Home

"user manual"

1. So you know which button to use and also how you want to use it The third step is to assign a suitable routine a k a function to the button If you have pre planned your button assignments as suggested then you will have already researched this question but let s assume that you are just trying this out for the first time Assuming that you want the button press in this case to increment the flap setting all you need to do is to look up what you want in the list of functions for the aircraft you are using right Well actually not quite If you search through the 700 NGX functions that have listed in Appendix 1 you will be disappointed to discover that flap functions are not included So what s gone wrong So many functions Nothing is wrong in such a situation in fact it s just that you re probably looking in the wrong place Some very common functions such as those for flaps and perhaps throttles brakes and so on are included Sort order 6 by name by numi in the library of functions for FSX itself rather than the specific aircraft Filter list you are using So if you draw a blank in the list of functions for your aircraft don t despair simply search the list of fsx s functions to see if you can find what you need in there It s probably fair to say however that it s a good idea to search the list of functions which are specific to your add on aircraft first since if it exists there there
2. function NGX EFIS MINS dec function NGX EFIS MINS inc function NGX EFIS MINS MODE baro function NGX EFIS MINS MODE radio function NGX EFIS MINS MODE toggle function NGX EFIS MINS RST function NGX EFIS MTRS function NGX EFIS NAV1 adf function NGX EFIS NAV1 dec function NGX EFIS NAV1 inc function NGX EFIS NAV1 off function NGX EFIS NAV1 vor function NGX EFIS NAV2 adf function NGX EFIS NAV2 dec function NGX EFIS NAV2 inc function NGX EFIS NAV2 off function NGX EFIS NAV2 vor function NGX EFIS ND MODE CTR function NGX EFIS ND MODE dec function NGX EFIS ND MODE inc function NGX EFIS ND MODE show function NGX EFIS ND RNG dec function NGX EFIS ND RNG inc function NGX EFIS ND RNG show function NGX EFIS ND RNG TFC function NGX EFIS POS function NGX EFIS STA function NGX EFIS TERR function NGX EFIS WPT function NGX EFIS WXR function NGX ELEV TRIM down function NGX ELEV TRIM downfast function NGX ELEV TRIM show function NGX ELEV TRIM up function NGX ELEV TRIM upfast function NGX EMER lights armed function NGX EMER lights off function NGX EMER lights on function NGX ENG1 cutoff Page 39 Disp brightness Disp brightness Disp brightness Disp brightness EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EF
3. Autopilot switches function NGX AP ATHR off Autopilot switches function NGX AP ATHR toggle Autopilot switches function NGX AP BACK SYNC System functions Autopilot buttons Autopilot Dials function NGX AP BANK dec function NGX AP BANK inc function NGX AP BANK show Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials function NGX AP CMDA toggle function NGX AP CMDB toggle function NGX AP CO Autopilot buttons Autopilot buttons Autopilot buttons function NGX AP CRS LR dec function NGX AP CRS LR decfast function NGX AP CRS LR inc function NGX AP CRS LR incfast function NGX AP CRS LR sync function NGX AP CRS LR toggle function NGX AP CRSL dec Page 32 Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials function NGX_AP_CRSL_decfast function NGX AP CRSL inc function NGX_AP_CRSL_incfast function NGX AP CRSL show function NGX_AP_CRSR_dec function NGX_AP_CRSR_decfast function NGX AP CRSR inc function NGX AP CRSR incfast function NGX AP CRSR show function NGX AP CWSA function NGX AP CWSB function NGX AP FD1 off function NGX AP FD1 on function NGX AP FD1 toggle function NGX AP FD2 off function NGX AP FD2 on function NGX AP FD2 toggle function NGX AP FD both off function NGX AP FD both on function NGX AP HDG BANK toggle function NGX AP HDG dec function
4. function NGX W HEAT L SIDE on function NGX W HEAT L SIDE toggle function NGX W HEAT R FWD off function NGX W HEAT R FWD on function NGX W HEAT R FWD toggle function NGX W HEAT R SIDE off function NGX W HEAT R SIDE on function NGX W HEAT R SIDE toggle function NGX W HEAT TEST off function NGX W HEAT TEST ovht function NGX W HEAT TEST pwr function NGX WARN FIRE reset function NGX WARN MASTER reset function NGX WHEEL WELL off function NGX WHEEL WELL on function NGX WHEEL WELL toggle Page 44 Warnings Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Transponder Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Window Heat Warnings Warnings Lights external Lights external Lights external function NGX WING off function NGX WING on function NGX WING toggle function NGX Wiper both dec function NGX Wiper both inc function NGX Wiper L calc function NGX Wiper L dec function NGX Wiper L high function NGX Wiper
5. selected LIB User functions and from the next column clicked on the function that wanted to be called when the button was pressed 11 iz 1 C mb Copy On Press action H1 1 LIB A2A Map gt H1 2 LIB AivlaSoft EFB H1 3 LIB Default FSX H1 4 LIB IVAO IVAP H1 5 E LIB RealityXP E y Hi 6 Edit library HET perenne Pl EXAMPLE function format Hi 8 LIB Weather functions gt BC PARKING BRAKE Set gt PMDG737NGX BC PARKING BRAKE Release LOCAL SHIFT BC Reverse GLOBAL SHIFT BC NoReverse BC Cleanup Record keypress BC After Engine Start Set FSX Control BC gate atrival Set FSUIPC Macro Do nothing z Logitech tiller x Remove assignment It really is as easy as that You will also notice that there are a number of LIBraries already provided for you so you can assign functions from any of those categories including LIB Default FSX of which more in a moment Also present in the list you will see PMDG 737NGX assuming of course that you have downloaded and installed it from the LINDA forum Clicking on that will give you access to all of the 700 functions that are listed in Appendix 1 which are presented in groups to make it easier to quickly identify the one you need Set FSX Control enables you to use the FSX Controls which are listed in Pete Dowson s FSUIPC documentation Record keypress is fairly obvious but is occasionally useful to assign a
6. using FSUIPC rather than the software provided by the manufacturer have no wish to enter into a dispute about this and clearly PMDG would not make such a recommendation lightly all can say is that took the decision to continue to use FSUIPC to calibrate my rudder axis with LINDA handling the buttons and have experienced no problems or difficulties whatsoever during nine months of flying only the NGX Furthermore when a question was asked about PMDG s comment on the FSUIPC forum Pete Dowson s reply was All that s talking about is deleting your settings and re doing assignments and calibrations to suit the NGX because it just might be that your own axis calibrations and assignments may not suit the way the NGX is set up All you really need to do is create a new Profile or Aircraft specific set Pete s comments seem entirely sensible and consistent with my own experience however Your Mileage May Vary as the saying goes so do be aware at least of PMDG s recommendation Certainly many of the other recommendations made in the NGX Introduction document are extremely sound the whole document is very well worth reading carefully but caveat emptor Installation prerequisites 3c removing button assignments from fsx The reason for first mentioning EZCA and the NGX in this connection is that you do now need to ensure that there are no conflicts between fsx FSUIPC and LINDA in other words to ensure that no de
7. s a good chance that the FLAPS DOWN 65603 standard fsx function isn t going to work or not work as well Ben Ee have included a list of some standard fsx functions in Appendix 3 the FLIGHT MAP 66432 extract on the right includes the flaps functions you can assign and for ie ane Oe eee ee the current example you re clearly going to select FLAPS_INCR and assign it to the appropriate column for your selected button Further examples will be given below EYEPOINT UP 66524 S 1 65597 At this point we encounter an aspect which makes the writing of this guide more difficult there are So many aspects of all this which are obvious to experienced folk but not so obvious to the beginner Let s consider a related example to show what mean V LINDA s button numbers start from 1 as in the Windows Game Controllers configuration windows However be aware since it often causes confusion that in FSUIPC numbering starts from zero so button 5 in LINDA or Windows is the same button as button 4 when seen in FSUIPC Just thought Vd mention it Page 23 Combining existing functions to make new ones Using the fsx flaps increment and flaps decrement commands we have seen how you can assign buttons to move the flaps one position at a time But of course some aircraft have more increments between fully up and fully down than others So for example if you wanted to assign a button to raise your flaps completely for you
8. Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Trimmings Trimmings Trimmings Trimmings Other Other Other Other Other Other Other Other function NGX SPOILER arm Other function NGX SPOILER detent Other function NGX SPOILER off Other function NGX STBY POWER Auto Electrics including APU function NGX STBY POWER bat Electrics including APU function NGX STBY POWER off Electrics including APU function NGX SYSTEM ANN reset function NGX TAXI ALL off function NGX TAXI ALL on function NGX TAXI ALL toggle function NGX TAXI off function NGX TAXI on function NGX TAXI toggle function NGX TCAS test function NGX TURNOFF BOTH off function NGX TURNOFF BOTH on function NGX_TURNOFF_BOTH_toggle function NGX_TURNOFF_LEFT_ off function NGX_TURNOFF_LEFT_on function NGX_TURNOFF_LEFT_toggle function NGX_TURNOFF_RIGHT_ off function NGX_TURNOFF_RIGHT_on function NGX_TURNOFF_RIGHT_toggle function NGX W HEAT ALL LEFT off function NGX W HEAT ALL LEFT on function NGX W HEAT ALL LEFT toggle function NGX W HEAT ALL off function NGX W HEAT ALL on function NGX W HEAT ALL RIGHT off function NGX W HEAT ALL RIGHT on function NGX W HEAT ALL RIGHT toggle function NGX W HEAT ALL toggle function NGX W HEAT L FWD off function NGX W HEAT L FWD on function NGX W HEAT L FWD toggle function NGX W HEAT L SIDE off
9. CDU CLR function NGX CDU CRZ function NGX CDU D function NGX CDU DEL function NGX CDU DEP ARR function NGX CDU DES function NGX CDU Doors function NGX CDU E function NGX CDU EXEC function NGX CDU F function NGX CDU FIX function NGX CDU Fuel function NGX CDU FwdSlash function NGX CDU G function NGX CDU GroundConn function NGX CDU H function NGX CDU HOLD Page 36 CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO Enter CDU FO pages CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO Enter CDU FO pages CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt Enter CDU Capt pages CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt Enter CDU Capt pages CDU Capt CDU Capt Enter CDU Capt pages CDU Capt CDU Capt function NGX CDU I function NGX CDU INIT REF function NGX CDU J function NGX_CDU_K function NGX CDU L function NGX_CDU_LEGS function NGX CDU LSK 1L function NGX CDU LSK 1R function NGX CDU LSK 2L function NGX CDU LSK 2R function NGX CDU LSK 3L function NGX CDU LSK 3R function NGX CDU LSK 4L function NGX CDU LSK 4R function NGX CDU LSK 5L function NGX CDU LSK 5R function NGX CDU LSK 6L function NGX CDU LSK 6R function NGX CDU M function NGX
10. CDU MENU function NGX CDU N function NGX CDU N1 LIMIT function NGX CDU NEXT PAGE function NGX CDU O function NGX CDU P function NGX CDU Payload function NGX CDU Period function NGX CDU PREV PAGE function NGX CDU PROG function NGX CDU Pushback function NGX CDU Q function NGX CDU R function NGX CDU RTE function NGX CDU 5S function NGX CDU Sign function NGX CDU Space function NGX CDU T function NGX CDU U function NGX CDU V function NGX CDU W function NGX CDU X function NGX CDU Y function NGX CDU Z function NGX Cockpit Prepare function NGX CROSSFEED feed function NGX CROSSFEED off function NGX CROSSFEED toggle function NGX DOME bright function NGX DOME cycle function NGX DOME dim function NGX DOME off function NGX Doors Airstair Page 37 CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt Enter CDU Capt pages CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt Enter CDU Capt pages CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt CDU Capt Cockpit prepare Fuel Fuel Fuel Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit CDU Capt Doors function NGX Doors CargoAFT functi
