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Create a simple flight data program (Clarion/PureBasic/C/C++/C#/VB#/Python/Yada yada yada)

M

MarkRWatney

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unitedstates
I am having trouble reading all of the data presented in MSFS on any of the airplane dashboards. I may not be alone on this, but alas; I am. I am using a 4K 55" OLED TV so it is not that. I am sitting 34" from the display. My eyesight is becoming shot, and I know it. My ophthalmologist agrees.

Every angle I have approached with the different languages above in the subject line that I have used over the years, now has my head spinning on what is the easiest approach of getting the data from SimConnect. The end result; a "topmost" window that I want to create that looks something like this (created in Clarion GUI Editor with "made-up" data):

Info.jpg


All I need to get is the same data that appears on most airplane's dashboards. The window would need to have it set as a topmost window and I could adjust the font size to my needs. And that is it...

If you could steer me in the easiest language to pull this off with then I would greatly appreciate it!
 
I am interested in a similar tool, I would also like to get the distance to the arrival airport, were you guys able to retrieve that info?
 
nguyenquyhy said:
I have almost exactly that tool https://github.com/nguyenquyhy/Flight-Broadcaster. If you ignore the broadcast part, it's a tool that get sim data from SimConnect a display on a top most window.
Click to expand...
HI. I have just downloaded and built your project, but it fails - reporting the error :-
"
Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.FlightSimulator.SimConnect, Version=10.0.61259.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35'. An attempt was made to load a program with an incorrect format.

I do have this installed in all the correct places, as I have another C# app that is running correctly (also in VS2019).

Mine is in "C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\assembly\GAC_32\Microsoft.FlightSimulator.SimConnect" but the version is later - 10.0.62615.0

Any idea why your program objects to this, as a later version is presumably backward compatible ?

I am very much new to this Simconnect stuff. and am struggling to learn how to implement it correctly, so would really love to be able to step through your code to learn what values I receive/send and how they are accessed :-))

Thanks for any help
 
Is the SimConnect.lib/SimConnect.dll file(s) located in the destination folder that your .exe resides in? Either debug or release version? I am new to this "VS stuff" so take my comment with a pinch of salt.

I almost have my version of the screen above coded in C/C++ and will show it here soon. It works, but is garbage until I define all of the output correctly and 100% accurately. I took some side-steps to get output on a few fields that I do not understand yet/
 
chopperaddict said:
Any idea why your program objects to this, as a later version is presumably backward compatible ?
Click to expand...
Actually, in this case... the Side-by-Side "logic" is demanding the exact version for use and won't accept a later version at all.
I am not versed in the version numbers and what they're from... but I suspect that they used the RTM version of SimConnect.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys. Yes, it is in the Debug folder, I added the postbuild steps as documented to ensure this.

Needing the exact version is a bit of a pain. Where can one download specific versions of Simconect.dll ?? I cannot seem to find a source for these different versions. Or perhaps you could include it in your download ??
 
You can not provide the DLL as part of your install/download. You also cannot simply grab a specific version of SimConnect. What sim are you writing this software for?
 
Thanks for the advice on the dll not being needed, WarpD. I have not gotten to the stage of loading it on a different machine to debug my work yet. It has been a very long time since I worked with .lib/.dll files. :)

ChopperAddict: If you are coding for MSFS then the SimConnect.lib can be found after you have downloaded the SDK from the developer portion of the sim. Once the SDK is on your machine it can be found at "C:\MSFS SDK\SimConnect SDK\lib\*.*".

If you changed the install path then change the first part of the UNC I provided (in bold).
 
SimConnect is a DLL that is installed into the OS using Microsoft's Side-by-Side setup. It is not something you should be attempting to install with your own software.
 
I do have the SDK installed, and it is that dll that I am using, but it is clearly a later version ?
So how do I sort this, I am using FS2020 and want to learn how to program in C# (my preferred language) using Simconnect to interact with FS2020, which is why I would like to get this cod eworking as an example to me
 
there no sort stuff, learn the SDK. you can use FSX SDK as reference.
took SDK sample for start and find out what default aircraft may used it (for reference).
 
The "SimConnect.h" file you are using contains the code that can define what version of SimConnect your code is wanting to connect with. Some projects can also have a manifest file that declares what version of the SimConnect DLL your code wants to connect with. The version 10..0.61259.0 is the FSX Service Pack 2 version.
 
edge33 said:
I am interested in a similar tool, I would also like to get the distance to the arrival airport, were you guys able to retrieve that info?
Click to expand...
yes, the direct distance (straight line) is given ATC RUNWAY DISTANCE , but I only get that data when the landing confirmation comes from that ATC (seems to be 50 miles out or so or closer)
 
chopperaddict said:
I do have the SDK installed, and it is that dll that I am using, but it is clearly a later version ?
So how do I sort this, I am using FS2020 and want to learn how to program in C# (my preferred language) using Simconnect to interact with FS2020, which is why I would like to get this cod eworking as an example to me
Click to expand...
You can save weeks by working with someone or some working app that has it working .. rather than putting it together piece by piece .. it is a difficult process even for professional programmers. Which aircraft are you most interested in?
 
Hey ZM!

I agree totally about using someone else's code to get started. I used the code that Prepar3DGuy provided in his post: https://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/sending-input.449574/#post-872974

I have created the working window I posted at the top and it is working well. Is it perfect? Nope. Does it do the job? Yup. It has a "very low" status in Task Manager so it is not causing any stutters while using MSFS. I did add TAWS (Terrain Awareness Warning System) to it this week and that is fun to use while landing any plane. It provides verbal warnings when flying below 1,000 feet.

For me, and my limited programming experience using Visual Studio I pulled off the program using VS/C/C++ (SimConnect), Clarion (GUI), and PureBasic (TAWS verbals). As I said, it works but is woo-ugly!
 
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