft.   As well, the new aircraft title will appear in the missing aircraft list should the Missing Aircraft Dialog later be displayed.  The associated repaint should be installed as for any other missing aircraft.

 

Problems/Error Reports/Support

Should you encounter difficulty installing flight plans, repaints or special liveries with AIFP2, we'd like to know about it.  To the extent the problem lies with AIFP2, we'll try and fix it.

 

But, please bear in mind that, unlike flight plan data and traffic files, there are no standards for repaints.  Repaint authors package their offerings in a variety of ways.  AIFP has been tested with repaints from numerous authors and copes with them all.  But, there are bound to be a few situations we didn't encounter during testing that AIFP2 may not "know" how to handle.  Should you have difficulty with a particular repaint, please check the [fltsim.x] data included with the repaint and verify that texture folder names match the corresponding [fltsim.x] texture entry, and that the [fltsim.x] data is otherwise appropriate before reporting a potential problem with AIFP2.  Should you then still believe the problem is with AIFP2, please attach the entire repaint archive file to your report or tell us from where we can download it.  Without the file, it's highly unlikely we'll be able to do much.

 

Please direct your problem reports to the AIG forum (area to be announced) or to the AI Flight Planner support forum at fsdeveloper.com.

 

End User License Agreement

As used in this end user license agreement, the terms "AI Flight Planner", "AIFP" and "AIFP2" shall be construed as encompassing the full contents of the downloadable archive (.zip) file originally created and posted for distribution on “download sites” by the author, including without limitation: the executable files AI Flight Planner.exe and/or AIFP2.exe, the associated user manuals and the data files AirportList_Base.dat, ICAO_IATA.dat and Timezone_Base.dat, and any derivates thereof.

 

You are granted a free, non-exclusive right solely to install and use AI Flight Planner on your computer system(s) for your own personal enjoyment and, subject to what follows and the rights of others, to use and distribute flight plan and aircraft data in TTools text or MSFS compiled format files created or modified with AI Flight Planner (“derivative files”).

 

You may not:

without the express written permission of the author. Use as may be permitted for commercial purposes may be subject to a license fee.

 

Your use of AI Flight Planner is entirely at your own risk.  You assume and are responsible for any and all liabilities and damages arising therefrom no matter how caused.

 

By installing or otherwise using any part of AI Flight Planner, you are deemed to have agreed to the foregoing.

 

AI Flight Planner - © 2008-2010 - Don Grovestine


Appendix "A" -  AIFP.CFG FORMAT

 

The AIFP.cfg file:

 

This file is included in the archive that contains the flight plan, aircraft and airport files in TTools format.

 

Archive files that do not include a AIFP.cfg file may still be installed with AI Flight Planner.  However, the user must direct the installation by entering certain information when requested.

 

The AIFP.cfg file contains five sections, or blocks:

 

Sections that are not required may be omitted.  Comments (lines commencing with "//")  may be placed anywhere in the AIFP.cfg file.  Data, including block names, may be entered in upper case, lower case or a mix.  Data, but not block names, may be padded with spaces; however, lines containing data may not start with a space.

 

[main] Block

The [main] block contains general descriptive information and usually (but not necessarily) includes:

 

Airline =              name of airline, which is saved in the "ui_variation" parameter; where several operators provide service under the "banner" of a major airline, this field will specify the major airline

Callsign =           call-sign of the operator, which is saved in the "atc_airline" parameter

Airline_ICAO =   ICAO code of the operator, which is saved in the "atc_parking _codes" parameter

Season =            any text string describing the time-applicability of the flight plans (e.g., "Fall 2010")

Seek =               search criteria defining the characteristics of installed aircraft that may offer an alternative to the specified repaint when that repaint is not already installed.  The format of this field is similar to entries in the [seek] block (see below).

Provider =          an acronym identifying the flight plan provider.  At the moment, this field is used only to name the provider in the alternate traffic file naming scheme.

FS_Version =     "FS9" or "FSX" (without the quotes).  This field identifies the version of Flight Simulator for which the flight plans are written.  (The day-encoding scheme differs between FS9 and FSX),

 

 

 

[repaints] Block

The [repaints] block specifies the suggested repaint to be used for each aircraft and information on where that repaint may be obtained. 

 

Each entry in this block starts with the title of the aircraft to which it applies. This title must match, exactly, the title in the Aircraft_....txt file other than the upper/lower case mix.