11. FIT The graphic above right shows an example of what the Console might look like if all is well but if something really is wrong then you will see an error message in red for easy identification Since this usually gives you the module and the line number within that module of the error identification and rectification are often rendered straightforward The problem might be a misspelling of a keyword or perhaps that you have inadvertently changed the capitalisation of a function name unlike Windows Lua is case sensitive remember An example of this which caught me out was when was writing a routine which included setting both Pack switches to Auto as in the following snippet Set PACK switches to Auto NGX PACK L auto _sleep 150 400 NGX PACK R Auto sleep 150 400 Did you spot the difference Look at the capitalisation of the word auto in the function names the above amended version works but if you make the capitalisation consistent it won t or only for one of them The moral is to always copy and paste the function name directly from the function itself to be sure certainly do now LINDA I racer LINDA Editor Once you have fixed the problem however you also need to reload the Lua engine so that your new version is used by LINDA go to the Settings page and click on the Reload Lua engine option in the right hand column Reload Lua engine LINDA aims to make your lif
12. L inc function NGX Wiper L int function NGX Wiper L low function NGX Wiper L park function NGX Wiper L show function NGX Wiper R calc function NGX Wiper R dec function NGX Wiper R high function NGX Wiper R inc function NGX Wiper R int function NGX Wiper R low function NGX Wiper R park function NGX Wiper R show function NGX XPND MODE cycle function NGX XPND MODE dec function NGX XPND MODE inc function NGX XPND MODE show function NGX YAW DAMPER off function NGX YAW DAMPER on function NGX YAW DAMPER toggle function Timer Page 45 Lights external Lights external Lights external Wiper Wiper Wiper Wiper Wiper Wiper Wiper Wiper Wiper Wiper Wiper Wiper Wiper Wiper Wiper Wiper Wiper Wiper Transponder Transponder Transponder Transponder Other Other Other System functions Appendix 2 example page from documented control assignments Slider 0 Axis 1024 Below indicates a centre off position S means sprung to return to centre when pressure released Throttle base button switch numbers amp c Control label No Assignment ENG L switch N 16 on off Pre taxi routine BC After Engine Start in lib user lua ENG R switch T 17 on off Runway exit cleanup routine BC Cleanup in lib user lua IGN LEFT switch 7315 1 184 All cockpit lights inc LAII cockpit lights d
13. assign the FSX default planes first of all The assignments you make for the FSX standard planes are the defaults for all other add ons aircraft e g If you assign LIGHTS Strobe for the FSX standard planes then LIGHTS Strobe will also be available for your add on aircraft providing you do not set it to do nothing or overwrite it with another function So if you have hardware that you want to operate the same functions throughout your whole collection of aircraft then assign them to a default plane and you won t have to reassign the same command every time But there is something else you may wish to bear in mind When it comes to discussing assigning controls for an add on aircraft am going to take as my example the most complex one available at the time of writing the PMDG NGX the Boeing 737 600 700 800 and 900 models That aircraft has a beautifully rendered virtual cockpit that is a joy to use and approaches reality very closely It follows therefore that some of the standard fsx functions will be of little use in that context In fact looking down my list of controls that have assigned through LINDA there are very few which would be relevant to the default aircraft That isn t a problem for me since fly a relatively restricted range of complex aircraft and never any of the fsx default aircraft and so l m perfectly happy to design each control set individually But if you
14. assignments is vital to a pleasurable experience in the cockpit promise you But let s now look in general at the overall process of assigning commands to buttons using LINDA 1 Caution Lua is case sensitive so you would be well advised to copy and paste the name from the original code to be sure of not making a mistake l ll mention this again later since it s important Page 21 LINDA s hardware support assigning buttons and switches LINDA SISE ae Version 11 Your confrols Date On Press On Repeat On Release 1 empt p 2 8 empty e m e empty empty 4 b pt t m e empty emp 6 t mpty e M e empty empt 8 p t empt 9 empt empty 2 10 empt emp 11 e empt empt 12 t ef t MH e pt p 14 empt mpt 2 15 empt empi 16 mpt t i7 e empt 18 empt emp 19 mpt empt empt 20 e empt ED e empt p 7 amnh amnh If you have no current assignments for the device being configured the Joysticks screen will look similar to the above As you can see you can define actions for three different events for each button On Press and On Release are self explanatory whilst On Repeat is triggered whilst the button is held down or in the case of a toggle switch whilst the switch is set to the On position There is also top right although not shown in the above illustration a check box entitled Shifted this determines whether the functions on the page apply to the button in its normal unshifted state or when one of the t
15. can copy them back to return to the point where you currently are and try again Installation prerequisites 2 the latest licensed FSUIPC FSUIPC config As already mentioned you will need a licensed paid for version of FSUIPC v4 since otherwise you do not have access to Version 4 831 ok the Lua facilities upon which LINDA depends More than that though must stress that you need to ensure that you have an up to date version otherwise you may experience a number of ill effects LINDA does try to check for a totally unsuitable version during the installation process but would recommend that in any event you simply go and download the latest FSUIPC from Pete Dowson s site and forum and then bring yourself up to date with the latest available version l am always uneasy about giving links since these inevitably change but at the time of writing you should first of all visit the following page to download the current major version http www schiratti com dowson html Having done that do not fail to visit these links too for the most recent updates http forum simflight com topic 66139 updated modules Be careful though that page also contains links for v3 fs9 as well as the v4 fsx modules And http forum simflight com topic 68257 latest lua package for fsuipc and wideclient Once you have confirmed that your version of FSUIPC is properly installed and fully up to date you can proceed The ne
16. control assignments to suit your hardware This document is about LINDA hence will not dwell overlong on this aspect of your planning important though it undoubtedly is but before you proceed would strongly recommend at the very least making a list of all the switches which are present on your available control hardware making a second list containing all the commands that you wish to assign and then coming up with the best possible list of assignments for your available switches Believe me it is time that is hugely well spent and time that will save you a lot of the pain associated with reassigning things later on at which point each reassignment causes a domino effect whereby lots of other things consequently need to be reassigned too It is usually possible to browse the Internet and download a picture of your control device if not take a photo and use that But you will find it helpful to label each control visually as part of your documentation An example page from my own documentation for using the hog with the NGX is given in Appendix 2 on page 46 15 Which isn t a problem for Airbus drivers of course Page 20 If you are using a LINDA module for a specific add on aircraft it is also helpful to also note the function name you intend to associate with that switch movement But for example suppose you wanted to assign a switch to turning on the APU bleed air what routine do you need Your identificatio
17. flip it from the down position to the up position whilst still flying the aircraft in the early stages of takeoff Electrically speaking switch 28 is on when the switch is down forward switch 27 is on when it is up back and when it is in the middle position both switches are off How is this used with LINDA to emulate the gear lever Consider the sequence of events in practice Until takeoff the switch is in the down position sw 28 on 27 off Once a positive rate of climb is established the switch is moved to the up position sw 28 off sw 27 on and when the flaps are retracted the switch is returned to the centre position both off On the approach the switch is returned to the down position sw 28 on Using the On Press and On Release columns for these two switches in LINDA the programming is therefore as follows 27 NGX GEAR up NGX GEAR off 28 NGX GEAR down So when the switch is moved to up on leaving the runway LINDA looks at On Release for sw 28 which is empty so nothing happens and then On Press for sw 27 whereupon it triggers the NGX gear up function When the switch is moved to the centre position LINDA actuates the On Release for sw 27 which calls the NGX s gear off function And when the switch is moved to the down position again for landing LINDA calls the NGX s gear down function On Press for sw 28 Which happens to be exactly what we wanted The careful design of all your control
18. for those parts of the code which could be accessed to produce the desired effect although this clearly took considerable effort and expertise However in early 2011 Artem provided him with a rather special set of Lua scripts which set up a standard for those to come as well as providing unheard of functionality for the VRinsight MCP Combo The combined system was further refined between the two authors as development continued and so Artem decided to add a GUI front end This not only provided an attractive and easy to use interface to the LINDA functionality but also added a Tracer which greatly simplified the work involved in discovering addresses and offsets within the code of fsx s many add on aircraft thereby increasing G nter s productivity as well as that of others So as Ginter puts it LINDA is a tool to make gathering and assigning Lua Variables and controls a bit easier and should be both a platform and standard for upcoming Lua scripts Although we should also notice that the provision of all that functionality was made possible by Pete Dowson s provision of Lua scripting as an extension via FSUIPC We simmers owe all three men a very considerable vote of thanks for their superb contributions to our hobby obsession i See for example the discussion on page 11 about connecting the VRinsight TT Panel to fsx Thank you G nter for the clarification Fora duick look at some of the fun
19. key that is already programmed in fsx Finally Do nothing and Remove assignment are even more obvious 18 The current version of the PMDG NGX module at the time of writing is v1 7 please don t confuse this with the version number of the LINDA software which is currently v1 11 Page 27 Now let s return to our trivial example of a routine to raise the flaps have to confess at this point that we did not in fact have to write a function of our own we could have simply used one from the Default FSX category as the following illustration shows Bs gt Copy On Press action Hi 1 LIB A2A Map e H1 2 LIB AivlaSoft EFB k H1 3 Edit library IL Mk WAG AE E Autopilot controls HR id Radios functions HIS BB User functions Altimeter baro functions gt Hs He vies ESK GPS controls H1 8 LIB Weather functions gt EFIS gt gt PMDG737NGX l Lights Signs LOCAL SHIFT IE GLOBAL SHIFT rae Record beers ATC window Flaps down aoe Engines starting Flaps incr edem Rotaries functions Flaps decr a Do nothing Pushback Trim RUDDER left Logitech tiller Remove assignment Trimmings r Trim RUDDER right Reverser r Trim RUDDER center System functions Trim AILERON left Trim AILERON right Trim AILERON center Trim ELEVATOR up Trim ELEVATOR down Trim ELEVATOR center In fsx you may also recall that if we wished to raise the flaps comp
20. may also wish to become familiar with some of the other documentation notably the Lua and Library documents So having configured the axes with FSUIPC bearing in mind the caveats mentioned in 3a and 3b above you can then move on to configuring the buttons on your various devices using LINDA First choose the device you are going to configure by clicking on the appropriate icon see the examples below Page 18 mm Saitek X52 Using fsx routines and supplied aircraft profiles Having configured your controls HID devices so that they are recognised by both Windows and LINDA and assigned your axes within FSUIPC you are now ready to assign your buttons and other controls to various functions within the aircraft in your hangar Before moving on to the more complex add on aircraft however it is important to note that you should set up any vanilla actions for fsx s default aircraft first The LINDA v1 01 manual explains this clearly Default actions The functions you assign for the FSX Default aircraft will be used as the default actions for all other aircraft unless you reassign the same buttons switches to other functions The logic is similar to that of FSUIPC you have default assignments but can override them for specific aircraft if need be You can see that there is an assigned default when it is shown with a little star and coloured light green We strongly recommend that you select and
