Installing Guages

[MJBAirlines1]

I have the hardest time installing guages when I download an aircraft from Simviation. I can install the aircraft with no problems but installing the guages is a different story.

After I install the aircraft in question, I click and drag the guages to the guage folder, seems simple enough. But when I open the aircraft in MSFS2004 the guages are not there. What am I doing wrong? Can anybody teach me a better way to install the guages?

Any help is welcomed and thank you in advance.

Sincerly, MJBAirlines1  

[Graycat8524]

Heya MJB Airlines1,

Are you placing your aircraft gauges into the Main FS 2004\Gauges directory?

One sure-fire way to get everything into the right place is to download a great utility by Rana Inside! called FlightSim Manager v2.6.1 available here:

http://www.simviation.com/fs2004utilities4.htm

I have used this program for many aircraft installs and it has never failed me yet.  Kudos to the Rana Inside! group.  They have taken the guesswork out of FS 2004 aircraft installs.  You can also use this program to install FS 2004 Scenery, install and maintain Virtual Fleets, make screenshots, and it even comes with a Pilot's Logbook!

[MJBAirlines1]

Hi Greycat,

Well I downloaded that aircraft installer now how does it work. I have MSFS2004 so I clicked on download 2004 and zip 2004 and nothing happened. The readme did not tell me anything that I could use. Maybe you could let me know how to use the aircraft installer.

Thanks, MJBAirlines1

[codered]

Perhaps it is looking for the gauges to be in the panel folder and not the main gauge folder.  Some panels are like that.  You will notice that the default aircraft have gauge files in the panel folder.  Worth a shot....

[MJBAirlines1]

Hi codered,

That is definately an idea. I hadn't thought of that actually. I will play around with that idea...Thanx

MJBAirlines1

[MJBAirlines1]

Well to answer your question, I am installing the guage folder into the main fs9/Guage folder. I also tried installing the guages into the panel folder just to see if that worked and it did not. Niether place worked. So I am back to the drawing board with this one. Any help that is out there would sure be apprieciated. Thanks in advance.

MJBAirlines1

[codered]

First off... start with the readme files that might have come with the gauges, aircraft, panels, etc.

Gauges for the panels have to go in one of three places.
1. inside the root of the panel folder
2. inside the root of the main FS gauge folder
3. inside a specified folder which is in the main FS gauge folder.  If this is the way it should be installed the creator will tell you to place the whole folder in the root gauge folder.

You can also open the panel.cfg with notepad and see what gauges that particular panel is looking for.  Go to the places I mentioned and make sure that they are on in the right place.

When all else fails contact the creator if possible.  When I upload addons, I always supply my email address so people can contact me with questions.  Designers that leave people out in the cold are not very nice.

[Hagar]

I suspect you pasted the gauges folder into FS9\Gauges. This won't work & you need to paste in the individual gauges. The problem these days is that there are 3 different types of gauge. The conventional GAU format + the latest XML gauges that can be configured in a CAB file or an ordinary folder. I just installed a panel including all 3 types.

3rd party gauges will usually be included in a folder (or zipfile) named Gauges or similar. The easiest method for installing them is to open this folder & click Edit/Select All. Then drag (or Cut/Paste) the complete contents into FS9\Gauges. It's a good idea not to overwrite files/folders unless you know what you're doing.

PS. Unlike the previous M$ sims, gauges will work from the FS9\Gauges folder or the Panel folder of the appropriate aircraft. It shouldn't make any difference which method you use. It's a good idea to install them to the Panel folder first. Then if you decide to keep the aircraft/panel transfer them to FS9\Gauges. If you don't wish to keep it deleting the aircraft will also remove the gauges & stop your Gauges folder getting clogged up with unused gauges.

PPS. This is the Gauges folder of the panel I mentioned. All these files + the folder are gauges. To install them paste them all into the Panel folder of the aircraft they belong to or the FS9\Gauges folder.

[MJBAirlines1]

Hi Hager,

That was the ticket! I downloaded an aircraft from Simviation, unzipped it, dragged the aircraft file down to the aircraft folder and dropped it in. I then opened the guage folder and copied and pasted all of the guages in to the new aircraft panel folder. I went to FS2004, found the aircraft and all of the guages were there. Just like magic. Thank you so much for solving my delema. Now I think I can install many new and different aircraft.

Thanks once agian
MJBAirlines1