 

The general format of each entry is: title = field1 | field2 | field3 | field4 | field5

 

Fields must be separated using the vertical bar ("|")  character and must be ordered as follows:

Field 1 -  The title of the repaint in the repaint archive to be used for this aircraft.  This field may be left blank but, if the repaint archive contains more than one repaint or the title of the single repaint does not match the title of the aircraft, the user must specify this information prior to installation of the repaint.

Field 2 -  The name and filetype of the repaint archive (e.g.,"repaint.zip"). This field may be left blank, but the user must download and specify (using the Assign function) the repaint archive.

Field 3 - The name and type of the file in the repaint archive that holds the base [fltsim.x] information if the file is named other than "Fltsim.x.txt".  If this field is left blank and the file name is other than the default, the user will be asked to identify the file in the repaint archive.

Field 4 -  Any text string identifying the download server from which the repaint may be obtained (e.g., Avsim, FlightSim),  This field is displayed but not otherwise used by AI Flight Planner

Field 5 -  A URL with which AI Flight Planner may initiate download of the repaint archive.  At time of writing, the usual URL formats were:

for Avsim: "http://library.avsim.net/sendfile.php?Location=AVSIM&Proto=ftp&DLID=nnnnnn"

for FlightSim:

         "http://dfsn.flightsim.com/kdlr.php?fn=filename, where "n" is usually 1 or 2.

However, other formats may be in use.  You will need to check the properties of the "download" button/link on the download page to ensure you have the correct link.

 

As noted, any of these fields may be left blank.  Trailing fields may be omitted entirely, but the trailing field separator, at least, must be present for all fields except the last. Indeed, the entire entry for any given title may be omitted, but the user must provide some of the information in order to install the repaint.

 

[seek] Block / [main] Seek Entry

The repaint specifications in the [repaint] block are simply suggestions.  The user is free to "substitute" any installed aircraft.  To assist the user in doing so, AIFP.cfg includes seek criteria which is used to generate a list of possible substitutes from the aircraft installed on the user's system. 

 

The general format of seek criteria is: [fltsim.x] field name = acceptable substitute value, e.g., "atc_airline = Thomson" (without the quotes). 

 

To permit maximum flexibility, the acceptable substitute value may be preceded or suffixed with the wildcard character ("*").  This method allows specification of:

 

Multiple seek criteria may be entered if separated by the vertical bar ("|") character.  (The whole is referred to as the "seek string".)  If multiple criteria is entered, a logical "or" function is assumed, i.e., the satisfaction of any of the entered criteria constitutes a "match".  If "and" functionality is desired (i.e., a certain criteria must exist) the acceptable substitute value should be preceded by the and character ("&").  Note however, the seek string is evaluated from left to right and evaluation stops as soon as a match is found.  So, to be sure your "and" criteria is effective, it should be placed in the left-hand portion of the string.

 

In addition to [fltsim.x] field names, seek criteria may also refer to:

Airline - which is translated to "ui_variation",

Callsign - which is translated to "atc_airline", or

Airline_ICAO - which is translated to "atc_parking_codes".

In the interest of simplicity of use, for these three entries only, the value entered is always treated as "field contains", i.e., a wildcard character is added at each end..

 

A seek string for use in the [main] block is preceded by "Seek = ". This string apples to all aircraft except those for which a seek string is specified in the [seek] block.  A seek string that applies only to a specific aircraft is preceded by the title of that aircraft. (This title must match, exactly, the title in the Aircraft_....txt file other than the upper/lower case mix.)

 

[all] Block

The [all] block allows specification of any parameter in the relevant [fltsim.x] block of the applicable aircraft.cfg file, allowing the flight plan provider to override the data specified by the repaint author or to insert additional fields.

 

The general format of each entry is:

 [fltsim.x] parameter = replacement value

for example:

description = any text string, or

ui_manufacturer = Airbus

 

Each parameter is placed on a separate line.  No error checking is performed.  Included quotation marks will be saved.

 

[fltsim] Block

A [fltsim] block entry has the same basic format and serves the same purpose as the [all] block entry, except that:

§         it applies apply only to a single aircraft;

§         it is preceded by the title of the aircraft to which it pertains  (title = parameter = new value); this title must match, exactly, the title in the Aircraft_....txt file other than the upper/lower case mix; and

§         if more than one parameter is to be specified, the various specifications are separated with the vertical bar ("|") character: (title = parameter1 = value1 | parameter2 = value2 | etc)

 

[fltsim] block entries take precedence over the [all] block entries.