21. minimized to the system tray LINDA s initial window state LINDA will be started automatically each time you are running the FSX System wide shortcut to activate and bring to front LINDA s window Note that some shortcuts could be blocked by other applications Unlocks LINDA Tracer and LINDA Editor to edit and ceate new aircraft modules Open all Lua files in the LINDA Editor And that s it LINDA is now fully configured The settings which used are as shown Please note that unless you check the Developer mode option you will be unable to make use of the LINDA Tracer facility to discover useful and usable characteristics of your add on aircrafts internals Similarly if you would like to use LINDA s friendly and colour syntax highlighted facilities to edit and develop your Lua code see p 25 you will need to check the Associate with lua box You can set up a shortcut to bring LINDA s window to the front however opted not to do so since usually run fsx in full screen mode We will now move on to configuring your buttons as found in your joystick and or throttle or HOTAS and or other device such as a TT panel and or an MCP Combo Before doing so however you may wish to assign any axes you have using the facilities within FSUIPC This topic being outside the remit of this document may I refer the reader to Pete Dowson s own manuals especially the User Manual and the Advanced manual although you
22. As you can see from the Setup MCP Combo Joysticks HID devices illustration on the left LINDA Setup LINDA ener od ad has detected all four of the p e Saitek X52 B 39 H 3 devices which I have Saitek Throttle gt B 9 H 0 connected and displayed them in red to indicate that some setup is needed If you are really observant you will also notice that it gives the number of Buttons and Hats that Windows reports in each case except for the Combo since until the COM port has been specified it cannot communicate with it Setup required VRinsight MCP Combo Device enabled COM port not set o It may be worth stressing that this information is what Windows reports which does not always correspond to Setup required reality for example the HID device in fact has 28 buttons switches available with four other buttons configured as the hat That device is actually the TT panel but it is here initially given its Windows assigned name of usb pad so I will need to configure that with a more meaningful name quite soon Hopefully you have complied with the well established recommendation NOT to install fsx in the default location since with Windows 7 this can result in UAC messages and other problems with LINDA and also with many other add ons My fsx installation is in C fsx which also shortens the associated path names Page 15 Following LINDA s suggested order of business
23. CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO function NGX CDU2 B function NGX CDU2 C function NGX CDU2 CLB function NGX CDU2 CIR function NGX_CDU2_CRZ function NGX_CDU2_D function NGX CDU2 DEL function NGX CDU2 DEP ARR function NGX CDU2 DES function NGX CDU2 Doors function NGX CDU2 Doors Airstair function NGX_CDU2_Doors_CargoAFT function NGX CDU2 Doors CargoFWD function NGX_CDU2_Doors_Equip function NGX CDU2 Doors LeftAFT function NGX CDU2 Doors LeftFWD function NGX CDU2 Doors LeftWING function NGX_CDU2_Doors_RightAFT function NGX CDU2 Doors RightFWD function NGX CDU2 Doors RightWING function NGX CDU2 E function NGX CDU2 EXEC function NGX CDU2 F function NGX CDU2 FIX function NGX CDU2 Fuel function NGX CDU2 FwdSlash function NGX CDU2 G function NGX CDU2 GroundConn function NGX CDU2 H function NGX CDU2 HOLD function NGX CDU2 I function NGX CDU2 INIT REF function NGX CDU2 J function NGX CDU2 K function NGX CDU2 L function NGX CDU2 LEGS function NGX CDU2 LSK 1L function NGX CDU2 LSK 1R function NGX CDU2 LSK 2L function NGX CDU2 LSK 2R function NGX CDU2 LSK 3L function NGX CDU2 LSK 3R function NGX CDU2 LSK AL function NGX CDU2 LSK 4R function NGX CDU2 LSK 5L function NGX CDU2 LSK 5R function NGX CDU2 LSK 6L function NGX CDU2 LSK 6R function NGX CDU2 M function NGX CDU2 MENU function NG
24. GHT OVH inc function NGX LIGHT PANEL L dec function NGX LIGHT PANEL L inc function NGX LIGHT PANEL R dec function NGX LIGHT PANEL R inc function NGX LIGHT PDST dec function NGX LIGHT PDST inc function NGX LOGO and NAV off function NGX LOGO and NAV steady function NGX LOGO off function NGX LOGO on function NGX LOGO toggle function NGX Marker off function NGX Marker on function NGX Marker show function NGX NAV cycle function NGX NAV off function NGX NAV steady function NGX NAV strobe function NGX PACK L auto function NGX PACK L dec function NGX PACK L high function NGX PACK L inc function NGX PACK L off function NGX PACK L show function NGX PACK R Auto function NGX PACK R dec function NGX PACK R High function NGX PACK R inc function NGX PACK R off function NGX PACK R show function NGX PROBE HEAT BOTH off function NGX PROBE HEAT BOTH on function NGX PROBE HEAT BOTH toggle function NGX PROBE HEAT L off function NGX PROBE HEAT L on function NGX PROBE HEAT L toggle Page 42 Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights co
25. GX BLEED2 on function NGX BLEED2 show function NGX BLEED2 toggle function NGX CDU2 0 function NGX CDU2 1 function NGX CDU2 2 function NGX CDU2 3 function NGX CDU2 4 function NGX CDU2 5 function NGX CDU2 6 function NGX CDU2 7 function NGX CDU2 8 function NGX CDU2 9 function NGX CDU2 A Page 34 Electrics including APU Electrics including APU Electrics including APU Electrics including APU Electrics including APU Electrics including APU Electrics including APU Electrics including APU Electrics including APU Electrics including APU Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Warnings Autopilot switches Autobrake Autobrake Autobrake Autobrake Autobrake Autobrake Autobrake Autobrake Autobrake Autobrake Electrics including APU Electrics including APU Electrics including APU Lights external Lights external Lights external Warnings Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO
26. IS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls EFIS controls Trimmings Trimmings Trimmings Trimmings Trimmings Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Engine start function NGX ENG1 idle function NGX ENG1 START CONT function NGX ENG1 START dec function NGX ENG1 START FLT function NGX ENG1 START GRD function NGX ENG1 START inc function NGX ENG1 START OFF function NGX ENG1 START show function NGX ENG2 cutoff function NGX ENG2 idle function NGX ENG2 START CONT function NGX ENG2 START dec function NGX ENG2 START FLT function NGX ENG2 START GRD function NGX ENG2 START inc function NGX ENG2 START OFF function NGX ENG2 START show function NGX FLIGHT INFO function NGX FLOOD ALL dec function NGX FLOOD ALL decfast function NGX FLOOD ALL inc function NGX FLOOD ALL incfast function NGX FLOOD ALL show function NGX FLOOD MCP dec function NGX FLOOD MCP inc function NGX FLOOD PANEL dec function NGX FLOOD PANEL inc function NGX FLOOD PDST dec function NGX FLOOD PDST inc function NGX FLTALT dec function
27. Introducing Vourcontrols by Artem Crum und Gunter Steiner written by brian747 Table of Contents Introductions sise AE AE OE EE OE KADIO nkau eII 3 What can LINDA do for me Beginners start here 4 LINDA RE ER ER EO E OE ie 4 YOU OW DIE ETI ui 5 SO WHO needs KIE OO AE EE E E 6 What devices can LINDA work With ees ee Re RA AA AA AA AA AA ee nee 7 AHID what s thigt iie ee oo av bee ke reale ka DOR 7 How LINDA c EE OE EE EE N EE N 8 LINDA installation and setup ties EE REKE SE inte es ni 9 Hardware used in the preliminary examples inserer 9 Installation prerequisites 1 Back up your Modules folder now 10 Installation prerequisites 2 the latest licensed FSUIPC Re AA RA Re 10 Installation prerequisites 3a a recommendation for EZCA users 11 Installation prerequisites 3b a comment for PMDG NGX users 11 Installation prerequisites 3c removing button assignments from fsx 11 Installing checking a simple HID device in this case the TT panel 13 Installing your MCP Combo ea r a aa eaaa r m a ear eaa Aee EE en Ra EEs 14 Installing LINDA 24 2 2 asien OE RE N ES HE Vu 15 Configuring LINDA the Joysticks iet EE earth EE ede un Ein 15 Configuring LINDA the MCP Combo and FSUIPC eene nennen nennen nnns 16 Configuring LINDA setup options se ee ER ER RA ER ee ee ee nnn nsns senseri nnns 18 U
28. NGX AP HDG decfast function NGX AP HDG inc function NGX AP HDG incfast function NGX AP HDG show function NGX AP HDGSEL function NGX AP INFO function NGX AP LNAV function NGX AP LVLCHG function NGX AP MASTER off function NGX AP MASTER on function NGX AP MASTER toggle function NGX AP MODES UPDATE function NGX AP N1 function NGX AP P reset function NGX AP soft disconnect function NGX AP SPD dec function NGX AP SPD decfast function NGX AP SPD inc function NGX AP SPD incfast function NGX AP SPD INTV function NGX AP SPD show function NGX AP SPEED function NGX AP TOGA function NGX AP VNAV function NGX AP VORLOC function NGX AP VS function NGX AP VS dec function NGX AP VS inc function NGX AP VS show function NGX APU dec function NGX APU GEN BOTH off Page 33 Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot buttons Autopilot buttons Autopilot switches Autopilot switches Autopilot switches Autopilot switches Autopilot switches Autopilot switches Autopilot switches Autopilot switches Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot buttons System functions Autopilot buttons Autopilot buttons Autopilot switches Autopilot switches Autopilot switches System functions Au
29. NGX FLTALT inc function NGX FMC P reset function NGX GEAR down function NGX GEAR off function NGX GEAR show function NGX GEAR up function NGX GEN BOTH off function NGX GEN BOTH on function NGX GEN L off function NGX GEN L on function NGX GEN R off function NGX GEN R on function NGX GRD PWR off function NGX GRD PWR on function NGX HGS down function NGX HGS mode function NGX HGS toggle function NGX HGS up function NGX HYD A Elec2 off function NGX HYD A Elec2 on function NGX HYD A Elec2 toggle function NGX HYD A Eng1 off Page 40 Engine start Engine start Engine start Engine start Engine start Engine start Engine start Engine start Engine start Engine start Engine start Engine start Engine start Engine start Engine start Engine start Engine start System functions Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Warnings Other Other Other Other Electrics including APU Electrics including APU Electrics including APU Electrics including APU Electrics including APU Electrics including APU Electrics including APU Electrics including APU Other Other Other Other Hydraulics Hydraulics Hy
30. PS UP 65595 FLIGHT MAP 66432 FLY BY WIRE ELAC TOGGLE 66737 FLY BY WIRE FAC TOGGLE 66738 THROTTLE CUT 65604 THROTTLE DECR 65602 THROTTLE DECR SMALL 66634 THROTTLE FULL 65596 THROTTLE INCR 65598 THROTTLE INCR SMALL 65600 THROTTLE SET 65697 THROTTLE1 CUT 65967 THROTTLE1 DECR 65966 THROTTLE1 DECR SMALL 66635 THROTTLE1 FULL 65963 THROTTLE1 INCR 65964 THROTTLE1 INCR SMALL 65965 THROTTLE1 SET 65820 THROTTLE2 CUT 65972 THROTTLE2 DECR 65971 THROTTLE2 DECR SMALL 66636 THROTTLE2 FULL 65968 THROTTLE2 INCR 65969 THROTTLE2 INCR SMALL 65970 THROTTLE2 SET 65821 THROTTLE3 CUT 65977 THROTTLE3 DECR 65976 THROTTLE3 DECR SMALL 66637 THROTTLE3 RULL 65973 THROTTLE3_INCR 65974 THROTTLE3 INCR SMALL 65975 THROTTLE3 SET 65822 THROTTLE4 CUT 65982 THROTTLE4 DECR 65981 THROTTLE4 DECR SMALL 66638 THROTTLE4 FULL 65978 THROTTLE4 INCR 65979 THROTTLE4 INCR SMALL 65980 THROTTLE4 SET 65823 BRAKES 65588 BRAKES LEFT 65720 BRAKES RIGHT 65721 Page 47 Examples of LIB Default FSX i gt Copy On Press action LIB A2A Map LIB AivlaSoft EFB natu emph Edit library er H NAG N Autopilot controls BEE ano dud Radios functions LIB User funcions Altimeter baro functions vin FSX GPS controls t LIB Weather functions gt EFIS gt PMDG 737NGX Lights Signs LOCAL SHIFT pe GLOBAL SHIFT Flaps up ketono ones ATC window ips down di ol Engin
31. R BRT decfast function NGX DU LR BRT inc function NGX DU LR BRT incfast function NGX DU RIGHT BRT dec function NGX DU RIGHT BRT decfast Page 38 CDU Capt Doors CDU Capt Doors CDU Capt Doors CDU Capt Doors CDU Capt Doors CDU Capt Doors CDU Capt Doors CDU Capt Doors CDU Capt Doors Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp Disp brightness brightness modes modes modes modes modes modes brightness brightness brightness brightness modes modes modes modes modes modes brightness brightness brightness brightness brightness brightness brightness brightness brightness brightness brightness brightness brightness brightness brightness brightness brightness modes modes brightness brightness brightness brightness brightness brightness function NGX DU RIGHT BRT inc function NGX DU RIGHT BRT incfast function NGX DU UPPER BRT dec function NGX DU UPPER BRT inc function NGX EFIS ARPT function NGX EFIS BARO dec function NGX EFIS BARO inc function NGX EFIS BARO MODE hpa function NGX EFIS BARO MODE inHg function NGX EFIS BARO MODE toggle function NGX EFIS BARO STD toggle function NGX EFIS DATA function NGX EFIS FPV
