
Whisplacer 		release 0.9		23/12/2007
lc0277@nerim.net
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Whisplacer is originally a tool I developped to
show how the simconnect API can be used to insert
live scenery objects in FSX. I decided to make it
a full-featured object placer because I felt globally
disatisfied with SDK's object placement tool
and I wanted a tool that can be used remotely on a
second computer.

Whisplacer is an XML object placer with the following features:

- Top-Down map view
- open/save XML files, both mission format and scenery 
		format
- open/save BGL files (experimental)
- Live preview of inserted library objects in FSX
- Insert/Edition of beacons, windsocks, effects and triggers
- See a thumbnail of library objects in map view or in 
		the object chooser
- Import background images and automatically uses images 
configured for FSXPlanner
- Line/Polygon filling tools
- 3D Preview of generic buildings

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Run:
	you must have java JRE 5.0 installed. get it free
	at http://java.sun.com
	
	double click on whisplacer.jar (if you have the
	correct file association for jar files) or
	run whisplacer.bat
	
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Interface:
	
	the mouse operation is:

	- right click + drag : 		
			move view point
	
	- wheel 			
		zoom in/out
	
	- ctrl + wheel
		rotate screen by 10 degrees
	
	- shift +wheel: 
		rotate screen by 1 degree

	- left click + drag :
		select objects into a rectangle
		move object (if already selected)
	
	- left double click :
		edit object properties

	- shift + left click + drag
		rotate selected objects
		
	- ctrl + left click
		add/remove an object from selection
	

	to add new objects, you must create a new
	document and select one of the add button
	in the toolbar. 
	

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Using the live preview:

	NB: although you could add windsock, beacons
	and effects in editor, only library objects can
	be seen in live preview
	
	Creating a simconnect.xml file is NOT mandatory unless
	whisplacer cannot find connection parameters or you want
	to be able to connect from a remote host.

	You must export the contents of the library to 
	SimObjects container. Select the Live Preview->
	Library maintenance menu item.
	Select the root of FSX libraries and change
	the export mode to "Automatic" then apply changes.
	Restart FS.
	
	Exporting is only needed the first time you run
	whisplacer or when you import libraries. At any time
	you can check the status of library exports by
	doing a refresh
	
When connected, the keyboard shortcut "o" will insert
an object at the user position in flight simulator.

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Important warning:

If, when opening a BGL or XML file you got a warning message
like "Section xx was deleted", then consider to save
the file as another name or make sure you have backup 
copies. When Whisplacer read a file with some data it can't
understand, the data WON'T be written at next file save.

Files containing airport informations, like AFcads are
likely to be erased. Use whisplacer with and only
with PURE placement files, containing only <SceneryObject>
statements or Exclusion Rectangles.


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Bugs/Caveats:
	
	
* The application now automatically lowers FS priority, so
it's more reactive now. However there may be some issue
when FSX process is assigned a below than normal priority.
You change this behaviour in the configuration options.

* Make sure you have backups of all bgl files
you open. Especially if you're going to open
default BGL files (OBX, APX). saving them will erase
most of their content.
* The XML save feature may produce files with minor
syntax problems, but easy to correct
* The scale and visibility properties of library objects
are not updated in live preview
* everything may fail miserably without reason

	
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Licensing:

binaries, source code and thumbnail images 
are in the public domain.
Third-party code libraries may have specific licensing
conditions. 




