Simviation Forums

What's the deal with all these xml gauges? They appear to be completely useless; FS2002 will not load them.

Is there some .cfg setting that will allow them to load? I can't imagine that all these designers make xml gauges that can't be used, but it never fails: a panel that uses xml gauges will not load, and then FS2002 usually crashes

XML gauges work just fine - trust me.

Common problems in using them arise from the following:

Decompressing the .cab files - you shouldn't. Leave them as they are.

If they're in folders  (as mine are on my panels) put the folder containing the gauges into your FS2002 folder. Don't take them out of the folder and then put them directly into the FS2002/gauges folder.

Yeah, Tipster I learned that thru trial and error (the hard way) , lol and they work fine by putting the folders, containing the XML gauges  directly into the gauges file.  ;D
Splash

Nope, no good. I just put the folder with the .cab files in the gauges folder, I never try to decompress them. They simply never load; FS2002 will have nothing to do with them...refers to them as "3rd party software" and then crashes.

I believe you can extract files from cab files with Winzip

I believe you can extract files from cab files with Winzip

Andrew. XML gauges are in CAB format. These should NOT be extracted. The fact they look just like zipfiles causes most installation problems with gauges in this format.

Nope, no good. I just put the folder with the .cab files in the gauges folder, I never try to decompress them. They simply never load; FS2002 will have nothing to do with them...refers to them as "3rd party software" and then crashes.

If you're using the Pro edition and you have the default Baron panel, load that up. If the panel displays ok, the problem probably lies with the gauges in the panel you've selected.

If it doesn't load properly, delete your FS2002.cfg file in your root FS2002 folder.

Start FS2002 (it will re-build the file). See if it works then.

That is unusual from what I have experienced.  I have loaded a lot of xml gauges and have not experienced any problems with them - at least not yet
Splash

I spent some time examining everything connected with the aircraft causing me problems and discovered this: although they all feature .xml gauges, I found others which have xml gauges and cause no trouble.

The ones which do cause trouble also make use of a module, FSSound.dll. This is the culprit; every aircraft which uses this (and coincidentally, uses xml gauges) causes a problem.

So xml gauges are vindicated...but what can be done about the FSSound .dll?

FSSound.dll is a common culprit. You can fix it using the tweak described on my FS2002 FAQ page. http://www.simviation.com/lair/fs2k2errors.htm
I believe that since I posted it FSSound.dll has been updated. The latest version should no longer cause error messages.

Thanks for the .cfg entry; an increasing number of aircraft seem to use the FSSound.dll

Thanks for the .cfg entry; an increasing number of aircraft seem to use the FSSound.dll

I've got the latest version of FSsound.dll that doesn;t require the cfg entry included with my Baron Panel if you want to get it from there. (Baron Panel V2.1 in the library here.)

I've no idea where the source for this file is otherwise.

Andrew. XML gauges are in CAB format. These should NOT be extracted. The fact they look just like zipfiles causes most installation problems with gauges in this format.

You can extract XML gauges from cab files for gauge designing, editing, ect.

Sorry about the confusion