32. X CDU2 N function NGX CDU2 N1 LIMIT Page 35 CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO Enter CDU FO pages CDU FO Doors CDU FO Doors CDU FO Doors CDU FO Doors CDU FO Doors CDU FO Doors CDU FO Doors CDU FO Doors CDU FO Doors CDU FO Doors CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO Enter CDU FO pages CDU FO CDU FO Enter CDU FO pages CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO CDU FO function NGX CDU2 NEXT PAGE function NGX CDU2 O function NGX_CDU2_P function NGX_CDU2_Payload function NGX_CDU2_Period function NGX_CDU2_PREV_PAGE function NGX_CDU2_PROG function NGX_CDU2_Pushback function NGX_CDU2_Q function NGX_CDU2_R function NGX_CDU2_RTE function NGX_CDU2_S function NGX_CDU2_ Sign function NGX_CDU2_Space function NGX CDU2 T function NGX CDU2 U function NGX CDU2 V function NGX CDU2 W function NGX CDU2 X function NGX CDU2 Y function NGX CDU2 Z function NGX CDU 0 function NGX CDU 1 function NGX CDU 2 function NGX CDU 3 function NGX CDU 4 function NGX CDU 5 function NGX CDU 6 function NGX CDU 7 function NGX CDU 8 function NGX CDU 9 function NGX CDU A function NGX CDU B function NGX CDU C function NGX CDU CLB function NGX
33. ach might cause problems for those who are unused to the format of Standard xml or indeed unused to editing configuration files in general so although it will take longer and is know rather tedious you may prefer to achieve the same result by simply going through your control assignments in fsx and removing all the assignments for your joystick s axes and buttons Having used whichever method suits you best you will then be free to assign the axes and keystrokes in FSUIPC and the buttons and VRinsight MCP Combo if you have one in LINDA thus getting the best of both worlds Finally in your preparations get yourself the current version of LINDA together with the aircraft modules you intend to use make sure the aircraft modules are all compatible with your LINDA version and you re ready to go When the time comes see p 30 be sure to configure fsx s own built in aircraft first however since they provide the basis for the other assignments But more of that anon first let s look at the process of installing a simple HID device into Windows ready for button assignment in LINDA Page 12 Installing checking a simple HID device in this case the TT panel For simple devices such as the TT panel and basic joysticks all that may be necessary is to check and configure them using the Windows facilities available to you these examples use Windows 7 but XP is not wildly different From the Start Orb select Device
34. age 49
35. aken to the Editor directly ma BJ LINDA Editor xl Home E PMDG 737NGX EEA ASAT Open function BC After Engine Start rn A DspShow Separator v1 0 DspSPD Function 4 For use after pushback and engine start DspHDG If else y DspALT Toggler N B Needs LINDA NGX module v1 4 or Later for probe heat functions Functions list GENERATOR 1 and 2 switches to On XAMPLE function format geles ger IS NGX GEN BOTH on BRAKE Release _sleep 150 490 Reverse BC NoReverse BC Cleanup PROBE HEAT switches to ON BC er Engine Start BC gate arrival NGX PROBE HEAT BOTH on _sleep 150 490 Set PACK switches to Auto NGX PACK L auto _sleep i50 499 NGX PACK R Auto _Sleep 158 488 Set ISOLATION VALVE switch to AUTO NGX ISOL VALVE auto _sleep 150 490 Set APU BLEED air switch to OFF NGX APUBLEED off _sleep 150 490 As you can see from the illustration this is a fully featured editor complete with syntax checking and highlighting and other advanced features which is the ideal place to enter and save your new function especially if you are already familiar with programming software Alternatively if you would rather keep things as simple as possible you can edit the file directly using Notepad or any other text editor please don t try using WordPad Word or any similar programs That means you can t use the LINDA Editor s advanced features but the choice is yours an
36. ations but happily LINDA completely replaces it giving much increased functionality and supporting a much wider range of up to date aircraft in addition to the ones that come with fsx A HID what s that If you take a look within the Device Manager of your Windows installation you will find a category called Human Interface Devices or HIDs for short To explain it as concisely as possible let s simply say that these devices came into being as a way to enable input devices used by humans as controls to be readily connected to a computer latterly via a versatile plug in interface which we now know as USB The original devices used with this genre are of course keyboards and mice which have obviously been around for a long time and hence those two are nowadays often recognised by the Operating System without the need for additional drivers Although see Record keypress on p 28 An axis in simming terms is usually a lever of some kind or perhaps a sliding or rotary potentiometer control Unlike buttons and switches which are either on or off axes return a range of values Those with long memories may recall that early keyboards and mice and joysticks were for a while connected via serial ports but USB quickly took over as soon as it became available Page 7 Reference has already been made to the fact that attempting to control an aircraft using a keyboard and a mouse is very far from being the best way to do
37. box that C VFSXVFLIGHTSVOTHERVFLTSTM FLT I C fsx SimObjects Airplanes Aircreation_582SL Aircreation_582SL during your explorations into Lua you may AIR occasionally make a syntax error in other words type something that the Lua engine cannot NEW LOGGING SESSION l l l l l i i Restore finished understand Your first indication of this especially if C fsx SimObjects Airplanes PMDG 737 700NGX WLA3737 700WL AIR i R Ai Ft Boei 737 700NGX Brian s Charter Winzlets you run fsx in full screen mode may be that LINDA pia timc 29 05 2012 67 59 00 Simulotor kimo 14 58 26 doesn t seem to be working how do you find and Sg arting everything now fix the problem beginning C fsx Modules ipcReady lua 0 ended C fsx Modules ipcReady lua INIT Loading The answer lies in LINDA s Console which even if you ER EO LL omi ag ircraft module detected PMDG 737NGX AivlaSoft library loaded FSX standard library loaded are flying in windowed mode may not be immediately visible onscreen If it isn t find the main EET ue LINDA screen give it the focus by clicking on it and E loading PROG JSINOX Joysticks config press F1 or choose LINDA Console from the ER EE sd Summary column on the right hand side of the Settings page NI tching list clear watching list cle Advanced Weather Interface Enabled Sim stopped average frame rate for last 30 sec
38. ckpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights cockpit Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external VHF Panel VHF Panel VHF Panel Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Probe Heat Probe Heat Probe Heat Probe Heat Probe Heat Probe Heat function NGX PROBE HEAT R off function NGX PROBE HEAT R on function NGX PROBE HEAT R toggle function NGX PUMP1 AFT off function NGX PUMP1 AFT on function NGX PUMP1 AFT toggle function NGX PUMP1 FWD off function NGX PUMP1 FWD on function NGX PUMP1 FWD toggle function NGX PUMP2 AFT off function NGX PUMP2 AFT on function NGX PUMP2 AFT toggle function NGX PUMP2 FWD off function NGX PUMP2 FWD on function NGX PUMP2 FWD toggle function NGX PUMPCTR L off function NGX PUMPCTR L on function NGX PUMPCTR L toggle function NGX PUMPCTR R off function NGX PUMPCTR R
39. ctionality available take a glance at Appendix 4 T Using the LINDA Tracer it was possible to create the first NGX module less than 24 hours after the release of the NGX Page 8 LINDA installation and setup Hardware used in the preliminary examples Just before begin a few words on the examples that I will use in this next section One of the problems that we are faced with as simmers is the huge variety of hardware and software which is available resulting in millions or perhaps billions of combinations of hardware possibilities processor graphics card amount of memory joysticks etc multiplied by the even larger number of possible combinations of software in use So the chances of finding anyone with exactly the same configuration as yours or mine are vanishingly small which also means that giving examples which are useful to the maximum number of people becomes more difficult than it may appear So will be using four hardware devices in the initial examples in this document will now quickly describe their functions rather than what they look like since their functionality is the significant factor in interfacing them to fsx Bear in mind that although for completeness mention the number of axes available on two of them LINDA is not concerned with axes those need to be programmed in FSUIPC or perhaps the Saitek or other manufacturer s software if you absolutely insist 1 The VRinsight TT Panel This con
40. d either method will work Page 25 To make our new function to fully retract the flaps we take advantage of the fact that you can continue decrementing the flaps position as many times as you like but once they are fully retracted the command will have no further effect So we simply decrement the flaps the maximum number of times for the current aircraft and we know that irrespective of their previous position the flaps will be moved to the fully up state as a result So here s our new function function YourName_retract_flaps Retract the flaps to the UP position _FLAPS_DECR ipc sleep 50 _FLAPS_DECR ipc sleep 50 FLAPS_DECR ipc sleep 50 _FLAPS_DECR ipc sleep 50 _FLAPS_DECR ipc sleep 50 _FLAPS_DECR ipc sleep 50 _FLAPS_DECR ipc sleep 50 _FLAPS_DECR ipc sleep 50 FLAPS_DECR sleep 150 400 end This once again illustrates how a function needs to be constructed e First of all you need a line containing the function name and a pair of round brackets don t worry about those for now just include them then some lines of code which may include calls to existing functions and finally the end line that tells Lua that it has reached the end of the function e Anything on a line following two adjacent minus signs is ignored so you can use this feature to add as many comments as you like a practice which is hi
41. do regularly fly the fsx default planes then you may need to do a bit of thinking about which controls you want as standard For example your list might include a switch that you decide to use for your undercarriage up for gear up and down for gear down That s fine for the simplified fsx aircraft of course but what happens when you fly the more complex ones where there s a gear off position to depressurise the Page 19 hydraulics between gear up and gear down As I said some preliminary planning at this stage will certainly save you a lot of revision later I ll return to the planning process in a few moments Hardware usage in the examples for the rest of this document alluded earlier to the difficulties attendant upon writing a guide such as this bearing in mind the millions of different combinations of hardware and software which are in use by simmers all over the globe So now that we are approaching the part of the manual where the practicalities of assigning controls on your own hardware to the controls in the cockpit are under discussion in order to meet the needs of as many people as possible have decided to use for the rest of the document not only a complex add on aircraft the NGX but also a more complex set of controls the Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS combination in place of the Saitek yoke and throttles along with the VRinsight MCP and a simple Logitech stick This makes very little difference to the exampl
42. draulics Hydraulics function NGX HYD A Eng1 on function NGX HYD A Eng1 toggle function NGX HYD B Elec1 off function NGX HYD B Elec1 on function NGX HYD B Elec1 toggle function NGX HYD B Eng2 off function NGX HYD B Eng2 on function NGX HYD B Eng2 toggle function NGX HYD ELEC Both off function NGX HYD ELEC Both on function NGX HYD ELEC Both toggle function NGX HYD ENG Both off function NGX HYD ENG Both on function NGX HYD ENG Both toggle function NGX IGN both function NGX IGN left function NGX IGN right function NGX IRS L align function NGX IRS L att function NGX IRS L calc function NGX IRS L dec function NGX IRS L inc function NGX IRS L nav function NGX IRS L off function NGX IRS L show function NGX IRS R align function NGX IRS R att function NGX IRS R calc function NGX IRS R dec function NGX IRS R inc function NGX IRS R nav function NGX IRS R off function NGX IRS R show function NGX ISOL VALVE auto function NGX ISOL VALVE dec function NGX_ISOL_VALVE_inc function NGX ISOL VALVE off function NGX ISOL VALVE open function NGX ISOL VALVE show function NGX LAND ALL off function NGX LAND ALL on function NGX LAND ALL toggle function NGX LAND FIXED BOTH off function NGX LAND FIXED BOTH on function NGX LAND FIXED L off function NGX LAND FIXED L on function NGX LAND FIXED R off f
43. ds out of fs Page 31 Appendix 1 alphabetic list of NGX functions module v1 7 FUNCTION NAME FUNCTION GROUP System functions System functions function InitDsp function InitVars function NGX AIL TRIM leftWingDown Trimmings function NGX AIL TRIM rightWingDown Trimmings function NGX AIL TRIM show Trimmings function NGX AIL TRIM stop Trimmings function NGX ANTI ICE ENG 1 off Anti Ice function NGX ANTI ICE ENG 1 on Anti Ice function NGX ANTI ICE ENG 1 toggle Anti Ice function NGX ANTI ICE ENG 2 off Anti Ice function NGX ANTI ICE ENG 2 on Anti Ice function NGX ANTI ICE ENG 2 toggle Anti Ice function NGX ANTI ICE ENG both off Anti Ice function NGX ANTI ICE ENG both on Anti Ice function NGX ANTI ICE ENG both toggle Anti Ice function NGX ANTI ICE ENG WING off Anti Ice function NGX ANTI ICE ENG WING on Anti Ice function NGX ANTI ICE ENG WING toggle Anti Ice function NGX ANTI ICE WING off Anti Ice function NGX ANTI ICE WING on Anti Ice function NGX ANTI ICE WING toggle Anti Ice function NGX AP ALT dec function NGX AP ALT decfast function NGX AP ALT inc function NGX AP ALT incfast Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials function NGX AP ALT INTV function NGX AP ALT show function NGX AP ALTHLD Autopilot buttons function NGX AP APP Autopilot buttons function NGX AP AT FMC reset Warnings function NGX AP ATHR arm
44. dundant as well as outdated You do however have to introduce your new hardware to the Operating System so set up the power to the unit I prefer always to use a separate power supply for significant devices such as this rather than drawing what might be a relatively large amount of current from a USB port and then plug the USB plug into the most convenient socket A Driver Software Installation Your device is ready to use USB Serial Converte f Ready to use USB Serial Port off Ready to use After a short pause Windows should announce that it has seen and recognised the device as above Do note the COM port number that it is using since you will need that information soon This is a virtual aM port which is set up for you 4 9 Ports COM amp LPT automatically nonetheless it is utilised by the O S T Br we i TM Communications Port COMI as though it is real and in fact if you look at Ka i ss di 79 Prolific USB to Serial Comm Port COM8 Device Manager you will see it listed under your poj mi USB Serial Port N COM and LPT ports section which is another way m en Page 14 of finding the number of the COM port concerned Ignore the COM8 device shown in my ports list which is used for another MCP unit which also have installed Which brings up an important point in general please be aware that Windows will assign the port number for your VRinsight MCP Combo according to its own logic so
45. e easier Manual PDF Page 29 LINDA s most complex hardware support the VRinsight MCP Combo thought might put in a quick word about this although the topic is well covered on pp 14 17 of the LINDA manual Installing the VRinsight MCP has also been covered see page 14 of this document and also p 9 of the LINDA manual However it is worth stressing the importance of selecting i e telling LINDA which MCP Combo version you have If you have bought it recently then it is pretty much bound to be version 2 but if like me you have the original version then you need to select version 1 Probably the main difference between the two versions is the increased display space in version 2 which I am told is fully utilised by the LINDA authors so make certain that you specify which version you have It is after all a one time adjustment 9 In Appendix 4 you will find a diagram which gives you a rough idea of how the default assignment of LINDA s controls is laid out Two caveats about this however first of all compiled it a couple of versions ago so G nter may have since then made improvements which are not shown and secondly this obviously refers to the Combo I since don t have the Combo II Nonetheless it may be useful for those who have just attached their MCP Combo to LINDA for the first time and would like a quick idea of what all the buttons and knobs actually do But of course this is LINDA so if you w
46. e result that a suitably descriptive name was not easy to find Finally the authors came up with the now famous acronym Lua Integrated Non complex Device Assigning T which summarises in the minimum number of words what LINDA is basically about but also offers little hint of the rich treasure trove which is contained within it This document therefore aims to discuss the available functionality in a little more detail than the LINDA manual itself as a way of assisting those who are meeting LINDA for the first time to get up to speed Nonetheless a year on from the initial release date it is already clear that no single document will ever be able to keep up with LINDA s rapid evolution hence the reader is encouraged to visit the forum at http forum avsim net forum 424 linda for the latest news and updates The FSUIPC support forum is at http forum simflight com forum 30 fsuipc support pete dowson modules It is worth underlining the fact that you therefore need an up to date version of FSUIPC v4 831 is current at the time of writing and the updates are free Page 4 Your own pit This introductory section of the document consists mostly of general information to place the need for LINDA in some sort of context If you re already aware of some parts of what follows please feel free to skip through any aspects which are familiar to you Although fsx went to considerable lengths to make available as many contr
47. ear ta he calibrated Ta calhrate ga tn the Settings page Axes Z fois II DH X Rolalior Ruder mum Thrcttle X Ans Y Pols Buttons Point of View Hat Buttons Pont o View Hat TEE 60000008 Page 13 A peculiarity of the TT panel is that four of the buttons Pans aig sain labelled C2 C3 C4 and C5 on the unit itself are 6000660606 configured internally as a hat switch so that pressing C2 600060660666 for example generates a right movement of the virtual 60000606 hat as shown Buttons Point of View Hat 0000000 Not referred to in the documentation not that could 600666066066 find at least is the fact that pressing two adjacent 6660060666 buttons generates an intermediate position of the hat so pressing C2 and C3 together results in the position 000000 dies j shown to the left Having checked that your TT panel or other device is correctly connected you are ready to assign some buttons using LINDA as described on page 22 But first let s consider installing a much more advanced HID device the VRinsight MCP Combo Installing your MCP Combo If you are installing LINDA to use with a new MCP Combo or II then it could be helpful to install the Combo box first if not please skip to Installing LINDA below The important thing here is to ignore VRinsight s suggestion that you install their SerialFP software LINDA makes it re
48. ec NGX LIGHT ALL inc NGX LIGHT ALL dec not inc dec fast IGN left SHIFTED 4 31 shifted ENG1 cutoff NGX ENG1 cutoff IGN RIGHT switch 7325 194 ALT INTV VSPD INTV NGX AP ALT INTV NGX AP SPD INTV IGN right SHIFTED 732 shifted TENG2 cutoff NGX ENG2 cutoff APU START OFF sw 720 on off T Dome light cycle NGX DOME CYCLE Silence Horn btn 21 Set to local barometric pressure B LINDA Keyboard FLAPS switch 422 UP 23DN WJ Flaps less T Flaps more Jj FSX FLAPS DECR FSX FLAPS INCR EAC switch 724 on off 7 parking brakes on L parking brakes off in lib user lua BC PARKING BRAKE Set BC PARKING BRAKR Release RDR ALTM switch 725 on off HUD up HUD down NGX HGS up NGX HGS down A P toggle button 26 TO GA NGX AP TOGA A P mode switch 427 N 28 Gear up Gear off Gear down NGX GEAR up NGX GEAR off NGX GEAR down A P mode switch SHIFTED 427 shifted A 28 shifted TAPU on and start APU off On NGX APU GEN BOTH on Rpt NGX APU Start or ShowEGT Off NGX APU GEN BOTH off Silence Horn button SHIFTED btn 21 shifted push Gate arrival BC Gate Arrival in lib user lua AXES Incr Decr lever Slider Steering tiller Page 46 Appendix 3 fsx standard controls Sort order 9 by name by num Filter list EYEPOINT UP 66524 FLAPS 1 65597 FLAPS 2 65599 FLAPS 3 65601 FLAPS DECR 65759 FLAPS DOWN 65603 FLAPS INCR 65758 FLAPS SET 65698 FLA
49. enefit of the authors programming to show information from fsx Be aware that although the rotary controls here may appear similar to axes in fact internally they are something else entirely since they work on encoders using phase differences to pass information about which direction they are being turned and at what speed But happily you don t need to worry about the technicalities since they are entirely taken care of for you by LINDA Page 9 So between them those devices cover a large part of the spectrum of complexity in terms of things that you might want to use to control your aircraft so that hopefully the examples given will therefore enable you to connect any similar but different devices that you may have using LINDA But first of all we need to install LINDA This process is covered in the LINDA manual of course and those who are confident of their abilities may wish to use the shorter explanations to be found there In this document however we take a more leisurely approach which hopefully will be helpful for those with less experience Installation prereduisites 1 Back up your IModules folder now You are about to make a number of changes to your Modules folder and the folders beneath it It is therefore vital to back up those folders as they currently are by copying them away to somewhere safe which also means outside the fsx directory tree Then should you by any chance need to start from scratch you
50. es in fact and indeed have avoided using the complex devices in my examples wherever possible with the exception of one question which have been asked several times and so will be specifically covered as go along My reasons for changing are that i in general those who need LINDA are those who will be using rather more than a basic joystick anyway and ii that whilst it is straightforward to simplify a complex example the reverse is not the case so if gave only relatively simple examples that would inevitably leave many questions unanswered for those with more complex hardware So with apologies to those with Saitek kit will switch to the Thrustmaster stick and throttle unit for the rest of the description although will add to the mix an old Logitech stick that occasionally use for additional buttons or axes as well Unfortunately am one of the many simmers whose home pit is too small to allow the use of a yoke or pedals and so have to use a stick for flying airliners However since the Thrustmaster Warthog or hog for short offers a range of different and perhaps unusual controls which can be adapted with advantage for example it has several three position switches that are ideally suited to tasks such as being assigned to the undercarriage with a central off position such features will enable me to make suggestions which can hopefully be adapted to a variety of other kit too Designing your set of
51. es starting Flaps incr Rotaries functions Flaps decr Do nothing Pushback Trim RUDDER left 13 Remove assi gnment Trimmings Trim RUDDER right a Reverser Trim RUDDER center It System functions Trim AILERON left t ET Trim AILERON right Trim AILERON center Trim ELEVATOR up Trim ELEVATOR down Trim ELEVATOR center Also on Rotaries functions mpt nothing Pushback empt nove assignment Trimmings Reverser System functions Page 48 Appendix 4 Combo standard assignments See C fsx Modules linda cfg aircrafts PMDG 737NGX config mcp lua amp config mcp default Xpndr mode dec TCAS test Does nothing as supplied TO GA LNAV CMDB Xpndr mode inc Baro adj Push to Sn A P course adj A P heading adj uses STD mode Push to toggle Push to toggle bank VNAV CMDA Autobrake dec Push to toggle mode OT 7 jJ ken N COMMS adj Push to change SPD INFO HDI3 sl BA Ga B CR 292 v 01 284 2 Loc CHSA As ze 117 al ev e a 1 1 _ AN NC LA FLUCH HD HDGHLD amp 2 Us J IR una e unan con NAU ADF OME TRN EFIS mode btns COMMS select btns Action dep on version A P speed adj A P altitude adj A P V S adj Push for INTV Push for INTV Swap stby with EFIS ND mode adj EFIS ND range adj Push to toggle CTR Push to toggle TFC The three right hand user buttons are always EFIS mode MCP mode USER mode P
52. ghly recommended e The sleep functions give the processor time to go away and find work to do elsewhere to avoid a situation where you issue a whole string of commands which tie it up completely with the result that fsx starts to stutter and stagger So ipc sleep 50 pauses for 50 milliseconds whilst s1eep 150 400 pauses for a random time between 150 and 400 milliseconds don t forget the underscore prefix before the word sleep when using this format e Finally always put your own name or some other unique identifier in the function name just to guard against the possibility that an identically named routine already exists It also helps you when you need to debug things too In the Button assignment basics section above we saw that it is extremely simple to assign any function to a button and some further examples of that process were promised So here they are beginning with assigning a routine of our own Page 26 Button assignment practical examples Let s assume that for some reason wanted to assign the EXAMPLE function format function or any of the others that exist in my lib user lua On my Logitech joystick I pressed a button as you can see from the picture below LINDA recognised which control I was using and highlighted button number 12 for me then clicked on the word empty in the On Press column which opened a list of possibilities for me to use From the list
53. he relevant skill can only be honed and perfected by practice rather than by reading about it A bit like flying in fact e But in all fairness this document is entitled Introducing LINDA and I hope that it has succeeded in that modest aim Whilst writing it have once again been forcibly reminded of just how much the simming community owes to Artem and G nter who have supplied for our use a professional level tool and the associated add ons to make it immediately useful to many simmers The LINDA main screen has a Donate button please use it to encourage the developers in their efforts just imagine how much this utility would have cost if it had been provided by any of the major simming software houses And final and most sincere thanks also to those members of the LINDA forum who have contributed to the code base of LINDA aircraft modules the more people who do so the more we will all benefit in the long run And the more examples you will have to look at when making and debugging your own code But the business of writing this document has for too long kept me from simming to which I will now return with I must confess a certain relief Blue skies and happy landings my friends Cheers Brian Hampshire England Summer 2012 The best information that am aware of on this topic i e from G nter himself is to be found here http forum simflight com topic 63146 tutorial how to get lua vars or comman
54. his manual does not attempt to explore in depth the art of tracing and exposing functions within the add on aircraft of your choice since that topic which is as much an art as a science is covered on pp 18 24 of the original manual nor will you find here any kind of reference for the Lua language since there are a number of those available online Instead will attempt to build on the official documentation by illustrating with examples how it is possible to use LINDA with the many functions that have been made available in the first year of LINDA s life for a variety of aircraft will proceed at a relatively gentle beginner friendly pace to do so and if some related issues are also clarified along the way then that will be good too My most grateful thanks to all who have contributed to the LINDA module collection but principally to Artem and Giinter whose brainchild has so greatly enriched the flight simulation scene brian747 Hampshire England Version 1 0 Summer 2012 Version 1 01 this version corrects some illustration elements on page 28 1 For example http www anadrac com FSUIPC Lua Tutorial index html Page 3 What can LINDA do for me Beginners start here Unsurprisingly in view of its nature one of the most popular duestions asked about LINDA is simply What is it since at first sight it may not be immediately obvious what LINDA is actually for This section aims to answer that guestio
55. it and so it was that joysticks and yokes soon came along clearly in the category of HID devices and like mice and keyboards guickly came to be connected via USB Unsurprisingly therefore although flight sim control devices became increasingly varied and complex they also continued to be identified to the Operating System as HIDs which is why you may observe that very often the calibration procedures native to Windows use a similar presentation for each of them So please be aware that some simming control devices may also be referred to as HIDs from time to time and that occasionally you may need to check their operation using the Windows HID routines Very complex devices such as the VRinsight MCP Combo units are not technically members of this category they are rendered accessible once again owing to the tireless efforts of Pete Dowson How LINDA began It is sometimes said that to understand anything you also need to understand the history of how it came to be LINDA is the product of a happy marriage of expertise between the two experts G nter Steiner and Artem Crum G nter s speciality was originally the production of Lua scripts for various add ons which he posted in the FSUIPC forum However these modules needed to be able to reach into the code of the add on concerned in order to be able to actuate some control which was often otherwise unavailable for use by simmers Ginter therefore became adept at searching
56. letely providing that the default button assignments were still in place we re S5 Copy On Press action L ke o could simply press F5 So instead of either of the two methods shown vidio Me Yap above we could simply have used the Record keypress option shown right and then pressed F5 LIB VAO IVAP Hi 5 LIB RealityXP As you can see when you combine the huge number of functions which H1 6 LIB User functions gt LINDA provides and which G nter and some dedicated users have made Hi 7 Pix vingt Hi 8 LIB Weather functions gt available with the ability to use them within your own Lua routines your ability to control your aircraft using your own hardware is now vastly enhanced LOCAL SHIFT GLOBAL SHIFT gt PMDG737NGX Record keypress Set FSX Control Set FSUIPC Macro Hopefully therefore the above has given you some idea of the range of options that LINDA makes available to you when it comes to assigning keystrokes to buttons Do nothing Remove assignment Personally couldn t imagine flying without it 1 Unless of course you have reassigned it within fsx Hence my suggestion for cross checking all the existing assignments whilst planning your control layout Page 28 What if something goes wrong the LINDA Console lt is possible especially if you are using a text editor amp 3 LINDA Console rather than LINDA s more advanced tool
57. n Pross NCX AD MASTI APP HGX AP A MST Off NCX 4 MASTIR cf Moda 1 Made Modes Page 30 l f f In conclusion hope this brief tour of some of LINDA s functions and abilities may be of help especially to those who are encountering LINDA for the first time or whose computer knowledge is relatively slight The writer is aware of the many limitations and imperfections of this document notably in that it does not include the frequently requested guide to using the LINDA Tracer to discover and make available the functions within any of the add on aircraft which are not already available on the LINDA forum look at http forum avsim net forum 428 linda development for the modules already available for download But frankly such a task would result in an additional document at least as long as this one and furthermore there are relatively few people who are gualified to write it Certainly G nter who has to be more qualified than anyone since he has been investigating the internals of add on aircraft for a long time is far too busy investigating and publishing additional modules as well as providing support on the forum which is a not inconsiderable task by itself So fear that those who seek a shortcut to the delicate arts of Tracing will have to be content with the various replies which have been given on the LINDA forum during the past year must add also that as with any such skilled activity t
58. n at the outset rather than expecting the reader to plough through many pages of text in order to discover what LINDA is all about Let s begin by stating the most basic facts that you need to know e LINDA enables the connection of flight simulation hardware to the controls of fsx add on and default aircraft but in an extended way that makes available the use of controls which were not previously accessible for assignment Which is great but if you don t have fsx or you haven t any hardware what not even a joystick with a few spare buttons then LINDA can t help you e LINDA provides a superset of the functionality offered by FSUIPC so it s probably fair to say that if you re not sure what FSUIPC is then your learning curve is probably going to be a little bit steeper than would otherwise be the case More importantly though LINDA builds upon FSUIPC s fairly recent ability to make an Lua scripting interface available to the simmer hence since Lua is only available with the licensed paid version of FSUIPC you will also need Pete Dowson s licensed software and a relatively recent version of it If you re still reading this then hopefully that means you are still interested and so we can get on with telling you the good news about LINDA starting with some relevant background information for those who may be unaware of it e LINDA LINDA collects together a number of useful tools to assist flight simmers with th
59. n problem is exacerbated by the fact that owing to the enormous and dedicated efforts of GUnter and others no less than 700 functions for the NGX are available for your use So you need to search for the one that will do the job Happily they are all listed within the NGX module 1 7 which is helpfully commented so it is not difficult to find the function you want have also provided a sorted list of NGX module v1 7 functions in Appendix 1 and so you should be able to quickly locate the routine you would need to call which in this case is function NGX APUBLEED on Three positions for the gear stick Exactly how you assign that or any other function to your hardware will be covered very soon but first allow me to give you a specific example which also answers a question that have been asked numerous times how do you program a three position switch to faithfully emulate the gear lever The Thrustmaster HOTAS has several three position switches but the one opted to use for this particular function is the one conveniently situated on the front right of the D throttle base There are two aspects to making the decision the first is the obvious one Q about the control s suitability so for this purpose three positions were clearly essential but the second concerns the control s accessibility in the light of other things going on at LSS the time this switch s position means that it is easy to reach out locate and
60. nd VRinsight These days all but the most basic joysticks build in a number of buttons along with the obvious controls for ailerons and elevators rudder and perhaps throttle They normally provide a means to allow these buttons to generate various keystrokes too so if you can somehow make a button generate a G keystroke then in fsx you can use it to toggle the landing gear But supposing you want to assign a button to do something for which no keyboard shortcut exists Or what happens if you need a single button to carry out several functions in sequence such as bringing all throttles to idle and then engaging reverse and on releasing the same button bringing the throttles back to idle again In either case you are likely to find that neither fsx nor your chosen add on aircraft is able to help you directly Which is where FSUIPC v4 comes in of course Over many years Pete Dowson has produced and evolved an enormously useful piece of software which can help you in many ways such as smoothing fsx s sometimes violently erratic wind changes for example and as time has gone by he has steadily added to the repertoire of functions that FSUIPC provides As mentioned above FSUIPC now provides us with the ability to utilise Lua scripting which is what made LINDA possible thank you Pete and what gives LINDA the power to add so enormously to the possible and achievable functions we are able to utilise Best of all we can design and impleme
61. nt our own functions as required I will give some examples later in this document since all that is needed is to learn the straightforward syntax of a language called Lua Page 5 So who needs Lua Lua is a fairly simple language which readily deploys libraries and is generous in its affinity with extensions with the result that it s ideal for use in a simming context not least since it s free But DON T PANIC you don t have to become an expert Lua programmer although you may later decide to do so of course since Pete Dowson Artem and Gunter have already done that for you In fact if you use G nter and Artem s already available modules for a variety of popular add on aircraft you don t need to know much about Lua other than the fact that it exists But if you do want to roll your own functions for your latest add on aircraft of choice all you will need to do is learn how to put together a few very simple elements and you can create your own functions and assign them to your hardware once you have discovered how to flip the correct switch or whatever in that particular aircraft And to help you do just that LINDA also provides its own Developer mode enabling you to trace the working of the switch you wish to move in a way which has never been possible before other than for skilled programmers Too good to be true Not at all read on or if you really can t wait have a look at the main LINDA doc
62. ols as possible using your computer s keyboard it s something of a pain to have to remember so many convoluted keystrokes Even more importantly though trying to fly using the arrow keys to control the aircraft is something that makes life unnecessarily difficult if not downright impossible and so most people use either a joystick or else space permitting for non military aircraft with the possible exception of the Airbus a yoke Often these devices have an additional control axis that can be used to operate the throttle too which is also more intuitive than using the keyboard So quite early on the flight simming community came to realise that using add on hardware to control their aircraft instead of the keyboard brought a whole new dimension of enjoyment to the hobby It s now possible to buy everything up to and including fully motorised throttle units that are replicas of the ones in the real aircraft or even a complete cockpit if you are very rich and many people around the world have taken the ultimate step of building their own replica cockpit or pit for short in their home if you need further evidence of this simply consult your favourite Internet search engine For most of us however a replica full sized cockpit will forever remain just a dream unless a Lottery win should supervene so we have to make do as best we can with the lower priced hardware that is available from companies such as Saitek a
63. on function NGX PUMPCTR R toggle function NGX PUMPS1 off function NGX PUMPS1 on function NGX PUMPS1 toggle function NGX PUMPS1and2 off function NGX PUMPS1and2 on function NGX PUMPS2 off function NGX PUMPS2 on function NGX PUMPS2 toggle function NGX PUMPSCTR off function NGX PUMPSCTR on function NGX PUMPSCTR toggle function NGX RECIRC L auto function NGX RECIRC L off function NGX RECIRC L toggle function NGX RECIRC R auto function NGX RECIRC R off function NGX RECIRC R toggle function NGX RecircANDIsol auto function NGX RecircANDIsol off function NGX RUD TRIM left function NGX RUD TRIM right function NGX RUD TRIM show function NGX RUD TRIM stop function NGX SIGNS CHIME off function NGX SIGNS CHIME on function NGX SIGNS CHIME toggle function NGX SIGNS SEAT auto function NGX SIGNS SEAT off function NGX SIGNS SEAT on function NGX SPOILER 100 function NGX SPOILER 50 Page 43 Probe Heat Probe Heat Probe Heat Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Fuel Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds
64. on NGX Doors CargoFWD function NGX_Doors_Equip function NGX Doors LeftAFT function NGX Doors LeftFWD function NGX Doors LeftWING function NGX Doors RightAFT function NGX Doors RightFWD function NGX Doors RightWING function NGX DU1 INBD BRT dec function NGX DU1 INBD BRT inc function NGX DU1 LOWER dec function NGX DU1 LOWER inc function NGX DU1 LOWER show function NGX DU1 MAIN dec function NGX DU1 MAIN inc function NGX DU1 MAIN show function NGX DU1 OUTBD BRT dec function NGX DU1 OUTBD BRT inc function NGX DU2 INBD BRT dec function NGX DU2 INBD BRT inc function NGX DU2 LOWER dec function NGX DU2 LOWER inc function NGX DU2 LOWER show function NGX DU2 MAIN dec function NGX DU2 MAIN inc function NGX DU2 MAIN show function NGX DU2 OUTBD BRT dec function NGX DU2 OUTBD BRT inc function NGX DU ALL BRT dec function NGX DU ALL BRT decfast function NGX DU ALL BRT inc function NGX DU ALL BRT incfast function NGX DU ALL BRT show function NGX DU CENTER dec function NGX DU CENTER decfast function NGX DU CENTER inc function NGX DU CENTER incfast function NGX DU LEFT BRT dec function NGX DU LEFT BRT decfast function NGX DU LEFT BRT inc function NGX DU LEFT BRT incfast function NGX DU LOWER BRT dec function NGX DU LOWER BRT inc function NGX DU LOWER eng function NGX DU LOWER sys function NGX DU LR BRT dec function NGX DU L
65. ory gt Modules linda libs lib user lua As supplied the initial contents of that file are as follows User functions vl 1 April 15th 2012 Use this file to insert your own functions and macros Be careful with syntax as it could ruin the whole VRIDRV systen Use unique function names to not interfere with existing system or aircraft functions function EXAMPLE function format some code for ex GEAR UP command GEAR UP the same as gt ipc control 66079 log debug your function view results in FSX modules fsuipc log _log Gears up Captain to put something on MCP display use both strings should be 4 chars exactly no more no less DspShow Gear Up end Page 24 You could if you wish remove the example by deleting every line starting at function EXAMPLE through to end inclusive or else simply leave it there because it won t do anything unless it is specifically assigned to a button or called in some other way So let s now add our new function below the example using either a text editor or preferably LINDA s Editor for the purpose The LINDA Editor On the right of the LINDA Settings screen click the Settings button at the top if you are in a different part of LINDA there s a column headed Summary and in there you will see LINDA Editor otherwise simply press F2 whilst in LINDA and you will be t
66. ould like to change anything about the control assignments you are entirely free to do so Good luck if so Personally find the default assignments suit my needs very well but Your Mileage May Vary as the saying goes PMDG 3 NGX Mcduic PMDG 737 NGX 1 4 Author Artem Guerter Michel Your controls 3 CRE knob SPD knob ident lempty A NGX A CRS LR inc A HGX AP SPD inc Az NCX A CRS La inc A HGX AP SPD inc Presets Az NCX A CRS LR det A HGX AP SPD dec new Save Rename Delete A NCX A CRS LA dec A HGX AP SPD dec Press NGX A CRS LR lwyyle Press H6X AP SPD INTV Rurars HOGA 1 HGX AP LGA TOGA 2 HIX knah ALL knnh NL HGX AP NL SPD NGX AP S zED A NCX 47 HDG Inc TA IGXAPAJ Inc z NCX A HDG i NIGX Ti FLCH NICK AP VLCHE A NCX A HDG inc A NGX AP AT inc HDGSEL NGX AP 4DGSEL A NGX A IIDG dec A HGX AP AT cec ik A NCX 4 HDG der A NGK AP AT rec HDGHLD HG AP 4DGSEL ALTHLD NGX AP 4 TH D Press NCX A IIDG DANK togg Press NGX AP A T INTV VIS FPA HCX AP VS VNAV NGK AF VNAV LNAV HGX AP NAV Swixches VOIE CMDA HGX AP VEA zoccle re Me CMDC AITON NCx ATHR arin 1 A NGX AP V5 inc CMDB IGX AP CVCE tcggle ANT OFF NCX ATHR off FEA NGXAP VS ie LOC NGK AP VORLOC F D ON NEX A FD 30th on A IES AE VS dec OWSA NICK AP CWSA F D OFF NCX FD doth off A NGX AP V5 dec CWSB NGX AP CWSB MSI ON NCX 42 MASI R o
67. r choice of add on aircraft how could you do it Let s once again consider the 737 NG If you were at flaps 1 then a single decrement command would accomplish what you need but if you were at flaps 40 then you would need 9 decrement commands to do the job So how are you going to assign a single button press to fully raise the flaps regardless of the current flap position In cases such as this you will need to write a small Lua function of your own to accomplish the task Whilst this guide does not set out to teach Lua programming or syntax a search of the Internet will offer you several alternative tutorials for that purpose the basics of achieving what you need can fairly simply be achieved by using the large amount of existing code that comes with LINDA to give you examples of how the Lua syntax works Perhaps it s cheating but it works Q The first question has to be where are you going to put your new function so that LINDA can find it and hence it becomes usable LINDA very thoughtfully provides a location that is made specifically for routines of your own You may recall installing LINDA into the lt wherever your fsx base directory is gt Modules directory Beneath the Modules directory there is now a directory called appropriately enough linda and below that again are other directories which comprise the LINDA system The file you are looking to add your new function to is this one lt fsx base direct
68. s and Printers A series of devices is displayed d HID compliant Saitek Pro Flight Saitek X52 Pro Ultra Fast Media Ultra Fast Media mouse Quadrant Flight Control Reader Reader System notice that although Windows does its best to show an appropriate picture it doesn t know anything about the TT panel so it assigns it a name usb pad d uh and a picture in this case a generic hand held device vs Right click the device and select Game controller settings as shown Then click the Properties button for your device P Y 4 Game controller settings N Create shortcut Game Controllers po v reate shortc Troubleshoot 4 3 These settings help you configure the game controllers installed on your computer Properties Installed game controllers Controller Saitek X52 Pro Flight Controller usb pad Saitek Pro Flight Throttle Quadrant You now see a fairly generic properties page as mentioned in the introduction Even though the TT panel has no axes for example they are still present on the page along with a number of buttons al assignment of the buttons is done in LINDA at you are doing here is ascertaining that all the buttons are working as well as what each one is called as a cross check Here for example am pressing button 11 Settirgs Tes Test the game controller If tre corrrcller is not functioning property r may n
69. s attempting to answer various guestions which the writer has seen posted on numerous Internet fora and to lead those new to LINDA through the process of getting to know the program and beginning to benefit from using it Nonetheless the LINDA manual itself remains the authoritative source of information and amongst its many illustrations and explanations you will find the various processes described in this document expressed in a more succinct form which is more accessible for those already familiar with the program The writer would like to express his grateful thanks to Artem and G nter for LINDA and also for patiently answering the guestions which arose during the writing process but most of all for making available to the flight simming community such a masterpiece of software engineering Thanks to LINDA we can now harness the power of Lua scripting to link our hardware to many controls in fsx add on aircraft which were previously unavailable to us From the contents list on the previous page you will see that the overall structure of this introductory document is straightforward it begins with a review of what LINDA is and what it can do for you and then moves via the installation process to look at the various sorts of button assignment which are facilitated by the program Finally it covers the topic of constructing simple Lua functions of your own with a few illustrative examples However please be aware from the outset that t
70. set up the joysticks first As you can see LINDA has accurately identified the Type of each device so all that was necessary was to save the configuration Ok Sav y mo Oops you may notice that I forgot to change the name of the Joysticks HID controllers 1 usb pad Name HID Device Type Other v 2 Saitek X52 Pro Flight Control System Name Saitek X52 Type HOTAS v 3 Saitek Pro Flight Quadrant usb pad before saving but I will Name Saitek Throttle Type Throttle s correct that subsequently Configuring LINDA the MCP Combo and FSUIPC MCP Combo settings If you don t have the MCP combo please skip the next bit Enabled 9 and go straight to the paragraph about FSUIPC overleaf Again LINDA makes it very easy for you Simply use the Type MCPi orig dd COM Port Y drop down box to set the Type to MCP1 the original Combo l or MCP2 for those lucky enough to have waited Sav for the newer version COM Port cos bj Then comes the important task COM 7 of specifying the COM port g COM 8 Again use the drop down box h Version Start FSX to check COM 10 to select whatever value COM 11 Windows decided upon as COM 12 fsuipc4 ini n a config COM 13 discussed above COM 14 MAMA Esper p ir ame RE Your Combo box is now configured FSUIPC config Version 4 726 ok fsuipc4 ini Something is wrong 1i VRInsight not found 2 x COM9 no
71. sing fsx routines and supplied aircraft profiles 19 Hardware usage in the examples for the rest of this document esse ee see Re ee 20 Designing your set of control assignments to suit your hardware ese AR Re ee 20 Three positions for the gear stik iss EE EES snno er len 21 LINDA s hardware support assigning buttons and switches ss 22 Button assignment basics sees SEE sees ia erre run e ed go se ei oe ee Ge eg ni iii 23 SormanyfunetiEns se TTT ITT de aee ee se ee de ee de an dou ee ee GE ee Ge ee ee ed nb 23 Combining existing functions to make new ones 24 TINELINDA Editor sn ee a En DE err ro 25 Button assignment practical examples 27 What if something goes wrong the LINDA Console 29 LINDA s most complex hardware support the VRinsight MCP Combo 30 InCONnclUSIOQN RA seen an eine Rei Rinne 31 Appendix 1 alphabetic list of NGX functions module v1 7 32 Appendix 2 example page from documented control assignments 46 Appendix 3 fsx standard controls sese ssesssssssssescssssssnssssreetsssssnnassseressssssssnsnsentstssssssss 47 Appendix 4 Combo I standard assignments ss 49 Page 2 Introduction This document is a supplement to the LINDA manual which is v1 01 at the time of writing It aims to give a little more background information about LINDA as well a
72. sists of a number of buttons and switches mounted in a sturdy metal frame Each button or switch can be either pushed or clicked on in the case of switches or released turned off There are four of the buttons which are internally configured to behave like a hat but otherwise the device is about as simple as you can possibly get Like devices 2 and 3 it is still a HID of course 2 The Saitek throttle quadrant This consists of three throttle levers each of which has a switch incorporated which can be operated by moving the lever past the lower part of its travel clearly intended to operate the throttle reversers In addition there is a two way up down rocker below each lever giving a further six buttons which can be programmed with the device So as well as nine buttons here we have added three axes to the picture 3 The Saitek X52 Pro HOTAS This Hands on Throttle And Stick device represents a further step up in complexity consisting as it does of a joystick with multiple hats buttons and switches together with an integrated twist action axis for the rudder making three axes on the stick allied with a separate throttle control which also possesses a number of additional buttons and axes and even a simulated mouse 4 The VRinsight MCP Combo This device is one of the most complex available since it has numerous buttons and switches together with some rotary controls and also displays which can be used with the b
73. t found Make changes for you lz x COMO n a FSUIPC configuration is also straightforward As referred to above if fsx is running then LINDA will determine the FSUIPC version and warn you if it is far too old to work properly with the program But there is one further task needed FSUIPC has its own configuration file called fsuipc4 ini which sits in the Modules folder In order for the Combo to work two lines need to be added to this file You could edit the file and add them yourself if you wish but LINDA is ready and willing to do it for you Once connected to fsx LINDA determines whether the two lines are present if not the program indicates the correct format for the two required lines and if you click on the Make Page 16 changes for you button they will be added automatically the angry red colour is replaced by a tranquil green and the message that all is now well If you already had the necessary lines in place it would have looked like that from the beginning of course Page 17 Configuring LINDA setup options The third and final stage of the configuration process is to select which options you wish LINDA to use LINDA Settings Isi z Minimize to tray Start minimized Start with FSX None b LINDA activation shortcut LINDA Advanced settings Jj Developer mode Associate with lua LINDA s main window will be
74. that the port that is assigned will vary many people finding that Windows assigns COM port 3 or 4 for example It doesn t matter as long as you know the number Installing LINDA After the rather long discussion about your preliminary button and axis assignment setup you will be relieved to hear that installing LINDA is simplicity itself No installer is reguired instead all that is needed is to unzip the LINDA files to your fsx Modules folder which means they will automatically be installed in the correct place in the directory tree If however you are uncertain about unzipping files to a specific location or you simply want to be 100 sure of what is happening you can unzip the LINDA files to a newly created and empty directory of your choice and check to see what you have Once you are satisfied that you know exactly what files need to be copied where you can then simply use Windows Explorer not nternet Explorer the other one to copy or move the relevant files to the Modules folder If below the Modules folder you now have one folder called linda and another called linda cfg all should be well Configuring LINDA the joysticks ra pe Start LINDA by running LINDA exe Since this is a ve WU sat MEES N EG EE b friendly program it leads you through the process of LIN DA Aircraft making the preliminary dei checks and setting up Your controls whatever is required Setup joysticks ennai Clever
75. the example gave above about a button for engaging idle then reverse thrust when pushed and also idle thrust on release FSUIPC can be persuaded to do this but only after using various techniques explained in the Advanced manual including editing the fsuipc ini file directly something which many people hesitate to do or even decline to do It was because Pete Dowson recognised that he had reached the limit of what was possible in such ways that he added the Lua scripting ability since much more complicated tasks can now be done using that capable programming language thus removing the need for editing sensitive initialisation files whilst also vastly expanding the possibilities of what can be achieved LINDA currently recognises several different sorts of device more details will be given on page 16 Ordinary joysticks HOTAS joysticks Flight yokes Throttle quadrants Other LINDA does its best to automatically detect which sort of device you have connected but it is good practice to check the category it has assigned so that you can adjust it if necessary and also give it an appropriate short name More about that when we getto the Installation section But perhaps LINDA s best known claim to fame lies in its ability to interface with the VRinsight MCP Combo both version which at the time of writing is no longer available and also version II The original SerialFP2 software provided by VRinsight suffered from many limit
76. topilot buttons Warnings Autopilot switches Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot buttons Autopilot Dials Autopilot buttons Autopilot switches Autopilot buttons Autopilot buttons Autopilot buttons Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Autopilot Dials Electrics including APU Electrics including APU function NGX APU GEN BOTH on function NGX APU GEN L off function NGX APU GEN L on function NGX APU GEN R off function NGX APU GEN R on function NGX APU inc function NGX APU off function NGX APU on function NGX APU show function NGX APU Start or ShowEGT function NGX APUBLEED off function NGX APUBLEED on function NGX APUBLEED show function NGX APUBLEED toggle function NGX AT P reset function NGX ATHR soft disconnect function NGX AUTOBRAKE 1 function NGX AUTOBRAKE 2 function NGX AUTOBRAKE 3 function NGX AUTOBRAKE calc function NGX AUTOBRAKE dec function NGX AUTOBRAKE inc function NGX AUTOBRAKE MAX function NGX AUTOBRAKE OFF function NGX AUTOBRAKE RTO function NGX AUTOBRAKE show function NGX BAT off function NGX BAT on function NGX BAT toggle function NGX BEACON off function NGX BEACON on function NGX BEACON toggle function NGX BelowGS Inhibit function NGX BLEED1 off function NGX BLEED1 on function NGX BLEED1 show function NGX BLEED1 toggle function NGX BLEED2 off function N
77. umentation starting on page 18 in v1 01 To utilise LINDA without any programming though all you need to do is to download and install the latest version of LINDA itself which is v1 11 at the time of writing available from http fs linda com downloads LINDA v1 11 zip and then add the module or modules you need for your aircraft Have a look at the Downloads section of the forum at http forum avsim net forum 427 linda downloads and then install what you need thanks to the patient work of G nter and others and their generosity in sharing it with the simming community many add on aircraft are now supported An illustrated description of how to install LINDA will be found below but now that you understand the need for Lua let s consider the devices that LINDA can and can t work with Page 6 What devices can LINDA work with Perhaps the best way to summarise the answer to this duestion following the seguence used above is that LINDA cannot be used for assigning keystrokes from your PC s keyboard nor can it be used for assigning axes There s a very simple reason for that FSUIPC has for a great many years been perfecting methods to help you deal with axes and keystrokes so there is no need whatsoever for LINDA to cover the same ground Those who know FSUIPC will be saying to themselves at this point But FSUIPC can deal with buttons as well so what does LINDA bring to the party The answer lies in
78. unction NGX LAND FIXED R on function NGX LAND RETR BOTH extend function NGX LAND RETR BOTH off function NGX LAND RETR BOTH on function NGX LAND RETR L extend Page 41 Hydraulics Hydraulics Hydraulics Hydraulics Hydraulics Hydraulics Hydraulics Hydraulics Hydraulics Hydraulics Hydraulics Hydraulics Hydraulics Hydraulics Engine start Engine start Engine start IRS IRS IRS IRS IRS IRS IRS IRS IRS IRS IRS IRS IRS IRS IRS IRS Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Bleed and Packs including APU bleeds Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external Lights external function NGX LAND RETR L off function NGX LAND RETR L on function NGX LAND RETR R extend function NGX LAND RETR R off function NGX LAND RETR R on function NGX LandALT dec function NGX LandALT inc function NGX LIGHT ALL dec function NGX LIGHT ALL decfast function NGX LIGHT ALL inc function NGX LIGHT ALL incfast function NGX LIGHT ALL show function NGX LIGHT CB dec function NGX LIGHT CB inc function NGX LIGHT OVH dec function NGX LI
79. vices are assigned to more than one of them In addition if you use raw Lua routines or FSUIPC macro files you may wish to consider removing them from FSUIPC and using LINDA instead The LINDA manual is written for experts and suggests deleting the FSUIPC4 ini file so that it is recreated without any customisations for buttons keyboard or axes when FSUIPC next runs This is certainly a very efficient way to remove all the button assignments but if you have made any other customisations within the ini file they will be obviously be lost also So before following that advice do please review your ini file to make sure that nothing unexpected happens Your key mappings are held in the Standard xml file of course and operating on this directly rather than using the fsx interface can as long as you know what you re doing save you a lot of time If you are nervous about doing this or are unsure which Standard xml is the real one then allow me to suggest that you download and use TweakFS s free XML utility http tweakfs com download fsx xml toolbox zip Page 11 The LINDA manual also suggests editing the standard xml file to remove all existing assignments have a look at pages 4 and 5 in v1 01 of the manual to see the recommendations there In 3a above and the associated footnote advocate the use of a utility for helping you to edit the file which is fine if you are happy about doing so But this appro
80. wo LINDA shift functions are in force which thus doubles the available number of buttons The LOCAL SHIFT function applies the shifted property to this joystick only The GLOBAL SHIFT function affects all joysticks Page 22 Button assignment basics The way of assigning functions to buttons in LINDA has been made breathtakingly simple for us thank you Artem Let s suppose for example that you wish to assign a button to incrementing lowering increasing your flap setting Press the button you want to use whilst watching the list of button numbers on the left of the LINDA page your button press will be detected and the appropriate button number highlighted Also the appropriate device will be highlighted in the lower part of the display So now you know which button number on which device to program Your next decision is whether you want the action to be performed when the button is pressed in which case you use On Press the first column or to repeat for as long as the button is held down On Repeat or and perhaps less usually when the button is released On Release That s normally an easy decision with the possible exception of cases where you are using as a button a device which is in fact a switch In such cases when the switch is open off this is the eguivalent of the button not being pressed and when the switch is closed on this is the button being pressed and also held down On Repeat
81. xt task is not inherently complex but there are various factors which may affect how much you may need to do so will make a couple of recommendations first for special cases This is located below your fsx base directory wherever that is so that it might be for example C fsx Modules Although have reluctantly done so on this page and at several points in this document can only apologise if they no longer work when you come to try them Page 10 Installation prereguisites 3a arecommendation for E7CA users At this point do need to put in a guick word for those readers who have installed EZCA a k a E7dok You will already have been through a fair amount of pain when you had to remove the assignments for your numeric keypad and so on so it may well be that you have already done a lot or even all of the work needed to ensure that no button assignments remain in fsx or FSUIPC So would simply suggest that you review LINDA s reguirements and then check that your own installation is compatible with both EZCA and LINDA too Installation prerequisites 3b a comment for PMDG NGX users In pages 0 00 20 and 0 00 21 of PMDG s introduction and Use manual for the NGX Ryan makes a number of comments about the use of FSUIPC Unfortunately for copyright reasons can t reproduce those comments here but a significant aspect is that PMDG claim that there may be problems if you calibrate your flight controllers

"user manual"

Contents

Download Pdf Manuals

Related Search

Related Contents

&quot;user manual&quot;

Contents

Download Pdf Manuals

Related Search

Related Contents

"user manual"